WantSome Yaoi RP Forum
The Crypt => Boulevard of broken dreams => The Sweetest Goodbye => Fandom => Topic started by: MissyLooni on August 05, 2020, 01:45:17 am
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The fall of a war ended with Humans wining and Demons deciding living was better than fighting to the death.
For years there has been a sort of stagnant atmosphere that encompasses the planet. Humans call it peace, while Demons call it agitation.
There are several sections on the planet, with districts that are heavily armed to keep the Demons inside unless they had reasons for going to and from the different worlds. Their reasons? Work. A meager wage but something is better than nothing when you live in the slums.
Shiba Corp. is the top contributor to the safety of humans, leading the world in the creation of the "Good boy Collars". Special collars for every demon to keep them in line and always identifiable thanks to the technological advances of Corrin Kuroshiba. The CEO of Shiba Corp.
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Takana finished packing his measly 3 boxes and 1 backpack, bags under his eyes from the sheer lack of sleep thanks to the stress he was under.
He had to open his big dumb fucking mouth. Pissed off his step mother and have her cut everything that he needed. She owned the apartment so she told him he had the end of the week to get out. It was furnished before he moved in years ago so none of it was his to take. She cut off his college fund while he was in the middle of his 6 year degree. She cut him off from the family bank account and took him off the phone plan.
He had saved up a bit of his own money in a separate account however he should have taken more money just in case.... He looked at his new phone, a burner phone, and noted the time. The only affordable apartments he could find that weren't absolute garbage were in the demon district. He wasnt sure if he was allowed there but....he had seen a demon at work here before and for the most part they looked human so if he just.... didnt mention it would anyone really asked?
He was desperate at this point and since he couldnt get a hold of either of his brothers, or his dad, the fear of living on the streets loomed over his shoulder to the point that he'll do just about anything. It was worth a shot anyway...
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After burning another paycheck on some toys and absolutely adorable outfits, Izanagi was... well broke was an understatement. If he didn't get his rent in on time this month the landlord was so kicking him out. Regardless he pulled some extra shifts at his work and put an ad up to rent out the second room in his apartment. well, room was kind of generous, the place was tiny after all. Regardless somebody had to be in as rough of shape as he was, and even if it meant rooming with an E class demon surely somebody was desperate enough, right?! Thank the gods someone called on it, Izanagi didn't even meet the guy, he just said yes please move in, as long as he had his half of the rent up front. Hopefully this guy wouldn;t be too much of an ass, though Izanagi supposed he could always offer a few bjs if he happened to be a particularly bad demon until he could kick the guy back out again. Regardless, he was scrambling to move his shit from the other room and fit it into his own when he hears the buzzer, running over and pushing the button to unlock the main door, " It's unlocked! number 327!" shit he still had a mess. He quickly gathers a bunch of his frilly dresses that were his work uniforms as he hears the door open, " sorry sorry! i pulled a double last night and maybe kind of fell asleep instead of cleaning so it's kind of a mess!" he hurries by the other, dropping some lacy undergarments on the floor as he goes.
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Takana had crossed the patrol officers easily since they didnt seem to care if a human decided to get themselves killed in the demon district. Just a simple warning to watch himself was thrown his way before he laughed it off and headed for the address.
He was careful though. Making sure to keep his jacket fully zipped up to his chin and not to bring his identification card. He did bring his student ID but that was only because college had forms you manually filled out and it wasnt government issued so a little fibbing could be done. and by fibbing he meant by removing the shiba part of his last name. Just so his fellow teachers and classmates didnt treat him differently. He wanted to earn his grades because he studied hard, not because they were intimidated by him.
The student ID wasnt anything special either. Just said Takana Kuro next to his picture, his age, and a barcode that was used to get into certain parts of his college.
He stopped at the set of apartments and goes to the main entrance, pressing the buzzer. He could hear the person on the other end let him know what apartment number to go to and shrugs before stepping inside and heading that way.
He gives a courtesy knock before opening the door, "Hello-" he stops abruptly when he sees Izanagi, or at least his blur, run past him and he blinks, "ah- That's alright. I-" he glances down and blushes when he sees the clothing on the floor.
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Izanagi dumps the clothes on his bed and goes back out to Tanaka, spotting the panties on the floor, " whoops~! those are mine." he gruins and grabs them, stuffing them into a pocket before looking Tanaka over, " ...you can let your ears or horns out, it's not like we're around any humans. E rank im betting from the looks of you right? You have the rent? i really cannot afford to be late this month or im so boned. and not in the fun way. Oh right, your room is right here." he goes over to one of the doors, opening it to show what must have been a minuscule office with a couch being the only furniture left after Izanagi cleaned it out. " it's not much, but i moved the couch from the livingroom in here since you said you don't have a bed yeah?"
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Takana rubs the back of his head and holds out a wad of cash, "The room is just fine. its better than the streets for now. And I have the money for the month. Although I'm also looking for a job so dont expect me around much. Just a place to sleep and then i'll be out to get a job." Skirt around the whole demon thing if he can. Maybe with any luck he can just never be found out. Or at least stick around until he can get a hold of his dad. Dad would never let his own kid live on the streets.
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Izanagi freezes and looks back at him, " wait, you don;t have a job? shit come on..." he shakes his head and then looks more closely at Tanaka, " where's your collar? you won;t be able to get a job without it, not to mention you'll get in a shit ton of trouble if any of the guards catch you without it."
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Takana flinches and moves back a bit, "There's no need to worry about me, okay? You needed to rent the room for the month, here is the money for the month. I'll get something figured out man."
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Izanagi frowns, " if we're going to live together i think it's fair that i know in advance what kind of trouble you're bringing here, i may be desperate but i can still send you packing."
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Takana pales and panics a bit, "Look, im desperate here too... I promise that im not that much trouble. I just-" he's making this sound so much worse....
"I- I'm human, okay?" he sighs and pockets his money, "im in a tight spot thanks to my step mom being a homophobe and gave me the end of the week to get my stuff and get out and..." he shakes his head, "forget it..."
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Izanagi blinks, then lifts a hand to his mouth, " shit are you serious? what the hell are you thinking? you could die here, like, literally die. I mean i can;t do much, but there's a lot of demons who don't like humans. there's no way you can live here as a human." he frowns, he really did need the money... he could only pull so many doubles and rent was almost due, " shit. um... crap. hold on. we might be able to make this work... but you can;t go around telling people you're human, a dead room-mate is useless to me." he goes into his room and rummages around until he finds a set of clip on cat ears, and manages to dig up an ancient collar of his. they were the really old first standard issue ones. clunky as hell and not in the slightest bit comfortable, but it'd work. He comes back out and holds them out, " here, this will hopefully keep anyone from taking a second look." he sighs, might as well go big huh? " ...where i work miiiiight be slightly understaffed. you're cute enough that they'll probably hire you. but if you get me into trouble i swear i'll... well, i can;t really do much but i'll be mad okay? I've got a shift coming up anyway so we'll just go a bit early." he grabs a bag with his outfit for the day, " well?"
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That... was a lot to process just now. "Wait... even knowing im a human you'll still let me live here?" He gives a sigh of relief, "i only have to wear those when i'm outside right? No offense but that collar looks terrible. Is... is that what the Good Boy Collars look like?"
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... rents due in a few days and i can;t make the rest of it myself in that time so... yeah. This was the first model of it, they sucked. some demons still have scars on their neck from how they chafed. but i can;t afford to get new ones very often so this is the only one i upgraded from before it totally broke. also, don;t call it that please." he wrinkles his nose, " it's bad enough we have to wear them, if you call it that everyone will definitely know you're human. it's seriously demeaning. but anyway i have a better one that fits right." he touches the silver band on his neck, " you get used to it. also, once it clips on you need a special device to get it back off, so regretfully you're gonna have to wear it all the time. keeps us from just taking them off willy nilly."
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Takana winces a bit, "right.... well.... i guess that will make getting a job in my area impossible then... um right. Well uh. What is your job then? What do.... what jobs do demons have?" There was no way of getting back home for now. His step mom will probably just toss his stuff once she checks the apartment. There wasnt anything good in there anyway. His textbooks, expensive but useless now, and all of his notebooks that had his ideas on it. Although he could easily right them down again, just the ones that hadnt failed him yet. Ugh all those pieces of paper gone to waste instead of being properly stored or recycled. Hell just his chip idea took up an entire notebook until he realized that it could easily be corrupted and damaged.
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Izanagi sighs, " well you can get a job out of the demon district, but it's not always easy to get back and forth. usually it's stuff like house cleaning, trash and recycling pick up, mail delivery sometimes, you know, all the boring, hard work or gross jobs humans don;t like." he shrugs, " my job is being a waiter at a cafe, and like i said, we're short staffed so i think you'll get hired. it's honestly one of the safer jobs out there that pays decently. there's other ways to earn good money but... well anything that keeps lower rank demons in a indoor more controlled environment is always ideal. not all high rank demons are nice, though the leaders of this district keep things under control decently, better than my last district."
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Takana sighs and puts his hand on his hip, "well.... a waiter isnt too bad.... is it like, a restaurant or a cafe or?"
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Izanagi grins, " I mean, kind of? More like a maid cafe.... " He slings his bag over his shoulder and heads out the door, " come on you're gonna make me late. " He heads downstairs and out the main door, walking down the street.
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Takana's eyes widen briefly before he stammers and quickly puts the cat ears on and the collar, wincing slightly at the tight and awkward fit before running after Izanagi, "ma-maid cafe? Isnt that sorta dangerous? I dont want to work where i'll get groped all the time."
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Izanagi shrugs " it's not so bad, and the manager protects us from any demons who get too handsy. It's a known issue, so it's protected against. I've been groped at p!plenty of jobs where it's not expected, that's the life of a low rank demon. You're kind of at higher rank demons mercy. It's a good place though, and the only place I know that needs staff badly enough to hire you right away. " He hums as he walks a few blocks until they reach a cute looking cafe, going in, " yoohoo! Everyone's favorite person is here! " He grins
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Mina, a bubbly blonde in an orange cutesy maid outfit looks up at Izanagi and chirps softly, "Nagi-chan~!!!"
Takana gets a little nervous being around more demons, curious if its easy for demons to find out if he's not one of them.
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Izanagi hugs her back, " hey girl! Where's the boss lady? i've got a potential new hire for her. oh, and i need to change obviously, i'll be right back out." he waves and heads into the back where he doesn;t waste time stripping and changing into an adorable purple maid outfit.
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Mina calls after Izanagi, "She's in the back!" She turns and looks at Takana, slowly circling him curiously and humming.
Takana shrinks a bit as he watches her, "Uh can I help you?"
Mina blinks before smiling at Takana, "We havent had someone who could pull off pink so well before. You'll be interesting!"
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Izanagi finishes changing and bounces to the back to see the manager, " hey hey i brought you some fresh meat~"
She looks up from where she's looking over paperwork, " at this point i can;t even tell if you mean customers or what." she sighs.
"Nope! my new room-mate is in a jam and needs a job really fast so..."
She looks at him, " wait, room-mate? you know what, i don't want to know, i don't care." she grabs a couple papers and heads out to see Takana, looking at him, " i've been informed you'd like to work here correct? you may tell me if Izanagi is forcing you to be here in any way. Hm...you'll fit in well enough, i have something that ought to fit you for today, then we can get you measured. Fill this out please." she holds out one of the papers, " Mina, please stop gawking and go serve the customers we have here."
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Takana takes the papers and smiles, "thank you, and no he's not forcing me."
Mina hums at the order from the manager before twirling around and going to the customers to tend to them, knowing being extra cute would win her more tips~
Another girl walks in to the cafe, her hair long and black, her skin pale, her eyes purple, "Manager, sorry im a bit late. I had to take a different route thanks to a random fight that broke out. did not want to get anywhere near that."
Mina glances over and smiles, "Mornin' Hikari!"
Hikari gives a simple nod at Mina before heading to the back with her outfit to get changed, "I can stay a little late for clean up to make up for the time though if thats alright."
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The manager sits Tanaka at one of the tables with a pen, " Understandable Hikari, your safety is the top concern. im glad you're safe. Yes, you can stay to help clean up to make up the lost time. we're going to be hitting the lunch rush soon, please hurry and get changed." she looks around the cafe and grabs some empty plates from a table, smiling at the customers and making sure they're taken care of before taking the dirty dishes to the back.
Izanagi flounces out in his dress, greeting a few customers coming in and getting them seated and taking their orders.
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Takana blushes when he sees Izanagi's outfit and for a split second he reconsiders what he's doing.... just for a second..... he sighs. it wouldnt be forever. he fills out the paperwork, thankful that the paperwork didnt ask for too much. not nearly as much as what normal paperwork asked for
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The manager checks back in on Tanaka now and then until the papers are filled out, handing over a plain white and black maid outfit, " see if this fits while i check these over. If it fits and this looks good, you can start now." she sits and begins reading over the form.
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Takana takes the outfit and nods.
Hikari comes back out in a deep purple maid outfit. She glances at Takana and raises an eyebrow, "Ah. a new one. There's a changing room down the hall to the left. Good luck i guess."
Takana blinks and frowns as he watches Hikari head to the counter as prep some fresh coffee and tea. She had such a different attitude then Mina, it was like night and day. But he was thankful for the brief info she gave him and he went to the changing room and quickly did his best to fit in the maid outfit.
It was only a little loose in a few places but otherwise it fit for now and he nervously stepped back out and over to the manager to await for her approval.
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The manager signs the document with a flourish and glances up at Tanaka, looking him over, " not the best fit but that's not unexpected, it'll do. we'll get you measured before you leave today. Mina! he'll be shadowing you today. Im not quite throwing you directly to the sharks, today just follow Mina and watch what she does. Please ask her or myself if you have any questions."
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Takana smiles and nods, "of course! Thank you very much!" He goes over to Mina.
Mina smiles at him, "oooo~ you look pretty good in a dress! Dont worry, i'm an awesome trainer and i dont flirt with the guests nearly as much as nagi does~"
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Izanagi sticks his tongue out at Mina, " you're just jealous that i look better in a dress than you, not to mention i have more fun~" he looks over at a table that's calling for him and scurries over, letting them take a picture with him before he goes to fetch their meal.
The manager watches them get to work and heads into the back, making sure the cooking staff was good before filing Takanas form away.
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Takana does a good job shadowing Mina and he pays careful attention to how the cafe operates. This job had to work out or else he had the streets to look forward to...
Mina is also doing very well at teaching him anything that pops up, the day was going well!
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The lunch rush was crazy as usual, and so was the dinner rush, but that wasn;t unexpected. the manager even pops out to help with customers when needed and everything went overall fairly smoothly, except when the manager had to yell at Izanagi for getting too flirty with some of the male customers, not that the customers minded but it slowed down his work. Once the place is cleaned up and shut down she takes Takana's measurements before seeing the boys off. " be careful walking home."
Izanagi waves, " always am! see you tomorrow." he smiles and starts heading back to their apartment, back in his regular clothes with his dress in his bag, " see? that wasn;t so bad."
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Takana was also in his normal clothes and he sighed as he walked next to Izanagi, "It went surprisingly better than i thought..."
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" told you it'd be fine! The manager takes really good care of us." He almost skips along as he heads home, and before they know it they're back in their building and at their apartment. " alright, well im going to take a quick shower then im going to crash. there's some ramen cups in the cupboard if you need something to eat." he strips, not really caring if Takana sees him naked and goes into the bathroom.
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Takana's eyes widen when he sees Izanagi just strip, "uh... sure...." He shakes his head and heads to his new 'bedroom'
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Izanagi showers and waltzes out toweling off his hair buck naked as he goes into his own room, " goodnight!"
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Takana plops onto the couch that was dumped inside and sighs, staring at the ceiling with the promise that this was only temporary... He hears izanagi's call and glances at the door, "'Night!"
He scratches at the irritable collar, feeling a little anxious about how tight it was before rolling on to his side
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Izanagi gets up and gets dressed in an oversized shirt to be slightly modest. He heads to the kitchen and makes some instant coffee, slurping it down. A slice of bread with a little butter was breakfast, and he walks back to his room with the bread hanging from his mouth.
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Takana slowly wakes up, sighing softly as he itches at his neck again. He needed things.... He still had a bit in savings, and he had gotten a job faster than he thought. it wouldnt bode him well if he just stayed in the same clothes all the time, and didnt have his own shower stuff? He left all of his shit at his apartment...like an idiot. he was sure his step mom had checked on the place and dumped his boxes in the trash. ugh, probably including his biology notebooks. He had jotted down so many ideas, most of them ended up failing, in those notebooks in hopes of impressing his dad. in the trash now i guess...
He got up and scratched his neck some more before straightening his clothes out a bit and exiting his room. He almost didnt even feel hungry, not that he thought this demon even had real food. He said something about cup ramen last night? yeah.... no thanks.
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Izanagi gets dressed and peeks into Takana's room, " hey, you still alive in there?"
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Takana flinches and looks at Izanagi, "a-ah yeah- sorry. just... thinking. a lot."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " okay... i guess i get that? well we have a bit of time before work. did... you need anything?"
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The pink haired man rubs his arm and sighs, "Im not sure right now. I know i need essential necessities but i have no fucking clue if thats a thing here."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " i mean, i think so? depends on what you think is essential. if you need some soap and hair products you can use mine for today. Im not good at cooking so i have fuck all for food, but you can get stuff if you wanna cook. usually i just get leftovers and stuff from the cafe, works pretty well. we can go to the shopping center, or if you want we can try and get a day pass out of the demon district and go shop in the human area, but frankly im not fond of all the dirty looks and names, so i'd rather deal with the stuff i can get here. a lot of places won;t serve us anyway out there."
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The idea to see humans is appealing, however with the fucking collar on it might be more trouble than what its worth. "Uh yeah just hygenic items and maybe more than one set of clothes. Not a lot but id like to eventually wash my clothes. Would it be safe.... to shop.... here? This place sounds a bit dangerous to be honest."
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Izanagi shrugs, " more or less. we'll be in the safer areas, and it's daylight. i mean there's always a chance something will happen, but that's true of human area's as well." he points out, "it'll be okay. i do it all the time, i live here after all. it's way better here than my birth district, i promise you that. The Yamamoto's do a pretty good job of keeping the higher class demons under control, and they're the ones most likely to be a danger. Arakan especially works hard to make sure things are as safe as possible." he sighs a little saying Arakan's name, a dreamy look in his eyes.
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Takana sighs, "i have no idea what all those names or people are. I just dont want to die while i'm trying to find a toothbrush and paste. And I've never seen anything happen in my home. "
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Izanagi snorts, " must be nice... anyway e should be fine, i've lived in demon districts a whole 24 years and haven;t died so far." he grins. " come on quit being so worried lets gooooo!"
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Takana sighs and heads to the door, putting his shoes on, "of course im gonna be worried. You'd be worried too if you were stuck on the other side with a stranger. "
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " i've been through worse, that's nothing princess." he grabs his wallet and tucks it into his pocket before heading out the door. " the better shops are the ones near the border, so they don;t see a lot of trouble. that's where we're going. they're more expensive, but that's the price of safety."
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Takana follows izanagi, "well i did manage to save up money despite being a college kid. And thanks to you i got a job faster than i thought so i can afford to buy some safety for today."
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Izanagi nods, " yup. i figured that's what you'd prefer. i really don;t go into the shops further in anyway, that's for higher ranking demons." soon they're in a decent looking plaza with shops, many demons walking around as they get what they need. Izanagi hums, " so clothes and toiletries. lets do the clothes first since that'll be longer." he heads towards a clothing store, going in and greeting the cashier at the front, " this isn't someplace i'd normally go to, not my style, but it looks like more yours."
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Pants. Oh thank god he brought him to a store with pants! He wasnt sure given the fact that izanagi seemed to prefer dresses...
Takana glances at izanagi, "thanks for that. Normally my tastes are a bit more spendy but for now i can just find sweatpants. I can double them for pj pants since it seems like i wont need pants for my job."
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Izanagi is standing next to him wearing regular clothes, if the jeans are snug and show off his ass and have more bling than most guys would wear. " as long as you pay your rent you can get whatever you want. oh, when we get back i probably ought to go ahead and get our rent to the landlord." he hums and walks over to some really cute trip pants, " oooooo."
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Takana gets a couple of plain clothes, nothing special or great to look at but they were cheap and something to change into later. he glances at izanagi and frowns, "You certainly like.... odd clothes."
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Izanagi grins, " hot clothes you mean. you should see me in a pair of these, my ass looks amazing in them. not that it doesn;t already look amazing, but still." he reaches back and slaps his ass, " don;t be jealous, i can help you find some clothes that'll make you look smoking hot too."
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Takana turns as pink as his hair and he huffs, "I dont want to look hot! That'll drag too much attention.... I actually dont want to have people want to touch me ya know."
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Izanagi winces, " right... oh man i feel bad for you, you're gonna have to keep all the hotties at arms length. better you than me, i'd die if i couldn;t get my freak on." he sighs, " pity i can;t seem to reel in the big catch no matter what i do, Arakan is sooo cool."
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Takana rolls his eyes and huffs, "you make it sound like i dont want sex at all. I just dont want strangers i dont know touching me. When i figure out what to do next, and get back home i'll eventually look for someone who'll make me happy. For now, i have bigger things to worry about."
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Izanagi snorts, " yeah, lucky you. once you get your life back on track you can just go ahead and leave here." he sighs and shakes his head, a smile back on his face, " anyway lets get those clothes and then get your other stuff and get back."
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Takana nods and pays for his stuff before going back over to izanagi
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Izanagi heads from the store and goes to the next one, more of a pharmacy type store, " should be able to find all your personal stuff here."
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Takana looks at the stores items and looks relieved when he sees they have the same hygenic products if not slightly different shampoo but other than that it was the same
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Izanagi waits by the door, not really interested in being in here and being a little moody after their slight spat in the clothing shop.
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Takana gets his things before going over to izanagi, "got it. Done. Thank you. "
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Izanagi nods, " alright, lets get back to the apartment, i'll get the rent to the landlord, and then time for work." he starts walking back.
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Takananods and follows izanagi, unaware that a spat even happened, "so.... you mentioned at one point that this place was better than the other district. How many districts are there?"
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Izanagi scratches his neck, " a dozen or so around the world? im not really sure, it's not really public information, for us anyway, lest we get ideas about banding together or some such. they can only have one or two A rank demon families in each one safely, not that those are super common but having too many in one place tends to be bad. There can really only be one ruling family, and here that's the Yamamotos. Any other A ranks would have to agree to obey the ruling family to stay in the same district, or otherwise overthrow them and make them obey. so to keep the peace new districts pop up now and then. Thankfully the Yamamoto's seem to really care about trying to keep the district peaceful and do a lot to try and work with the humans to improve things instead of fighting against them the way some others do."
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Takana blinks and nods, "i see. I guess i was at least lucky enough to pop in at a nice district..."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... not that i can really blame the ones that are less so. i mean, we're kept caged away because humans are afraid of us, it's not like i chose to be born a demon, and im hardly any different than a human at my rank. Higher rank demons like Arakan never even get a chance to ever leave the district except in those rare cases where a new district is made to prevent fighting."
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Takana frowns, "well of course humans are terrified. Demons can kill humans any time they want. Thats terrifying!"
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " yeah? humans kill other humans all the time. E rank demons like me? we're not really any stronger than humans. just because we happen to be different means we should be caged and treated like criminals? collared like animals so that we can be contained?"
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Takana huffs, "Yeah but we need weapons to kill. Demons could just use their own two hands! Thats terrifying!"
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Izanagi frowns, " so it's okay then? to kill those of us that don;t comply with your rules? to stick us in these places and never let us leave."
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Takana's cheeks turn a little red as he keeps arguing, "What do you mean never leave! I see demons in the human district all the time!"
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " yeah, low rank ones like me don't usually get denied permission when we apply, especially if we have employment in the human district. But like i said, Arakan is B rank, and i don't think he's ever been allowed to leave. that's typical of most demons ranked C or up."
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"This arakan guy that you keep mentioning could kill humans easily. I dont want innocent people being killed!"
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Izanagi throws his hands in the air, " so just because he can, that automatically means he will? you don;t know him! he's never killed any humans, even though he's had plenty of reason to. He's had to deal with a few demons, but he tries to not kill even unless they're killing people."
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Takana crosses his arms, "because of the collars im sure! Look, i was told for years of how dangerous demons are and that they are here for a reason. Im sure you guys are told horror stories of humans as well"
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Izanagi growls and starts walking faster, " i can't even... you're just like the rest of them. We're not people just because we're not human." he quickly makes it to their apartment and grabs the rent, slamming the door as he heads to the landlords room to pay.
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Takana huffs and crosses his arms, "dont know what his deal is. Its just a fact of life." He gets inside to his room and sits down, along with his bags.
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Izanagi comes back upstairs and grabs his bag, " better hurry or you'll be late to work. unless you think that the manager will eat you." he huffs and heads to work quickly, fuming.
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Takana huffs and quickly follows Izanagi, "Why are you so upset about what i said?"
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Izanagi looks at him, " jee i wonder. if i step out of line is it okay for them to kill me? im not human so i can just be killed and tossed aside like garbage right? seriously don;t talk to me."
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Takana blinks and huffs, "Fine then. I wont. Jeez."
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Izanagi walks ahead and goes into the cafe, looking peeved.
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Nikiri is already there in a booth grinning and humming happily, "nagi~! I have been waiting for you! I missed you so much dear!"
Mina and Hikari are also there already, prepping the cafe for the lunch rush.
Takana sighs and goes into the cafe.
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Izanagi brightens when he sees Nikiri, " Kiri!" he runs over and plops onto the other lap, throwing his arms around his neck, " just the eye candy i needed to see today!~"
The manager pokes her head out from the back, " Izanagi! off the customers!"
He pouts and sighs, getting up.
-
Nikiri chuckles as he watches izanagi leave, "dont worry love im here all day for you to bask in my beauty~" he sees takana and silently watches the pink man head to the back, "what an... interesting turn of events."
-
The manager walks over to Takana with a garment bag, " here, i had a dress made for you, you'll wear this today. we can have more made, but this will do for now. try it on and lets make sure it fits."
Izanagi changes and heads back out to take some orders.
-
Takana nods and goes to the changing room with the outfit and puts it on, damn near perfect fit. He looks at himself in the mirror and cant help but turn bright red when he sees himself in the dress, "oh god." he wasnt sure if it was the dress or if he just only discovered that he had an ass.
He steps back out, still blushing like mad
Nikiri sees izanagi taking orders and waits patiently, smiling the entire time, "How unfair it is that I have depleted my mental battery and I can not touch the one beautiful person in this world who can recharge me because he is working. How cruel this world can be~"
-
Izanagi blows Nikiri a kiss as he serves another customer, and once he's got no pending orders or jobs to do he scurries over to plop himself back in Nikiri's lap, " the customer's wish is my command~"
The manager looks over Takana, walking around him and inspecting the outfit and it's fit. after a minute she nods, " looks like it fits perfectly. is it comfortable enough?"
-
Takana chuckles weakly, "about as comfortable as wearing a dress gets."
Nikiri chuckles and wraps his arms around izanagi's waist, "ah~ i'm charging~ to be able to gaze upon an angel trapped within this hell. You are simply too much nagi."
-
The manager chuckles softly, " you'll get used to it. as long as it's not too tight anywhere or pinching or anything we'll be good. alright, off to work with you!" she shooes him towards the seating room.
Izanagi basks in the praise, " well it's clearly my duty to share my exquisite self with the depraved masses."
-
Nikiri smirks, "And how depraved I am~ Now tell me love, what is new with you? It has been a whole week since I popped into this district."
Mina goes over to Takana and gushes over how cute his outfit is before getting him used to the work, letting him take the lead and now ghosting about him, only to help if he got stuck
-
Izanagi hums, " well, i may have blown my last paycheck on some amazing clothes but it's okay because i got a room-mate, and he's the new hire here, so everything is fiiiiine. been boring without you~"
The manager sighs as she sees Izanagi on Nikiri's lap, " could you not encourage him please? with all due respect."
-
Nikiri looks at the manager and grins like a fox, "Ooooh but I need this bit of sugar for the day. Surely, at least until that pompous dick decides to show up, you allow me this one solid? In return I'm sure you'd appreciate some capital, as they say." He digs into a pocket on the inside of his top and pulls out a stack of cash for the manager to take.
-
The manager hesitates, " i always appreciate your patronage... very well, he'll likely do it anyway. And you'd better not let anyone else hear you call him that." she takes the money, " i'll see to it that this is put to good use."
Izanagi grins, " yay!"
-
Nikiri hums and goes back to izanagi, "Now, where were we, hm??? You spent all of your money on outfits? Well, i wouldnt say thats a bad way to spend money. You do make anything look good so why not. Such a shame you had to pick up someone so pink though. Clashes with your natural moon like aesthetic."
Takana looks at Mina, talking quietly, "Who the hell is that guy?"
Mina hums, "Thats kiri. ah- Nikiri. he comes here a lot to spend time with izanagi. He's very handsy and most demons find him annoying but he actually does a pretty good job of protecting us smaller demons."
-
Izanagi blushes, " well he needed a place, and i needed the money. if i knew you'd be here today i would have worn my new outfit for you~"
-
"Oh my nagi, you're almost too kind. To both me and a complete stranger. You best be careful some days my dear. I'd hate to find out you were hurt by some pink heathen!"
Takana huffs, easily hearing nikiri's constant comments.
Mina finds that all of the current customers are well taken care of and she hums, "You're not doing half bad. We just need work on your expressions. even if you're upset you cant let the guests know that. you're problems, arent theirs."
Takana sighs, "I know but that kiri guy is so annoying. I can hear him from here."
-
Izanagi pouts, " i know right? oh he made he angry this morning. but it's alright, i can handle him."
The manager chuckles overhearing Takana and Mina, " he takes some getting used to, you'll learn to ignore it but he's a well respected demon, if not well liked, so give him the respect he's due."
-
Nikiri gasps softly, "No! Well, that certainly wont do." He turns to look at Takana, "Pinkie! Come here, wont you?"
Takana doesnt respond, although Mina curiously looks at him, "Um. Nikiri is calling for you."
Takana looks at Mina and huffs, "My name is Takana. Not Pinkie."
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, "Well now, Takana wont do at all. Thats not nearly cheerful enough. TK~! Come here! Before I go back to Pinkie!"
Takana sighs and not wanting to get into trouble he walks over to Nikiri, "....yes?"
-
The manager winces, she'll step in if it gets too out of hand but other than that... it was best not to make a higher class demon angry.
Izanagi frowns, " don;t be too mean, he made me mad but... well he was just being stupid."
-
Nikiri shrugs, "I just want him to apologize."
Takana's eyes twitch, "Excuse me?"
Nikiri looks at takana, "You heard me TK. Apologize to nagi."
Takana huffs, "Why? I dont even know what had made him so upset."
Nikiri hums before grabbing Takana's arm and yanks him closer, "Just because you dont know how you upset someone doesnt negate the hurt they feel. You dont get to have the say if you did hurt them. You apologize. NOW." he lets go of Takana and chuckles, acting cheerful, "Thats just basic manners, my boy!"
Takana takes a hesitant step back, a little pale from suddenly getting grabbed like that. "S-sorry." He chokes out, obviously not wanting to anger Nikiri.
The demon pats Takana on the head and grins, "Good! good! See, isnt it great when we all get along~?"
-
Izanagi watches, oops? " Apology accepted." anything less would probably make Nikiri mad, even if he hadn't really forgiven the other yet.
The bell chimes as Arakan walks into the cafe, sighing softly and making his way to an empty table away from anyone else. He runs a hand through his hair, mussing it as he look at his phone.
Izanagi's eyes widen, " oh..."
-
Mina sees Arakan come in and, not wanting to try to tell nikiri that he has to let the others go, she decides to handle the demon herself. She happily walks over and, toning down her bubbly nature for arakans sake, smiles at him, "Hello there and thank you for coming to the Purrrrgatory Cafe~! Is there anything I can get for you?"
Nikiri sees Arakan and sighs, knowing his demand for izanagi's attention was good until this guy showed up so as far as he was concerned he deal was done. He lets go of Izanagi, "Best not to get you in trouble with that piece of work."
-
Izanagi nods and gets up, " best not to irritate him."
Arakan looks at Mina, " coldbrew coffee with ginger. no sugar, no whipped cream, no milk." His eyes narrow as he sees Takana beyond Mina, " you have a new employee. i've never seen him in the district before." he beckons Takana to come over.
-
Mina writes it down and nods, "right away!" As she turns to and leaves to make the order she passes takana and whispers, "go to him immediately if you know whats good for you."
Takana groans and walks over, "yes? Can i help you?"
Nikiri hears the montone, no shits given tone in takana's voice and he sips his drink, now more curious than anything
-
Arakan looks at him closely, " you're new to the district." it wasn't a question. His eyes narrow as he looks at the collar, his hand darting out as he hooks his finger on it and uses it to pull him closer, then lifts the collar to expose the chafed skin. He looks past Takana at Izanagi, " Izanagi, why is he wearing your old collar. It's chafing." he lets go.
Izanagi swallows hard, " his broke, and he couldn't afford a new one right away and that's all i had to loan him."
Arakan sighs and fixes his eyes back on Takana, " your ID number." he lifts his phone and waits for the number so he can get a new one ordered.
-
Takana's eyes widen and he looks at izanagi. ID number?! What?! "I- hold up- who the hell are you?"
Nikiri damn near chokes on his drink and quickly looks over, enjoying this new source of entertainment
-
Arakan's eyes narrow, " your ID number. that was not a request."
Izanagi scurries over, " Takana, i know you're new here but this is Arakann Yamamoto, of the ruling family in this district remember?" please let Takana not say anything stupid or insulting!
-
Takana looks between arakan and izanagi, "OOH! this is arakan? The guy you wouldnt shut up about?"
-
Izanagi turns bright red, " Takana-!"
Arakan stands up and grabs Takana's collar again, " i tire of this. Your ID number, do you have one, or not."
-
Takana yelps before trying to tug away, "dont touch me!"
-
Arakans eyes narrow, and an unnatural chill starts to emanate from the hand that's holding onto Takana's collar.
Izanagi yelps, " He doesn't have one! He's new and doesn't know what he's doing, and Nikiri was giving him a hard time!"
Arakan pauses, eyes sliding over to where Nikiri is, " No ID, that's a problem. I can understand him being in a sour mood after being in that one's company." he looks carefully at Takana, how was it that any demon couldn;t sense when a demon was stronger and when to give in and be respectful? He lets go of the collar, letting Takana fall backwards, " get changed, this is a problem that needs to be remedied immediately."
-
Takana yelps and stumbles a bit before glaring at arakan, "what do you mean get changed?? I'm at my job dude."
Nikiri snorts, "kukuku I've never met someone who absolutely didnt care about your status before Ara-chan. Even humans know about you."
-
Arakan levels an annoyed look at Nikiri, " call me that again and we're going to have to clean the blood off the walls." he looks back at Takana, " yes, and you're being excused for the day. go get changed."
The manager who has been letting them settle this comes out to talk with Takana, " i'll pay you for the full shift, please go get changed."
-
Takana looks at the manager before sighing and going to get changed, coming out a few minutes later in his normal clothes, "...."
Nikiri snickers, "awww but this place looks so good without the blood!"
-
Arakan ignores Nikiri and looks at the manager, " his employment application please." she quickly makes a copy and gives it to him, and he looks at Takana, " follow me." he heads out of the cafe, pulling out his phone and dialing, putting it to his ear, " I need a demon profile created and a new ID made. Yes. We're on our way presently, i have a form with most of his basic information." he hands up and dials a different number, " I need a collar rush ordered. E rank, he's small but we'll be there in about an hour for measurements. pad the inside, he's been wearing one that's cut up his neck. of course."
he hangs up again and looks at Takana, " im not going to ask why you're not telling me your ID, but i strongly encourage you to tell me what the situation is. Most of the time demons in your situation are running from another district, but in that case you'd have a clue how to behave around higher ranked demons. My guess is you were kept illegally in the human district, but obviously i could be wrong. regardless it's my job to make sure you've got what you need so you're not caught in whatever trouble you've got following you."
-
Takana sighs and follows Arakan, although honestly he'd rather stay with Izanagi or Mina. He didnt want to be with this guy at all. He boredly scratches at his neck and pouts a bit until he hears Arakan asking him questions. He... didnt want to lie but he also couldnt let him know he was human, "Um... I was in the human district my whole life. Then when I refused to have kids I was kicked out of my home and I had no where to go....So I came here." He places his hands behind his head and sighs, "Sorry for being a huge inconvenience i guess." he was half sarcastic and half sincere.
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow as he looks at the smaller male at that last comment, " it's an inconvenience, but i'd rather be inconvenienced than have one of my people exterminated when i could have prevented it. so if you have any issues like this again with the collar, tell me." he doesn't say anything about Takana's story. " stop scratching your neck, you're going to make it worse. just be patient." he guides Takana into a seedy looking area and into an equally seedy looking building, though the other demons avoided getting too close to them. He hands the paper off to a middle aged reptilian demon who looks it over and nods, " i can work with this. lets get his picture and i can have this whipped up in a jiffy. the humans won't know he'd ever been anywhere else."
Arakan gently pushes Takana to stand in front of a white backdrop and the other guy snaps a picture before heading into another room.
-
Takana gets increasingly anxious the further into the seedy area he gets and he's practically shaking when he gets inside with all of the weird looking demons. If he had a tail it would definitely be tucked between his legs
-
Arakan keeps Takana near him, knowing he'd be safe as they wouldn't fuck with him. Soon the reptilian comes out and hands Takana a professional looking ID card. " there. nobody's caught one of my fakes yet, so as long as you're not stupid about it you'll be alright."
Arakan nods to him, " you have my gratitude, and it will be expressed later."
The reptile grins, " as long as your gratitude pays as well as it normally does, im happy to oblige."
Arakan nods and grabs Takana's arm, leading him out of the seedy area of town back towards the border, " that was the questionably legal part of this, now that you're a legal citizen here we can get you a collar made, and it'll be in the safer area of the city. has to be, since only human technicians are permitted to remove and apply collars to ensure no tampering is done by demons." he curls his lip somewhat. " regardless, that's how it is." he guides Takana into a fancy and very nice building where a human looks up, " ah, Arakan. I've just about got it done. just need to measure him and make the final adjustments before we can get his new one secured." she looks at Takana and waves him over, " come now, over here." she gestures to an uncomfortable looking seat with straps and such to hold demons down while the collar is off.
-
Takana sees the seat and he raises an eyebrow, "What in the..." a part of him feels lucky enough that he stayed out of the public eye so the possibility of getting recognized by another human was slim...
He hesitantly goes over and sits down, curious if all this was necessary.
-
She straps him down and uses a fancy tool to remove his collar. She measures his neck and goes over to the work table, finishing the new one, just a simple white band hiding the electronic parts within, and secures it to his neck before undoing the straps, " there. all done."
Arakan goes over and leans in close as he inspects the collar and the fit, then nods, " it will do." he pulls away and looks at Takana, " come." he heads from the building, making sure the other is following.
-
Takana gladly follows arakan, not wanting to be in the bdsm chair any longer than he had to and once they are out of the building he huffs, "the fuck was with that bdsm chair? I cant even do anything worth all those straps..."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow as he looks back at Takana, " That's the idea. an uncollared demon is a threat, so being unable to move while having it off is needed for safety, or so they claim. you're lucky you're low rank, they wouldn't have considered doing mine on such short notice as that chair won't even slow me down if i desired harm on someone." he stops by a pharmacy shop, going in and grabbing a tube of something which he buys and hands to Takana once they leave the store, " for your neck, the material on the collar will prevent further damage, but this will help keep it clean and help it heal."
-
Takana blinks when he's given the tube and frowns a bit, "why.... are you doing all of this for me? Is it so that i owe you later or something?"
-
Arakan blinks and growls, " what the hell? of course not. It's good for my people to have a sense of loyalty to me, but im doing it because you need it. the humans sure as hell won;t ensure we all have the things we need, it's my duty as heir to the ruling family. i would do it for anyone that i knew needed it." he huffs and keeps walking back towards the cafe.
-
Takana sighs, "Alright fine but its just weird. No one's ever helped me just because they could. It's usually so they have something on me later that they can use."
-
Arakan snorts, " that's because you've been around humans. things are different here."
-
Takana looks at the ground, frowning. He was human though...
He glances up and feels relieved to see the cafe. Maybe he can just get back to work and forget that this guy existed
-
Arakan goes into the Cafe and sits back down at his table, looking like nothing happened.
-
Mina comes over to arakan with the drink he told he wanted except made fresh. She had originally started working on it until he left and then she just dumped it out since it wouldnt be fresh for him when he came back and serving someone like him not fresh drink in his OWN cafe felt like a death sentence.
Takana goes in and besides having a new collar, and looking pretty pale he was otherwise fine.
Nikiri had waited patiently the entire time, even ordering another coffee so he could keep playing the 'im a customer' card
-
Arakan nods to acknowledge Mina, and takes his drink, sipping at it.
The manager waves Takana into the back, " you alright? i know he wouldn;t hurt you but how are you feeling? you look pale."
-
Takana hesitantly rubs his arm and sighs, "Im... fine. Just... freaked me out a bit. That's all..."
-
She chuckles, " he can be rather intimidating, but he's good to us. you'll get used to his attitude. now, did you want to keep working? we can send you home early if you'd prefer."
-
Takana sighs, "Not much i'd be able to do at the apartment so if it's alright i'd like to continue with my shift. It'll help me take my mind off of things and then you wont need to necessarily waste a whole days pay on me."
-
The manager chuckles, " don;t worry, i have a feeling Arakan will probably be compensating me for that anyway. not to mention the tip Nikiri gave me was substantial. those boys keep me afloat. anyway if you're staying go get changed."
-
Takana nods, "Of course. Thank you." he heads to the back and changes again.
Mina once again shadows him like in the morning to make sure he does the work but he still has help if need be.
Nikiri grins as he watches Takana for a bit before humming and going back to his coffee, "Interesting." He empties his cup and waves over Izanagi, using the empty cup as an excuse to continue to flirt
-
Izanagi is more than happy to avail himself to Nikiri, sauntering over.
Arakan looks at his phone, checking various things and responding to e-mails as he enjoys his drink.
-
Mina nods approvingly with how well Takana is doing, even when they have a spare moment to themselves he asks her about any work that needs to be done that doesnt involve guests like cleaning or restocking in order to prep for the next wave or to make the next day easier for opening.
Takana had a lot on his mind after that whole ordeal with arakan so to avoid thinking about it he worked as hard as he could, acting more like an actual maid and less like a 'sexy' maid
-
Arakan stays for a few hours, keeping an eye on the place and making sure Takana is settling in well. He tips large at the end and leaves a card with his number so that Takana can contact him if he needs something.
Izanagi flirts and goofs off with Nikiri as often as possible while still getting his job done, and is in a considerably better mood when they head home, " ah maaaaan, i love when Nikiri visits but i get scolded soooo much. " he glances at Takana, " soooo. how was your trip with the most eligible bachelor in the demon district?"
-
Takana blushes and raises an eyebrow at izanagi, "what foes him being an eligible bachelor have anything to do with my time with him?"
-
Izanagi pouts, " seriously? you had him carting you around tending to the things you need and you didn't even make a single move on him? uuuugh. and he's way too nice to do something like that to you. professionalism or some shit."
-
Takana snorts and shakes his head, "i was already a bother to him, why would i make him even more upset? Even after he was nice enough to get me a working collar. And what the fuck was up with that chair with the straps?! "
-
Izanagi sighs, " might not have made him upset, who knows~ though you were kind of an ass to him. im surprised he didn't get more angry." he tilts his head, " isn't it obvious? you said it yourself earlier, demons are terrifying and murderous, so it protects the human who has to take the collars off and then be vulnerable." his voice turns bitter as he says this, and somewhat sarcastic.
-
Takana huffs, "i was in a sour mood thanks to that other weird guy that had been all over you. And then he shows up and just gives me orders like some kind of animal? Thats not okay!" He pouts for a bit, frowning, "i still dont understand why he would just help me. People only help each other out when it can benefit them later..." he rubs his arm and sighs, feeling pretty shitty
-
Izanagi snorts, " you're still thinking like a human. Nikiri is a unique case, he's not really considered a strong enough demon to be a C class, but his family has gained reknown since they're capable of learning a language after hearing it once, which makes them super useful. also the human government doesn;t like that. he's... well he's flirty and i love the attention if im honest. though i know i haven;t got a prayer of actually having a relationship. regardless, i like it. Arakan is allowed to give orders, he's second only to his father who's an A class, which there's only a few of. He's a b rank, but that's only because he's still young. He'll some day run this district, and it's his place to ensure everything runs smoothly and we stay safe from the humans."
-
Takana looks at izanagi, "you're only helping me because you need the rent money though. Sure you got me a job but that's so i can continue giving you rent as well. Thats just what i grew up with." Hes quiet for a minute before sighing, "if he asked instead of ordered i wouldnt get so angry about it..."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i mean... mostly. i could have managed, if i really didn;t wanna get stuck with you. plus, you're human, and you were sketchy as fuck. can you really blame me for hesitating?" He sighs, " takes longer to ask nicely, and it doesn;t earn as much respect. he needs to present himself as a strong authority figure that's obeyed without question or the humans would get even twitchier."
-
"No, i dont blame you for hesitating. Thats only natural. And it doesnt take longer to add a please. I can understand stronger and more aggressive demons but for the ones who are weaker and obviously wont put up much of a fight a simple please would be nice." He places his hands behind his head and sighs.
-
Izanagi shrugs, " you may not understand it but that's how it is. he's pretty nice all things considered, but he doesn't take crap and he expects things to get done when he says to get them done. i don't think i've ever heard him give an order that wasn't reasonable, and for good reasons." he unlocks their apartment and goes in, heating some water and making an instant cup of noodles.
-
he follows behind Izanagi and shuts the door once he's inside, "Yeah I guess you're right about that. I dont understand. It baffles me that someone gets to treat you like shit just because they could beat the crap out of you..." he thinks about it before scratching the back of his head, "Its kinda like a weird highschool bully mentality to me." he follows izanagi and stops when he sees the demon 'making' the cup ramen and he grimaces, "Uh. where does one go for groceries around here? And what do you have for cooking utensils?" he looks around the apartment and sighs, "Not to mention its really dusty in here. A simple broom would help a lot."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " only if that bully would put his life on the life to keep you safe as well." he hums, " there's some grocery stores near the border, where we got your clothes and stuff. i don;t have a ton, this place is kinda crap and im hoping to move soon. of course that means i need to stop impulse spending my paychecks... but having you here will cut down on my rent so more money i can try to save anyway?"
-
Takana nods, "Well..... I think tomorrow after work we should go to a grocery store and get some groceries. I love cooking so i would prefer to do that.... rather than uh.... eating styrofoam ramen."
-
Izanagi snorts, " okay picky pants. i'll chip in for the grub if you cook it." he slurps his noodles happily before tossing the cup.
-
Takana shrugs and chuckles, "I was a college student so i spent most of my time indoors studying instead of eating out so i learned how to cook. Do you have any dietary restrictions I should know about? Or any preferences on what type of food you eat?"
-
Izanagi blinks and grins, " well i like sweet things, other than that im not really picky. no dietary restrictions for me, some demons do, but im not one of those more specific variants."
-
Takana chuckles, "Well i figured you wouldnt be picky considering your dinner right now. just wanted to make sure you didnt have any allergies."
-
" nope. can;t say im a huge vegetable fan, but i'll eat almost anything." Izanagi stretches and heads into his room, " mmmm i gotta call one of my hookups soon, it's been too long."
-
Takana makes a mental note of izanagi's preference and goes to his room and grabs a pair of pajama pants changing into them. He was smart enough to grab a bite at the cafe and the food was quite good! Sweet but it is a cafe so thats to be expected. It would do, and it would be better than cup ramen.
-
Izanagi looks at his cheap phone and peeks his head around the doorway, " you're gonna go shopping right? tomorrow morning maybe? or can i convince you to make yourself scarce anyway, unless you don;t mind hearing me get down and dirty." he grins.
-
Takana rolls his eyes, knowing that since he wasnt looking at izanagi then the demon wouldnt know of his expression, "i'll make myself scarce. I kinda need you to come with me grocery shopping. Who knows, maybe i'll look for the guard who let me in and i can sneak back out to see if my step mom threw any of my shit out yet. Id kinda would like to grab my notebooks if they still exists."
-
Izanagi blinks, " why do you need me to go shopping? i mean i can give you some cash, but it's not like im gonna have any idea what to get. you'll probably end up with less random junkfood if im not with. as for your stuff... good luck, i wouldn't know anything about that. i've only been out in the human areas a few times, it's... well i don;t like it."
-
Takana sighs and looks down, "Well.... im a human. in a demon district... so to say im a bit nervous is an understatement. "
-
Izanagi shrugs, " understandable. but there's nobody throwing things at you or making death threats or calling the cops because you were 'threatening them' by walking by them on a street. Demons... we're not usually super nice overall, but we're not overly cruel like you humans are anyway. we don;t say that humans are awful and should all die the way most of you humans seem to think of us."
-
Takana huffs and gets up, "alright! Fine! I'll go by myself! " he goes over to his door and closes it before going to a corner of the room and sitting down and bringing his knees up to his chest.
Why was this guy being such a jerk?! It was only his second day here so anyone would be nervous in a new area! And he just... he was terrible at directions and didnt want to get lost...
Maybe this was a mistake....maybe... his step mom would let him come home if he... ugh if he agreed on having a kid. Maybe if he was lucky he wouldn't have to take care of it.
He choked back a sob, staying quiet since he didn't want to be seen crying
-
Izanagi blinks then bites his lip, oops? okay so the guy was clueless, but seemed to be really over sensitive. He'd have to put his fun time on hold. He sighs and yells, " i'll go with you okay?" then closes his door to go to bed.
-
He ignored what izanagi said, not really paying attention as he went to bed.
In the early morning he was already up and ready, eyes a little red from crying and he looked tired but other than that he had a goal. To figure out how to get to the grocery store and buy food damn it. He had barely consumed anything since he got here and he was damned if he was going to do it another day.
He got dressed and adjusted his cat ears, did demons really believe this headband was real? Anyway, and he put his shoes on.
He really didnt want izanagi to come with if he was just doing it out of pity.
-
Izanagi hears the commotion and puts an oversized shirt on to cover himself and comes out yawning, " you going already? i said i'd go with, shoulda woken me."
-
Takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "i don't want you to go with me just because you pitty me or anything. I may not know my way around but i'll figure it out." He also cant carry all of the groceries he wanted to buy by himself but he'll figure that out too.
-
Izanagi yawns again, " naw, not pity. more like... im sorry i was kind of going a bit overboard on being an ass, so i'll help you even if im not really into it."
-
Takana sighs, "Im... sorry for being an ass too. I didn't mean to...Im just.... honestly confused by a lot of what goes on here.... so if my questions were offensive to you then i am sorry about that..." He picks at his shirt a bit, frowning, "And I originally thought we could just go after work since we'd be together anyway. Then you could have had the morning to yourself. Is that a bad idea?"
-
Izanagi blinks, " but why are you leaving now then? im only awake because i heard you, i certainly don't have anyone coming over this early. fuck that, if any of my bootycalls tried to get me up this early i'd tell them to shove their dick in a blender."
-
Takana glances at Izanagi, "Because you originally said you weren't going to come with me. If i had to go alone i'd rather go in the morning to avoid being bothered or making a fool of myself. If I had a second person I'd prefer to go after work so that the food was the freshest for making dinner."
-
Izanagi blinks, " oh, okay then. guess we'll go after work. what do you need to be so fresh? i mean i know this place is a shithole but the fridge works."
-
Takana blinks and crosses his arms, looking down. Why.... did it need to be fresh? "Um... Food is better..... fresh? I guess?"
-
Izanagi wrinkles his nose, " i mean, i get you don;t want it to be moldy or anything, but it's not like we get high quality stuff here. get used to rejects from the human markets, fresh for us is beyond what humans will buy." he shrugs, " just make sure you cook it well."
-
Takana looks at izanagi, his eyes widening, "wha- what?! You guys only get the rejects?? Thats not fair! I-" his damn rich ass was starting to get really annoyed by his own government
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i mean that's what i assume. it always smells a little off and is usually discolored. the date tags are always right at the sell by date too. it's possible to get better stuff, but it's ridiculously expensive. overflow and old product is the standard here."
-
Takana looks slightly annoyed, "oh.... man that actually makes me upset. Im going to raise some hell when i get back home...."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " we're not humans remember? human standards of living don't apply to us." he yawns, " well if you're gonna wait to shop, im going back to bed. it's waaaaay too early."
-
Takana pouts, "everyone has a rights..." he sighs, although he felt better that izanagi was coming with, his mood was now soured by the fact that demons apparently werent treated....normally? If that was a thing? He was so confused as to why. They were already wearing the good boy collars so why would the government treat them like this? He was told growing up that they liked their collars. That they were treated the same and the only real law was to wear them.
This didnt seem like the case though. Takana blinks and frowns, knowing now what he was going to do this morning.
He finishes getting ready before heading out for a little bit this morning
-
Izanagi passes back out for awhile, not waking this time when Takana leaves.
-
A few hours go by and Takana returns safely. He managed to avoid many demon since his only goal was to go to the gate where he came. Unfortunately the guard wouldnt let him pass since he was now wearing a collar but he was able to grab a few things for Takana. None of it was Takana's actual stuff but it was still things he wanted. One of them being a handbook of rules that demons must abide by. He needed to know more about this world so the best place to start is literally the law.
-
Izanagi does invite a friend over when he wakes and sees Tanaka gone still. A handsome and mussed Demon is just leaving the apartment when Takana gets back, and Izanagi is blowing him a kiss from the doorway.
-
Takana tries his best not to notice the demon or look as he heads inside and to his room to get ready
-
Izanagi sighs happily, " well that certainly put me in a better mood. guess we'd better get ready for work hm?" he heads into the shower to clean up.
-
Takana nods and gets ready for work, spending some time looking over the book as well
-
Izanagi soon comes out with tight pants with rhinestones on the ass that says 'kisses~' on the ass and a low cut tight shirt. " alright, we'd better get moving. i hope Nikiri is there again today~"
-
Takana is in a baggy shirt and sweatpants. grey, cotton, boring sweatpants. "Lets get going."
-
Izanagi has his bag with his outfit and hums as he heads to work.
-
Takana follows behind Izanagi
Nikiri is sitting in his usual spot, however instead of sitting alone he's with a slightly younger demon, her horns very similar to Nikiri.
The girl sips at an iced tea, smiling and humming happily
-
Izanagi pouts when he sees the girl with Nikiri through the window, " oh he's got one of his sisters with him. that's less fun." he sighs and walks in, bag slung over his shoulder.
-
Takana blinks when he sees the gorgeous girl talking to Nikiri and he almost runs into the corner of the wall that leads to the hallway to get changed
-
Izanagi blinks and laughs at Takana, " dude, don;t even think about it. not only is she way out of your league, but Nikiri would kill you."
-
Takana's face his bright red and he hisses an embarrassed glare at Izanagi before getting into the back and starts changing.
-
Izanagi hums and changes before skipping out to the serving room, grabbing a tray ready to go out and delivering it to the table it's supposed to go to.
-
Mina switches things up on the third day and bring Takana over to Hikari, "you're gonna work with kari for a little bit up here!"
Takana blinks and looks at mina, "okay?"
Hikari, on the other hand frowns and looks at Mina, "why."
Mina looks at Hikari and smiles, "cuz kari makes the best coffee and tea! I always end up over roasting the beans and boiling the leaves wrong so everything turns out bitter~" she blushes a bit in embarrassment before continuing, "if you need a day off or you're late it would be nice to have another expert besides manager right? I mean, yeah she helps when she can but she shouldnt have to man the barista job for a whole day."
Hikari actually looks offended, "i am almost never late and i dont take days off."
Mina frowns, "you use to take days off..."
Hikari crosses her arms, "that was a long time ago. Besides what if he sucks?"
Mina shrugs, "you wont know until you give him a shot. Today is normally a slower day of the week so its a good opportunity for us to test out a new barista. Besides, i think manager wouldnt mind knowing if something were to happen she wouldnt have to push her full schedule to the next day just to cover the counter."
Hikari chews her lip a bit before giving a defeated sigh, "you know, for someone who is so bubbly and ditsy you sure can be smart."
Mina smiles and giggles, "alright! You two have fun! I gotta get some table so nagi doesnt get all those tasty men and money to himself~" she skips to some tables and starts doing her job
-
Izanagi is busy flirting up some men before he saunters over to Nikiri's table, " anything i can get for you two~?"
-
Nikiri looks at izanagi and smiles, "nagi! Im so glad you're working today! My sister came to visit. You remember Summer, right? I know she doesnt visit often but its always nice when she does."
Summer smiles at nagi and does a little wave, "always nice to see you nagi-chan. You're just about the only boy my brother will talk about."
-
Izanagi smiles, " i do indeed remember. It's a pleasure to see you again." he bows to Summer, " you flatter me."
Arakan walks in shortly after, noting Nikiri and Summer. He knew she was visiting of course, and suspected they might be here, but it was always best to be certain. He walks to his usual table off to the side and sits with a sigh.
-
Mina happily bounces over to arakan to get his order
Summer chuckles and she finishes off her beverage, "honestly nagi-chan i have no idea why you dont have a boyfriend. All the other demons around here must be fucking stupid. Including my older brother."
Nikiri whines loudly, "sssuuuuuuuummer!!"
-
Arakan nods to Mina, " Coffee, black. and some summer rolls, no shrimp. we both know the shrimp is garbage and i'd rather not get food poisoning."
Izanagi blushes, " well we both know he's got better prospects than me, being so important to our communities. besides, im not ready to settle down anyway."
-
Mina nods, "right away! " she writes it down before going over to hikari, "kari! Black coffee and grab some of the no shrimp summer rolls for arakan. How's Takana doing?"
Hikari nods, "not... bad. He listens."
Summer smirks, "yeah but you're drop dead adorable. Screw prospects when you're that good looking."
-
Arakan glances around, frowning when he doesn't see Takana right away. he wanted to check on how the collar was fitting, and to see if the cream was working on the chafing.
Izanagi waves her compliment off with a laugh, " adorable is for mistresses, not mates. though, i can't say i'd be opposed to that option."
-
Summer laughs, "A shame girls dont suit your fancy. I would love to have you. Ah. but then nikiri would get lonely."
Nikiri's face is bright red and he gives a nervous chuckle, "Uh. How about some tea Nagi-chan? Jasmine, hot."
Hikari tests the coffee Takana made and nods in approval before setting a cup of it on mina's tray along with the summer rolls, "here you are mina"
Mina nods and takes the tray and goes over to Arakan, setting the items down, "There you are~ Anything else I can get for you?"
-
Izanagi blushes and laughs, " im very flattered by the offer but you're correct, girls just don't do it for me. i'll be right back with that!" he heads to where the drinks are made, " one hot jasmine tea! make sure you put some of those flower shaped sugar cubes with it, he likes his tea sweet."
Arakan nods in approval, " Send the new employee over here to speak with me." he takes a bit of hot sauce and dips his roll into it before taking a bite.
-
Mina blinks and nods before going over to Takana, "The owner wants to see you."
Takana looks at her and frowns, "What?! Why? He couldnt have tasted my coffee and hated it already."
Hikari blinks, "He's never disliked my coffee and yours was good so what on earth...." she shrugs, "Dont make him angry."
Takana sighs and walks out from behind the counter and goes over to Arakan, "Yeah?" his tone sounds more annoyed than anything
Mina hears Takana's blunt voice and she face palms
Hikari looks at Izanagi and nods, quickly getting the tea ready
-
Arakan frowns, setting his summer roll down and wiping his lips with a napkin. " your tone is disrespectful, i suggest you amend that." his keeps his own tone cold, making it clear he's not pleased. " your collar, does it fit well? and the chafing, you have been using the cream i gave you, is it healing?"
-
Takana huffs, "yeah, it fits fine. You didnt have to do that. And your tone aint too great either. Im still mad at you for just pulling me out of work yesterday. Im not being paid to run around. Im being paid to work here. You should focus more on your coffee before it gets cold and less on someone like me."
You could say one thing about Takana. He takes whatever job he has seriously. And today his job is to make coffee and tea.
Mina is trying not to shit herself since she can hear Takana.
Nikiri glances over and xlears his throat a little, "oh my. It seems as though nagi chan will need another roommate soon..." he gets up in case he needs to intervene.
Summer looks over and blinks, "oh yeah i just noticed that pink guy. Whats his problem? Its like he was raised by humans..."
-
Arakan growls and slowly gets up, his face lengthening as he partly starts to shift forms. He bares much longer and sharper teeth than any normal human has, and long black claws sprout from his hands. " i ignored your disrespect prior as you were new and stupid, but i will not tolerate such behavior from anyone in MY district." As he exhales a cloud of freezing air is visible, and he grabs Takana by the front of the shirt and drags him closer so those fangs are directly in the smaller males face.
Izanagi has the jasmine tea and comes around the corner, squeaking in fear when he sees the situation and dropping the plate with the tea in his hands, the plate and cup shattering on the floor.
-
Hikari's ears turn back and she lowers her head, "oh god damn it. The one person who can make good coffee is about to get killed...typical."
Takana huffs, "Alright i get it, despite having ice powers you literally cant chill."
Nikiri hums softly and goes over to them, "You're right Arakan. He IS new and stupid. He probably just doesnt understand fully how things work. What, isnt this his second day or something like that?" He looks at Takana, "And no one has explained anything to you properly?"
Takana blinks and frowns, "I mean.... I know not to call these things Good Boy Collars..."
Nikiri nods and looks at Arakan, "He doesnt follow human orders so his humans toss him out to the wolves Arakan. Then on day two we just expect him to know the rules and follow them? Come on, we're better than the humans. Maybe someone should instruct him on things first. Give him an actual chance. I wouldnt be surprised if he's still acting out over the betrayal of just being tossed like garbage, yeah?"
Takana freezes slightly, nikiri's last sentence hitting a little too close to home and his voice gets soft, "I-....I'm not garbage..."
Nikiri hums softly and looks at Arakan, "You seem busy, and angry, so how about I teach him how things run here yeah?"
Summer gets up and goes over to Arakan, bowing slightly to show respect before standing up straight, "I think... if you can forgive him, it'd be nice to show the humans that we're better than them. That despite everything, we have more humanity than the humans. Plleeeeeeeeaaase Arakan?"
-
Arakan's eyes shift over to Nikiri, and he considers as the other speaks. " as if the humans care what we do with our own anyway." he growls, " very well. i will allow him to live this time. However i will not permit him to make such a blatant display of disrespect towards me again, and if he does, it will reflect badly on your judgement as well Nikiri." he lets the implication of that sink in before he lets go of Takana, " i suggest you think carefully about who you wish to pick fights with here, and you bend your ass backwards to thank Nikiri for convincing me to spare you. i doubt you deserve it." he sits back down, his appearance shifting back to normal as he picks up his coffee and takes a drink of it.
Izanagi makes his way back to Hikari and sinks down against the wall, " oh gods. im gonna need another jasmine tea, and a cleanup out there. and maybe a barf bag. oooooh i think i need to sit for a minute."
-
Nikiri gives a sigh of relief before picking up Takana and bringing him over to the counter, "delivery. One stupid boy. Extra stupid."
Takana pouts as he is set back down by hikari.
Mina quickly cleans up izanagi's mess
Hikari makes another tea.
Nikiri shakes his head, "i swear if you dont end up dying by the end of this week you'll be famous for pissing off arakan twice and living to tell the tale."
-
Izanagi nods, " he must be in a really forgiving mood lately...jeez. what is wrong with you?!" he directs this at Takana. He then looks at Nikiri, " im so sorry you had to get involved in this, it's really, really generous of you to stick your neck out for him this way."
Arakan frowns at his phone, muttering under his breath as he takes another sauced up bite of summer roll.
-
Takana huffs at izanagi, "Why am I in the wrong here? You said he was important right? Why is he asking someone like me questions when he should just focus on what he's doing, which is eating."
Nikiri shakes his head, "It is alright nagi dear. you need a roommate and I knew this kid would make this district more interesting. Which, in a way, I was right."
Summer blinks and looks at Nikiri, "He just looks like an overly pink kid to me."
Nikiri chuckles and crosses his arms, "a very pink kid."
-
Izanagi gapes at Takana, " yeah he's important, so maybe don't piss him off?! he can literally snap your neck with his bare hands. are you suicidal? if you are tell me now so i can put another ad for a roommate up because dead people don't pay rent."
-
Takana glares, "Of course im not suicidal! I just dont unde-"
Nikiri covers takana's mouth with his hands so the sound of a pissed of takana doesnt cause arakan to change his mind, "Nagi-chan, nagi my sweet angel. You cant expect someone who has spent their entire life to understand our side of things in two days." He gives Izanagi a knowing look
-
Izanagi sighs, " you're right. please please please help me so he doesn;t get himself killed Kiri i will literally do anything you want if you help me out with him."
-
Nikiri smiles and hums, "as long as we both work hard to ensure he lives i wont ask anything of you. Consider the amount of entertainment im going to get from this as my reward."
-
Izanagi nods frantically, " im trying! he's so stubborn but im trying. you really are the best..."
-
Hikari blinks, holding out the tea awkwardly, "is anyong going to drink this or....?"
Nikiri lets go of takana and sighs happily as he takes the cup, "thank you my dear. Much appreciated." He sips his tea happily
Takana dusts himself off and goes back over to the machines, "freaking weirdos..."
-
Izanagi covers his face, " i think he's doomed Kiri. i really think he is..."
-
Nikiri shakes his head, "not to worry angel. I'll stick around until closing and then we'll have a more private conversation at your place, okay?"
-
Izanagi blinks, " o-oh. right. you coming to my... trashy apartment... it's for Takana... what about your visit with Summer?"
-
Summer hums and puts her hands on her hips, "I've been here since last night. No offense but I'd kinda would rather be home right now, I love you big bro but this place is a little too active for my blood."
Nikiri nods, "Yes this district is certainly going to get interesting now."
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " ooooo Arakan will not like that...interesting means not under control."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "Its not necessarily a bad thing. Things have just been unfair for a long time and change needs to happen."
-
Izanagi huffs, " well it's not like stressing out the one who's doing the most to try and keep us all alive is a good way to go about changing things..."
-
Nikiri gently grabs Izanagi's chin and lifts the smaller demons gaze to look at him, "It'll be alright angel. Try not to worry your pretty little head, okay?"
-
Izanagi lets the other, used to taking orders from higher class demons. He nods, " i'll try. im sorry. i'd... better get back to work..." he slowly gets up.
-
Nikiri hums and pulls away, "Of course my muse~and no need to apologize! Im not giving you an order. Just trying to keep you from getting worried."
-
Izanagi nods, " right... well no offense, but i think im going to be worried for awhile regardless." he laughs nervously and heads out to serve the other customers.
Arakan finishes his meal and gets up, " Nikiri, i won't be back here for awhile. If anyone needs aid from me here, you know how to get ahold of me. I'll give you time to teach him some manners." He drops some cash on the table and walks out.
-
Summer nods and pats nikiri on the shoulders, "If you're dead by the end of this i'll let ma and pa know." she waves before heading out
nikiri sighs and finishes his tea, "the things i do for fun."
-
Izanagi quickly tends to the other customers.
The manager who'd been listening but wisely staying out of this sort of dispute comes out, " while im glad my employee has survived his... ordeal, i have to say im not thrilled about the idea of him troubling you to teach him how to evidently have some survival instinct."
-
Nikiri shrugs at the manager, smiling, "i offered my assistance to the help and i'll help regardless if arakan ordered me to or not."
-
The manager nods, " i thank you for your generosity, and hope my employee isn't too troublesome. If you would like me to end his shift early so you can start i can do that. lord knows you've got your work cut out for you."
-
Nikiri shakes his head, "despite how his ignorance towards rules he seems to like working and pulling him out early would just upset him. Id rather he have a proper routine to follow. A schedule is the best thing you can do for a child."
Takana doesnt even hear their conversation since he's too focused on doing his job
-
The manager nods, " true. well i give you full permission to do as you see fit. for the time being... i've got some paperwork i can file away since im not losing an employee today after all."
-
Nikiri hums and sits back at his booth, now alone as he watches takana
The pink haired man proudly shows up his cup of coffee to hikari who just raises her eyebrows, generally unimpressed with everything
-
The rest of the workday passes and when its done Izanagi changes back to his regular outfit, " alright. oh i forgot, Takana wanted to go shopping and get some stuff to cook with, is that okay Nikiri? we can put that off if you want to get back to my place and get to work on him."
-
Nikiri hums softly before shrugging, "I can tag along. its been a while since I've been to the market myself."
Takana changes and goes over to izanagi, "Ready to go?" he has no clue about nikiri joining them
-
Izanagi, " alright." he looks at Takana, "we're all set!" he heads for the door, " we're going to the market near the border."
-
Takana follows behind izanagi
Nikiri follows them
Takana glances back at nikiri and frowns before looking at izanagi, "Dude why is he following us?"
-
Izanagi sighs, " he's following us because he needs to teach you how to not get yourself killed here and you don't listen to me. so get used to it."
-
Takana's eyes widen and he looks between nikiri and izanagi, "you cant be serious."
Nikiri nods, "very serious. But we can wait to discuss such things in the privacy of izanagi's home."
-
Izanagi nods, " i don't want you dead, and you don;t listen to me. ergo, him. it's your own fault really. anyway, heres the store." he heads into a grocery store, the shelves half stocked at best and things looking rather pitiful compared to what Takana is used to with full sholves, bright lights and trays overflowing with vibrant fresh produce. Most of the produce here was wilted or misshapen, some with visible bad spots. Izanagi goes over to some yellow bananas with lots of spots, " oooo we got some fresh ones here, these are nice! not total mush for once."
-
Takana blinks and frowns when he sees the store, huffing and putting his hands on his hips, "hmm this... is a bit disappointing... but to be expected i guess..."
Nikiri glances at takana and raises an eyebrow, "oh? How so?"
Takana looks at nikiri, "everything here sucks for you guys. Its not fair that you guys cant have the same exact services as the human side."
Nikiri shrugs, "let me ask you this. Have you always thought that? Or just now that you are stuck here?"
Takana blinks and frowns, "i... what? I never thought of it. Its not something they tell us."
"Oh? And what do they tell you? What you want to hear to make you feel better?"
Takana freezes a bit because.... yeah he wasnt what that asnwer was... "i... i dont know. I just know that i grew up with people not giving me orders. "
-
Izanagi snorts, " how nice for you. here the humans give us orders, and the higher rank demons do as well. though Arakan usually does it to keep everyone as safe as possible."
-
Takana huffs, "Yeah but he's rude about it."
Nikiri hums softly, "from the sounds of it, not only are you dealing with a race issue but also a class issue. luckily i have experience with such people."
Takana sighs and continues shopping, grabbing the best he can get. luckily he wasnt planning on getting fruit which seemed to be the worst looking stuff
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " he's allowed to be rude about it. there's only one person stronger than him is this district and that's his father. would a human sass another human who's being rude who also has a gun pointed at their face? i doubt it."
-
Takana frowns, "....well no. But you are not allowed to hold a gun to someone's face regardless. We have rules and regulation with guns and only certain people can have them. You even have to take a class and have an analysis to ensure you're mentally fit to own a gun. "
-
Izanagi snorts, " maybe where you live. humans hold guns in our faces all the time here. regardless, you just sat there and insulted someone who in comparison, was holding a gun to your face. and you were egging him on. i expected you to die, seriously."
-
Takana pouts, "I didnt say anything though! He was the one that rudely called me over."
Nikiri calmly watches the two interact
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " he called you over to check on your collar, and you said 'yeah?' in the most rude tone. you shouldn't use a tone like that with any customer, let alone him! you kept saying things to make him angry, and when he finally was losing his temper you, and i quote, said 'Alright i get it, despite having ice powers you literally cant chill.' are you serious? he's already angry and you were literally asking for him to get more so despite the fact that he, pretty nicely might i add, told you that your tone was disrespectful and that you should fix that. He's earned the right to be respected, in any other district the higher rank demons would have gotten pissed well before that!"
-
"I was still mad at him for just pulling me out of work yesterday! How dare he! I just want to do my job and not be bothered. "
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " oh no, how dare he pull you from work with our managers permission to get you a collar that isn't going to fuck up your neck and get you papers that didn't exist so that you don't get shot for not being in the system."
-
Takana grumbles, "i would have appreciated being asked. Its the principal of the matter..."
-
Izanagi huffs, " so because he did something nice without asking nicely that means be an ass to him from then on? "
-
"How was i supposed to know he was doing anything nice for me when i had no clue what he wanted?! Nothing was explained!"
-
Izanagi snorts, " if you try to tell me you didn't realize that he was doing something for your benefit until just now, I'm going to slap you. "
-
Takana rolls his eyes, "of course i figured it out afterwards and not just now. But im still mad i wasnt told to begin with."
-
Izanagi growls, " so you were an ass to him today because he didn't say ' in taking you out of work to be nice to you're yesterday?! That's ridiculous. "
-
Takana huffs, "Im mad because I didnt have any input in the matter! Im not a child and im no servant of all things."
-
Izanagi makes a rude noise, " welcome to the demon district. here, nobody gets input in most matters. like having to work our asses off for minimal pay to afford expensive ass collars that you have to have otherwise the humans kill you. get used to taking orders and not having a say, that's how things go around here."
-
Takana stops briefly in confusion, "wai- what? What do you mean pay? They're supposed to be free since they're mandatory."
-
Izanagi snorts, " well the old one i gave you was free, but only the big clunky ones that pinch and chafe are free. anything that's remotely comfortable isn't. so... either be constantly in pain and discomfort, or fork over big bucks."
-
Takana looks down, his hand instinctively touching his neck and he shakes his head before finishing shopping, "Lets just get out of here..."
-
Izanagi sighs, " alright." he follows after, handing over some money to help pay for the groceries and glancing back to see that Nikiri was still with them.
-
Nikiri was still following, watching takana carefully. he notices izanagi looking at him and he quickly puts on his cheerful facade and waves.
Takana quickly pays, thanking the cashier before heading outside
-
Izanagi blinks before waving back. For some reason Nikiri's usual cheerful face didn;t seem the way it normally did... " so... back to the apartment then? im sorry Nikiri, i kinda live in a trashy place...."
-
Nikiri hums, "no need to apologize nagi-chan. My family didnt always have such fortunes when i was a kid so i'm quite well adjusted to less than adequate conditions. "
Takana looks back at izanagi, waiting to let him take the lead, "i don't know how to get back to your place. "
-
Izanagi nods, " alright." he takes the lead and heads to the slummy area where their apartment is, unlocking it and heading in when they get there.
-
Takana sighs softly and heads inside, setting the groceries down and begins getting actual food made
Nikiri steps inside, doing his best to not stare at anything that might seem offending of his stare, "Now, first things first. He should take off your halloween cat ears you wore for three years in a row."
-
Izanagi's eyes widen and he blushes, " uh, wh-what do you mean? those are his ears...." he stammers, lying to a high class demon did not come easily, and it was fairly obvious he was lying.
-
Takana glances at them and sighs
Nikiri shakes his head, "...now izanagi i know you're just panicking but i have already made it clear that i know what those ears are. Please do not continue this act."
-
Izanagi pales and he lowers his head, " ...of course." he looks over at Takana, " might as well take them off. he's figured it out."
-
Takana nods and takes them off, a little thankful.
Nikiri snorts, "figured it out? Hun, i knew as soon as i saw those ears." He sighs and gets serious for a moment, "now izanagi what in hell were you thinking? If arakan paid attention to what you wear as much as i do then he would have figured out that you were hiding a human in front of him. That is incredibly dangerous."
-
Izanagi bites his lip and looks down, " it was all i had... he needed a job, we needed another worker. Arakans too busy to pay attention to someone like me. I should have guessed you might notice though. He needed a place to stay and i needed a roommate. it worked out. i mean he's an ass and has no idea what things are like, but he wasn;t that bad at first so... yeah." he rubs his neck.
-
Takana huffs, "at first? Rude."
Nikiri sighs and shakes his head, "of all the humans....well. i did promise I'd help so i did make sure to bring a little gift for him. Something that will make anyone believe he's a demon. I had an acquaintance make one a while back however i never did think I'd get to use it considering it depends on the wearer to be human." He pulls out a black, velvet box with red markings and a gold lock, "even i would be fooled if he wore this thing."
Takana blinks and stops chopping veggies before looking over curiously, "alright ya gonna stop hyping it up and just ooen the box?"
-
Izanagi looks at Takana, " you've been telling me how awful and scary demons are and how it's okay that we're locked up like animals. yeah i think you're an ass right now." he perks up, curious, and peers at the box, " no kidding? im dying here, open it!"
-
Takana huffs, "yeah you guys are scary! A dude with a loaded gun is scary too! Should you be treated like shit for nothing? No. But it'd be nice to have everyone on the same level. "
Nikiri sighs and shakes his head, "in due time he'll learn. Anyway, " he opens the box, a pair of cat ears like any other are inside aside from the fact that there's almost a cord that goes from the center, down a few inches.
Takana looks over and frowns, "that looks like a normal pair of ears to me..."
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " what's that cord thingy for?" he reaches in and pokes at the ears.
-
Nikiri gently pulls the ears out, "the cord connects to the back of the neck where the spinal cord starts at the skull. It uses that feedback to tell the ears how to move." He pulls out a ring from the box as well, "the ears wont come off from simple tugging and require this ring to be close by to act as a frequency jammer in order to release itself from the user. "
Takana pales a bit, frowning, "that sounds.... painful. And dangerous..."
-
Izanagi looks at Takana, " less dangerous than in Arakan figures out you're human. he's not had good experiences with them, to say he dislikes them would be one hell of an understatement. And with how snotty you've been to him? he'd probably take great pleasure in killing you."
-
Takana huffs, "Well I dont like being ordered around. Even when I wanted mcdonalds at a weird hour I would at least ask my driver to grab it. He could always say no and I wouldnt be offended."
Nikiri sighs, "I think the fact that you came from a wealthy home is whats going to make this the hardest obstacle. An average human is used to others telling them what to do as well but when you've been at the very top of the chain in both race and class seeing things from a different set of rules is almost impossible."
-
Izanagi sighs, " and he gave all that up just because he didn;t want to get married to some chick. what i wouldn;t do to trade places. heck i'd bone a girl if it meant living the good life."
-
Takana's face turns red, "its not- my step mother wanted kids! I cant- i... i cant do the kid thing. " he looks nervous before quickly going back to the kitchen to finish cutting vegetables, his hands shaking
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " And now you're living in the demon district. there's a different set of rules here, and you're not even trying to follow them. what's that human saying, 'when in rome, do as romans do?' if you want to fit in in a new place, you need to adapt to the local customs, they're not going to change the way they do things just for spoiled ol you. you wanted to live here among us, and if you want to do that, you'll have to get used to how we do things."
-
Takana doesnt respond, he had zoned himself out to not handle the thought of having kids
Nikiri glances over before raising an eyebrow and looking at izanagi, "Well at the very least you know if you want him to shut up you just need to mention him having kids. I wonder what the heck made him so child adverse that it damn near becomes a trigger for him."
-
Izanagi pouts, " i don;t like being ignored..." he grabs a cup of water and flings it on Takana, " hey! we're talking here!"
-
Takana flinches and huffs, looking at izanagi, "what on earth are you doing?! I keep getting in trouble for opening my mouth but the one time i'm quiet you throw water at me?!"
-
Izanagi crosses his arms, " because you're avoiding the issues instead of trying to work through them! i said something really smart and you totally ignored me..."
-
Takana pouts, "So water? instead of some other means? like just touching my shoulder?"
-
Izanagi snorts, " like i wanna get punched or something if you lashed out?"
-
Takana huffs, "I dont hit people. Do my noodle arms even look like they could punch anything?"
-
Izanagi snorts, " like i could know that? and assuming anything is dumb, like i assumed you were smart enough not to antagonize one of the strongest demons in the district and you proved me sooooo wrong on that one."
-
Nikiri huffs, becoming quite annoyed by the persistence of the bickering. He closes the box and sets it aside huffing at Izanagi, "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar my dear."
-
He sticks his tongue out before plopping onto a couch with a few tears in it, he'd gotten it for free at the dump!
-
Takana sighs and looks down before going back to making food.
Nikiri tsks and shakes his head, "If it helps ease the tension I can always just have the human live with me nagi."
-
Izanagi blinks, " im not sure that would improve things, plus i kinda need the rent... though i suppose if he's with you more you'll have more time to work on him, i don;t want you to get into trouble with Arakan."
-
nikiri waves his hand, "Im not concerned with arakan."
takana looks over at nikiri, frowning, "Why the heck are you even doing all of this for me? It's not like I could ever come up with a way to repay you."
Nikiri shrugs, "I have my reasons."
-
Izanagi shudders, " im always concerned about Arakan..." he looks at Takana, " well you could start by making it less difficult. where's that desire to repay Arakan back? He did good things for you too."
-
Takana scowls, "I dont really like arakan so clearly that wont be happening."
Nikiri's face drops, clearly believing another mini spat is on its way. he'd be here all night at this rate, "Nagi dont respond to that." he pulls the ears out and goes over to takana and gently places them on his head, "turn to me please."
Takana blinks, hearing the please and turns to face nikiri directly.
the demon makes sure the ears are aligned perfectly before gently taking the cord and placing the end piece at the dip in the back of the head where the neck begins, "you may feel a pinch."
the end piece of the cord extends with sharp clips, quickly digging and attaching itself to the nerves in takana's neck.
Takana yelps and flinches, trying to reach back to grab the cord but nikiri grabs his arms, "THATS NOT A PINCH! Ouch! Fuck it hurts!!"
-
Izanagi had his mouth open to retort when Nikiri tells him not to, grumbling but subsiding to cross his arms on the couch. he winces though when Takana yelps.
-
Takana whimpers softly and sniffs as the pain ebbs. He shudders and his head feels weird.
Nikiri let's go of takana's arms and checks the back, smiling when he doesnt see anything, followed by no signs of a headband on top, "alright. It's in. " he gives a gentle tug and nods when they don't come off. "Perfect."
Takana shudders and the ears twitch unbeknownst to him, "it's done? That really fucking hurt..."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " well it probably hurts less than being killed would... they look great." he gets up and walks over, poking at the ears.
-
When izanagi pokes an ear it flicks and both ears move back, giving away that takana was getting annoyed at having them touched.
Nikiri nods and smiles, "they seem to also be registering your emotions correctly so thats good too." He pulls the ring out of the box and gently slides it on to takana's pinky since it fits there, "there. You will be able to take them off as long as you are wearing this."
Takana glances at the ring on his hand before sighing, "thanks...."
-
Izanagi grins, " not fair that you get Nikiri to give you a ring before meeeeee. on a more serious note, maybe you should leave the ring someplace safe? if you lose it you'll never be able to take those off."
-
Takana blushes when izanagi makes the comment and he looks at the ring curiously, "where though? I could honestly lose it anywhere..."
-
Izanagi hums, " im not sure, but i'd be worried about taking it out and around. it'd be safer here i'd think."
-
Takana nods, "yeah if it at least stays here then i'll know its here..." he sighs softly and looks at nikiri, "thank you... for doing this.... "
Nikiri chuckles, "its alright. You're just lucky that i have been around humans long enough to know that their government tells them as little information as possible."
Takana blinks and frowns, "what?"
Nikiri waves his hand dismissively, "dont worry about it. You should probably go back to cooking though."
Takana's ears perk up and he nods, "you're right! Dinner! Sorry!" He quickly turns and starts going back to preparing vegetables
-
Izanagi tilts his head, looking at Nikiri, " oh right, you get to go to the human district because you can speak so many languages. so their government does that on purpose?"
-
Nikiri snorts, "Of course. If you ever get the displeasure of walking through the human district for more than 5 minutes you will see large billboards and signs depicting happy little demons with whatever new collar is out along with some weird cheerful slogan that makes it seem like we are content with whats going on. We can go over there if its for work, with restrictions of course, but they absolutely forbid the human public to step on to our side. Even if they were to be fully protected. I'm sure they dont want their people to know what is going on here."
He crosses his arms and sighs, "At least I hope anyway. I may be giving humans too much credit thanks to a few, rare, nice humans I have encountered as a child but I would like to think that they all arent terrible. They just dont know. After all, its those who are victorious that get to write the history books."
-
Izanagi looks down, " i did go a few times, but i always kept my eyes to the ground. people were mean... i don;t want to go back there." he blinks, " if humans aren;t allowed here then why did they let Takana come?"
-
Takana glances at Izanagi and sighs, "I use to be in a relationship with one of the guards. and yeah. he called me a fucking idiot."
The room begins to fill with a delicious, meaty smell as Takana keeps cooking.
Nikiri hums, "How scandalous. He must have really disliked you to essentially let you get killed."
Takana's ears twitch back, huffing in annoyance, "I wouldnt say that. He tried his best to convince me not to. But he couldnt take me in either. That would be weird..... for his wife."
-
Izanagi perks up, " oooooo scandalous. so it's almost unheard of for humans to get in here, unless they're coming for inspection day." he involuntarily winces. " and the collar fitters, they have to work here on the border. can;t trust us to make sure our collars are secured and can;t come off on our own after all."
-
Takana blinks, looking at izanagi, frowning, "...inspection day? What the fuck is that?"
-
Izanagi blinks and looks at Takana, " ...well the next one should be coming up next week i think, you'll see then... it's when the humans come to inspect our collars to ensure they're all functional."
-
Takana's eyebrows furrow and his ears move back, "why would they need an inspection to do that? Are they worried you wont buy new ones if the current ones stop working? Why arent they making the collars free? That would be the best way to ensure everyone is keeping theirs functioning."
Nikiri listened to takana's questions closely. He was glad at least that despite how annoying it might feel for a human to be asking constant questions like this, the boy was at least putting the humans into fault and not so much the demons themselves.
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " wow, he really doesn't know then?" he looks at Nikiri, kind of amazed that anyone could be oblivious to what was happening to them. " they... they check to make sure everyone has working collars. if any aren't working, the punishment is.... severe. they don't care how we keep them functional, just that we do."
-
Takana's ears perk and his eyes widen, "punishment?! For their shitty collars?!"
Nikiri chuckles, although its dry and full of hate, "yeah. Punishment. Sure we'll go with that word."
-
Izanagi nods slowly, " yeah... it's... scary..." he seems to shrink in on himself, not even wanting to think about it.
-
takana frowns, feeling a weird pit in his chest grow as he sees izanagi act in such a way that he was not used to. Whatever happens during this inspection seems to be incredibly serious. His hand instinctively touches his collar and his ears droop before he turns and goes back to the food, staying quiet
-
Izanagi tries to snap himself out of it, " so um, wanna watch a movie? i got this tv, it's got a weird line across the middle but otherwise it works great, and the player is fine too. nobody really keeps only vcr tapes anymore so i get them for a steal."
-
Nikiri hums softly and shakes his head, "sorry love. I need to head home now before my other sister's get worried. I'll see you tomorrow at the cafe though~" he heads for the door and blows izanagi a kiss before leaving.
Takana glances at the door and frowns before looking at izanagi, "just a few more minutes on food, then we can eat while we watch a movie if you want? "
-
Izanagi waves as Nikiri leaves and pouts when he's gone. He glances at Takana, " if you want to. i was more hoping to get into his pants at some point to take my mind off things but obviously that's not happening." he sighs softly.
-
Takana turns bright red and his ears twitch before he quietly goes back to the food. Right. The invite to a movie wasnt for him... nothing here was for him in a way. It was strange. He had never been this insecure before, even when he found himself in the arms of a man for the first time he only felt excitement and.... well horny if anything, but he always was confident in whatever he did. Maybe this was a mistake...
-
Izanagi sighs again, " i wonder when they'll announce the date... Arakan's gonna be crankier than normal soon... he always gets really tense around inspection time, not that i blame him... he's got so much pressure to deal with..."
-
Takana is still quiet as he grabs a bowl and carefully fills it neatly with noodles, a very meaty and flavorful broth, slices of thick glazed ham, a soft boiled egg which is halved so the yolk is spilling a little, green onions and some nori on the side. An authentic, but delicious homemade ramen.
He grabs a pair of chopsticks before going over to Izanagi and holds out the food, "um... here...you seemed to like ramen cups so i thought you'd like this..."
-
Izanagi blinks and carefully takes it, " i wouldn;t have complained no matter what you made, but this looks awesome! i don;t think i've ever seen ramen so fancy." he fumbles a bit with the chopsticks, but manages to get a bite into his mouth, and gasps as he covers his mouth with his hand, " mmmmmm!" he swallows, " that's so good!"
-
His ears immediately perk up and he blinks, "Yeah? You really like it?"
-
Izanagi nods his ehad quickly and takes a few quick bites, panting a bit as the hot meal burns his mouth, " hot hot!"
-
Takana chuckles, "well im glad you like it. I made plenty thinking maybe nikiri would stick around for dinner but thats okay. Just means there is plenty for leftovers tomorrow after work."
-
Izanagi makes pleased noises as he slurps up his meal, tipping the bowl up and drinking the broth down when he reaches the end of the noodles and solid stuff, " aaaaaah.... wow. are you a chef or what?"
-
Takana smiles and shakes his head, "nah. I just got spoiled on an actual chef. But when i went to college i lived in an apartment that could only really hold me so since i was already kind of spoiled i learned to cook myself so that i could still eat good foods. And i like cooking. A lot actually. But i like genetics more so i wont be a chef anytime soon."
-
Izanagi snorts, " good luck with you living here. but you should totally talk to the manager about working in the kitchen sometimes. especially since you're uh... not the best with all our customers... no offense. but this would be a huge hit!"
-
Takana sighs, "you're not wrong about my customer service. Usually when i'm approached by anyone its never been for a good reason so i have built up quite a bit of a rude wall." He grabs a bowl for himself and goes over to izanagi, "there's more if you're still hungry. And are you sure about the kitchen thing? Your place is kinda a cutsey cafe style so i'm not sure if something so savory would work. Although to be fair i can make a lot of different things."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i mean there's a lot of sweet things, but that's because that's what our chef knows how to make best. im sure the manager will be willing to try anything out. worst comes to worst the customer doesn;t like it and gets refunded. not a awful outcome."
-
Takana nods, "i suppose.... if she will have me do anything like that, we can slowly introduce items like paninis and i have an amazing bagel recipe. It makes a lot of bagels so i would make a batch and freeze a bunch and then eat that for breakfast with either cream cheese or i turn it into a breakfast sandwhich with an omlete inside. That could kinda go with coffee and tea items... ah but we would have to see first. Do you think i should bring a little of the ramen tomorrow for her to try so she knows i actually can cook and not just talking out of my ass?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah i bet that's a good idea. do that. all that sounds awesome."
-
Takana chuckles and happily slurps up his ramen
-
Izanagi looks at his bowl with a hint of longing before he shakes his head, " i've had plenty... im gonna go shower okay? unless you wanted to watch a movie? there's a bunch of older stuff that i have."
-
Takana waves his hand, "Its fine. you take a shower. im gonna clean up and portion this ramen out for left over dinner tomorrow okay?"
-
Izanagi nods, " 'kay." he strips without really caring and heads into the bathroom, showering.
-
Takana freezes briefly when izanagi strips and his cheeks turn pink before he sighs softly and gets up. He finishes the broth of his ramen and begins cleaning up the kitchen and properly putting the food away
-
Izanagi soon finishes and heads to his room, drying his hair off with a towel before putting an oversized t-shirt on.
-
Takana finishes cleaning, getting a bag of the separate ingredients ready for tomorrow, making sure the noodles are definitely in their own container. nothing more depressing than soggy and mushy noodles. He hums once everything is cleaned up and heads to his room, keeping his sweatpants on but taking his shirt off. He glanced down and his tummy and frowned. He used to have a healthy amount of fat that he felt looked quite good on him. Not a lot that anything 'rolled' over clothing but just enough to be squeezed by partners and it made him a bit disappointed when he found his stomach was a bit flatter than before.
-
Izanagi on the other hand feels fat and satisfied like never before.
-
Takana sits on his makeshift bed and stares at a wall as he tried to come up with what his next plan should be. He cant stay here and he needs to get a hold of his dad somehow. He never memorized any of his families phone numbers since having them saved in his old phone was so much more convenient
-
Izanagi snores as he sleeps, and wakes in the morning.
-
Takana is already up and ready, feeling the ears again. They moved and twitched and it was kind of weird to sleep last night. He still couldnt believe that something like this was possible. was it demon magic of some sort? Or were demons capable of such scientific accomplishments and had labs to back it up? He didnt think then having their own facilities were allowed aside from hospitals. wait..... did they have hospitals? he hadnt seen one around but they were supposed to have one in each district that was run by trained demons since humans honestly would have no clue on how a demons body worked.
He wanted to ask but he also felt like any question he had asked so far only pissed izanagi off so he was hesitant to ask this one... but how else was he supposed to learn if he didnt ask questions?
-
Izanagi gets up in the morning and shoves some bread in his mouth, chewing slowly on it as he wakes up.
-
Takana finishes getting ready just since there's not much to get ready and he heads out to the main area, blinking when he sees the bread in izanagi's mouth, "....just bread?"
-
Izanagi mumbles around the bread something impossible to understand, clearly still tired. Thinking about the upcoming inspection always gave him nightmares and ruined his sleep.
-
Makoto walks into their fathers family mansion and waits as the butler removes his coat for him, "where is mother?"
The butler doesnt look at Makoto as he hangs the coat, "Lady Kuroshiba mentioned that she would be in the study, sire."
Makoto nods and heads straight for the study, "mother. Where are you."
-
Kahana sits at her desk in her study, some reading glasses perched on her nose as she looks over some of their finance papers. She looks up, " Im in here Makoto, what is it?" she pulls her glasses off, looking at her eldest son.
-
Makoto crosses his arms and frowns, "little yori called me today. He told me he hasnt been able to get a hold of Takana. Apparently they had plans. So i went to his apartment only to find it empty aside from a few things. Care to explain?"
-
Kahana snorts softly, " the little brat refused to do his duty to his family by providing an heir. It's not your fault of course that you and Isabelle... regardless we need to have an heir to the company even if he's less than ideal. Yori is too young yet, and your step father isn't getting any younger. After Takana behaved ungratefully i reminded him who paid for his apartment and his college, as well as everything else. He preferred to strike off on his own."
-
Makoto gives a soft sigh. Typical of his mother... "don't you think that was a risky move with his father still alive? What if he finds out what you've done and is less than pleased? Besides, Takana wasn't a threat since he didn't want to take over the business anyway so you would have had plenty of time to wait for yori to grow up."
Makoto looked at his mom and walked over to her, "i know you want the best for us but there's no need to rush the plan mother. "
-
Kahana lets a long breath out her nose, " i know, i lost my temper. i though by getting him married i'd kill two birds with one stone, making sure he's settled and out of our way and ensuring that there's at least one heir to put my husbands mind at ease, but he was such a brat about it. well, we can always say he decided to quit school and run off, he's always been a willful and unpredictable child, it's not so far out of his usual behavior."
-
Makoto raises an eyebrow, "and will that be the same thing you tell little yori? He actually liked Takana for some odd reasons."
-
She nods, " he knows his half brother is unpredictable. best to keep stories the same after all." she sighs, " i know it's less than ideal but how was i supposed to know he was going to be such a little brat?"
-
Makoto sighs, "you wouldnt. Thats why we need to not let our tempers get the best of us."
-
Kahana sighs, " well what's done is done. i have no clue where he ran off to, i had someone watching the apartment but he never came back."
-
Makoto snorts, "with your temper i dont blame him. Alright. I'll try to keep the old man as busy as possible so he doesnt realize his son is gone. Hopefully since i'll be busy doing that i can count on you to keep Yori in line?"
-
Kahana snorts, " Actually i was already working on keeping my dear husband busy. Seems we have some fraud in the company, looka t these sheets." she holds out the papers, " something isn;t adding up, i suspect one of our financial keepers is skimming a little off the top. normally i'd overlook it, but this is just the distraction we need for him. As for Yori, set him up for a trip to the beach or to a ski resort, that'll keep him happy for a bit. As troublesome as he can be it's also fairly easy to keep him occupied."
-
Makoto blinks before sighing softly, "Alright. Im sure a trip away will help take his mind off things." He pulls out a notebook and gently tosses it on the desk, "If that soon to be ex-financial keeper isnt enough to occupy Mr. Kuroshiba then by all means pick something something from Takana's book i found in the apartment. This book is full of idea's he had for the company including a microchip device to replace the collars. I'm sure we can always tweak a few things as well to help us keep those damned beasts in their place."
-
Kahana hums and takes the book, " as much as i hate the idea of using something he came up with, one of these will probably keep him occupied for some time." she hums, " before we send Yori off on a trip, perhaps you ought to take him with you in the company to shadow you, he needs more learn more responsibility."
-
Makoto nods, "I will see if I can get him to come with. I do not want to overwhelm him and have another fiasco on our hands. nothing worse for headlines than not one missing celebrity but two."
-
Kahana nods, " true...he's more well known as well." she sighs, " why must both he and Takana be so troublesome? You're such a good boy, so it can;t be my genes that cause Yori to be so wild."
-
Makoto chuckles, "I know where are place was before this marriage. little yori and that brat know nothing else than a perfect life."
-
Kahana nods, " i know sweetheart. i tried to give you as good of a life as i could, and now we have everything we deserve to have. anyway im rambling. let me know what you think is best to keep things going smoothly."
-
Makoto nods, "I'll keep in touch." he heads back to his car and heads back to his own large house that he owns with Isabelle
Takana finishes getting the portion for the manager ready and sighs. He wished he could have let yori know what was going on before he got cut off. That kid was already going through enough with that dysfunctional family. He promised Yori that he would take that kid out to a different town in hopes to get away of the kuroshiba name and just have a full day of just having chaotic fun. He hoped Yori would forgive him...
-
Izanagi finishes his bread and peers at the food, " mmmm, even cold it looks good." he yawns, " damn, im going to be tired all day..."
-
Takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "Did you sleep poorly last night?"
-
Izanagi hesitates and nods, " talking about the inspection... always makes it hard for me to sleep. im gonna be a mess for a few days before and well, probably after too. but that's not unusual... Most of us get tense around that time."
-
Takana sighs, "it sounds terrible. I'm sorry you have to go through something like this. "
-
Izanagi wraps his arms around himself, " terrible doesn;t begin to describe it. lets not talk about it okay? im going to be having nightmares for a few days at least as it is."
-
Takana looks away, his ears drooping, "Sorry..."
-
Izanagi sighs, " don't be, you couldn't have known. im... just asking that we please not talk about it okay?"
-
he nods and sighs, staring at the containers he was bringing to work. God he misses Yori. That kid was smarter than what his shitty mom and makoto gave him, credit for.
-
Izanagi goes to his room and changes into a cute outfit and comes back out with his bag of work clothes, " we should probably get going."
Yori frowns at his phone as his call to Takana goes to voicemail again. Takana had never ignored him for this long, all his calls and texts. Makoto sometimes did, but that was different. He sighs and sends a text to Makoto, ' Takana still hasn't answered me, im starting to get worried.' maybe he'd done something to piss Takana off? but usually he wasn't like that... he sighs and gets on his skateboard, kicking off and gliding down the sidewalk, turning the music on his phone to his wireless earbuds to blast some music.
-
Takana nods and gathers his things before heading out with izanagi
Makoto glances at his phone and tsks, 'I only just found out from mother that he decided to leave, as spontaneous as that guy is. Dont worry about it though. You should focus on getting a form of higher education and not on trivial things.'
-
Izanagi walks quietly to work, going into the safe when they reach it.
Yori pouts, ' i just got out of high school! i don't even know what i want to do yet, except maybe taking a few years off to see the world and explore my options.'
-
Makoto scowls and replies, 'the longer you wait to get into college the harder it'll be for you. You should just be grateful that you'd get a free ride. Most people dont get that chance so dont waste it like that idiot did.'
Takana gets to the back and changes, feeling nervous that once he sees the manager he will ask her to try his ramen
-
Yori huffs, ' so just get some random degree that i might not use because i don't know what i want to do right now? that seems like a waste too. it's not im taking over the company or anything so it doesn't matter.'
Izanagi heads into the back to get changed.
The manager glances over, " oh good, you boys are here. it's payday, so stop by my office before you go to pick up your paychecks. besides the fiasco yesterday, how are things going? think you'll want to stay here?"
-
Takana looks at her and his ears twitch before he nervously rubs his arm, "ah. Im sorry about causing so much trouble... i do want to stay if you'll let me. "
Makoto taps furiously on his phone, 'at least it shows some initiative. If it makes you feel better you and i can go on a little trip or something before you make a decision. Takana promised you one, right? A shame he doesn't keep his promises. "
-
She chuckles softly, " well as long as you promise to try and not further offend one of our most important customers, i think we can see to letting you stay."
Yori looks away from his phone at that, ' i'll think about it. it would be nice to go somewhere with you for once, you're always so busy...' and always treat him like a kid, but he wasn;t about to say that.
-
Takana boys, "yes ma'am!" Here goes nothing! You can do it! Just mention the damn soup!
He blushes and his face feels hot as his hands grab at the hem of his outfit so that he can absentmindedly pull at the fabric, "um-! Last night i uh- i made dinner for izanagi and i and he thought it was really good. Good enough to think i could also make food here which would help keep me away from customers since ahh... my customer service isnt great. I brought some as an example in case but dont feel like you have to. He just wouldnt let it go so i said id mention it to you but im sure since he just eats cup ramen that maybe anything will taste good to him."
-
She raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms, " it's true your customer service could...use work. And Izanagi doesn't exactly have the most distinguished tastes. I'll try it however, there's no harm in that. we'll leave any other discussion about it until after. make use of the kitchen if you need to."
-
Takana's eyes widen and he blinks when she gives him the okay. He stutters in shock before snapping out of it and nods, quickly grabbing the bag of goodies and heading to the kitchen, giving the baker there a brief explanation as to why he's back there before getting to work. He would be lying if he said working in a professional kitchen wasnt making him excited.
Nikiri is already at his usual table, humming happily and waiting patiently for izanagi to give him attention
-
Izanagi is soon in an adorable and very short black maid outfit. He skips out and sees Nikiri, grinning and going over, " well hello there handsome stranger, what can i get you today~?"
The manager chuckles and checks out front to make sure everything is taken care of.
-
Nikiri licks his lips and hums, "well now, I'd ask if you were on the menu but im sure your boss would cut off my tongue for saying such things. "
-
Izanagi grins and plops into the others lap, whispering in his ear, " im on the secret menu off work hours for you any day."
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Nikiri hums, "is that so? Well, we'll have to turn my place into a gallery so that i can start pinning you to the wall. "
-
Izanagi licks his lips, " don't promise me things unless you plan to deliver~"
The manager pokes her head out, " Izanagi!"
He yelps and quickly climbs off Nikiri, glad for the skirt that hid his boner.
-
It doesn't take long for the kitchen to be filled with a savory smell as takana finishes up the broth. He gently curls the noodles into the bowl to look proper, adds the flavorful broth and adds the soft boiled egg, green onions, nori and slices of ham known as chashu.
He honestly thought it was the prettiest bowl of ramen that he ever plated and he secretly wished he could show yori...
The steam coming from the bowl made it all the more appetizing and he kept smiling as he grabbed a fork.
He gently picked up the bowl and carried it over to the manager, "here."
Both mina and hikari sniff the air curiously, mina licking her lips and drooling a little.
Hikari just quietly wished someone would make her food that smelled that good
-
The manager takes it and takes a sniff, " well the aroma is good." she carefully takes a bite, chewing slowly and analyzing the flavors. After a minute she nods, " if you can make it like this every time, flavor wise, the plating is lovely but even if it's not quite this nice it'll do, then this will make a good addition to our menu. i'll have to look over the prices of the ingredients though, we may need to use something cheaper if it's too much. regardless, if this is the cooking you can bring to my cafe, you may cook if you'd like. i just need to see and taste things before they go on the menu."
-
Takana's ears perk and his mouth drops open, he certainly wasnt expecting that! "um oh! thank you! I can make plenty of things. I always lived by myself and im pretty picky with flavors so even if its cheap I can always make it taste good. But, of course, its something id have you taste first to see if its appropriate."
-
The manager nods, " just as well you haven't changed yet, if you wouldn't mind going to the store and getting enough to make a batch, enough for maybe 10 customers full sized bowls." she pulls out 100 dollars, " will this be enough for ingredients? i will need receipts. we can work on lowering costs once i see what all we need so i can buy it from cheaper sources, but for now we just need to work on getting interest in it and seeing what we need."
-
Takana nods, "honestly the pork belly is the most expensive part of this ramen but you can do without it. I personally like the protein but in a pinch it'll be fine without. And yeah thats more than enough. receipts, got it." He grins and takes the money, putting it in his wallet so it doesnt get lost. He just had to remember how to get to the store from here.
-
The manager looks at him, " we could put a little bit of pork belly in if it adds to the flavor, but maybe more regular ham than that. do you know how to get to the stores?"
-
Takana looks up at her and rubs the back of his head, "Ah. yeah that could work. oh and i have only been there for food once. maybe that area twice for clothes but im still unfamiliar with the layout of... everything."
-
The manager nods, " wait here." she walks out to the dining area and over to Nikiri, bowing before standing straight and looking at him, " i have a favor to ask. Our new hire needs to go get some supplies, and i would appreciate if you took him. you'll get a free serving of the new dish he's making for our customers, and i think you'll enjoy it."
-
Nikiri hums and stretches, "Well he is my responsibility when he is outside. I suppose making sure he doesnt sass his way to an instant death is my job anyway."
-
She chuckles, " if the rest of the soup he's making is half as good as the sample he gave me, im sure you'll be leased with your reward." she heads back to takana, " Nikiri will take you to the stores to get the supplies, be sure to thank him for his kindness."
-
Takana nods, "Okay, thank you manager for letting me do this. I'll be back quickly!"
He goes over to nikiri and they both leave the cafe
-
Izanagi pouts as Nikiri leaves but gets back to work serving customers.
-
After a while the two come back, nikiri holding more grocery bags than takana.
Takana quickly goes over to the manager and hands her the change along with the receipts.
-
The manager nods to Nikiri, " thank you." and takes the receipts, looking them over, " not too bad all things considered. well, get to cooking." she smiles to make the order less harsh and takes the change and receipts into her office to file and deal with.
-
Takana grins and quickly goes back to the kitchen and starts cooking some more, happily knowing the food will taste better since it'll be fresh!
Nikiri sighs when the groceries are taken from him and he goes back to his table, humming happily
-
Izanagi bounces over and plops into his lap, " i missed you!"
-
Nikiri smiles and hugs izanagi, "Ah~ thank goodness~ I need a recharge!"
-
Izanagi is more than happy to be cuddled and hugged.
The manager sighs and decides not to say anything since Nikiri had just done her a decently large favor. She goes out to take care of customers and then pops back into the kitchen to check on their progress.
-
Takana is plating the bowls, making them look perfect, the eggs perfectly cooked to a soft boil, "I dare say soft boiled eggs are the key to the creaminess to the broth when the yolk leaks everywhere." He smiles at how wonderful everything looks and smells
-
The manager nods and takes one of the bowls, " these look great, place them under the warmer for now to keep them hot." she takes the one bowl out and places it in front of Nikiri, "here we are, our newest addition to our menu, though in limited quantity today. i hope you enjoy!" she makes sure to say it loud enough for the rest of the cafe to hear, the aroma of the soup filling the cafe.
-
Nikiri perks and hums softly, "Oh my, this looks professional thats for sure. He takes a sip of the broth of shudders, "I didnt realize anything could be made so amazing with the subpar ingredients that is sold to us."
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Izanagi nods from Nikiri's lap, " isn't it super yummy? Takana made it for dinner last night and it's soooo good."
The manager chuckles, " it's indeed impressive." other customers hear Nikiri and soon call her over to order a bowl, and before she knows it all of the bowls Takana made have sold, at a decent turnaround. She passes the last bowl to the customer and goes back, nodding to Takana, " well i'd say that was a hit. i'll make sure more ingredients are here tomorrow for you, for now we'll just have you run the drinks since you seem to do well with the coffee machine. unless you wanted to stay in the kitchen and see what else you can whip up."
-
Takana cant help but grin, his cheeks slightly pink, "um, I think I'll just clean up the kitchen real quick and then I'll focus on drinks for today. take the time to think about my other favorite foods I can make later."
-
The manager nods, " don;t let it go to your head, but you did well. even Nikiri complimented it. keep that up and your future will be bright here."
Izanagi has to tell a few other customers that regretfully the soup was limited quantity for today and out. that it had been a test dish, but thanks to it's wild success it'd be back and a regular item soon and to please come back for it.
-
Mina whines softly, "oh maaaaan! It was that limited? Jeeze id pay for some of that too! Hey! Hey takana come live with me! You could pay no rent if i get fed like that!"
Hikari snorts, "good luck convincing your girlfriend to let a guy live with you two rent free."
Takana keeps blushing at the sudden attention and he clears his throat before quickly going to the kitchen to clean up
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The manager chuckles, " i'll see to it there's enough ingredients to make plenty tomorrow and you girls will both be able to try it alright? you have to know what it tastes like to tell our customers after all. Just be patient, the test run did well so there's no chance im nixing it. i just need to see about getting the ingredients in more bulk so we can make a decent margin on it."
-
Mina hums and wiggles a bit on excitement, "yay!!" She quickly starts taking other orders.
Takana finishes cleaning up his mess before going to the back and getting into his outfit before going to the drink station
-
The manager smiles, it was always a good idea to keep the employees happy, and if a bowl of soup did the trick that was a sacrifice she was willing to make.
Izanagi goes over to Nikiri, " you gonna come to our place again tonight to work with Takana?"
-
Nikiri hums softly, "i have a few books for him to read. If he learns more about our side of the story then it should help."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, that should probably help. you're so smart~ maybe he'll make something good for dinner again and you could stay~"
-
Nikiri hums, "maybe. I have some time today."
-
Izanagi purrs softly, " pleeeeease~"
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Nikiri shudders and smiles, "alright, alright, since you seem to know how to beg so nicely~"
-
Izanagi mentally cheers and smiles, " is that what you like then? well i'll keep that in mind~" he slowly gets up off Nikiri and heads back to work, winking saucily.
-
Everyone keeps working hard for the day
-
After the end of the work day the manager closes up and waves to them, " stay safe."
Izanagi practically skips as they go, " we gonna go to the market to get stuff for dinner?"
-
Takana hums, "we could. Do you have any idea what you might want or no? "
-
Izanagi blinks, " i don;t care what it is if it's as good as that ramen!"
-
Takana chuckles, "alright, alright. A quick stop and then straight home. "
-
Izanagi squeals, " yay! i would totally blow you for more of that kind of cooking. not even joking."
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Takana turns bright red and he looks at anything that isnt izanagi, "n-no need but uh... glad you think so highly of my food."
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Izanagi giggles, " awwww look how red he got! well your loss." he grabs onto Nikiri's arm, tonight was going to be a good night, he had a good feeling. Takana would make good food, and he'd have a good chance at convincing Nikiri to rock his world.
-
Nikiri hums softly as he watches the two interact before izanagi grabs on to him. He knew izanagi would hit on him tonight, it was obvious. And while he didnt mind a night of debauchery here or there he certainly didnt want to do it at their apartment. He was rather rough when he did fuck and he liked to do so in his own living space since it was large and had thick walls. for a reason.
-
Izanagi seems more excited when they get into the store this time, now knowing what these boring random things Takana picked out could be turned into. He'd grab interesting looking things and hold them out, " what kind of yummy stuff could this be turned into?"
-
Takana blinks at the coconut and frowns, "Ah. thats a coconut. you could drink the juice inside straight up or use it in dishes or use it along with the insides to make your own coconut milk. the darn thing is hard to open so most people dont buy the produce and will just get the canned version for convenience. i suppose that might be why i've been seeing a lot of the actual fruit here. Although I will say, making curry with coconut milk is so delicious and flavorful. And with curry its easy to make it spicy or not spicy at all."
-
Izanagi hums, " im not into spicy food much, but whatever curry is sounds good. heard of it, never had it." he puts the hairy fruit down. He looks at Nikiri, " have you had curry? is it good?"
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Nikiri hums, "I have had one type of curry before. There are dozens of different types of curries out there depending on the region you go to."
Takana looks at Nikiri, "Well, my curry recipe is an indian chicken curry with coconut milk over rice. Usually they use more spices but they dont make it spicy if that makes sense."
Nikiri nods, "Mine was..... red. and hot."
Takana smiles, "Then that could either put you in China, or Thailand. They love spicy. Oh so does Korea as well. But yeah whenever my little brother used to visit he loved my curry."
-
Izanagi blinks, " you have a little brother? you've never really talked about your family. i want to try curry, just not spicy."
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Takana nods, "Yeah dont worry. This one wont be spicy. Go ahead and put the coconut in the cart." he looks a little longingly at the coconut as he thinks of Yori, "Yeah yori is... probably the only one I would consider family at this point.... I feel a little bad not being able to get a hold of him since I promised to take him on a road trip to get him away from his mom."
-
izanagi grabs the coconut and puts it in the cart, " awesome! well i'd say you could invite him over but... yeah that's probably a bad idea. not exactly the best place for a vacation either."
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Takana frowns, "Yeah I cant exactly.... bring him here. He wouldnt be able to get back home. And he's a great kid so there's no way I could take away his easy life." Takana picks up some more items he needs to make the curry
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Izanagi sighs, " well, if you ca get ahold of him you might be able to apply for leave. after all you're listed as the lowest rank, we're not as strictly regulated."
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takana nods, "I might try that. i'd give anything to see him again." he finishes grabbing the necessary ingredients and goes to pay.
nikiri calmly follows
-
Izanagi hurries after and is glad to pay half of the total for the food. " worth a shot anyway. not many of us do leave since... you know, it sucks, but that's one of the perks of being a lower class demon. the humans aren't quite so freaked out."
-
Takana takes his groceries, making nikiri hold a couple of bags as well before they all head back home
Nikiri happily holds the bags
-
Izanagi happily holds onto Nikiri, making himself an adorable nuisance.
-
They get home and takana quickly starts with the rice since that will take a while to cook
-
Izanagi pulls Nikiri over to the couch and plops onto his lap, " so~ what shall we do while we wait?"
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Nikiri hums, "We could watch that movie you mentioned yesterday."
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" a movie sounds good~" yeah, as long as he was pawing up this sexy hunk of deer while they were watching it. Izanagi gets up and makes sure to sway his ass at Nikiri as he saunters over to his movies and bends over to pick out a few.
-
Nikiri raises an eyebrow as he watches. Desperate the little thing is. Ah but he supposes nagi-chan was good looking.
-
Izanagi plops back onto Nikiri's lap with a few movies, " any of these catch your eye?"
-
Nikiri hums, "this one looks alright." He taps an animated movie
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Izanagi gets up and puts it in the vcr, starting it up before snuggling against Nikiri's side to watch. for a little bit anyway.
-
Nikiri sits perfectly still, knowing izanagi wasnt going to stay like that
-
Izanagi soon starts slowly moving his hand towards Nikiri's crotch, rubbing his thigh sensually. He leans up to nip at Nikiri's neck as well.
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Nikiri glances at izanagi and raises an eyebrow, "it was never about the movie, was it."
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Izanagi chuckles, " guilty as charged. well~?" he nips Nikiri's ear lobe, " care for some fun?"
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Nikiri chuckles, "here's this for a deal. You behave while we're by the human and after dinner i take you to my place and return you after im done. I think you'd enjoy my room. "
-
Izanagi blinks and grins, " you've got yourself a deal hotstuff."
-
Nikiri chuckles and gently removes izanagi's hand from his thigh, "then let's try not to give me a boner at the moment. "
-
Izanagi sighs, " that's no fun. besides, it's payback for giving me one at the cafe~"
-
Nikiri smiles, "ah yes but that was just flirting. I wasnt actively trying to give you a boner."
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Izanagi snorts, " i'd say promising to pin me to the wall was more than just flirting."
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Nikiri chuckles, "its my type of flirting."
Takana finishes cooking and plates up 3 servings of rice with hot, creamy, chicken curry. He carries two plates over to nikiri and izanagi with forks, "here ya go!"
Nikiri takes the plate, "smells amazing. "
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Izanagi is distracted from the meal in front of him by the food, " oh wow..." he takes it and takes a bite, opening his mouth and panting as it burns his tongue, " hot!"
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Takana blinks, "yeah it just came from the pot. Blow on o-or first. "
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Izanagi eats despite the heat, " mmm too yummy can;t wait." he sighs happily as he takes each bite.
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Nikiri starts eating carefully and nods, "yes this is simply amazing actually. I do hope you consider this for one of your cafe choices. "
Takana blinks and nods, "um. I can certainly bring some to the manager. Im sure she'll like the fact that it's a lot cheaper than the ramen already. "
-
Izanagi nods enthusiastically and soon clears his plate, " ah~ i really lucked out getting you for a roommate!"
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Takana snorts, "and do you see now why i preferred cooked meals and not cup ramen? "
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Izanagi nods, " yeah when you can turn the scraps we get here into delicious food? for sure. now, i hate to eat and run but uh... Nikiri has promised to satisfy my other hunger~"
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Takana blinks, "you're leaving?"
Nikiri finishes his meal and nods, "it appears as though nagi-chan has an itch that i am being blamed for so i must take responsibility. No worries though. I shall bring him back with the upmost care."
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Izanagi grins, " i'll be back yet tonight. see you soon!" he grabs Nikiri's hand and tugs him towards the door.
-
Nikiri follows izanagi ot the door.
Takana frowns and his ears droop. He glances at his curry and slowly begins making it away and cleaning the kitchen
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Izanagi clings to Nikiri's arm, " lead the way~"
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Nikiri nods and takes Nagi-chan to the 'better' part of the district, his home is large and beautiful
-
Izanagi clings to Nikiri, getting nervous now that they're in the nicer part of the district, " woah...."
-
Nikiri enters his home with nagi close to him, going up the stairs and passing down the halls and doors until he finally gets to his room, "Sorry for the many steps darling. This is our original family home so it had to be big enough to hold us all, however barely anyone is ever home nowadays."
-
Izanagi gapes at everything, " n-no problem." he was excited to be here, but was pretty intimidated now that he was. he was actually in Nikiri's home, and this was happening. it was probably only going to be a one time thing but if he really pleased the other... maybe, just maybe he'd secure himself a place here with him. which was terrifying but at the same time would be a huge improvement to his life.
-
His room was large, the walls a steel grey color except for one deep purple accent wall where the king sized curtain bed was up against the wall. there were no actual ceiling lights or lamps in the room but there was fairy lights strung around the room, giving it a soft, playful glow that seems to dance about the room. There's a door in the corner of the room that leads to a bathroom, large windows which are covered by heavy curtains and the wooden furniture looks antique yet in good condition
-
Izanagi looks around the room and takes a breath to steady himself before dropping to his knees in front up Nikiri, putting a mischievous look onto his face as he cups the prize in front of him and gently starts stroking through the fabric.
-
Nikiri shudders and glances at his door to make sure its closed before looking back down at Izanagi, "How good is your stamina? I admit it has been a while since I last involved myself in such things."
-
Izanagi smirks, " well im happy to relieve any built up tension~ i can go for a good while." he unzips Nikiri's pants and pulls the other male out, nuzzling the shaft before swirling his tongue around the slit as he uses a hand to stroke the length.
-
Nikiri licks his lips and chuckles, "You know we could do this on by bed. Giving me head on Egyptian cotton and silk would feel a lot better than my hardwood floors."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " whatever you want~" he gets up and saunters over to the bed, slowly pulling his shirt off.
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Nikiri sets his sword aside before removing his kimono and goes over to his bed and moves the sheer curtains to the side to let nagi in
-
Izanagi still has his pants on but tugs at Nikiri to get him onto the bed with him and gets back to what he was doing, going down on the man with enthusiasm.
-
Nikiri moans softly, laying back on his plush and comfortable bed
-
Izanagi slowly teases the others cock, rubbing the bottom of the shaft with his tongue before slowly starting to suck it into his mouth as he cups the others sac and rub it gently.
-
Nikiri runs his hand through nagi's hair, gently gripping him
-
Izanagi groans softly around the others girth, bobbing his head as he sucks on the other.
-
Nikiri licks his lips and thrusts his hips gently, groaning softly
-
Izanagi gladly swallows more of him down, pushing himself down until his lips touch the others groin. He groans softly around the others and lifts his eyes, half lidded with pleasure as he looks up at Nikiri.
-
nikiri groans softly looking down at izanagi, he gives a soft smile, "dont look at me with those beautiful eyes or else I may just cum right now."
-
Izanagi smirks slightly and hums around the others length, bobbing his head enthusiastically. If the other wanted to cum he didn;t mind in the slightest. he had no doubt he'd get plenty of pleasure as well tonight, but he'd try and give Nikiri as good of a time as he could.
-
Nikiri groans and thrusts into nagi's mouth, cumming hard into his mouth and throat
-
Izanagi swallows quickly, gulping it down as quickly as he can. Some dribbles out the side of his mouth but he pulls off the other and licks it up, ensuring there's no mess before he smirks up at Nikiri.
-
The deer demon chuckles and tilts his head, "guess thats one way to get your vitamin D." He pulls izanagi up to his face and begins kissing him deeply
-
Izanagi crawls up into the others lap and gladly kisses him back, " mmmm i love me some vitamin D."
-
As nikiri kisses izanagi, he reaches over to his nightstand and grabs his lube before pulling away, "i wanna make you feel good too."
-
Izanagi licks his lips, " im already feeling good but whatever you want~ im down." he scoots away to shimmy his pants off.
-
Nikiri sits up and gently pushes izanagi onto his back, pulling the smaller demons underwear off and he pops the lube open
-
Izanagi is happy to let the other push him down, spreading his legs and watching in anticipation.
-
Nikiri pours some of the lube into his hand and makes sure its warmed up before inserting a finger into izanagi to help loosen him
-
Izanagi relaxes to let the other in, biting his lip slightly. " mmmm, hopefully this is leading where i think it is~"
-
Nikiri snorts and chuckles, "if what you think is you having my cock inside of you then sure. thats where its going." he adds another finger, stroking izanagi's insides and looking for his prostate
-
Izanagi moans softly as the other finds the spot he was looking for, " Ah~! right there. can't wait to have you filling me up~"
-
Nikiri nods and continues to rub and press against izanagi's prostate, making sure to abuse it properly, "Thankfully for everyone involved, just because I am a deer demon does not mean I was cursed with a deer dick. At least not in this form."
-
Izanagi blinks then chuckles, " i think i'd have to agree. i'd make do regardless, but i like to be filled a little more than that." he moans and squirms under Nikiri's administrations.
-
After a little bit more of prepping, Nikiri pulls his hand away and lubes up his own cock before pushing inside of izanagi, groaning softly
-
Izanagi had just been enjoying the sensations when suddenly the fingers are removed and quickly replaced with something more considerable, earning a bit of a squeak from him before he clings to Nikiri and wraps his legs around the others waist, " let a guy know when you're gonna do that will ya? mmmm fuck that's good though."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "sorry. I've always been a demon who loves surprising people. Its a bit of a kink for me. Catching others off guard and all that."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " well at least i know now. surprise away." he grinds his hips against Nikiri.
-
The demon shudders and grips nagi's hips and eagerly starts thrusting into him
-
Izanagi yips again and moans as the other pounds him, " ah fuck yes~ aaaaaahhhh Kiri! harder!" he whines in pleasure, rolling his hips to maximize the spots they hit.
-
Nikiri smirks and lifts nagis hips more and thrusts harder, getting deeper with the new angle
-
Izanagi keens in pleasure with the new angle, clinging to Nikiri for dear life, " i~ ah~ if you keep mmmm this up~ i won;t last much longer!~ fuck!"
-
"That would be the point my dear~!" He grunts as he continues slamming his cock into izangai, making sure he's hitting the prostate every time
-
Izanagi cries out and cums on their stomachs, clinging tightly to Nikiri and clenching around him.
-
Nikiri shudders as he cums into izanagi, filling him up
-
Izanagi gasps softly as he catches his breath, trembling as he slowly unwraps himself from Nikiri, " ah... mmmm that was good~" he nips Nikiri's neck gently, " are you satisfied yet? we can go more if you still have some pent up needs to let loose."
-
Nikiri hums, "i could go either way. How are you feeling? "
-
Izanagi wiggles a bit and giggles, " warm and like im going to drip when you pull out of me. not that i mind, im enjoying feeling you in me~"
-
Nikri snorts and chuckles, "you're insatiable." He gently pulls out of izanagi and hums, "lets get you cleaned up." He gently picks up nagi, bridal style and take him to his large bathroom.
Everything seemed bigger in this home which was mainly for the reason that its easier to not get your antlers caught when buildings are made to accommodate them.
The sink was long to follow the long mirror and the toilet had buttons on it but otherwise looked normal.
It was really the shower that showed off the immaculate slate tile with a glass rock side wall that helped contained the water from the massive shower head. No door or curtain, just an opening wide enough for nikiri to get through easily.
-
Izanagi smirks, " you know it~" he squeaks as the other pulls out of him and scoops him up, clenching as he tries to not drip everywhere. He sighs happily and holds onto Nikiri, " such a gentleman."
-
He chuckles and sets nagi on the toilet carefully, "Just give me a quick second here." He turns to the shower and turns it on, adjusting the heat so its not too hot. He goes back to izanagi and brings him into the shower, "Is the water alright?"
-
Izanagi give a yelp as the toilet seat is cold on his butt, " ooo that's cold!" he feels the water, " feels great to me!"
-
Nikiri sighs, "Sorry for the cold seat. but it would be weird if it was warm. At any rate, lets get you cleaned up." he gently sets izanagi on a tile bench in the shower and spreads the demons legs so he can clean him out
-
Izanagi chuckles, " no problem, it's so fancy here i thought you might have heated seats or something. i'll survive a little cold porcelain." he spreads his legs to give the other access, " can't say my lovers usually show me so much care, it's very sweet. you sure you don;t need someone to help fill this big house with you?" he chuckles.
-
nikiri inserts his fingers into izanagi and starts carefully cleaning him out, "I cant say for certain whether i want someone by my side at this moment. i have quite a bit on my plate to even consider a partner at the moment. But im more than happy to treat you well for a night or so if you feel like being pampered."
-
Izanagi holds back a moan as Nikiri inserts a finger, " mmm careful moving around in there or im going to get turned on again~ shame, i certainly wouldn;t mind keeping you company more nights and helping relieve some tension~" he purrs softly.
-
nikiri sighs, "I am unsure if I would be a good fit for you in the long term. But i appreciate the consideration."
-
Izanagi pouts, " and why's that? you enjoy each others company, and we clearly enjoy each others bodies. i see no reason why we're incompatible."
-
Nikiri glances up at izanagi and frowns before pulling his fingers out now that its been cleaned out, "i have a lot to take care of and at this moment there's just no time to spend with any lover i may get, and you my dear, love to be spoiled with attention. I fear i may leave you lonely most nights."
-
Izanagi sighs, " i get that you're super important and busy... i'd survive even without you smothering me with attention." he wouldn;t enjoy it, but he'd tolerate it. but Nikiri was correct that he'd be unhappy in the long run.
-
Nikiri tsks softly and sits on the bench next to nagi, "i couldnt make you happy. And the very idea that you would be miserable with me is heartbreaking. Id rather you be happy. I want you to be with someone who would give you the love and attention you deserve."
-
Izanagi pouts, " well you should be happy too. i know you're busy but you eventually should be able to enjoy your own life too."
-
Nikiri sighs, "i'll get there someday. Once my sisters can take care of themselves and the youngest grows up more than maybe i'll consider it."
-
Izanagi scoots into the others lap, " well you know you can always hit me up for a good time in the meantime~" he place a quick peck onto Nikiri's lips.
-
Nikiri blinks before chuckling, "alright, alright. I'll try to remember that." His hand snakes around izanagi's waist and to his front before he starts stroking nagis cock
-
Izanagi moans as Nikiri grabs his member, " mmmm~ you better be planning to finish that if you're starting it~"
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"Look who's talking. You're the one who got cozy in my lap. " he gently nips at izanagi's neck
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Izanagi chuckles, " im short, i was trying to give you a kiss. but if that's all it takes to get you riled up im surprised you let me sit on your lap so often at the shop~" he scoots backwards and grinds his ass against Nikiri's cock.
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Nikiri groans softly, "the kimono helps a lot."
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Izanagi chuckles, " well i'll have to keep that in mind~" he lifts himself up and teases the other against his entrance.
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Nikiri grabs nagi's hips and quickly pushes into him since the smaller demons entrance was still soft from before
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Izanagi moans as the other slips into him, the water help easing the passage but there was still more friction than there was with the lube, " aaaahn fuck Nikiri~"
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Nikiri hisses softly and grinds his cock around in izanagi, "sorry. Got a little eager there. "
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Izanagi wiggles his hips and presses back against him, " mmmm don't be, feels good~ give it all to me~"
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Nikiri shudders and grabs izanagi's hips, lifting him up for a brief moment before slamming the demon back down on his cock
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Izanagi cries out, digging his nails into Nikiri's thighs, " aaaahn fuck! more~ fuck me senseless~!"
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Nikiri keeps slamming into izanagi, spreading nagi's legs further as he keeps thrusting
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Izanagi doesn't bother trying to contain his voice, crying out in pleasure as the pressure builds until he can;t contain it, cumming while his muscles do their damndest to milk every drop out of Nikiri.
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Nikiri gives a hard grunt as he cums into izanagi, groaning softly
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Izanagi leans back against Nikiri and hums softly, reaching up to caress Nikiri's cheek, " mmmmm~ we definitely need to do this more often~"
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nikiri chuckles, "We should probably get... actually cleaned before the water gets cold."
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Izanagi chuckles, " probably. this feels so good though." he sighs and scrubs off the mess he'd made on himself.
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Nikiri hums and carefully pulls out of izanagi and grabs his luxury shampoo and starts shampooing nagi's head
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Izanagi purrs softly as Nikiri massages the soap into his hair, " mmmm talk about magic fingers~"
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nikiri snorts, "Less magic and more experience. Dunk your head under the water to rinse."
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Izanagi does as he's told, closing his eyes tightly to keep the water out of them.
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The deer demon washes his own hair and scrubs gently on his antlers near the base briefly before giving izanagi some soap and scrubby to wash his body
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Izanagi stands up and cleans himself, tempted to tease Nikiri into another round but he wasn;t sure he'd make it home if he did. And if he let Nikiri clean him they'd definitely go for it again so he did it himself, cleaning as much of the deers seed out as possible to avoid it causing a mess later. He stretches in the shower and sighs happily, " i think i'll sleep well tonight."
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Nikiri chuckles, "Well there's that at least." he finishes washing and makes sure nagi is cleaned up before turning off the shower and grabbing a very large and puffy towel, wrapping it around izanagi, "Dry off properly."
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Izanagi is swallowed by the towel and he mumbles happily from within the fluff, " i've been sleeping terribly the last few days. i need a good night. and i needed this." he dries himself off with the towel, making sure to get as much water off as possible to avoid catching a chill.
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Nikiri looks at izanagi and nods. He goes over to his closet and pulls out an extra warm kimono and goes over to izanagi, "Your clothes are a tad dirty so feel free to wear this until i have your clothes cleaned."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " i mean, my clothes aren;t really any dirtier than when i got here. i didn;t have my shirt on and i swallowed everything so it's not like you came on my clothes. it's fine, really. you've already done way more than you have to."
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nikiri pouts, "Are you denying me the pleasure of sending you off in my clothes?"
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Izanagi blinks and then chuckles, " only if they smell like you then."
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"Well of course they smell like me! In fact thats my favorite kimono to go to bed in because of how warm it is. I assure you that you will be thankful to go home in this."
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Izanagi puts it on and lifts the collar to his nose, inhaling, " mmmmm~ okay, this will be sufficient." he grins and yawns, " mmmm, i'd better get back before i fall asleep, you wore me out~ not that i regret it in the slightest."
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Nikiri nods, "Of course. Would you like me to bring you home or would you rather I send you home by way of car. Car is faster but regrettably I cant exactly fit in those, while the other option will take a bit longer."
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Izanagi hums, " well i'd prefer if you took me, but i understand if you want to send me in the car, i've already taken up a good portion of your spare time, which i know you have little of."
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Nikiri snorts, "a car gets you to bed faster. A car means i don't have to carry you. I wouldn't make you walk all the way home. Thatd be cruel of me. "
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Izanagi blinks and chuckles, " are you really planning to carry me home if i don;t take the car? as tempting as that is i can still walk fine, it takes a little more than what you did to have me unable to walk."
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Nikiri blushes and pouts, "well it's still not very kind of me to have you walk. "
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Izanagi laughs softly and kisses him on the lips, " i'll take the car then and ease your worries."
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Nikiri nods and returns the kiss before taking izanagi's hand, "good. Im glad." He leads izanagi to the garage where their driver is
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Izanagi follows, only feeling a few twinges of pain from their activities. He climbs into the car and blows Nikiri a kiss, " anytime, got it? just let me know."
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Nikiri nods, "have a good night. " he looks at the driver, "take him wherever he tells you and make sure he is safe. "
The driver nods and turns on the car.
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Izanagi blows a kiss, " good night~" he gives directions to his place, feeling the seats of the car. He hadn;t been in many.
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The driver brings izanagi back to the apartments, "have a good evening sir. "
Takana has the apartment totally cleaned up
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Izanagi nods, " thanks for the ride!" and heads into the apartment, blinking when he gets in, " wow, you've been busy."
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Takana shrugs, "i was bored."
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Izanagi shrugs and yawns, " well im heading to bed... hopefully that'll have tired me out enough that i'll sleep well tonight."
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"Have a good night." Takana makes sure everything is locked up before going to bed
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Izanagi nods and heads to bed, passing out quickly snuggled in Nikiri's kimono.
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As the sun rises Takana is already awake, cooking breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon
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Izanagi sleeps past his normal time, and only the scent of food lures him from his bed, sniffing the air as he stumbles towards the kitchen with his eyes closed, " mmmm smells goood~"
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Takana is only in his sweatpants, looking back at izanagi, "morning. Hope you slept better. Hungry?"
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Izanagi nods, " yes to both please... no nightmares last night, i may have to keep this kimono." he lifts it to his nose and inhales again, humming happily.
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Takana nods, "thats understandable. I hope nikiri lets you. I know when i was younger i couldnt fall asleep with my moms pillow. It still smelled like her at the time so i guess it was a comfort thing." He plates up some buttered toast, eggs over easy, and bacon. "Here." He sets the plate on the table, "tea, coffee or water?"
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Izanagi chuckles, " well i can always just 'lose it' and therefore never give it back regardless. it's no substitute for the real thing but still good. damn i could use more evenings with that man." he hums softly, " sweet tea if you've got it, otherwise i'll go with water." he sniffs the food and swallows the drool that quickly collects in his mouth. He takes a bite and sighs in happiness, " i must have died and gone to heaven, not only do i get all this wonderful food but i convinced Nikiri to sleep with me, even if he won;t date me that's an accomplishment."
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Takana snorts and hands izanagi some sweet tea, "here. And you havent died yet. Just managed to get your hands on an asshole roommate who becomes less of an asshole the more he cooks."
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Izanagi takes the tea and sips it, " you're still somewhat of an asshole, but good food makes it more tolerable." he grins and quickly starts eating the meal.
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Takana nods, "sounds about right. I only cooked like, three meals so far."
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Izanagi snorts, " when you learn a little more about the issues we face and aren;t such a... well a human about us, i'll stop calling you an ass." he finishes the meal and leans back with his tea, " you're an ass that can cook one hell of a meal, i'll say that much."
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Takana pouts, "Im trying. I have no idea how to find the information of your guys side of the story. Dont you guys have some sort of public library?"
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Izanagi blinks and tilts his head, " i... don't know what it is. if you want information though, you'll want to go to the Yamamoto estate. they keep records and such there you can ask to see."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "....yama....moto.... o-okay? uh jeeze i cant believe you guys dont have a public- ne-never mind... " his ears droop and he sighs, putting the extra food away for later
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Izanagi shrugs, " public things usually require money to upkeep them. we don;t have resources for that kind of thing i guess." he looks at Takana, " Yamamoto? That's Arakan's family. you probably won't see him though."
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Takana sighs, "Right...." everyone should have access to public things....
He cleans up and glances at Izanagi, "Okay so i probably wont be getting that information then. I'll learn as i go i guess."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " i said you shouldn;t run into him, he's not home that much during the day. and the areas where the records are kept are separate from the living areas."
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Takana looks uncomfortable, "i still dont want to risk it. Mr Jack Frost will can my ass for sure."
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Izanagi snorts, " only if you're an asshole to him. just keep in mind that he has a lot on his plate keeping everything under control and everyone safe... he's got a lot of stress and he's under a lot of pressure to be a certain way. if he doesn't appear strong and assertive he wouldn;t be respected."
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"He could still say please to certain things. Doesnt have to be for everything but hearing it every now and then would be nice. "
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Izanagi shakes his head, " no, he can't. not after the way you behaved. think about it this way, a much weaker demon than him has already clearly disrespected him, a new demon no less who hasn't already shown they know their place, and then he starts asking nicely and caving to their wishes? he'd lose all respect of anyone who saw it. maybe if you two were alone, but until you show the proper respect to him he has to be extra harsh with you in public in order to save face since he already allowed you to disrespect him more than once now. there are too many demons for him to keep order by strength and force alone, he needs to be a strong and unquestionable figure of authority."
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Takana blushes and huffs, "i... if i had been at a job and pulled away like that with no idea what was going on i would probably have lost my job, and been kidnapped. What you guys have to go through to get a new collar is terrifying and stupid and i was scared shitless. And he didnt make things any better."
His ears flatten against his head, "clearly i will do my best to not interact with him if i can because nothing good will come of it. As for public stuff.... i'll....try... to watch my.... tone."
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Izanagi sighs, " He was trying to be nice, believe it or not. He doesn't know you're human, for a new demon, having him take charge and take care of you would have been reassuring. So he really was trying. And he couldn't have known you've never been collared before. I appreciate you'll try though. "
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Takana sighs, "well i either try or you need a new roommate..."
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Izanagi chuckles, " that about sums it up. but seriously, he was trying to be nice and let you know that a strong demon was looking out for you. it's a good thing. yeah he was angry, but you kind of threw that kindness back in his face..." he shrugs, " anyway i hope the manager got stuff for you to make more of that soup, the customers really were into it."
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Takana nods, "i was also thinking of bringing the curry i made last night. It is a lot cheaper to make and easy to change up if someone wants it not spicy at all or essentially have a fire mouth."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah! im sure that'll be a good one too! we're gonna be the most popular restaurant ever!" he bounces to his room and gets dressed in a regular outfit and grabs his bag with his maid outfit for the day. " this is awesome."
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Takana hums in agreement as he gets ready, glancing up at his ears. He kept forgetting these things existed...
He grabs the bag of curry and a bag with more rice.
Uncooked rice! The only thing leftover rice is good for is fried rice. Making fresh rice at the restaurant wouldn't be difficult AND it just makes curry so much better than if he were to bring the leftover rice in the fridge
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Izanagi smiles, " i think this is good. you'll be happier back in the kitchen. though it means we gotta look for another new employee to waitress again. ah well." he sighs and grins, " i'd rather have the food."
-
Takana shrugs, "if we get the restaurant popular enough then finding a new waiter should be incredibly easy."
He happily heads outside, glad to potentially be showing the manager another good dish
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Izanagi seems in a super good mood, and he should be since he got a good nights sleep and some tension relief. " hopefully!" he walks with Izanagi as they head to the shop, going in and heading towards the back.
The manager glances up when she hears the doors open, " ah, good to see you boys. Takana, there's ingredients enough that you should be able to keep up with soup orders for a few days. though, if the customers are as excited for it today as they were yesterday i'll probably need to get more ingredients for tomorrow, regardless there ought to be plenty for today."
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Takana nods, "understood. Also, last night i made curry on rice. Nikiri had some and thought it was good so i brought that too for you to try if you wanted? Curry is a lot cheaper annus easier to make since rice is its staple ingredient and rice is freaking cheap as heck."
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The manager nods, " that's a bit unusual for our shop, but i'll try anything once. since it IS so unusual i'll have you make up sample plates for us to give out. especially since it's a cheap dish to make. we'll give a sample dish to each customer today who wants one. just a few bites worth. Feel free to play with any ingredients we have in the cooler as well if you have extra time, i'll work the front so you can stay in the kitchen."
Izanagi gets his maid outfit on, showing off plenty of skin as he starts serving customers.
-
Takana nods and quickly goes into the kitchen and starts working, making sure that he keeps an eye on both the ramen and the curry as he cooks. He is enjoying this so much more than wearing a dress
Mia happily flirts and acts bouncy since she has large boobs. They had more customers than usual for this time of day so while that meant she needed to work harder, it also means more tips!
Hikari is quietly working the coffee and tea machines.
-
The manager goes to a few customers, making sure they're enjoying themselves and taken care of.
Izanagi bounces from customer to customer making sure to tend to their wants as quickly as possible, acting bubbly as usual.
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Soon sampler plates are done for the curry and takana brings a plate out for the manager
Mia pauses briefly and sniffs the air, humming, "oh god he's cooking something delicious again. Im so jealous!"
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The manager samples the curry, nodding over it. " this will do. Izanagi take a sample plate to each of the customers. and save one for Mia and Hikari as well or i'll never hear the end of it."
Izanagi nods and takes several of the sample plates onto a serving tray and passe one out to each customer after asking if they wanted to try it for free.
-
The curry goes over really well and it does pair really well with tea
Takana focuses on getting any ramen orders as well, knowing that the extra people that are here are probably here for the ramen they heard of.
-
Several people do indeed order the ramen and Izanagi works on getting the orders back to Takana. A few orders of full plates of the curry are ordered as well after tasting the sample. The cafe is busier than normal and Izanagi has to keep on his toes. The manager, being enterprising as usual, opens a window and puts a fan blowing out to send the delicious smell of the ramen and curry out into the streets.
-
Mia for once is more focused on getting orders out to customers instead of flirting and in between drink orders hikari helps where she can.
The cafe has probably made some serious cash after today
-
More customers come in lured by the scent and ask about it, and therefore get samples of the curry and usually order either the curry or the ramen. Izanagi has no time to flirt either, just working on taking care of orders and the customers needs. the manager sees they will need more staff with this new change and puts a sign up that they're hiring again.
-
It is certainly a long day of working and finally once it gets late and mia has a chance she sits down to catch her breath, "holy shit what was that? Ive never seen this place so busy before!"
-
The manager sets a few dishes of leftovers from Takana's cooking in front of her employees as they sit once they've closed the shop, " well, word certainly spread fast. we'll need to try and get some more employees if this is going to be the new standard, at least two i think. are you all doing alright? i know it was a fast paced day. eat please, i'll need to buy more ingredients for certain." she chuckles softly.
-
Mina smiles at the food in front of her and indeed, starts eating, "You dont need to tell me twice~ oh yum! it tastes better than it smells~"
Hikari sits down and tries to not look so exhausted, "I never thought we'd have a line like that..."
Takana is still in the kitchen, cleaning up so it is ready for tomorrow
-
The manager chuckles, " you've earned it. good job today everyone. i'll try and get someone new hired as soon as possible, but we may have a few more rough days ahead."
Izanagi happily eats some ramen, sighing over it, " still just as good as it was the first time..."
-
Takana finishes getting the kitchen cleaned and he gives a big sigh before stepping out to where everyone is and takes a seat for the first time as well, sighing, "Is it normally that busy here?"
Mia shakes her head, "Nope~ The people here must really like your cooking! It really makes me feel super warm inside when I ate some!"
-
The manager sighs, " today was much busier than normal. food like that is really rare in here, let alone at the prices we offer it at. i mean we're higher than a normal place with the maid cafe thing, but that quality is high class for here. we'll probably have some rough days ahead of us, but i swear i'll hunt down some new employees as soon as possible. stick with it and i might give out some bonuses since we're making good money and you're working so hard. i haven;t done the money count yet but i expect it to be good. let your friends know there's job openings please. you all did excellent."
-
Takana smiles when he hears that the place saw a bump of customers because of his cooking. It was a good compliment for him, "I'll try to think of the other recipes too. Not right away since I think we're pretty okay for now but you cant have ramen and curry every time you're here."
-
The manager chuckles, " lets wait until we have a few more employees. otherwise we'll be drowning before we know it. but yes, more recipes will no doubt go over well. i still want to taste new dishes before they're approved but just let me know what ingredients you want me to get for you, i trust your cooking."
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Mia finishes off her food and sighs happily, "Where on earth do you even think these things up? Do you look online and just wing it and it comes out awesome?"
Takana shakes his head, "Ah not really. I mean I could but back when I was younger and my mom was around she taught me how to cook and these are her recipes so I cant take all the credit unfortunately."
Hikari perks up a bit, showing some more emotion than usual, "That would explain a lot. Nothing tastes better than a mother's cooking."
Mia snorts and looks at Hikari, ""Clearly you've never met my mother."
-
Izanagi finishes his meal, " isn't his cooking the best? it's so amazing."
The manager chuckles, " alright kids, finish your food and get going home, we have another busy day tomorrow im sure, and i still have to do some paperwork for tonight."
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Takana nods and looks at izanagi, "yeah im beat so eat up while you can because im not cooking tonight."
Mia sighs happily and gets up, "Hikari lets walk home together since we're on the same street~"
Hikari huffs and finishes her food, "Not going to happen."
-
Izanagi nods, " i figured. i could have had something else regardless. Should we head home?" he looks at Takana.
The manager gets up and heads for her office, " have a good night you all. and again, great job today."
-
Mia smiles, "Night manager!"
Hikari looks at the manager and bows, "good night."
Takana looks at izanagi, "Yeah, im exhausted."
-
She waves them off, and nods to Hikari before going into her office to get to work on posting some requests for new hires and then work on paperwork.
-
The girls head off in the opposite direction that the boys go.
Takana happily starts walking down the sidewalk
-
Izanagi stretches as they walk, " maaaaaaan i haven;t had to work that hard in ages. that sucked. im glad people like your stuff so much but jeez." he stops at the main door of the apartment building and glances at the community board, " speaking of which, we ought to write a quick ad saying we need more people and toss it up there. the manager is so good to us im sure she'd appreciate the help." he smiles and heads to their apartment, finding some paper and quickly writing that their cafe was looking for new hires and the number before running down and putting it up. When he gets back he yawns, " i call shower first." he strips and heads in, cleaning off before heading into his room after with a towel around his waist.
-
Takana's eyes widen for a second when izanagi strips and he turns a bit pink before heading to his room
-
Izanagi as usual does not care about being nude in front of others and doesn;t notice. He heads to bed after putting the kimono back on and curling up in bed with it.
-
Takana goes in once he hears izanagi done and he takes a quick shower before getting into some pajama's and curling up for bed
-
Izanagi yawns when he wakes up in the morning, the kimono certainly was helping him sleep.
-
Takana is, again, making breakfast. This time it's french toast
-
Izanagi sniffs the air, " mmmmm cinnamon..."
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Takana gets izanagis plate ready for when he comes out of his room with some butter, syrup, and powder sugar if he so chooses
-
Izanagi comes out and sees the plate, wiping his mouth to avoid drooling, " damn!" he sits down and digs in, clearly very happy over the spread.
-
Takana glances at izanagi and smiles, glad that the demon was enjoying his food. He fixes himself a plate and cleans up real quick before sitting down to also eat
-
Izanagi soon cleans the plate and sighs happily, sitting back, " you're never ever ever allowed to leave."
-
Takana chokes made eating and he swallows before starting to laugh
-
Izanagi pouts, " if you leave i won;t get these awesome meals! so you're not allowed to go."
-
Takana tilts his head, "i could show you how to cook the basics. Im sure i'll be here for a while but i do have to try to get back eventually. Even if its not for all of my family i do want to get to my little brother."
-
Izanagi whines, " that's not fair... i suck at cooking."
-
Takana sighs, "well unfortunately this cant be my forever home with you. Im dead once everyone realizes what i am."
-
Izanagi sighs, " yeah... humans... are not well liked here...im sorry, you seem nice enough but that's just how it is."
-
Takana shakes his head, "dont apologize. You're not wrong and there's a reason for it."
-
Izanagi nods, grabbing his plate and taking it to rinse off, " maybe... we can work something out anyway. who knows. the manager isn;t gonna be happy to lose her chef."
-
He chuckles, "I'll write down the recipes, or teach someone who is there. Iwouldnt leave her high and dry like that. Anyway, we're talking like this is happening this week which it isnt. If it were a possibility I think I actually wouldnt mind getting back to yori and then just coming back here to work and help out but... the chances of that being okay is slim to none." He finishes up as well and brings his plate over to rinse
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Izanagi tilts his head, " why not? you're listed as a low class demon, you're allowed to apply for leave from the district. even without a specific reason at our class they don;t usually deny us unless they're being assholes, or if there's something going on. and of course they'll let you back in."
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Takana shrugs, "If a certain part of my family finds out that I'm even here there would be a huge ordeal. You heard Nikiri mention it, right? That he could tell that i was not only human but also in upper class? I dont think celebrity is a right term but we usually have security around our main house to keep paparazzi's at bay. The only reason why its easier for me to do as I please is because I backed away from all that stuff pretty early in my life in an attempt to have privacy. My college friends didnt even know and I do my best to keep it that way."
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Izanagi blinks, " oh, i wasn;t paying that much attention to that. so you're like, famous?"
-
Takana shrugs, "i mean i guess? My family is famous for sure but luckily you don't see my face anywhere since I did my best to keep my identity hidden. Yori is kind of in the same boat where he's not that well known either but a huge part of that was so he could go to school like a normal kid."
He sighs, "my step mom would definitely prefer me being dead in the street than here thats for sure."
-
Izanagi whistles, " wow... but you could always like, wear a scarf after you get out of the district, and take the ears off. then you'd be alright. you'd just have to put them back on before you came back in."
-
Takana sighs, "i guess? That seems kinda weird, like i'm living a double life. And im kind of an idiot so i doubt i would be able to keep up with the back and forth. Especially since i keep forgetting i have these on to begin with. "
-
Izanagi sighs, " well you can do it once in awhile to see your brother anyway. Seems like you really miss him. "
-
Takana pauses briefly with the dishes before sighing and drying them, "yeah i do. Its doesnt help i promised him that i would take him on a road trip this week to get him the fuck away from our family. Im afraid of what his mother will do if he starts asking about me."
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Izanagi sighs, " i wish i could help. i don;t know how though. but like i said, you could try and go meet up with him to talk or something. just saying."
-
Takana glances at izanagi and nods, "its alright, you gave me a starting point with meeting him and thats more than enough for now. "
-
Izanagi smiles, " well i try at least." he stretches, " better relax now, today is gonna be nutty."
-
Takana nods and stretches, "yeah. Im kinda excited though."
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Izanagi smiles, " you should be. we never had this many people before your food!"
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Takana chuckles, "maybe the cafe will make enough money that you'll get a raise!"
-
Izanagi snorts, " if anyone is gonna get a raise it's you since you're the one bringing in the customers."
-
Takana chuckles, "Well i doubt that. But in the event that it does happen I'd probably use the extra cash to buy more food for me to make us so it benefits you as well."
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Izanagi swallows the saliva that forms in his mouth, "if we get those bonuses the manager was talking about, i swear im putting most of it towards your food fund."
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Takana laughs and smiles, "We wont need that much food right away. maybe get a little jar of extra cash going for emergencies. Like, for instance, you spent too much money on clothes again and you need a little extra for survival."
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Izanagi blushes, " eh... probably a good idea."
-
Takana sips some tea and sighs, "So if arakan technically owns the cafe does that mean he's going to notice the sudden boost in sales as well?"
-
Izanagi nods, " probably soon. though he's usually pretty busy, it make take a few days unless the manager notifies him sooner."
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Takana nods, "Well i suppose he has to come around his own place again eventually."
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Izanagi nods, " plus he'll said he'd leave things for about a week to give Nikiri time to work with you."
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Takana blinks, "Oh that reminds me, I didnt see him at all yesterday. I wonder if he was busy. Nikiri is normally at the cafe to give you all that attention."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... that was pretty odd. not that i'd have had any time for him with all those customers."
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Takana sighs, "He's busy right? I'm sure something came up."
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Izanagi shrugs, " probably i doubt he'd have forgotten about taking care of you. though you'll probably stay out of trouble in the kitchen."
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Takana nods, "Hopefully we'll see him today."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, i wanna see him. but why do you wanna see him?"
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Takana looks at Izanagi, "Well, he's helping me, he's pretty nice all things considered, and you are happy when he's around."
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Izanagi blushes, " yeah... he's always complimenting me and making me feel good. not to mention he's fucking hot as hell."
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Takana chuckles, smiling, "You seem to like him. Is he not interested in a relationship right now?"
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... he says he's too busy and won;t have enough time for me who's an attention whore."
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Takana smiles, "He's not wrong it seems. But that isnt a straight out no either so at least there's that."
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Izanagi sighs, " uuurgh i'd be set for life if he would. i'd be more than happy to just do whatever he wanted."
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Takana hums, "....well i suppose for now you could just keep going as you have been. Keep your options open in case but i can see why you'd want to be with him. I saw he had brought his sister in. Does he have any other siblings? "
-
Izanagi nods, " he's the eldest of 15. all his younger siblings are sisters though. if i thought one of his sisters would be happy having me i'd probably suck it up despite not being into chicks. but i don;t see that working out."
-
Takana damn near chokes on his tea, sputtering softly, "FIFTEEN?!"
-
Izanagi nods, " right? he has way too friggen many sisters. if you ask me, his parents are less of deer than bunnies."
-
"Ugh his poor mom must be getting tired of having kids..." takana finishes his tea and sighs softly, "no wonder he seems like he has his hands full."
-
Izanagi nods, " plus his family line are able to speak any language they hear, so the family si scattered all over the world as translators."
-
Takana frowns, "that must be hard for him. You said he was protective of his sisters right? I bet he thinks of them constantly."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah. he's super over protective. his youngest sister is pretty little still too. i bet that's why he's always watching out for us e class demons."
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Takana nods, "He seems like a really great guy. im glad he's around. "
-
Izanagi nods, " and he's pretty good in bed too, not gonna lie." he growls softly and laughs. " wouldn't mind having another evening with him soon."
-
Takana's face flushes pink, damn near matching his hair before he coughs and clears his throat, "um... o-okay."
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Izanagi grins, " oh come on, you can;t tell me you wouldn't want that hottie to wreak you."
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Takana rubs his arm and looks away, "I mean...I- I guess?"
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " dude, you seriously need to get laid. you're way to uptight."
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Takana sighs, "Im the kind of person who cant have sex with someone unless my partner and I are in a relationship. And since my ex now has a wife my confidence has taken a major hit."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " well that's boring. you must not get to have sex very often huh? i feel bad for you."
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Takana huffs, "Well you dont need to. trust me, Im fine."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " you're really stressed though. a good fuck would fix that."
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Takana sighs, "Well things are stressful for me right now so that would make sense but cooking helps me relax so im pretty okay. Thanks though."
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Izanagi snorts, " if you say so."
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"hey, my stress relief of cooking is good for you and the cafe so no need to ruin a perfectly good thing."
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Izanagi shrugs, " i mean, it works for me. we should probably get ready to go. gonna be another long one."
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Takana nods, "yeah it will be." He puts his cup in the sink and goes to his room to get ready
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Izanagi gets dressed and grabs his bag with his 'uniform', waiting by the door for Takana.
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Takana goes over to izanagi and nods, "as ready as i'll ever be for today. "
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Izanagi grins, " no complaining, this crazy busy stuff is your fault remember?"
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Takana chuckles, "this was also your idea so i dont wanna hear anything from you either. "
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Izanagi whines, " how was i supposed to know this was going to go so crazy?!"
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Takana laughs and starts heading to work, "Hey you tasted the food first. ah but its okay. we'll figure it out. Maybe I should try teaching the other chef more about the food so he can take over sometimes and I can help out front once im better with guests."
-
Izanagi huffs, " i've never had food that good, i had no idea it was crazy customer good!" he hurries after to keep up with Takana, " maybe. lets make sure you're not out when Arakan is there though until we're sure you can keep your temper."
-
Takana sighs, "Yes, yes i know. my temper is deplorable with him."
-
Izanagi giggles, " yeah, yeah it is." he nudges Takana with his hip.
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Takana snorts and gently nudges back, "i'll work on it. the cooking does help. makes me think of my mom and she always had a way of keeping me calm."
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Izanagi nods, " well hopefully it helps keep your temper in check enough to keep from getting yourself killed. we've got a few days left before he'll come around anyway."
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Takana nods and sighs, "if arakan compliments my cooking than I'll forgive everything and start new. I doubt that would happen though."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " he might, though he wouldn't go over the top about it. but he usually doesn;t give compliments at all so even a little approval is huge."
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Takana chuckles, "Exactly."
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Izanagi frowns, " he does give credit where credit is due though. he's not as mean as you think he is."
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takana shrugs, "i mean, you can say that because you know him. i dont. if he proves me wrong and you right then you can rub it in my face, okay?"
-
Izanagi chuckles, " oh i so will when it happens. maybe cut him some slack though, he really does have a lot on his plate."
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Takana smirks, "he doesnt have 14 little sisters. Currently im giving nikiri more credit."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " he's got an entire district of demons to keep track of and take care of."
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"sisters though." Takana raises a finger to make a point.
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " yeah? a pain no doubt, but im just saying Arakan has a lot of shit to deal with too."
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Takana shrugs, "if im proven wrong then rub it in my face all you want."
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Izanagi grins, " i'll be eagerly waiting for that day." he gets into the cafe and heads into the back, getting changed.
The manager is bringing trays of ingredients for Takana from the back, looking tired, " ah, good to see you boys are here. ready for another long one? i stocked up, so this time we really ought to be good for a couple days. we simply don;t have enough staff to be able to go through this much."
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Takana sees her and frowns, "oh gosh you look exhausted. I hope one of the girls has a friend or something that is looking for a job."
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She smiles, " let's hope. I'll be alright, had to stay late and come in early to get as much ready as possible. "
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Takana nods, "thank you for this. I know it'll benefit the cafe but i'm also really thankful of everyone's hard work to make it happen."
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The manager pats his shoulder, " thank me when we get some more staff and we got some breathing roon. Until then, we best get to work. "
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Takana nods and quickly goes to the kitchen and starts prepping the broth for the soup since it can stay at a simmer
Hikari enters the cafe and quickly gets dressed before going to the front for coffee and tea orders.
Mina soon bounces in, smiling, "manager!!! I'm here! Hey hey! I have a question!"
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The manager nods to Hikari and then looks at Mina, " yes Mina, what is your question?"
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Mina smiles and hops over to the manager, "we're still lookin' for help riiiiight? I might know someone who wants public experiences! Whatever that means! She's super sweet but super shy which is weird but like, her hair is green! Do you know how fortunate that is? We're gonna have all the colors of the rainbow soon!"
Hikari can clearly hear mina since the girl is so loud and she frowns, "if you know someone looking for a job thats one thing but if this girl doesnt want a job and just wants to get out of her mother's basement then maybe its best that you dont waste managers time."
-
The manager sighs, " well we need help enough that im willing to meet the girl and talk with her anyway. have her come by tomorrow morning before we open. Though if you know anyone who is more interested in working hard, please send them my way? Now please get into uniform, we have a busy one today."
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Mina smiles, "Im sure it'll be fine! even if we can find someone to just help us temporarily until we find anyone more permanent~"
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The manager sighs, " it really depends on the person honestly, it is possible to have someone cause more trouble than help, but we'll just have to see. even if she only takes orders or makes sure customers don;t need anything else it'll take a bit of strain off."
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Hikari sighs and shakes her head before she finishes getting the machines ready.
mina nods, "Im sure she'll be fine~" she goes to the back and gets ready before the store opens
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The manager sighs and just gets to work, getting as many things prepped beforehand as possible to keep things running smoothly.
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Takana has a large pot of broth going and has everything ready for the ramen to speed up the process, the rice is ready since that can always sit in the large cooker as well
-
The manager glances outside and swears softly when she sees the line before they've even opened the doors, " i may need to limit how many people come in. you all ready?"
-
Mina and hikari nod Takana calls out that he's ready. this was going to be hell. but they were ready for it
-
The manager takes a breath and opens the door, welcoming people in and quickly ushering them to seats, stopping when all the tables are full and telling everyone outside they'd have to wait until tables opened up. She then starts taking orders and serving whatever is ordered.
Izanagi gets to work taking orders and fetching whatever the customers want, trying to be cutesy and friendly since that's the theme of their cafe while getting things done as fast as possible.
-
Mina does her best to keep up while also bouncing about to show off how big her boobs are with how bouncy they are.
Hikari, again, juggles with both the beverages and orders.
Takana keeps up with the orders, barely, but is determined to finish the day strong
-
The manager does her best to serve and move customers quickly and keep the flow of people steady. With everything so busy, things go by quickly, and when there's a slight lull she tries to give her employees breaks.
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Mina gladly takes the chance to rest, even if its for a second. Her feet were killing her.
Hikari said she was fine and that she'd rather use this small reprieve to tidy the coffee area and get it ready for the next wave. Whether she actually needed the break or not she wouldnt want to take it, instead wanting to show she was strong and could handle it.
Takana takes this opportunity to get the kitchen cleaned up and ready. His feet did technically hurt from standing, and yes he was tired, but he wasnt running around and putting out sweet, happy, cute energy all the time like his co workers so the least he could do was make sure everything goes smoothly in the kitchen so the others dont have to wait too long for food to come out
-
Izanagi flops into a chair, glad for a short break.
The manager disapproves of Hikari not taking a break though their reprieve doesn;t last long before she's seating people and getting things going again.
-
Once things start picking up again mina gives a tired sigh before putting on a big smile and quickly taking customers orders.
-
The manager encourages her employees as much as possible and has Takana set aside some of his specials for them when they take breaks to help keep moral up and keep them well nourished. The day goes fast and before they know it it's over, the manager locking the door behind the last customers. " good job everyone, we made it through another day."
-
Takana finishes cleaning up the kitchen and walks over to them, "kitchen is all cleaned up."
Mina sits on the floor and gives a loud sigh, "Just lemme sleep here manager, i dont wanna walk hooooome~"
-
The manager shakes her head, " no can do Mina, it's a security issue. make sure you bring that friend of yours. i do have a couple applicants coming a few hours before open so we may have some help shortly. go ahead and go home, i've got paperwork to finish up."
-
Mina groans and gets up, "Imma soak my feet in mama's tub when i get home~"
Hikari has her usual expressionless face as she grabs her bag and heads for the door, "Good night Manager."
Takana stretches and looks at Izanagi, "Ready to head home?"
Nikiri leans against the building outside as he waits for the two boys
-
The manager waves them off, " have a good night."
Izanagi nods to Takana and heads outside, blinking when he sees Nikiri, " Nikiri!"
-
Nikiri gives izanagi a soft wave as he gives an exhausted smile, "good evening boys. "
Takana blinks and frowns, "dude are you okay? You look terrible. "
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Izanagi frowns, " no kidding. what happened?" he wanted to glomp the deer, but was afraid of knocking him over with how tired he looks.
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Nikiri shakes his head, "don't worry about it. Just family affairs..." he pulls out a couple of big books and hands them to takana, "this is your homework. "
Takana's eyes widen when he takes the books, "the hell are these? "
Nikiri hums, "our side of the war. I would appreciate you going through these for the rest of the week. No need to go too in depth but it is a good idea to see things from the losing side too."
-
Izanagi blinks and looks at the books, " how did you even get these? i thought they banned those."
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Nikiri shrugs, "Not important. But lets get you two home."
Takana nods and starts walking
-
Izanagi frowns, " i hope you won;t get into trouble..." he starts heading towards home, worried.
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Nikiri waves his hand dismissively as he follows them, "You worry too much love. its fine. I have good friends in odd places."
-
Izanagi nods slowly, " alright..." it was still concerning but if Nikiri felt he was safe then he had to be. Plus it's not as if Izanagi could do anything about it anyway.
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Takana goes inside their apartment and sets the books down before going to the table and sitting down, "ooofta."
Nikiri watches in amusement, "it seems as though the good food has made the cafe a little too popular. "
-
Izanagi nods and whines, " way too popular! yesterday and today we were soooo busy! today the manager even had to limit how many people were in the cafe! there was a line!"
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nikiri makes a soft whistle sound, "Impressive. there's not too many places in any of the districts that can pull in numbers like that. Even if he doesnt look at his books any time soon i would not be surprised if people start asking him about his cafe. Dont be surprised if he shows up sooner than inspected. with that being said, takana. No matter if you get the full week or not to be.... ugh trained i guess is the best word for you, do not start anything okay? Behave if he approaches you."
Takana pouts a little before sighing, "I...I'll try..... to not let my anger get the best of me. Really. But only because you already look way too tired to deal with anymore bullshit."
Nikiri blinks before rubbing the back of his head and chuckling, "I do look a freight dont I? Dont fret. its nothing too worrisome for the both of you."
-
Izanagi sighs, " yeah i suppose that's a point. we can probably expect him to show up any day now." he pouts, " of course im going to worry!"
-
Nikiri looks at them before sighing, "If i tell the both of you then I would wish that you wouldnt tell anyone."
Takana nods, "My lips are sealed."
Nikiri leans against the wall and crosses his arms, "My parents havent broken the news yet but Mother had a miscarriage yesterday and after having doctors over all day it was determined that she is no longer able to carry a child. So Elyza, our youngest, will be the last child mother and father have."
Takana blinks and frowns, "Oh gods im so sorry to hear that..."
-
Izanagi nods, " of course not, i won;t tell anyone." he blinks and lowers his head, " that's awful. i hope she's okay."
-
Nikiri sighs, "She's pretty distraught. losing a child for anyone is difficult so I have been by her side all day yesterday."
-
Izanagi nods, " understandable... i know she loves her children very much... anything i can do to help you?"
-
nikiri waves his hand dismissively, "I appreciate it Izanagi but im fine, thank you. Tomorrow she will be letting the leaders know that the kids she has will have to be enough for now. Eventually we will see if any of our own offspring will carry the trait on but we'll see."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... i guess it was pretty important for there to be more of your bloodline..." another reason he's be a less ideal choice for Nikiri.
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nikiri nods, "Yes. Although we have sixteen total who have this trait, only eight of us have fully completed the training to be a translator. Elyza has also been heart broken because she was so excited to not be the baby anymore."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " of course she would." he heads into his room and sits on his bed, " if you wanna sleep here tonight i wouldn;t min sharing Nikiri~"
-
Nikiri hums, "apologies my dear nagi-chan. Once I lay down I will be dead to this world instantly so it would not be that fun for you."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " yeah i figured, you look very tired. i still don;t mind if you'd rather spend more time sleeping instead of going home to sleep."
-
Nikiri blinks before smiling, "Ah. I really do appreciate the thoughtfulness my little princess but I must head home. Mother has still been shaken quite a bit so I will be tending to the three littles to give her a little more time to process this."
Takana nods, "thats incredibly kind of you, just please take care of yourself as well."
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Izanagi sighs, " make sure you sleep! and eat! and other... stuff... you know what i mean. don;t neglect yourself."
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Nikiri smiles and goes over to izanagi, "I'll take care of myself, dont worry about that." He leans down and kisses nagi on the lips
-
Izanagi goes on tiptoes to meet the kiss and sighs when it's done, " you better!"
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Nikiri nods and heads out of the apartment to go home.
Takana is blushing from seeing the two kiss but he doesnt say anything, instead choosing to go to the kitchen to make some tea.
-
Izanagi sighs and flops onto his bed, " god damn it why won;t that man just take me as hiiiiis. not fair."
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Takana finishes making some tea, decaf and light in flavor since he's ready for bed. he goes over to izanagi's doorway and raises an eyebrow, "Do you want any tea before bed? its decaf."
-
He shakes his head, " im good. i'll pass out pretty quick after todays work." he yawns as if to prove that. He changes into the kimono and curls up into bed.
-
Takana nods and goes back to the kitchen and set the kettle away as he sips his tea, thinking about how tomorrow will go. Thankfully he started to feel drowsy and he sets his empty cup into the sink before heading to bed himself
-
Izanagi isn;t curled up for long before he's totally passed out, nose buried into the fabric.
-
another night passes and soon its morning again, takana is again, already up making breakfast, this time a bit more savory as he finishes making an omelet, covered in cheese and filled with cut up ham.
-
Izanagi comes out of bed and sniffs the air, " mmmmmmm" he plops down at the table and grins, " this is a wonderful way to wake up."
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Takana snorts and gets said omelet on a plate with some hashbrowns and bacon, setting it in front of izanagi along with some fresh tea, "money and food are my only two saving graces at this point."
-
Izanagi hums happily, not making a noise committing himself either way as he digs in.
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takana makes himself his own omelet and sits down, enjoying eating something with more protein
-
Izanagi soon polishes off his and sighs happily, " thank you for the meal!"
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Takana nods, "No problem." he finishes eating his food and takes his plate to the sink, washing it and drying it quickly before tossing it back in the cupboard
-
Izanagi cleans his own plate and cup, going to his room and getting changed, " hopefully the manager has some new employees."
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Takana nods, "I think mina should already be there with someone she thinks would be a good fit?"
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Izanagi sighs, " yeah, though her description was... less than encouraging."
-
Takana nods, "agreed. From the sound of it mina is choosing this girl for a rainbow color scheme she seems to want the cafe to have."
-
Izanagi nods, " something like that. but hopefully any amount of help will help?"
-
Takana nods, "Agreed. " he finishes getting ready
-
Izanagi grabs his bag and sighs, " we probably need to get going..."
-
takana nods, "Another day another dollar." he heads to work
mina is already there is a young green haired girl, the girl looking very flustered and shy
-
The manager is working with her and a young man who's clearly one of the other applicants, teaching them basic things that can help move things along, such as seating customers and clearing dishes from tables at least to take that off the experienced employees.
-
The girl nervously watches, keeping her hands close to her body
-
The manager gets them nametags and looks at everyone else, " alright, lets get ready to go. we have another hard day ahead, so i need you all at top performance. Takana, you should have more than enough supplies to cook with."
-
Takana nods and heads to the kitchen to quickly get ready
Mina winks at the green haired girl, "See Kaeru? its not so bad! and luckily so far a lot of our customers have been pretty much requesting two things."
Kaeru nods hesitantly, her voice very soft, "i um, i'll do my best mina-san."
-
The manager looks at Mina, " go get changed. we open in 15." she gets to work setting things up to make things go more smoothly, and making sure the drink machines are clean and in working order.
-
Mina nods and quickly gets ready.
Hikari quickly scrambles into the cafe and runs to the back to get changed
-
The manager waits until everyone is ready and opens the cafe, smiling as she lets only a certain number of customers in before stopping and making the rest wait, quickly going around to take orders to start.
The new guy works at seating the people and taking some drink orders.
-
Kaeru does her best.
Mina bounces about as she takes orders happily.
Hikari makes sure drink orders go through quickly
-
The day goes by more smoothly with the extra help, as untrained as it is. And the manager ensures everyone, Hikari especially, get breaks and gets a good meal.
-
The end of the day finally rolls around and Kaeru takes a seat, sighing softly, "Oh.... oh my."
Mina happily bounces over to kaeru, "See? that wasnt so hard. You'll get money for your shrine in no time! ...hopefully."
-
The manager nods to everyone, " good job everyone. i know it was a hard day for our new employees, but hopefully as we get used to this faster pace it'll be easier. im also still trying to hire more help so we'll see how it goes. just hang in there, there will be bonuses for all of you that stick with it during this busy time. Things will likely slow down a bit after a bit as well, though i don;t expect a huge decrease." She sighs, " im proud of you all though. you're doing very well."
-
Takana finishes cleaning the kitchen and walks over to the manager, giving a tired smile, "Things went pretty well all things considering. thats great."
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The manager nods, "indeed. you kids go ahead and get on home."
-
Takana nods and heads out the door, knowing izanagi will be behind him
kaeru bows to the manager before going over to Mina and hikari, "Um. can i follow you two until i get close to my shrine?"
Mina nods, "Of course! Cant let a pretty girl like me walk alone!"
Hikari rolls her eyes and looks at kaeru, "Ummmm kaeru, right?"
kaeru nods, "Yes! Kaeru, kaeru!"
Hikari sighs, "I'll make sure you get home safe."
the green haired girl nods and the three girls walk home together
-
Izanagi indeed hurries after Takana.
The other guy who is a new hire heads out alone.
The manager sees them all out before going to do paperwork.
-
Takana happily walks down the sidewalk, smiling at izanagi, "Was today a little easier?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, it still went fast but it didn;t feel nearly as crazy. having the extra people did help."
-
Takana chuckles, "thats good. a part of me-" he suddenly stops, his ears standing straight up as he suddenly feels something unsettling rush over him. He blinks and glances around the empty street, frowning. there wasnt anything out of the ordinary going on but for some reason red flags were going off like sirens in his head.
He sniffs the air before glancing at izanagi, "do you smell something weird?"
-
Izanagi blinks and sniffs the air, " kind of? what is that?"
-
Takana shudders and he takes a step back, "dude it reeks of sulfur. And im feeling really weird about this area."
Some shuffling can be heard from half a block ahead of them, humming soon following after
-
Izanagi pales and grabs Takana, yanking him into the nearest alley and quietly shushing him.
-
Takana yelps softly, "What are you doing?!"
A tall, pale demon steps out from around the corner, humming. his hair is as white as his skin and his overly long arms are covered in symbolic tattoos, "odddd...... i could have sworn i heard a couple of sweet, succulent voices nearby~"
His back is hunched over as he walks, his long arms causes the back of his hands to drag along the concrete as he walks although he doesnt even seem to notice
-
Izanagi quickly covers takana's mouth and shakes his head quickly, looking terrified.
-
Takana was about to say something but he hears the demons sickly, quiet voice and freezes
The demons keeps walking, his head lifts slightly, revealing that his two eye sockets are completely empty, "Come out... come out.... wherever you are...." he walks past the alley as he continues down the street, thankfully getting farther from the boys
-
Izanagi waits until the demon is long gone and quickly starts pulling Takana away from where the demon went, quickly scurrying home.
-
Takana doesn't argue, doesnt even talk, he just runs home with izanagi, scrambling into their apartment unit, panting and shaking in terror
-
Izanagi locked the door behind them and latches the chain, " oh gods... that was close..."
-
Takana gasps and whines loudly, "The fuck was that?! What the fuck was that!?"
-
Izanagi flops onto the couch, " that was a demon, a bad one. i don;t think he's from this district... those tattoos are gang tattoos i think."
-
Takana shudders and leans against the couch as he opts to sit on the floor, "That was fucking awful...."
-
Izanagi nods, " oh i hope we see Nikiri soon, i gotta tell him!"
-
Takana shudders, "A guy like that just walking around is seriously dangerous. I hope the others got home safely."
-
Izanagi nods, " If we can tell Nikiri then he can tell Arakan who can take care of it... we just gotta get through tonight."
-
Takana nods and brings his knees up to chest, "i dont think im sleeping tonight..."
-
Izanagi twiddles his fingers somewhat before looking at takana, " do you... do you want to sleep in my bed? not to have sex, just... just for comfort..."
-
Takana nods, "yeah. Yeah i actually really do."
-
Izanagi nods and changes into the kimono from Nikiri and gets into bed, scooting over so Takana has room as well.
-
Takana changes into some fresh pajamas and gets into the bed next to izanagi and nervously glances at the bedroom door. Nothing scary about it but he was terrified of everything right now, "um. Thanks for uh. This. For sharing your bed. "
-
Izanagi snorts, " im doing it for myself don't thank me. lets just get some sleep, or try to anyway." he lifts the kimono's sleeve to his nose and inhales, laying his head down with the fabric against his face as he closes his eyes.
-
Takana sighs and rolls on to his side, back facing izanagi as he tries to get a few hours of sleep in
-
Izanagi soon falls asleep with the comfort of Takana and the kimono. this shit was more normal to him, this was demon life in a nutshell.
-
As the next day comes around takana is still asleep, having been awake for hours until he finally fell asleep around 3am
-
Izanagi wakes and blinks sleepily at Takana who's still asleep, carefully climbing over him and heading to the kitchen. he looks in the fridge and decides to try and be nice since it was freaky and starts making some questionably edible scrambled egg dipped toast. not french toast, just... egg dipped toast.
-
Takana's nose twitch and he blinks as he smells something......questionable. He yawns and gets up, curiously going to the kitchen, "Nagi?"
-
Izanagi blinks and looks over, " oh hey. you... seemed tired. so i tried to make breakfast."
-
Takana quickly realizes his mistake in staying up and sleeping in and he does his best to to nod and smile, "That is nice of you. sorry i didnt wake up earlier. it was kinda hard for me to fall asleep."
-
Izanagi smiles and puts the egg toast onto plates, " here!" he sits with it and starts eating.
-
Takana nods, "Ah, thank you very much." he sits down and politely eats his..... egg toast
-
Izanagi smiles and quickly finishes his, not noticing that it's not really anything that can be considered an actual recipe being used to lower standards.
-
takana internally sighs, knowing that despite its outcome, it was just dry eggs and bread which was close enough anyway
-
Izanagi hums and grabs the dishes, cleaning them up, clearly pleased with himself.
-
Takana watches and inwardly sighs. Dont crush someone's kindness just because you can. Thats what his mom always told him and he wasnt doing a really good job with that in some aspects....but to be fair he didnt know he was being helped at all.
-
Izanagi finishes up and sits on the couch, " we still have some time, maybe you should read some of those books Kiri got you?"
-
Takana nods, "Good idea." he grabs one of the books and sits down, opening the it up to the first page
-
Izanagi hums softly and turns on the tv and a movie.
-
Takana's frowns every so often as he reads, finding quite a number of discrepancies
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Izanagi keeps an eye on the time and when it starts getting close he gets up, " we should get ready." and heads to his room, changing into his street clothes.
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takana blinks and sets the book down before getting ready himself
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Izanagi grabs his bag and waits for Takana.
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Takana takes a deep breath before heading to work, constantly looking around
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Izanagi looks at Takana, " it's safer during the day. we'll be alright." he follows after, his pace a bit brisker than normal despite his words.
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takana looks at izanagi and hesitantly nods as he keeps his pace up with the other demon
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Izanagi looks around, hoping to see Nikiri among those waiting for the shop to open.
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takana doesnt bother looking, he just runs straight into the shop, sighing in relief once he's inside
Mina blinks when she sees takana and tilts her head, "Now whats gotten you out of breath like that?"
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Izanagi whines when he doesn;t see Nikiri and goes in, quickly finding the manager and telling her what happened.
She frowns, " that does sound serious. i'll let Arakan know, perhaps we can see about having him walk everyone home." she pulls out her phone and heads into her office, calling Arakan.
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mina over hears izanagi explain what happened and she pales, "oh thats terrifying! im glad you two are okay though!"
takana shivers, "it was almost impossible for me to fall asleep last night."
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Izanagi nods, " it was awful." he shudders, " i was hoping Nikiri would be here today..."
The manager walks out, " everyone listen up, Arakan has been informed of the situation, and has agreed to make sure you all get home safely. the girls live closer, so you will all go there first to drop them off. Then Arakan will see Takana and Izanagi home."
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Mina hums, "I think he mentioned the other day that he would stop by again a few hours before closing to see you two before we went home."
Takana perks up when he hears mina and the manager mention protection
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Izanagi perks up, " oh good. i want to tell him too..."
The manager nods, " alright, now that that's settled, it's daylight, and doubtful that any demon will be bold enough to come cause trouble in day hours. lets get to work"
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Takana nods and quickly goes to the kitchen.
Mina goes to the back with hikari and kaeru to get changed before getting into their positions for work
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Izanagi and the other new guy get changed, the new guy getting a more suit and tie outfit being too masculine to pull off a dress.
The manager hurries around getting things ready.
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Takana finishes getting ready, silently hoping that the hype for curry and soup decreases at some point
Mina excitedly waits for the chance for more money.
Hikari finishes getting her station ready
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The manager opens the shop once they're ready and lets the limit of customers in, letting the insanity start.
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Everyone is working as hard as they can, and true to mina's word, nikiri carefully steps in when it's close to closing, sitting away frrom most of the crowd
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Izanagi bounce over when he sees him, " it's busy so i can;t talk but i reeeeally need to talk to you at closing okay?" he bounces off to keep working.
Arakan also makes his appearance right before closing, not ordering anything just waiting for the shop to close.
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Nikiri sees arakan and smirks at him, "smells pretty good in here doesnt it."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " it does, i've heard there are some popular new dishes from several people. Im not here to eat however, there's a dangerous demon in the district evidently and i was asked to escort the employees home."
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Nikiri stiffens and he frowns, quickly getting serious, "a-ah. That... well im glad i stopped by then."
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Arakan nods, " i will be looking into the matter tonight after i've seen them safely back to their homes."
The manager locks up the cafe after the last customer leaves, allowing of course Arakan and Nikiri to stay inside, " alright, good work again everyone."
Izanagi goes over to Nikiri, " Nikiri! there was a super scary demon last night with no eyeballs and creepy long arms with tattoos and we smelled something weird and he was humming and we hid and then he said he had heard us and it was super fucking scary."
Arakan raises an eyebrow at the description as he overhears that.
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Nikiri quickly wraps his arms around izanagi and holds him tightly, "i heard. Oh im so sorry you had to go through with that. You're alright though, right? Do i need to switch my kimono out to a new one for you?"
Takana steps out from the kitchen and looks at the manager, "kitchen is all set for tomorrow."
Mina and kaeru are holding each others hands as they hesitantly look out the cafe's windows, not wanting to go out there.
Hikari gets her bag ready and looks at the girls before shaking her head. She wasnt sure if panicking was something that was needed. It had been a whole day so surely that demon probably left already. Everyone was over reacting
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Izanagi blinks when Nikiri hugs him, though is happy enough to snuggle in, " im okay. he didn;t find us, and we got home safe. the one i have still has a lot of scent... it's alright."
The manager nods, " well done Takana, thank you. alright everyone, stay with Arakan and get home safely, listen to what he tells you alright?" she looks hard at Takana with that last bit before going into her office.
Arakan steps over to the employees, " we'll all go together and drop the girls off first, then we'll drop off the boys since they're further off. lets go." he goes to the door and opens it.
The new guy hesitates before following, and Izanagi stays clinging to Nikiri. he wasn't quite ready to let go of his comfort yet.
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Takana blushes when the manager gives him a look and he quickly looks away, ears back. Right. Behave. God that sounds stupid.
Nikiri keeps one arm around nagi and goes over to arakan, "you gonna take the front and i'll follow behind? I dont doubt your ability to protect at all but i'm sure izanagi would prefer i follow."
Mina smiles at arakan and follows close to him happily.
Hikari follows obediently, her expression still void of any emotion since she didnt feel like she was in any danger.
Kareu clings to mina, shaken up the most despite her shrine only being a couple of blocks away. The main road would split off further down and cross a small wooden bridge where a small pond and stream surround a small, quaint shrine where frogs ribbit loudly
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Arakan nods, " very well." he takes the lead and heads to the closest residence that they need to drop someone off at, clearly alert and watching for any sign of danger and making sure everyone stays close.
Izanagi is more than happy to stay glued to Nikiri's side. might as well enjoy it while he can!
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Kaeru crosses the bridge when they get to her place and she bows to arakan before going inside her shrine, the frogs following
Nikiri for once is less focused on nagi and more alert on his surroundings
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Arakan nods to her and watches to make sure she get in safely before heading to the next place.
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Its mina's family home. Not big, but very decent all things considering. The lights are on and a woman who looks as bubbly as mina is waiting at the door.
Mina smiles happily, "mama!!" She looks at arakan and bows, "thank you! " she runs down the sidewalk up to her mom, "guess what! I got a lot of tips today! "
The mother hugs mina before looking at arakan and giving a nod to him, a silent but grateful thanks, before bringing mina inside and closing the door.
Hikari kept her eyes to the ground during the entire thing. She absolutely did not want to see such a happy family. It would upset her and it would upset mina, and it wasn't fair to mina.
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Arakan nods respectfully to Mina's mother and waits until they're safely inside before continuing on.
Izanagi nuzzles into Nikiri's side.
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They continue walking for a bit until they get to a slightly smaller house. Its a little dilapidated, and there are no lights on. There is no sense of warmth with this house unlike the one before. The tall grass and broken fences doesnt really help the overall appearance of the sad little home.
Hikari bows to arakan for respect towards him, although if she had the choice not to she would only because she didnt want to look at anyone. She was terrified of seeing pity, concern, or whatever you called it. And she didnt want to hear any comments. She just wanted to hide from them in her home.
Once she's done with the quick bow she runs for the door, carefully opening it so the hinges dont show their age and she closes the door.
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Arakan nods to her to acknowledge the bow, not showing any change in expression at the house, although he was mentally filing this information away. He turns and starts towards Takana and Izanagi's residences as the other guy also lives near there.
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nikiri follows arakan, rubbing izanagi's shoulder for comfort as they walk.
takana starts to feel nervous as they get closer to where they live
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Izanagi sighs happily, " i surprised you haven;t tried to get your kimono back from me."
Arakan is clearly alert, watching for any sign of danger as he leads the group.
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nikiri hums, "I have plenty at the moment. and if it gives you piece of mind then its perfect."
Takana felt weirdly exposed with nikiri staying close to izanagi and... well he didnt want to be the close to arakan
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Izanagi snuggles in closer, " i hope you know im never giving it back."
Arakan glances back at Takana, "... im not going to let anything happen to you."
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Nikiri chuckles, "If you dont give it back i wont switch it out with a new one for you."
Takana jumping slightly when he hears arakan and he looks up at him for a little bit before quickly looking back down, not really knowing what to say
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Izanagi frowns as he contemplates that. on one hand, keeping it. on the other hand... refreshed scent... " ...fine. but i will steal one from you if you don;t gimme a new one when you take the other one."
Arakan sighs, well he wanted the boy to be more respectful, afraid is at least an improvement from insolent. Soon they reach the apartment building and the other new guy goes to one of the buildings on the block. Arakan waits for them to go in, " stay inside while it's dark out. i'll be hunting that demon down tonight, but i cannot promise i will find him."
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Nikiri looks at izanagi and smiles, "Of course. now go inside."
Takana nervously glances at the higher ranked demons before heading inside
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Izanagi reluctantly lets go of Nikiri and goes inside, " come on Takana."
Arakan watches them as they go in to make sure they get in safely, noting that Takana glances back at him and Nikiri and not changing his expression. Once the two lower ranked demons are safely inside he sighs, " you can go home if you wish, i know your family is still going through a difficult time."
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Nikiri hums softly, "summer is with mother now so i have some time. I do not mind assisting you with a little bit of a scavenger hunt, after all, my youngest siblings venture these streets every now and again and id rather it be safe for their benefit." He keeps his hand resting on the hilt of his katana, "an extra set of eyes is better than one set after all. "
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Arakan nods, " very well." and starts walking, searching alleys and the worse parts of town. He wasn;t exactly thrilled about having Nikiri with but he knew the other could hold his own.
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Nikiri follows but keeps a short distance. He hates to admit it but it seems like an average night. Not even the sound of sewer rats were disturbing the night
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Arakan gradually gets more and more irritable as they go, wanting this to be over with but resigned to the fact that it was unlikely they'd find this demon tonight.
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Nikiri glances at arakan and sighs, "i'm not sensing anything. Id almost assume he got what he came for here, however that cant be it since you hadnt been notified of anything today. Maybe he was smart enough to leave?"
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Arakan snorts, " i doubt that. no, something tells me this is only the beginning... i hope i am wrong though." he sighs, " go home. this is pointless. we both need our strength if we're going to keep vigil for however long it takes to wipe this threat out."
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Nikiri hums softly, "i think i will retire for the evening. I myself must make sure my sisters are careful. Get some rest yourself." Nikiri bows before disappearing
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Arakan nods, " i will shortly." he sighs and makes another round through some neighborhoods before giving up and heading home for the night.
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The sun slowly rises and takana finds himself waking up after sleeping like the dead. He did feel better knowing that arakan had patrolled last night although it also pissed him off. The guy didnt have to act nice after he was a dick earlier.
Takana gets dressed and sighs, going to the kitchen and starts making some pancakes
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Arakan had gone home that night and slept a few hours before patrolling before the sun came up with as little luck as the night before, but unable to stay sleeping long when there was a threat.
Izanagi is passes out, with soft snores as he has his face shoved into the kimono.
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Takana finishes cooking the pancakes and sighs before setting the plates on the table, debating on whether he should wake izanagi up or not
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Izanagi's nose wakes him, and he stumbles from the bedroom with his eyes closed and following the scent of fresh pancakes to the table before his eyes crack open, " mmmmmmmmmm."
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Takana looks at him and nods, "i was about to wake you. Good morning."
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Izanagi plops into his chair, " mornin. smells good."
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Takana pushes a plate towards him which has a fork, "it is good. Eat."
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Izanagi makes a happy noise and digs in.
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Takana glances at the time and sighs, "i hope those two didnt spend all night looking for that scary demon. "
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Izanagi blinks, " well they might have, night will be the most likely time to find him. Nikiri probably went home early since his family is going through a lot still. I doubt Arakan slept much."
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Takana sighs, "thats no good. He needs sleep."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " thought you hated him? why do you care?"
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Takana huffs, "he's a jerk and i do hate him. But everyone needs proper sleep no matter who they are or how strong they think they are. Bad decisions are always made when you're running on next to no sleep and if he is in charge of all of us then he needs to make sure he takes care of himself. Thats all im saying!"
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Izanagi snorts, " sure. he'll probably sleep today since demons tend to do bad things more at night. plus he's not in charge of us all, that's his dad. he's just taking over some of the responsibility and preparing for when he eventually does."
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Takana pouts, "i dont know this stuff. Im trying okay?"
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Izanagi nods, " sorry sorry. i just find it entertaining you worry about him so much when you hate him so much."
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Takana starts cleaning up the mess, sighing, "i can hate people all i want but it doesnt mean i wouldnt care about them..."
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Izangi quickly finishes his pancakes, " that's an interesting way to view things."
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Takana sighs, "Its just how I see it... but ive been wrong before clearly..."
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Izanagi sighs, " it's complicated sometimes. anyway...hows the reading thingy going?"
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Takana shrugs, "about as well as reading has always been for me. Ive gotten through a few chapters but... admittedly im having a hard time grasping at some of the information. "
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Izanagi tilts his head, " i don't read much, but what are you having trouble with?"
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"I guess it just feels like a big he said, she said kind of thing. I mean, yeah i took the information that i was taught at face value and believed it because i only had that information but now i dont know if i believe my history or your guy's..."
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Izanagi rubs the back of his neck, " well that's how it is most of the time isn't it? usually the history that's widely known is the one written by the victors. doesn't mean it's true. i couldn't really tell you if either is true, i just know what my parents told me, though we're not really supposed to talk about it. it wasn;t super long ago, find an older demon and they can probably give you a first hand accounting. if they'll talk anyway, like i said, not really supposed to talk about it."
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Takana frowns and looks at izanagi, "Why not?"
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Izanagi blinks, " ah... well i guess i never thought about it much. probably so we don't rebel or something? i just know that if word reaches any of the humans that any demon has been talking about it, usually that demon gets removed from that district. they say they transfer them but... that just doesn't make much sense. we've never had a demon moved here for something like that that i've ever known."
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Takana pales slightly and he looks uncomfortable, "so... its because of the humans that you dont talk about it...."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... it's not so bad? not like it's a topic many of us like to get into. um, was there anything else?"
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Takana quickly shakes his head and looks away, "No. not at the moment. to be fair i wasnt great in my own history classes because frankly some of the events of the past were boring."
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Izanagi nods, " fair...um, anyway, i guess we should get ready?"
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Takana nods and starts getting ready, "Thanks for humoring my questions. I know they seem.... stupid..."
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Izanagi shrugs, " no more stupid than any other questions. how can you know? i highly doubt the humans would portray us as anything other than evil and horrible and we're kept under control for the good of everyone including ourselves."
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Takana looks uncomfortable as he gets ready. he wasnt denying what izanagi said... the media really only had news about all the terrible things that happened because of demons.... but he still ended up giving izanagi a chance with the whole roommate thing so its not like every human believed it...
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Izanagi gets ready and grabs his bag, " alright, im ready when you are."
-
Takana nods and heads out, making sure he sticks close to izanagi since he was still nervous about that weirdo
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Izanagi doesn;t stray far from Takana either, and quickly makes his way to the shop.
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takana gets into the cafe and makes sure izanagi is behind him
the girls are already there, getting ready
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Izanagi heads to the back to change.
The manager is there with a few more new employees, working at a quick crash course of training to get them decent. She nods to Takana and Izanagi when they arrive.
Arakan is sitting at a table in the corner, looking tired. He glances at Takana and Izanagi when they come in. good, that was all of the employees here safely.
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Takana glances at arakan, making a mental note of how tired he looks before quickly heading to the kitchen to get the food prepped for their busy day.
Mina makes sure her outfit is perfect, along with kaeru's, making the green haired shrine demon blush a little.
Hikari temps the coffee and tea machines to make sure they are at their correct temperatures.
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Arakan checks his phone, looking for updates from anyone.
Izanagi scurries about making sure every table is clean and stocked.
The manager watches everyone work, instructing the couple of newer people and watching the clock for when they're supposed to open. " alright, everyone ready?"
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Mina bounces happily, "yes!"
Kaeru gives a hesitant nod, "i- i think so."
Hikari gets her cups in position, "good to go."
Takana peeks his head to look at the manager, "everything is good to go in the kitchen."
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The manager nods and unlocks the door, letting customers in and getting them seated.
Arakan gets up and walks over to the drink station and looks at Hikari, " a coffee if you don;t mind. just black."
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Hikari nods, "of course." She quickly pours a cup of plain black coffee before handing the cup to him, "here you are."
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Arakan nods in thanks before going back over to his table, sitting and drinking the coffee.
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Soon delicious aromas fill the shop as food is beought out to those who ordered it.
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Izanagi notices how tired Arakan looks drinking his coffee and heads to the back, " takana, you should make a special order for Arakan. i think he stayed up most of the night... he likes spicy foods, and he hasn;t tried your cooking yet. he's stubborn, i doubt he'd ever order it."
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Takana glances at izanagi and frowns, "why am i not surprised the ice guy likes spice. How spicy does he like it?"
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Izanagi shrugs, " i've never seen him act like it's too much, and one time the cook accidentally put ghost peppers into his dish instead of regular ones. it's not like he usually comes out and talks about it."
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Takana snorts, "he probably cant taste then. I might as well have fun with this. " takana starts getting a plate of rice and curry going, the curry itself becoming bright red with spice before he hands it to izanagi, "his majesties slop is ready."
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Izanagi hesitates, " are you sure this is okay?" he looks at the curry doubtfully, the spice on it making his eyes water a bit just being so close.
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"If he enjoys heat then he'll eat it. If it makes you feel better i would never poison food. Itd be a waste of food."
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Izanagi chews his lip and then sighs, " i hope you know what you're doing." he takes it out and sets it out in front of Arakan, " enjoy!"
Arakan looks at the plate in confusion, " i did not order this."
Izanagi nods, " we thought since you've been working so hard to keep us safe, and this is one of our new popular dishes, you should have it! please enjoy." he scurries off to avoid any backlash in case Takana would get in trouble for it.
Arakan looks at the red pile and raises an eyebrow, sighing and grabbing his fork, taking a large bite and blinking in surprise. it was... really good. the spice was intense, but he liked the burning sensation. it was similar to the burn of his frost, and made him feel alive, instead of simply going about each day. He suppresses an urge to wolf it down and takes slow bites, seeming indifferent to it as he checks his phone and slowly makes his way through the dish.
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Takana curiously peaks his head around the wall before raising an eyebrow and going back to the kitchen, "man the balls on that guy. To think he is actually eating it. If he's trying to prove a point then damn, he certainly did."
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Izanagi goes over after the plate is empty, figuring if he ate it all he wasn;t angry about it.
Arakan notices Izanagi and nods, " if the quality of the other dish matches this one, i can see why the cafe has gotten so popular." that was about as close as he could get to giving an outright compliment without seeming like he was showing too much favor.
Izanagi brightens, " im glad you liked it!" he scurries to the kitchen and Takana, " he really liked it! he didn't say that, but he ate the whole thing and said that he could see why the cafe has gotten so popular thanks to it!"
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Takana blinks his eyes widen, "Shit. He... actually ATE that? I put in enough spice to kill a man." he sighs and shakes his head, "ah but i guess i only have the experience of it killing a human so him being a demon has something to do with it."
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Izanagi gasps, " you actually tried to hurt him?! you told me it was going to be okay!!!! omgomgomgomg!" he starts going in circles, clearly in a panic.
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Takana looks back at izanagi and snorts, "Oh relax it was an expression." mostly. "at most humans deal with some pain in their mouths from the spice and gastrointestinal trauma later. I just didnt expect him to be so chill about it."
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Izanagi still looks worried, " well lucky for you he liked it..." suddenly a loudspeaker crackles in the ceiling, and a voice is clearly heard, " attention all demons. Inspection will be held two days from now. You all must be present at the border gates for collar inspection, failure to comply will be severely punished. 10am sharp." and then goes silent.
Izanagi pales somewhat and looks down, the mood suddenly getting tense and unhappy.
Arakan who had been looking almost pleased, quickly gets a dark expression on his face as he gets up, " i have a lot to do in that case... thank you for the meal." he puts down money for his tab, although the coffee would have been free for him and the curry was on the house.
-
Takana blinks when he heard the speakers and he frowns before looking at izanagi, "who was that on the speakers? what was all of that?"
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Izanagi looks at Takana, " oh right. that's the inspection and border guard. about once a month, give or take, they make it random, every demon needs to gather to have their collar checked to make sure it's in working order..."
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Takana frowns, "Oh... right the inspection." would his ex be around then? "Um... what did they mean by severely punished? That sounds a little extreme."
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Izanagi pales, " i um...wearing a collar not in working condition is... not tolerated. i... i don't want to talk about it." he scurries from the kitchen.
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Takana blinks and frowns before sighing and going back to make the food
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Arakan leaves the cafe, all traces of his good mood gone as he goes to get thing ready for the inspections.
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Soon the day ends and takana starts wrapping the kitchen up
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The manager helps close things down at the end of the day, chewing her lip as she considers the options, " alright, i know things have been hectic, so with the upcoming inspections i've decided we'll be closed tomorrow. of course we'll be closed on the day after as well as that's inspection day, but i want you all to take tomorrow to get your collars checked and then take a bit of a day to yourself. try not to stress too much, we've gotten through plenty of inspections before, this one will be no different."
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the girls look at the manager and nods.
mina rubs her arm, "Im gonna go with mama and papa tomorrow then. it'll be easier to go with them then by myself."
Takana watches the scene unfold, the atmosphere heavy and tense and he wisely keeps his mouth shut
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The manager nods, " alright. Hikari, call me if you need anything alright?" she wasn;t going to ask if the other wanted her to go with or if she had money to afford getting her collar checked out, she knew the other was proud and hated her situation called out. but hopefully the offer would tell her that the manager was there to help if she needed it.
Arakan comes to the cafe, walking in and looking everyone over, " alright, lets get you all home."
Izanagi goes to follow Arakan, glad he hadn;t forgotten that other demon was around with the chaos of the inspection coming up.
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Hikari nods at the manager before going over to arakan along with mina, kaeru, and takana
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Arakan looks wiped, he had intended to sleep some today but with that announcement... he'd be going without for the next couple days it seemed while he kept an eye out for those demons and tried to get everything ready. He sighs and waits until everyone is grouped up and heads out, taking them to each of their homes.
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kaeru gets to her shrine safely and mina and hikari get to their homes as well. Mina, getting hugged by her parents at the door while hikari just goes inside quietly.
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The other new employees are escorted home and soon it's just Izanagi, Takana and Arakan. Arakan stifles a yawn as they walk, though by no means less alert despite his lack of sleep.
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Takana glances up at arakan and frowns before looking back down. Should he even ask if arakan is doing well? He pouts and looks down
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Soon they reach the apartment building and Izanagi unlocks the door before waiting for Takana. Arakan watches them go in, " stay inside at night. make sure you get your collars checked tomorrow." he looks at Takana, " DON'T be late to inspection day. you've never had it before, and there's nothing that i can say to prepare you... it's not always easy. Follow Izanagi and listen to him, he's been through enough to know how to behave to get through safely. I won't be able to protect you there."
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Takana flinches and looks away, giving a hesitant nod. What was he supposed to say? Nothing. Dont open your mouth. You'll just make someone mad...
He heads inside, feeling a little sick
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Arakan sighs as he watches the other go in. He wasn't about to get much sleep tonight or tomorrow, but after the inspections he could relax again. He turns and walks off, going to patrol.
Izanagi goes into their apartment and flops onto his bed, " man..."
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Takana goes to his room and sits down, sighing, "what the hell. what am i even to expect in the next couple of days."
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Izanagi goes to the bathroom and showers before changing into the kimono from Nikiri, inhaling deeply with the fabric pressed to his nose as he curls up in bed. it was going to be a rough couple of days that was for sure.
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takana changes into pajama's before falling asleep for the night
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Izanagi falls to sleep after a little bit of comfort from the scent of the kimono. he sleeps through the night and is asleep in the morning when the sun rises.
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Takana is already up with a cup of tea, sighing as he sits at the table. should he see if izanagi was even hungry? the whole mood seemed terrible
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Izanagi does soon wake, stumbling out of bed rubbing his eyes as he yawns. He shuffles to the kitchen and since there wasn;t any food smells, he tosses some bread into the toaster.
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Takana sees izanagi and he frowns before staring back at his coffee.
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Izanagi grabs the dry toast and plops onto the couch, munching it quietly.
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takana finishes his coffee and sets the cup in the sink. what do they do today? something about getting his collar checked? why? he just got the collar.
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Izanagi finishes his toast and sighs, " i suppose we better get moving, the lines for the collar fitters are always bad the day before inspections, so we'll be there awhile."
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takana blinks and looks at izanagi, "collar fitters?"
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, the person who fitted you for your collar. they do things like maintaining them and checking to make sure they're working too. there's only a few of them, they're only run by humans so understandably they're not a popular job for someone with the skills needed. they're also only near the border, so it's safer for them. almost every demon in the district will be going by to visit them, so the lines will be long."
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Takana blinks and frowns. that... cant be right. "I see. Thats unfortunate..." He gets up and sighs.
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Izanagi smiles, " hey there's one bonus, since we're going together one of us can hold our spot in line while the other goes and gets lunch if it gets late. it sucks to wait when you're hungry, and dipping out of line isn;t really an option...but yeah, we should go." he quickly gets changed into street clothes and heads out the door.
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takana was already changed and follows izanagi out the door, "I can give you money but since im bad at directions it might have to be you to get lunch."
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Izanagi chuckles, " yeah that's probably for the best."" he heads for the border, and some long lines come into view that lead to the businesses that deal with collars.
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Takana sees the line and his eyes widen slightly, "holy shit."
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Izanagi looks at the lines, " well they're not as bad as they are sometimes yet. come on! lets hurry and get in line before they get worse!" he traces which line goes to which shop and picks one, " this is the one i usually go to, they're pretty decent about not getting too skittish over low rank demons like us."
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takana watches izanagi and follows the demon into the line, looking around nervously, "so many people here..."
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Izanagi looks at Takana, " well yeah. no matter how recently they've been maintenanced, collars can stop working at any time. there won;t be any time to check them tomorrow, so today is the best chance we all have of making sure everything is working... not having a working collar during an inspection..." he looks away, " well nobody wants that."
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takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "No one has told me what happens either during this whole thing. like, do you get a fine? a few days in jail or what?"
-
Izanagi pales and looks down, " no...they're not so generous as that."
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takana looks a bit shocked, "worse than jail time?"
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Izanagi ducks his head and looks away, " i really don;t want to talk about it..."
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takana sighs and looks away, his ears moving back in annoyance since he hasnt been able to get an answer out of anyone
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Izanagi rubs his arm and keeps his eyes on his feet, staying quiet as the line slowly creeps forward as people get their collars checked.
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Takana shakes his head, "whatever.... i suppose if worse case scenario i'll find out for myself."
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"...lets hope not." Izanagi stands patiently, knowing it'd take a few hours at best to get in. but since the collars only mostly needed to be checked that they were working, it didn;t take too long for each person.
-
takana looks away as he stays in line, watching the sun every now and then wondering how long they've been in line
-
Around lunchtime they finally get into the shop, and Izanagi quietly walks over to the chair and sits down to be strapped in as the woman running the shop secures him before checking the collar, taking it off and checking it over before snapping it back on and pressing the button to let him loose. " alright, next." Izanagi goes to the desk and pays for the service.
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takana watches izanagi go through the process, the only real thing he quickly thought was unfair was the fact that nagi had to pay THEM. his ears flatten a bit before he hesitantly goes to the chair and sits down when its his turn
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She presses the button and the restraints lock into place, and she walks over, taking Takana's collar off and inspection it, " hm, this is new isn't it? looks like it's in pristine shape. extra padding as well, someone's got delicate skin hm?" she snorts and snaps the collar onto Takana, the pushes the button to release him, " pay at the desk." she waves the next one in.
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Takana quickly gets out of the chair, the fur on his ears was a little poofy and he did his best not to shoot a glare at her before going over to the desk and paying, hating every moment. Why is he paying for them to insult him?! He was so lucky he didnt have a tail because he would not be able to stop it from being obviously pissed
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Izanagi sighs softly as they leave, " well it's still early, should we go do something fun? not that there's much open right now, maybe grab some food and go to the park?"
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Takana sighs, "sure. Im gonna need something sweet though. That bitch put me in a sour mood."
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" she's one of the better ones so...it's not too bad." he heads for the shopping district, " not many places are open, but there ought to be some vending machines for some ice cream."
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"Better ones? Jesus christ." He shakes his head, "uh yeah ice cream would be great."
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Izanagi laughs tensely, " well she's not pointing a gun or anything at us or using the collar triggers." he goes to a vending machine in a shopping area and puts some money in, pushing buttons to get a chocolate dipped cone, " what do you want?"
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Takana shrugs, "i'm not picky." He huffs and rubs his arm, "also! Why do you guys have to pay for the inspection? Thats not right."
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Izanagi shrugs, " i dunno. that's just how it's been as long as i've known." he presses the buttons to get another drumstick and hands it to Takana, quietly starting on his own.
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Takana takes the cone and huffs, "thanks..." he opens the wrapping and pouts.
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Izanagi looks away, what was he supposed to say? It was always rough at inspection time. " well we're done early, most places are gonna be closed so... what do you want to do?"
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takana's ears flatten. what did he want to do? "Honestly? find a way home and have a word with my dad since i have some questions."
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Izanagi shakes his head, " well that's certainly not happening today. they don;t let any demons out after inspections have been announced."
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takana huffs, "Okay. after then. as for today? just kinda wanna not do anything. relax if we can."
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Izanagi nods, " lets go home then."
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Takana looks at izanagi and takes a small bite of his cone before frowning, "Is that what you want?"
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Izanagi nods, " it doesn't matter much to me, im just gonna try and do stuff to keep me from thinking about tomorrow."
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Takana sighs, "we got our collars tested though right? We should be fine."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah... though anything can happen."
-
Takana keeps licking his cone, muttering softly before humming, "Lead the way. i dont know the way home."
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Izanagi nods and heads home, quietly getting to their apartment and settles on the couch with his cone.
-
Takana gets inside and heads to the kitchen, still munching a bit on his
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Izanagi soon finishes his and shoves a movie into the vcr, grabbing the kimono and curling up with it draped around himself like a blanket.
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He glances at izanagi and frowns before looking at his almost finished treat. He wished people would tell him shit around here.
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Izanagi had no problem normally telling him things, but it was too depressing to talk about and stressful. He glances over at takana, " wanna watch with me?"
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Takana blinks and looks over, snapping out of his thoughts. He thinks about it for a hot minute before shrugging and walking over, "Sure. whatcha watchin?"
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Izanagi scoots over so there's room on the couch, " lady and the tramp."
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Takana perks up and sits next to Izanagi, "Oh I remember that movie. Been a while since i saw it though."
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Izaangi nods and settles in to keep watching, it being at the start anyway, " it's good... and it was free."
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Takana blinks and glances at izanagi, "free huh? is that how you got a lot of your things?"
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Izanagi shrugs, " some things. Humans throw a lot of stuff away, so at the end of the month i sometimes go check out apartments. people usually have stuff next to dumpsters and whatnot, i've gotten a lot of things that way."
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Takana nods, "I knew a few people back in college who did the whole dumpster dive thing. college campuses are a great spot to look at the end of semesters as well. They are done with their education, or dorm, and they either dont have the space or money to bring along some good furniture so they just toss it so they dont have to deal with it."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, i can;t take anything too big, and i have to be careful, people get upset seeing me take things, even if it's something someone threw out."
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Takana blinks and frowns, raising an eyebrow, "But.... it was just going to get tossed. that doesnt make sense."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " humans don;t like demons. they don;t like us in their areas, being near them, taking their stuff. it doesn't make sense, but that's how it is."
-
"I could understand the stronger, scarier demons but for you and the others then i dont think it shouldnt be that big of a deal... but then again i dont think I have much of an opinion on that..."
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Izanagi shrugs, " strong demons aren;t usually let out of the district. i know Arakan has never left."
-
Takana sighs, "Maybe he should see the outside sometime. it'd do wonders for his mood."
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Izanagi looks at Takana, " he can't. they'll never let him out. Demons that high of rank aren't permitted to just wander around. He'll stay in this district the rest of his life."
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Takana pouts, "Yeah because of us humans. if i get back home i want to talk to my dad."
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Izanagi sighs, " maybe. but i doubt they'll let one like him out regardless. but you can try."
-
"Well even if i can start small it will eventually end up with everyone. I just dont understand that if you have collars that are supposed to put everyone on the same level then why also do all of this extra shit? its just a power move at this point."
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Izanagi shrugs, " dunno. that's just how it is."
-
Takana frowns and brings his knees up to his chest as he focuses on the movie
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Izanagi also looks at the movie, glad to not have to talk about this stuff anymore. He'd always just accepted it, and hearing Takana saying it was wrong was upsetting, he'd never really thought there could ever be a different way. yeah he disliked it, but to think it could change? never.
-
Takana kept watching the movie, now feeling a little sour as he watched two dogs falling in love. he wondered if his parents divorced had anything to do with his dads business.
-
Izanagi dozes off during the movie, cuddled into the kimono that was bringing him comfort.
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The movie ends and takana glances at izanagi and he frowns, seeing the demon fast asleep. takana gets up and goes to his room, grabbing his blanket and going back to the couch and gently lays his blanket on izanagi before going back to his room for the night.
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Izanagi snuggles into the blanket and sighs softly in his sleep.
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Soon its the next day and takana is already up and dressed, munching on some toast since he felt too nervous to make food
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Izanagi sits up and rubs his eyes, having slept through the night. He then remembers the day and pales, looking down before getting to his feet and also making some toast, making himself eat despite his roiling stomach.
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Takana could feel the atmosphere change when izanagi goes to the kitchen and it makes him glad he didn't make breakfast. The demon looked like he would vomit up air if that was possible
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Izanagi takes his toast back to the couch and nibbles at it unenthusiastically.
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Takana looks at Izanagi before looking away. it was hard to comfort him since takana had no idea what he'd even be comforting nagi for. was this inspection really that serious? he knew that there were some strict rules for the demons to follow but that also came with the humans having strict rules on how they enforced shit. and everything was so vague. he hated vague! he wanted answers!
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Izanagi finishes the toast and goes to his room and gets changed, " we'd better get going..."
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Takana nods, "Yeah. I'd like to see what the heck this whole inspection is about since everything i've read has been vague."
A loud, singular, almost doorbell like ring is heard from a nearby loudspeaker in the street, its purpose to give a 10 minute warning to line up into a demons respective street for the inspection.
Takana flinches and blinks, frowning, "The fuck was that?"
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Izanagi pales, " that's the 10 minute warning." he quickly heads for the door, " come on!"
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Takana yelps and quickly hurries after izanagi
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Izanagi grabs Takana's hand and pulls him to their spot, standing in line quietly and tensely, looking at the armed men at the end of the street.
Arakan stands with an older man, who has a wild mane of red hair and black curled horns, as well as black spiraling marks down the left side of his face as the two watch the armed humans, overseeing the inspection as heads of the district.
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Takana wasnt shocked to see so many demons lined up, but he was shocked at just how quiet everything was. It wasn't a peaceful quiet either. It was a tense, almost threatening silence that demanded respect. A quiet before the storm you could say.
One armed man was positioned at the very front middle of the group and he carried no gun. Instead he held what looked to be a tablet, large enough to require two hands.
He began his walk down the street, the armed soldiers walking with him in unison as they held their large, over powered military weapons close to their body, fingers already on the trigger in hopes of using it.
The man with the device never looks up to look at the demons, eyes focused on the screen as it feeds him information on who gets to live and who gets to die, his steps slow and precise.
-
Arakan and the other demon stay where they are, both watching the human group intently.
The tablet makes a sharp beep as it passes in front of a small family, two young boys huddled against their parents with fear in their eyes. You can see the man instantly blanch, hand darting up to his collar. The mother steps forward, " please forgive us, our youngest son's collar burned out at the same time my husbands did and we couldn't afford to replace them both... it'll be replaced as soon as we can afford it i swear!"
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the guy with the tablet doesnt even look up as he simply points at the father, not acknowledging them or their words.
three of the armed soldiers walk over and grab the dad, throwing him roughly into the streets, making sure to knock him to the ground, and away from the other demons.
Takana frowns and suddenly feels his stomach churn. what are they doing? why were these guards being forceful? they were only supposed to protect the other humans that had to enter, not have a power trip over a collar.
-
The woman screams and starts to lunge after her husband.
Arakan tenses and starts towards the men, before the older man next to him grabs him and with a look directs his attention to the woman before letting him go. Arakan nods and is next to the woman in a flash, holding her back and speaking in her ear too quietly for anyone but her to hear. The elder demon strides towards the men, " they're new to the district, im aware the protocol allows no exceptions, however i ask you to reconsider in this situation." he looks relaxed, trying to appear non-threatening.
-
The man finally breaks his gaze from his tablet to look at the demon and snorts, "The rules dont change just because its a different district. All districts follow the same rules so this shouldnt be new to them. Now Step. Back."
A couple of other demons nearby the family gently hold on to the children as well, not wanting them to get hurt either
-
" Im aware the rules are the same. what i mean is they haven't had much time to settle in and earn some extra money to be able to account for such an unfortunate circumstance as two collars wearing out at the same time. " He stands his ground, meeting the mans gaze calmly. He was pushing it, but he was about the only one that could get away with this.
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the man waves his hand dismissively, "We make an exception for one and then everyone is coming up with an excuse. Rules are rules and if they really were struggling then that just means you failed at keeping them safe. now step back before we decide to make an example and take out the whole family."
Takana's ears twitch and he frowns. take out? as in... as in kill?! they cant just DO that!! Takana quickly turns pale and he feels sick
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The demons eyes flash in rage as he steps back, " Of course." He doesn't take his eyes off them, he'd failed to earn their trust that they'd come to him with their issue, and now he was not about to look away from the consequences. Damn the humans...
Arakan faces the woman away from her husband, rage flashing in his eyes as he watches.
Izanagi looks down at his feet, eyes squeezed shut.
-
One soldier aims right at the dad's head and unloads his gun into the demons head
Everyone flinches when the shots are fired before looking down
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Arakan growls low and makes a move towards the humans before a look from his father stops him, and he settles for simply glaring at the heartless men.
The elder demon looks down at the body, he'd seen too many by now to really be traumatized by it, " the whole round is a bit overkill for d class. Step aside please." He waves the men off the body before he looks at the body and it alights, flames crackling as they reduce the corpse to ashes.
-
the guy quickly finishes scanning for other collars, knowing things are tense after every kill and when the tablet doesnt alert him to any other broken collars he begins his walk back to the gate with his men
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The elder demon escorts them to the gate, making sure they all leave before heading back and barking orders, " see that she's taken to the community quarters with her children. They'll be taken care of there. damn it, i should have checked in with them personally... Arakan, make sure there's no unrest. The last thing we need is people to get stirred up and give those monsters a reason to kill more."
Arakan nods, " of course. i'll make sure it's taken care of."
"Good. i need to go take care of the damn paperwork for this." he turns and stalks off towards the Yamamoto estate.
Izanagi slowly turns and heads back towards their apartment.
-
as the demons get dispersed both upset and grateful takana finds himself frozen in his spot, eyes wide as he stares at the ground. he was speechless, or in shock. he wasnt too sure which but all he could do was stay still, trying to catch his breath as he begins to shake.
why did they kill him? That would only make matters worse. they werent supposed to... this wasnt what- no one told him that humans were killing demons!
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Arakan makes sure everyone is going inside and notices Takana, walking over, " go inside, get some rest."
-
Takana snaps out of his trance when arakan approaches him and he stares at the demon before his eyes begin to water, his ears droop almost to an odd lifeless appearance and he sniffles, choking back a the urge to sob before wiping his face, "wh-why? why did they have to do that?"
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Arakan sighs, " you've been sheltered from the way things are, which makes this more difficult. This is just the way things are, because they're weaker than us they feel the need to ensure we know that they are in control, not us."
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Takana sniffles and wipes his face again, "we're supposed to be equals. we're-" he sobs and whimpers, "Those kids....that poor family..."
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Arakan snorts, " equals? a pretty lie told to help the humans to sleep at night. Same with the lies that we enjoy our collars and willingly stay in our districts. Pretty words so that the subjugation of an entire race is acceptable."
-
those words dont comfort takana. if anything it just makes him more upset and he shakes his head and turns away from arakan, sniffling
-
Arakan sighs and glances around to make sure everyone has gone into their homes before putting a hand on Takana's shoulder. " It's hard, believe me i know. I should have realized they may have needed aid, and that when i checked on them they were not truthful. perhaps they hoped the inspections in this district were more lenient than their previous district. i do not know. They will be taken care of, i promise this."
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Takana hiccups softly, "I just....they lost their father... they'll have nightmares for sure. I wish i could have stopped it..."
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Arakan shakes his head, " there is no way you could have prevented it. my father was unable even to persuade them to stop, had any lesser demon, including myself, dared to speak with them as he did, they would have died as well. you would have wasted your life pointlessly trying."
-
Takana shudders and rubs his arms. There's nothing he could really say to that. He wasnt going to retort with any self deprecating comments regardless of how true they felt simply because he felt it would take away from the current tragedy.
He manages to calm himself down a little, enough to stop from crying at any rate, "what....is going to happen to them? You said they'll be taken care of but will they be alright?"
-
Arakan tilts his head a bit, " well, we're not going to kill them if that's what you're implying. No, their things will be moved to our community center, where it'll be seen to that they have all of the essentials. They'll be given time to recover, and the kids will be watched when their mother is able to work again. whatever they need will be provided. it's not a luxurious life, but they will be given all they need to get by until they're able to support themselves, however long that may take."
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Takana shakes his head, "i wasnt implying that. Far from it honestly... i just wasnt sure if it was just going to be monetary help or if life skiils would be taught to try to fill in a missing family member or something... i cant do much but i can cook so... as much as i dont really care to be around kids i could still make sure they get food if the mom is out at work or.... i dont know.... dont listen to me. Im just rambling because i feel awful for them..."
-
Arakan nods, " the offer is appreciated, but not needed. though perhaps i will see about bringing them one of your special dishes now and then as a treat. you will probably want to lower the spice level for them though." he raises an eyebrow as he looks at Takana, " they will be given whatever aid they need. as much as i hate to say it they're not the first to have this happen, and they won't be the last. even families who either take the aid we offer or are able to keep their collars maintained by their own funds sometimes have mishaps. It's not common, but if a collar burns out just before inspection, there's not much we can do. regardless, it's something we have under control. we take care of our own, which you are now included in."
-
Takana snorts, "i only made it that spicy because it was for you. No normal person could handle that amount of ghost peppers. And i shouldnt be included. Im clearly an asshole. And i want to find a way back to my family.... or at least the ones that still care about me..."
-
Arakan snorts, " im not sure if i should be insulted or grateful. Regardless, it was enjoyable." he frowns, " you are here, therefore you are included. no exceptions. we don't leave any of our own out, no matter ho badly they behave. and you're learning your place, so i'll give you credit there. Nikiri has done well with you so far. you should get inside, things will be tense today, but most should be staying inside. Izanagi will help you get through this." he gently pushes Takana towards the door.
-
Takana snorts, "nikiri has a better sense of humor, although to be fair both of your positions are clearly different-" he makes a soft meep sound when he feels arakan guide him back to the apartment, "okay, okay! Im going!" He blushes and heads inside
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " im glad you can at least acknowledge my position accounts for not being able to indulge in humor often. tomorrow life resumes as normal, so take today for yourself."
-
Takana turns a bit red when he had heard arakan's voice chuckling and he closes the door. Bed. Nap. He needs to deal with the emotions he has
-
Izanagi is curled up on the couch watching another disney movie.
Arakan heads to make sure the family is moved and settled before he keeps an eye out for dissent.
-
Takana goes to his bed and lays down, choosing to stay in bed all day
-
Izanagi sleeps on the couch snuggled into the kimono with the comfort of the tv sounds and light on him. In the morning he gets up and makes some toast again, making himself eat.
-
Takana wakes up and sighs as he scratches the back of his head. he should shower.... he sighs and gets up, going to the shower and stepping inside
-
Izanagi gets dressed, the hopeless expression on his face really the only indication that anything ever happened.
-
After a quick shower takana steps out and goes to his room, getting dried and dressed, still feeling a bit nervous after yesterday
-
Izanagi looks over at Takana, " hey..."
-
Takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "Uh... hey...." fuck what does he even say? sorry my race has been murdering your race even though we're all told a much different story?
-
Izanagi rubs the back of his neck, " we... better get ready for work."
-
Takana nods before looking down, "yeah... um... im...sorry..."
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Izanagi rubs his arm, " you didn't do it, so you don't have to be."
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Takana sighs, "true but... no one tells us whats really going on and i think we've just come to accept that. but we shouldnt." he shakes his head, "But.... maybe this conversation should be held for another day... when things arent so raw..."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... i can't... i don't know. i just want to move on and forget it happened."
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Takana nods, "Thats completely fair..." takana finishes getting ready
-
Izanagi nods and grabs his bag, "coming?"
-
takana nods and heads out, "Yeah im coming..."
-
Izanagi heads out and goes to work.
The manager is there with the new hires, working with them to get things ready, " Good to see you both here boys. we should have these new people trained up enough that in a few days i can see about giving some of my veterans some time off, you've all earned it for sticking with me while we've had this busy spurt. today should be more mellow, demons tend to go out less for a few days after inspections."
-
Takana nods and goes to the kitchen and starts getting ready
mina and hikari are both at their stations, mina looking a little glum while hikari has her normal expression.
kaeru is near mina, waiting for the cafe to open
-
The manager goes over to Takana, " can you start teaching our chef how to make the dishes you're already making? i know Izanagi mentioned you wanted some time off to visit family a bit back."
-
Takana nods, "yeah i can do that. And regardless of whether i can actually see family or not it'd be good to have another chef to make these dishes in case the other catches a cold or something. Since it will be a slower day today its the perfect opportunity to teach him."
-
She nods, " that's what i was thinking. If you want a day off once he can manage these recipes i think we can work that in, just let me know."
-
"I'll start off with the cury just because that is the easiest to do and its very easy to switch flavors of cury around without messing up."
-
She nods, " i trust you to get it done." she heads out of the kitchen and heads out, making sure everything is in order before she unlocks the doors and opens the cafe, only a few people coming in instead of their now usual flood.
-
Despite it being a lot slower than their normal days it was still probably more than they would have had since last inspection.
Takana is diligent with teaching the chef about the recipe's
-
The manager makes sure everything is going smoothly and with all hands on deck for the slow day she makes sure the new people are doing as much as possible to learn how to get it done.
-
Mina is letting the new hires focus on the guests that there are so they get proper experience and she takes care of getting some deep cleaning done now that she has time, whether its dusting on top of window frames, machines, or any where else that is hard to get done when its super busy
Hikari also takes the extra time by making sure the coffee and tea machines are thoroughly cleaned as well
-
The day goes smoothly, everyone gets good breaks and the manager makes sure everyone gets a good lunch and lets the chef practice the dishes at the same time by giving the employees the practice dishes.
-
the employees are thankful for the managers generosity and for the easier day than normal.
takana is actually pretty confident in the chef's ability to make the curry
-
The manager was pleased, it wasn't like she could really risk serving the practice dishes to the customers and risk them being upset at a lower quality. So feeding her employees while letting him practice was the best solution. When she was told it was nearly up to Takana's usual she was pleased with the quick progress.
The end of the day comes and the shop closes down. Arakan comes in just before closing and sits at one fo the tables to the side, looking better rested for the first time in days having gotten some sleep that day. He had to be up at night with that demon still on the prowl, and wasn't about to forget to walk the employees home.
-
Takana and the chef work together to clean up the kitchen so that the chef knows where to put all of the extra things and foods away and cleaned up.
the girls go to the back to change out of their outfits before stepping back out, not wanting to make arakan wait.
takana steps out, holding a small grocery bag, the handles being tied tight to keep the contents inside warm. There had been a little extra rice and curry leftover from all the practicing so with permission granted by the manager he had spiced it up a LOT to give to arakan since the demon does a lot for them.
takana wouldnt give it to him now. not with everyone else around. but he figured since he and izanagi are the last ones to drop off it should be okay to give to him then.
-
Arakan nods when he sees them all, " alright, lets go." he gets up and with all of the employees following he heads out to get them to their respective homes.
The manager had been amused by the request, seeing as Takana had given the demon so much shit before. But she was glad to grant that request if it would help their situation. Plus he did do a lot for them when he wasn't obligated to, and did so much for their district. it was a well earned gift.
Izanagi notes the bag that Takana carries and tilts his head curiously.
-
they head out with the girls getting dropped off first as usual
takana had seen nagi's quizzical look and just shrugs in a 'dont worry about it' kind of way. he didnt want to say what it was if he didnt have to
-
Arakan makes sure everyone is dropped off and heads to Takana and Izanagi's apartment last, staying outside when they arrive. " alright, remember to stay inside at night. i still haven't found that demon yet."
-
Takana nods and frowns, "do you think that it left temporarily due to the inspection? He has to be counted for during that in his own area, right?"
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Arakan sighs, " it's possible. im not leaving it to chance however. Even if he was absent it's not like they would have been able to find him. he could also be unregistered. It's dangerous, but some groups do so with some members to be able to use them more freely."
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Takana grimaces, "That sounds... really scary..." he nervously holds the bag out to arakan, "Well, here. we had leftovers from how slow it was today and im sure you havent eaten considering how stressful things have been so take this. Its not anything special though! Just dont want food to go to waste!" he quickly turns and goes inside his apartment
-
Arakan nods, " it is scary, but so am i." he blinks as suddenly a bag of food is thrust at him and he takes it before he watches Takana rush into the building. He snorts softly in amusement, that one was interesting to say the least.
Izanagi quickly follows Takana in, " so that's what that was." he grins
-
Takana huffs at izanagi, "Dont say anything. we had extra and i figured he would eat it if i made it spicy."
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Izanagi laughs, " you're really trying to butter him up lately."
-
Takana turns bright red, "NO. No im not!!! im just an asshole so I have been... trying to not be an asshole."
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Izanagi snickers, " sure. well you're doing pretty good at it."
-
Takana huffs, "Shush. shush." his face is still super red and he cant help but feel suddenly nervous at the thought of being teased.
-
Izanagi hums softly and heads into the bathroom, still with a shit eating grin.
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Takana goes to his room and gets on his bed and shoves his face into his pillow
-
Izanagi showers, then makes himself a cup of ramen to eat on the couch.
-
After calming down a bit he sighs and gets back up and grabs one of the books nikiri gave him and continues reading
-
Izanagi finishes his ramen and yawns, going to his room and curling up in the kimono as usual. It was losing it's scent, he was going to have to harass Nikiri for a new one.
-
He frowns and shakes his head, reading this was only making himself more upset. he really needs to get a hold of his ex to ty to get a rule book from him before the next inspection
-
Izanagi sighs softly, unaware of Takana's distress in the other room.
-
takana gets up and goes to the kitchen and leans against the wall, thinking about how he was going to see his ex. he knew his ex sometimes patrolled the district gate but knowing what days was going to be hard.
-
Izanagi perks when he hears Takana in the kitchen, peeking out, " you okay?"
-
takana glances at izanagi, "Ah. yeah. just thinking."
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " it's late, you should try and get some sleep."
-
takana sighs, "yeah yeah... i guess...." he goes back to his room, "Goodnight."
-
Izanagi nods, " goodnight..." the other was acting so strange... he wasn't used to him seeming like that.
-
Takana goes to bed for the night
-
Izanagi goes to bed as well.
-
Takana is already awake in the morning and he made a fresh batch of french toast for izanagi, hoping the demon might have an appetite
-
Izanagi gets up to the smell of the food and digs in with gusto, appetite returning with the stress of the inspections behind him. he'd learned not to dwell on it, or that's all he'd do. he pretty much just shoved it aside and pretended it never happened.
-
takana sees izanagi eat and smiles, nodding in approval, "good to see ya up. sleep okay?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, i slept pretty good. how about you?"
-
takana shrugs, "i got some sleep. spent most of the night thinking."
-
Izanagi blinks, " what about?" he then grins, " were you thinking about Arakan~?"
-
takana's eyes widen and he turns red, "Wha- n-NO! oh god no! if you really must know my ex is a guard that patrols the gate every now and then if he's not stationed at my family's house so i was trying to remember what days he normally patrols. i wanted to see if i could get something from him so i've been trying to remember what his schedule was."
-
Izanagi blinks and pouts, " well that's not nearly as much fun."
-
takana waves him off, "dude, you're bored. thats the only explanation for why you're trying to make something out of nothing."
-
Izanagi sighs, " Nikiri's been busy, i need some action!"
-
"Well maybe we'll see him soon at the cafe now that the inspection is over."
-
Izanagi grins, " i hope so! we'll be able to get some time off soon too. it's been brutal working every day."
-
takana nods, "A day off now and then would be nice."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, then i can finally hook up with one of my fuck buddies."
-
Takana turns a bit red and he sighs, "And maybe i make some friends so i have somewhere to go so im not here when you do."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " well obviously i'd try and take a day off when you're working for that."
-
Takana snorts, "Id rather be safe then sorry. just because the likely hood of us both having off on the same day is slim doesnt mean it couldnt happen."
-
Izanagi snorts, " if that happens i'll make sure we go to his place. or find someplace private. i'll figure it out."
-
Takana shrugs, "Sure, sometimes, but i also dont want you to feel like you cant have sex in your own place. we'll figure something out."
-
Izanagi nods, " we'll figure it out. if nothing else i can show you where the nearest park is so you can like, sit out there for an hour."
-
Takana snorts, "I'll need a very crude drawing of a map then as well. i'd get myself lost in a paper bag if im not careful."
-
Izanagi laughs, " i can walk you there and go pick you up when im done."
-
Takana blushes, "What, and know you're walking me home post sex? I'd be embarrassed to death the whole time. Maybe if we have time a few walks back and forth will do. like, before you plan on having sex that is."
-
Izanagi laughs, " whatever."
-
Takana snorts and finishes his coffee, "im gonna get ready." he heads back to his room and changes clothes
-
Izanagi shrugs and heads to his own room to get ready.
-
Soon takana was ready and waiting by the door
-
Izanagi grabs his bag and is there shortly after him, " im ready!"
-
Takana nods and heads out, "i hope nikiri is doing well. i know he has his own thing going on with his family."
-
Izanagi nods, " me too. im sure he'll be alright though."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah i guess you're right. Still im sure he'd appreciate being asked how he was doing."
-
Izanagi nods, " oh of course. and if i can help him relieve some stress... well two birds with one stone." he smirks.
-
Takana turns red and he looks embarrassed, "Of course you would make it about sex."
-
Izanagi laughs, " it's one of the joys i get in life, give me a break."
-
Takana shrugs, "fair enough. finding solutions to problems is one of my few joys in life."
-
Izanagi sighs, " good luck with that. the problems around here i don't think can be solved. so, might as well enjoy life while i can until i get unlucky and my collar breaks at a bad time or something right?"
-
Takana huffs, "dont think like that. thats awful. when i get back home I'll definitely figure out what the hell is going on and how i can stop it."
-
Izanagi smiles, " that's really sweet of you, but i don't think it'll be that easy. One human saying we're not so bad among thousands that disagree."
-
Takana shrugs, "maybe not start a revolution but... i could have sworn there were checks and balances in place for both sides. I plan on seeing if my ex is around the gates sometime and get a rule book from him to check myself. If you guys have to follow strict rules then so do we. "
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " you can try. i doubt you'll get very far."
-
Takana shrugs, "you can doubt me all you want but i'm a very stubborn asshole."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " well you're right there. it's less that i doubt you'll try, but more that it'd hurt too much to hope for it when it's unlikely to happen. to think about what could be, and then have it snatched away again, im not sure i could deal with that."
-
Takana shrugs, "then keep your hopes low. At least then when i do succeed it'll feel even better."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " alright. well, if it makes you happy to try then i guess enjoy. just try not to make things worse."
-
Takana grins as they enter the cafe, stubborn to a fault. He wanted to figure out what the hell was going on with the guards so he couldnt wait to get his day off
-
The manager nods when she sees the boys, " good to see you both. Takana, keep working with the chef to teach him your recipes. if any of you have a good reason to want a day off i can let you guys take one one at a time for now."
Izanagi nods, " yes ma'am!" well his reason wasn;t too important. he could wait, even if he was itching for a tumble. He starts getting things ready for the day.
-
takana nods at the manager, "Of course." he goes to the back and keeps showing the chef the recipes
-
She nods in satisfaction and helps get the store ready, opening on time and making sure everything is running smoothly as usual.
-
A few hours into the cafe being open nikiri happily enters the cafe and sits down, knowing izanagi will cater to him soon
-
Izanagi since he's not as busy as has been normal fling himself over into Nikiris lap as soon as he sees him, " yay you came!"
-
Nikiri chuckles and holds izanagi close, "Well of course darling. things have calmed down in my household so now i have time again for you."
-
Izanagi smiles, " so you and your family are doing better?"
-
Nikiri nods, "Mother is still upset but that is to be expected. But we have transferred my sisters out of the other districts back home so they are safe and sound until this whole mysterious and dangerous situation is dealt with so I know my sisters are safe and time will help my mother. there is nothing more i can do until i am called on. so for now, i think i deserve a little treat~"
-
Izanagi smirks, " well i'd be happy to provide said treat~"
-
Nikiri hums and smiles, "Well for now, since we are at your job and i wish not for you to get chastised, if i could place an order for a chai please and thank you. that way you are at least paying attention to a paying customer."
-
Izanagi sighs, " good point." He gets up and heads over to the drink station, getting a Chai tea and the fixings Nikiri likes before bringing it back over to his table, " here we are~"
-
Nikiri happily takes the cup and sets it to the side, more interested in nagi, "so nagi, when can i expect my kimono back? I have a new one to trade it out for."
-
Izanagi eyes light up, " we can do that tonight. i was wanting to trade for a fresh one anyway. i didn't know when you'd come so i didn;t bring it."
-
Nikiri hums, "maybe after work we go straight to my place then? I can bring you home afterwards and i can get my old kimono back."
-
Izanagi smirks, " sounds good to me~ i could even keep my maid outfit on if you wanted~"
-
nikiri grins and licks his lips, "mmmm that sounds oh so exquisite. I've never had a personal maid before~"
-
Izanagi grins, " well i look forward to the end of work then~"
-
Nikiri hums and takes a sip of his chai, "make sure you work hard~ I wouldnt mind a shower with my personal maid."
-
Izanagi winks, " i think that could be arranged master~" he flounces off.
-
Nikiri grins and blows a kiss towards izanagi before going back to enjoying his chai
Takana happily continues teaching the chef about the ramen since that one takes some time to get used to it
-
Izanagi is noticeably perkier than normal with the promise of some fun after work.
The manager keeps an eye to make sure he's not getting too obnoxious but otherwise doesn't intervene.
-
another day passes without incident and takana and the chef finish cleaning up
Nikiri happily waits, standing by the door
-
Arakan arrives shortly before closing as usual and waits until it's all closed and cleaned up.
Izanagi stays in his maid outfit instead of changing and hurries over to Nikiri, grabbing his arm.
Arakan raises an eyebrow at the display and looks at Nikiri, " i suppose i'll be leaving this one to you to deal with then."
-
Takana steps out and smiles when he sees nikiri, "Hey nikiri! good to see you."
nikiri smiles at takana, "Good to see you're well." He looks at arakan, "Yes i will be in charge of this one for the evening."
Takana blinks and frowns, "What? So... I'll be alone?"
Nikiri glances at takana, "Just for a few hours."
-
Izanagi looks at Takana, " i'll be back home tonight, it's not like you have to find your way home alone."
Arakan sighs, " alright, lets go." he makes sure the girls are following and heads out to escort everyone home.
-
Takana's ears lower but he doesnt say anything as he follows arakan and the girls
Nikiri happily takes izanagi back to his place
-
Izanagi is happy to follow.
Arakan drop everyone else off and once they reach Takana's apartment he looks at him, " do you want me to stay until Izanagi gets back?"
-
Takana blinks and his ears perk up as he looks up at arakan. He pauses for a moment as he thinks about it before his ears twitch and move back, "ah. um.. thats kind of you but... you're needed to look for that sulfur smellin freak. Thats a lot better use of your time then babysitting me." he shrugs as he walks to the door, "Besides, im a big boy. i can take care of myself ya know?"
-
Arakan snorts, " i have the entire night to do so, a few hours will not go amiss."
Izanagi clings to Nikiri's arm, " Hopefully your sisters are asleep already~"
-
Nikiri snorts, "Do not worry. they do not bother me when it is not my day to see them. im the one who does the bothering." He hoists izanagi, holding him bridal style as he carries his maid to his bathroom
Takana looks back at arakan and sighs, "The place aint great so im sure izanagi would freak if he knew you were inside..."
-
Izanagi squeaks as he's scooped up and clings to Nikiri, " oh good, i want you all to myself~"
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i have seen far worse, i assure you. while this area of the district is bad, there are worse places. but if it bothers you i can simply stand guard out here if it would put your mind at ease."
-
Takana's ears lower, "Well that just sounds sad. im not a very good guest, and you know im kind of an asshole but if you insist on sticking around and keeping me company then i would prefer you inside."
nikiri pushes izanagi against the wall, holding him up as he kisses nagi's neck
-
Arakan shrugs, " don't challenge me in public and we'll manage." he follows Takana inside.
Izanagi moans softly, loving the rough treatment.
-
Takana enters their apartment, giving a soft snort, "So does that mean i can challenge you in private then?"
Nikiri shudders, "Do you want a shower first or do you want me to fuck you first?"
-
Arakan nods, " you may. i am not bound to put you in your place as strictly as if we were in public."
Izanagi shudders, " i think i want whatever my master desires~ And if my master wanted to fuck me right here i think i'd be perfectly fine with it."
-
Takana's ears perk up and he looks back at arakan, looking perplexed, "Are....are you serious?"
Nikiri shudders and licks his lips, "I think i want my maid to choke on my cock."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i can;t say that i'll tolerate anything, however there is no-one else to see you undermine my authority, so i am less concerned."
Izanagi licks his lips, " it would be my pleasure~ if the master would be so kind as to let me down, i can get straight on that."
-
Takana tilts his head, "Could i maybe.... ask you questions then? i keep trying to ask izanagi questions but he either says he doesnt want to talk about it or he gets upset at me."
Nikiri licks izanagi's neck before setting him down
-
Arakan nods, " i have no problem with you asking me questions." he takes a seat. of course he never said he'd answer them, but he'd see what this strange newcomer had to ask him.
Izanagi drops to his knees in front of Nikiri and quickly undoes the others kimono, freeing the stag's cock and eagerly starting to lick the shaft and stroke it with his hands to bring it to life.
-
Nikiri licks his lips and he runs his hand through nagi's hair, his dick quickly hardening
Takana's ears lower, "why.... do you guys not respect each other equally? I just dont understand... collars are supposed to negate powers and such and yet abilities and powers still play a huge roll in whether a demon could just harass me or not."
-
Izanagi hums softly as he takes the tip into his mouth, bobbing his head as he takes more into his mouth with each bob. He moves one hand to start massaging the others sac while his free hand lowers down to start stroking himself under his skirt.
Arakan sighs, " it hasn;t been that long since before these things came into play, a long standing culture is not thrown aside so easily. Before collars were a thing, that was how it worked. strong demons ruled over the weaker ones. Although believe it or not it's worse now than before, for multiple reasons. Strong demons resent that they're being restrained and forced to bow to those weaker than them, so they exert their power where they can. Not to mention since we've been collected into these districts there are far more in close contact than there used to be, making the need to enforce hierarchy greater." he reaches up to touch his collar, " not to mention that while theoretically these bring everyone on equal ground, there's only so much it can do. it can shock and burn me when i use my power of change shape, but if i really wanted to cause destruction? This would not stop me. I could break through the wall and kill hundreds before i would be able to be stopped. So why does this not happen? Because of the hierarchy. Mid tier demons are kept under control by the strongest, and the strongest keep themselves in check for the sake of the weaker. I may be able to lay ruin to the human city outside these walls, but eventually i would fall, and the rage of the humans would fall on those who are unable to protect themselves. So for the sake of the many, i stand idle."
-
Takana blinks and frowns, touching his own collar, "So.... despite all the fuss with wearing these....and the... the demons that suffer from these breaking....these collars dont really work?"
Nikiri grips izanagi by the hair tightly and thrusts into izanagi's mouth
-
Arakan tilts his head, " that's one way to put it i suppose. after all, im still able to exert control over cold." he holds a hand out and a small ball of ice rapidly forms in his palm. " the humans would love to find a way to take our unique abilities from us, but they have yet to find a way. all the collars do allow them to shock and hurt us with them. little more. It does keep most of us who have more than one 'self' from changing from the most human looking one, but that also tends to make demons more than a little irritated. Those who do have another shape are not one or the other, denying one is like denying a part of yourself. something difficult for a low rank demon raised outside of our society to understand im sure, but that's how it is. The collars are used to control, and i suppose they mark demons that are registered in our system, however fake collars can and are used for unregistered demons."
Izanagi moans around the dick in his mouth, gagging a little at the sudden length forced down his throat but eagerly takes it and works at pleasing Nikiri.
-
takana's ears flatten and he huffs, "none of this makes any sense....." he lowers his head and runs his hand through his hair, trying to ease a headache that was beginning to form
Nikiri hums, "I normally prefer to be the gentle lover but you seem to enjoy being abused a little, dont you? A very good thing that i am a people pleaser by heart as well. nothing i love more than making the ones i care about happy."
-
Arakan shrugs, " doesn't need to make sense to be true." He spots a cloth and grabs it, holding it for a moment before handing Takana the now ice cold yet still flexible cloth, " here, you look like you could use this."
Izanagi hums softly around Nikiri's cock, a pleased sound. He couldn't really answer with the others dick down his throat. He turns his focus back to pleasuring the deer, lifting his half lidded eyes to meet Nikiris gaze, moving his head on and off the others length and stroking himself at the time time, making pleasured little noises.
-
takana perks up and looks at arakan, and then the cloth. he blinks curiously before hesitantly taking. His eyes widen when he feels how cold the cloth is and he cant help but give a soft 'wow' as he holds on to the icy fabric, "Thats..... so cool."
Nikiri shudders when izanagi looks up at him and it pushes him over the edge as he gives a slam into the smaller demons throat, cumming heavily
-
Arakan shrugs, " one of the more basic uses of my ability. that'll stay cold for about half an hour."
Izanagi moans and struggles to swallow it all as it pours into his throat, pulling away and licking his lips once he feels the tide end, " well someone needed that~"
-
nikiri pulls away a little before giving a bashful grin, "You could say i was under a lot of stress."
Takana chuckles and folds it neatly so he can hold it against his face. it was so chilly and fun to feel on his normally warm skin, "You can call it basic all you want, its still super neat. and thanks, this feels really nice."
-
Izanagi smiles, " i don't mind at all~ now how does the master want to be taken care of?"
Arakan nods, " fair. you're welcome. looked like you were getting a headache, it's a lot of information after all."
-
Nikiri smiles, "i wouldnt mind my maid to ride me until they almost pass out."
Takana gives a heavy sigh, "well.... my life has been in turmoil all of a sudden and now i'm finding that my whole ive been lied to...and the more information i hear the more pissed off im getting."
-
Izanagi shudders and licks his lips, " with pleasure~" He walks over to the bed and climbs on, swaying his ass in that adorable skirt at Nikiri.
Arakan snorts softly, amused, " you really did have a pampered sheltered life. this must be a pretty rude wake up call."
-
Nikiri goes over to the bed and lays down on his back, his dick ready for action already
Takana shudders and scoffs, "The rude awakening started with my value being determined on whether I have kids or not. Not the fact that im well educated or anything...hell i even know sign language because i made friends with a couple of kids who were deaf and i wanted to be able to talk to them. But none of that mattered to them...."
-
Izanagi quickly takes his underwear off and tosses them aside before straddling Nikiri. He sticks his fingers in his mouth to wet them before reaching back to insert them into himself, quickly getting a little bit of lubrication. Done with that he grabs Nikiri, lining him up and starting to lower himself onto the other's length.
Arakan snorts, " pampered indeed...And now, just like the rest of us, your life has no value at all. They keep us trapped and alive so that they can sleep at night, seems mass genocide tends to make humans a bit squeamish. They're lucky there's so damn many of them, my grandfather said it was akin to a flood. You survive the first waves, but just as the stone slowly breaks under the waterfall, even the strongest of our kind must eventually be overwhelmed." He looks towards the window, his eyes dark with the anger at humans who were responsible for all of this.
-
Nikiri shudders and moans softly, doing his best not to put his hands on izanagi since he wanted the smaller demon to do all of the work.
Takana's ear droop and he looks down, "i'm....sorry that this all happened to you guys...and i wish the government was being truthful about these collars instead of what we were told..."
-
Izanagi lowers himself until he's fully seated on the other, back arched and panting softly. He shifts slightly and reaches up to put a hand under his shirt as he starts to lift himself on and off the others cock, playing with one of his nipples as he locks eyes with Nikiri.
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " you guys? if you hadn't noticed, you're in this mess now too. you may have been spared it growing up, but a demon is a demon. your parents and their parents have dealt with it as well. I've never known anything different, and neither has my father. i've only heard stories of how things used to be and the outside world. speaking of which..." he looks at Takana, " you lived out there, have you ever seen the ocean? i've heard it's vast... going further than you can see. And supposedly even the air smells of salt." he sounds a bit wistful as he muses.
-
Nikiri moans softly and grins, "you look amazing."
Takana blinks when arakan talks about the ocean, "ah yeah i went there a couple of times with my friends. And yeah the air does have a salty taste to it. And in the evening the sun lines up with the waters horizon and it is simply stunning. Thats my favorite time to go especially because after the sun goes down the area is filled with fireflies and thats also beautiful."
-
Izanagi licks his lips slowly, grinning as he moves faster on Nikiri's cock, " mmm fuck you feel so good... your huge cock inside of me..."
Arakan blinks and nods, " it sounds like a sight to behold. that is one of the things that i regret i will never be able to see. There are others, but i doubt you'd appreciate my desire to see the arctic where my mothers family came from." he sighs, " i shouldn't dwell on such things, it's best to focus on what is possible to change."
-
Nikiri cant help but gently grabbing izanagi's hips, rubbing his fingertips against the demons skin, "A shame I couldnt be a bit bigger. I wouldnt mind filling you until your mind breaks."
Takana frowns, feeling a sense of forlorn for the higher rank demon and he sighs, "its no secret that i want to go home. i want to find the family member that still cares about me and i want to make sure he's okay. And I also have some questions that I want answers to from someone I know. I cant guarantee anything will even come from it but I want positive change to happen as well...."
-
Izanagi moans softly as he grinds his hips down on Nikiri, " mmm i want you to fuck me until i can't walk straight. And you're plenty big for that~" he starts moving faster, panting as he fucks himself on Nikiri's cock, " ah~"
Arakan chuckles, " ah the optimism of those who have not been broken yet. it's a bit refreshing. i hope you retain it for awhile longer yet, it'll be gone soon enough."
-
Nikiri hums, "Fair enough~" he cant help but thrust upwards a couple of times whenever nagi comes down
Takana's ears move back and he huffs, "I wont lose the optimism. there's too much at stake. especially considering the family i lived with is about as high up as a demon could reach so of course i have to get back to them."
-
Izanagi moans with each thrust, his movement starting to get frantic as his own cock starts leaking precum, wetting the front of his skirt.
Arakan looks away, "can't say im sure what you mean by that, the family you lived with is as high as a demon can reach? Regardless it doesn't matter, you don't think we haven't tried to reason with them before? My father tried to save that man at the inspections, but they have no mercy. This place breaks everyone eventually, it's just a matter of how long."
-
Nikiri grips izanagi's hips harder as he thrusts deeper and harder
Takana's ears flatten and he sighs. How to explain it without giving it away to someone like arakan, "yeah i don't really know how to explain it either. They always wore suits, had professional guards around them, and they live in the biggest house ive ever seen so im sure they're very important and they might be able to answer the questions i have for the humans. Either way, i'm not giving up. Like you just said, your dad tried. Hell im sure he probably knew that they wouldn't listen but he still tried despite that. If anything that just makes me more determined to try getting back as well."
-
Suddenly Izanagi grinds down on him and cries out as he cums, clenching around Nikiri spasmodically.
Arakan nods, " oh he knew it was futile. but he always tries. And burns the bodies before they can take them off to do gods knows what. It's a token effort though, he stopped learning the names of people and getting to know them years ago." he sighs, " well i wish you luck, you'll need a damned lot of it."
-
Takana nods, "I appreciate you wishing me luck. I know I'll need a miracle to get back to the other side but as soon as it is my day off im going to figure out when a friend of mine is working by the gate. I know they switch out the guards constantly but if i remember correctly he had a set schedule and I need something that only he can get me. that is my first step."
Nikiri's cock is squeezed fantastically from izanagi's muscles and he cums as well, coating nagi's insides
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i can probably get the guard schedule."
Izanagi shudders and leans forward to lay on Nikiri's chest, keeping the other inside of him, " ah~...just need... to catch my breath..." he pants softly.
-
Takana's eyes widen and his ears perk up quickly, "Really? No lie? What would it cost me?"
nikiri gives a low, exhausted chuckle as he strokes the other's hair, "No worries. Take your time."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " nothing. i just need to swing home and make a copy of the schedule. They usually send my father a copy of it so they can pretend they care about our opinion of our enforced containment."
Izanagi nuzzles Nikiri's chest.
-
takana nods, eager, "I would actually really appreciate that!" He cant help but grin in excitement
Nikiri hums softly as he keeps petting izanagi
-
Arakan nods, " i'll see to it when i get back in the morning."
Izanagi catches his breath and nuzzles Nikiri's hand before he sits back up, slowly starting to ride Nikiri again, " mmm damn it feels even better now~"
-
Takana nods, "thanks, I thought you were an asshole but you're actually not that bad."
Nikiri chuckles, rolling his hips a little, "im glad it feels so good." he feels izanagi up through the maid outfit, finding where his nipples are and gently pinching them over the fabric
-
He snorts, " i had to be an asshole, you were challenging my authority in public. you may not be used to our ways, but i would have lost a lot of respect had i let you get away with it easily."
Izanagi moans, leaning into Nikiri's touch, " mmm yes~i could spend the rest of my life riding your cock and be perfectly happy~"
-
Takana shrugs, "no one I met for the first time treated me poorly. hell i suppose it is true to say that even humans were kind to me." that wasnt a lie. humans were nice to him all the time. "So to suddenly meet you and immediately get told what to do was an insane shock."
Nikiri sighs, not stopping with the fondling, "A shame im such a busy demon then."
-
Arakan sighs, " how was i supposed to know you were raised outside of the districts? it's almost unheard of. Demons are taught proper etiquette from childhood. Anyway it's not like i was giving you any bad orders, i was just trying to make sure you were taken care of."
Izanagi nods, " mmmm yeah it's too bad~so i need to enjoy it while i can~" he bounces on the others cock, panting softly, eyes closed.
-
Takana shrugs, "it was still a very much different way of being talked to. that and at the time I had no idea just how important these collars were. Its a shame izanagi didnt just tell me, instead I had to find out in an awful way."
Nikiri shudders and groans softly, thrusting into nagi
-
Arakan sighs, " i can't blame him for not wanting to talk about it, there's a few different ways people deal with all this. some try and pretend it doesn't exist, and avoid talking about it, like Izanagi. Some get angry, and live their lives bitterly. Others grow numb, detaching themselves to the cruelty such as my father. the last is the most common over time. It becomes the norm."
Izanagi moans, moving faster as he grinds against Nikiri.
-
takana sighs and gets up and goes over to the kitchen, "yeah i understand that NOW! but its just so frustrating and I have only been here for a week and a half maybe? It pisses me off so much to know this has been going on and no one told us about it back on the human side. thats bullshit!" talking about it even more enraged takana, "Ugh. I could use something to drink now. Anything i can get you? water, tea, coffee? although with how late it is I might need to make that a decaf."
Nikiri grunts and soon he cant help but sit up in order to pin izanagi underneath him, on the bed. he takes control as he gets close again and starts thrusting deeper into izanagi
-
Arakan shrugs, " i'll take coffee. regular, i'll be up tonight."
Izanagi squeaks as he suddenly flipped onto his back and cries out as Nikiri starts pounding into him, " AH~ Harder! Ah Nikiri~"
-
Takana nods and starts getting the little french press out, "got it. any cream or sugar for you?"
Nikiri doesnt hold back as he slams into the smaller demon underneath him
-
Arakan shakes his head, " no thank you. just the coffee."
Izanagi writhes under him, digging his nails into Nikiri's back, as he moans and is soon pushed over the edge, crying out as he cums onto their stomachs and his skirt.
-
takana gets the coffee brewing and smirks, "How boring. shoulda known."
Nikiri cries out as well, cumming into izanagi again, sighing as he feels himself empty into the other demon
-
Arakan looks away, " i like intense flavors. It's the only time i get to feel a real rush."
Izanagi shudders as he feels the warmth fill him, " mmmm Nikiri~" he lays limply.
-
Takana hums, "im surprised you dont drink spicy coffee or tea then."
Nikiri hums and gently kisses izanagi's forehead, "feel better?"
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " are you making fun of me? it doesn;t have to be loaded with hot peppers to have flavor. a strong brew had a rich flavor as well."
Izanagi nods, humming softly, " mmmm yeah..."
-
takana chuckles, "Not this time. I tried making fun of you with the curry but you actually liked that. That made me realize that there really wasnt any point. But no, people do add a bit of spice to their drinks. Tea and hot chocolate is more common than coffee but hey, I went to college and knew a guy that did that on accident thinking the white pepper was sugar but he was so tired that when he found out what it was he just shrugged and chugged. Brave man right there. That had to be terrible coming out later." He presses down on the french press, separating the grounds from the hot water and pouring the coffee into a cup before walking over to arakan and handing it to him, "Here."
Nikiri chuckles, "I should probably get you in the shower then."
-
Arakan nods, " i add some spices now and then, i like ginger in my coffee sometimes. it's got some heat. you're lucky spice doesn't bother me or that little prank of yours could have put you in some deep trouble." he takes the cup and sips. he then blinks as he mulls over what he'd just said, " ...you went to college? how? that's a human thing."
Izanagi nuzzles into Nikiri's chest and clings to him, " dun wanna. want you to stay inside of me."
-
Takana shrugs, "well nagi said you liked spice so i figured it was something I could get away with using ignorance." He clears his throat a little and rubs the back of his head, "Well yeah I guess they didnt want a dumb demon. maybe thats why they were pissed when I didnt do what they wanted. A waste of all that money ya know?"
Nikiri laughs, "Well a shower where im still in you then."
-
Arakan snorts, " not to that degree." he fixes his eyes on Takana as he considers this, " what did they send you to learn exactly?"
Izanagi hums, " i can live with that."
-
Takana turns red and his ears move back before he nervously looks away, "I- I dont think that is really important. Sorry I even mentioned it."
Nikiri gently sits up, supporting izanagi and getting off the bed
-
Arakn takes a sip of his coffee, " on the contrary, it's almost impossible for a demon to get an advanced education, let alone even a basic one. Your knowledge may be useful."
Izanagi clings to Nikiri, moaning softly as gravity pushes him down onto Nikiri and therefore deeper into him, and the movement moves the length deep inside of him, " ah~"
-
Takana rubs his arm, "I was majoring in bioengineering with a minor in genetics and nano technology."
Nikiri walks to the bathroom, purposefully having a little pep in his step in order to make izanagi bounce a little
-
Arakan blinks in surprise and his eyes narrow as he studies the other, what on earth could they have possibly wanted him to know such things for? Bioengineering? were they planning to have him breed and alter his own offspring? Make demons that are more compliant? It was a disturbing thought. " i can;t think of any nice reasons they would have you study that. this is...unsettling. i will need to speak with my father about this. It seems the humans aren't content leaving things as they are."
Izanagi digs his nails into Nikiri's back, legs wrapped around the other's waist, " ah~ feels so good~"
-
Nikiri gets to the shower, chucking, "How? Im just walking to the shower~"
Takana's ears lower and he grumbles softly. That.... wasnt necessarily true? But at the same time he knew Makoto talked about wanting to make the demons more subservient but he always left the room when his older brother did say that kind of stuff. it always made him uncomfortable, "I know I showed an interest in my genetics when i was young since i always thought my pinkness was... unusual and I always asked questions so im not sure if they actually have something planned or if... maybe they wanted to see what i could do. for fun or... i dont know." he hated all of these lies.
-
Arakan snorts, " they would not have permitted you to study it simply because you wanted to. They are not so kind as that. I hate to think what may have happened had they not sent you here. I will need to contact some other demons to patrol tonight, this is not something that can wait." He stands and pulls his phone out, " ... i hate to disturb his 'fun time' but Nikiri is one of the few i trust, despite his carelessness." he quickly sends a text to the stag telling him he needs to wrap up and meet him at the Yamamoto household. He then mentally runs through a few strong and trustworthy demons and texts them orders to patrol tonight. " i appreciate you telling me this, you may have helped your kind greatly tonight." he looks at Takana.
Izanagi whines, " stop teasing me and fuck me already~"
-
Nikiri hears his phone start playing 'Let it Go' and he looks back at the bedroom, "Ah. sorry love, Arakan just texted me. must be important if he actually contacts me." he gently sets Izanagi down, pulling out as he does so.
Takana looks helpless and pales, "Uh wa-wait! we cant just jump to conclusions without proof first!"
-
Izanagi blinks and makes a soft protesting noise, blushing as he feels cum dripping from him.
Arakan shakes his head, " no, but we must prepare for the worst and start looking into this. i will not allow them to tamper with my people that way."
-
Takana sighs, "this is going to make going back an ordeal now....."
Nikiri tucks himself away and goes over to his phone and looks at it, frowning and sighing. "Alright, it looks like our fun has to end. Seems as though arakan needs me at his place."
-
Arakan looks at him with a bit of pity, " im sorry for that, i will see that you get the time you need to go as soon as possible. we will need time to collect information after all. But this is bigger than your personal issues, and i will not let the needs of one stand in the way of the welfare of the many."
Izanagi whines, " well i do need to get cleaned up, im dripping all over the place. and you promised you'd give me one of your Kimono's."
-
Nikiri nods at izanagi, "no worries love." He lets arakan know that he'll have to clean up first but he'll be there as soon as he can. " get in the shower. I'll wash you."
Takana gives up arguing and sighs, looking down, "just... give me the guard schedule when you can and i'll take care of the rest."
-
Arakan nods, " i'll get you that first thing tomorrow." he glances at his phone, " Nikiri is finishing up, Izanagi should be back here soon then i can go." he downs the rest of his coffee and walks over to the window to look outside.
Izanagi gets in the shower and turns it on, the initial cold water making him yelp, but helping take care of his erection.
-
Nikiri removes his clothes as well and gets in, grabbing soap and lathering up before washing izanagi, making sure to thoroughly wash his body, hair, and help remove his semen from izanagi's insides
Takana awkwardly looks away, not really knowing what else to do or say. He hadnt meant for this to happen. Or to cut izanagi's night short. This was going to be a mess later.
-
Izanagi lets the other clean him up, helping where he can and doing his best to not get aroused as Nikiri gets him cleaned inside and out.
Arakan was quiet but his mind was in turmoil. He hoped he was wrong, that it was nothing. If he was not wrong though... this could start the war anew. There were less demons than before these days, but they were more united. And they had the advantage of knowledge this time. maybe they could turn the tide with that.
-
Once they are both clean nikiri turns the water off and hands izanagi a fluffy towel. He grabs a towel for himself before stepping out of the bathroom.
A few minutes later he returns, fully dressed, a little baggy with izanagi's uniform, and one of nikiri's leisure kimonos, "a kimono for you and i have your outfit in this bag for you. "
-
Izanagi dries off and nods, deciding to put the kimono on instead of his street clothes. " im definitely gonna need to wash my uniform before i wear it to work again." he puts the kimono on and sighs, he'd wanted another round in the shower, but he supposed it must be pretty important...
-
Nikiri leans down and kisses izanagi, "i'll make it up to you, okay?" He gently picks izanagi up and heads down to their driver
-
Izanagi nods, " okay..." he lets himself be carried, nuzzling into Nikiri's chest.
-
Nikiri sets izanagi into the backseat before getting in on the other side, "lets get you home~"
The driver brings them back to the apartments.
Nikiri gets out and picks izanagi up and carries him inside, humming
Takana hears the door open and he looks over.
Nikiri smiles at arakan and takana, "Nagi-chan is home~! Arakan I figured since i had to bring nagi home that i would see if you just wanted to ride back to your place with me instead of meeting you there."
-
Arakan looks over, " i suppose that's a decent idea, i can fill you in on the way." he'd sort of wanted the walk back to think, but he supposed he'd have plenty of time for that later. He heads for the door, " stay inside tonight you two."
Izanagi kisses Nikiri on the cheek before humming his way to his room.
-
Takana nods at arakan and sighs
Nikiri goes to his car and gets in the back, letting his driver know to take them back to arakans place
-
Arakan gets in the vehicle, " Takana was uneasy being alone so i stayed until Izanagi came back. We started chatting, and he mentioned the humans had him go to college when he was with them. unusual in itself, but it was for genetics, bioengineering, and nanotechnology. since apparently they wanted him to breed, i cannot think of a reason for this combination unless they're trying to alter demons. and i doubt they're going to keep our well-being and wishes in mind when they do." his voice is bitter.
-
nikiri is amazing at being able to keep a poker face despite his internal screaming. He had to pretend he didnt already know takana was human and to treat this as if they were actually talking about a demon, "Nano.... technology? Bioengineering? isnt that a bit advanced? that is at least a 5 to 8 year course I believe. How do you plan on proceeding with this information then?"
-
Arakan sighs, " well i have to tell my father, and we'll have to try and gather some intel on what they're researching and why. Im hoping im wrong, but if it's true they're planning to genetically alter us... well im not going to let them, over my dead body."
-
Nikiri nods, "Well we also need to be careful in case the humans had not actually meant for takana to be in the demon district. if they find out where he is they may demand for him back and that will be a can of worms to deal with in of itself."
-
Arakan sighs, " fuck, he wants to go back to his family that had him. should i forbid him that then until we look into this? i fear we may be entering another war..."
-
"...the likely hood of him actually getting back any time soon is slim. let him do as he pleases while you get more information and go from there. regardless, him going back on his own would look better than him being held here. its risky but we have to also understand he may be from a very powerful family that we wouldnt be prepared to cross."
-
Arakan growls, " i hate being unable to do anything here. If they wouldn't massacre the district i'd take the hit and take out the family that runs that damned collar company."
-
nikiri sighs, "that would definitely send us into another war..."
-
Arakan snorts, " well if they're trying to alter us, they're starting one anyway. Distanced or not my father will not stand for that, and i'll put my life on the line in a heartbeat to stop that as well."
-
nikiri sighs, "i understand that part whole heartedly. while war is not something I wish to occur I will not stand by if they are planning something so dreadful."
-
Arakan sighs, " this is going to be a mess. im not looking forward to this."
-
nikiri nods, "I thought it was a mess now. shows what i know. im just not looking forward to being near your father. if its one demon im truly uncomfortable around its him."
-
Arakan snorts, " try living with him. I can;t say i blame him though." They reach his place and he gets out, heading for the meeting room where his father waits.
-
nikiri follows next to arakan, making sure his kimono looks perfect and that he shrinks his antlers to the best of his ability since he doesnt want to worry about them catching on anything
-
Arakan walks into the meeting room and bows, " father." and goes to sit in one of the seats.
The hellhound demon fixes his eyes on his son and Nikiri as they come in, " i presume this is important for you to have called me here for this?"
-
Nikiri bows respectfully, "Good evening Sir." Arakan was the one who called them both to a meeting so he did not feel inclined to speak first.
-
Arakan quickly outlines what he knows, and what he suspects, His father frowning as he listens. " you've done well to bring this to my attention, i'll have it looked into. You said your source was a new demon to the district? have someone keep an eye on him."
-
Nikiri glances at arakan before looking back at the leader, "If I may, I have already been assisting the new demon for some time so if it is easier I can just continue in keeping an eye on him. Maybe just have a secondary for back up in case but otherwise this new demon is already comfortable with my presence, however I completely understand if someone else is picked."
-
Arakans father looks over at Nikiri and considers it, " very well. If anything happens i want it reported to me immediately. If at any point you feel like you're not up to the task i can assign another. do not fail."
-
Nikiri nods, "Of course, thank you very much."
-
He gets up and heads from the room, " keep an eye on things, i'll see about sending someone able to move more freely among the human world to look into this..." and leaves.
Arakan lets out a breath, " i can;t say i like the idea of enlisting unregistered demons, that shapeshifter creeps me out, but he's damned useful at times."
-
nikiri sighs, "Im just glad he's allowing me to watch takana. I really didnt want a different demon dealing with takana's unusual upbringing. "
-
Arakan nods, " indeed. This will be better. Go ahead and get home, im sure we'll be losing sleep soon enough."
-
Nikiri nods and heads out to go home for the evening to get plenty of sleep.
Takana had gone to his room and was fast asleep
-
Izanagi falls asleep after a little bit of cuddling the new kimono.
Arakan debates sleep but knows it'd be futile with his mind racing as it is, and opts to patrol instead.
-
the next day arrives and takana is ready for work and nervously sitting at the table
-
Izanagi gets up and makes some toast, blinking when he sees Takana looking so nervous, " what's wrong?"
-
takana blinks and glances at izanagi, "Ah. nothing. it was just weird to have arakan stay with me for so long last night."
-
Izanagi blinks, " why did he stay anyway?"
-
Takana huffs and blushes, "I may have looked a little sad to know I would be alone for the evening. So he decided upon himself to wait with me. He said he'd wait regardless of whether it'd be indoors or outside and I felt bad if he was just outside for how many hours."
-
Izanagi snorts, " and here you think he's such an asshole. i bet you looked pitiful on purpose to get some extra time with him~"
-
takana's ears stick straight up and he turns even more red, "I- Wha- NO- ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
-
Izanagi smirks, " denying it only makes it more suspicious~" he hums and grabs his work bag, with a clean outfit.
-
takana huffs, "its preposterous that you'd even humor the thought. He is a high ranked demon and im a human."
-
Izanagi snorts, " yeah? and you intrigue him it seems."
-
Takana sighs, "Well too bad for him since he'd kill me in a heartbeat when he discovers im human."
-
Izanagi sighs, " yeah, there's that. though since he doesn;t think you're a total asshole now he might hesitate?"
-
Takana snorts, "I doubt that. He'll say i tricked all of you or something."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " who knows. what was so important last night anyway?"
-
takana's ears droop and he sighs, "we were talking to pass the time and i may have let my guard down and mention something from college which got him very concerned. he still thinks im a demon thankfully but now he thinks that the humans are planning something since they had a demon go to college."
-
Izanagi blinks, " oh. well that's not great."
-
takana whines softly, "You're telling me!! i dont want to start a war!"
-
Izanagi frowns, " what... exactly did you tell him? or what does he think it means?"
-
"He thinks that the humans are planning on altering demons maybe? Thats what he mentioned. So he said he was gonna investigate into the matter and now i'm worried."
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " a-are they?"
-
Takana throws his hands in the air, "i dont fucking know!! I couldnt lie to him when he asked me what they had me learn at college and i told him the truth! Nanotechnology, bioengineering, and genetics! Because thats what i was on college for!"
-
Izanagi frowns, " that's an odd combo..."
-
Takana blinks and sighs, "Well genetics because, look at me. and bioengineering and nano technology are like peanut butter and jelly. go good with everything."
-
Izanagi rubs his arm, " i hope that isn't something they're thinking about doing. i mean, i guess it makes sense. The abilities we can have combined with being perfectly obedient? it's a scary thought."
-
Takana sighs, "I chose my courses, no one made me so i highly doubt it. i just.... i dont want anyone getting hurt because of me."
-
Izanagi rubs his arm, " well if it's not something they're planning then they won;t find any information on it, so then it'll die down after a bit."
-
"Except the constant fear of arakan still wondering why a demon got to go to college. But thats a me problem."
-
Izanagi sighs, " well im not sure what to do about that, i think he's too busy to obsess over it for long."
-
Takana sighs, "I hope. We'll just have to see. anyway, lets get going before we're late." Takana heads for the cafe
-
Izanagi nods and hurries after him. " thing will be picking back up soon, but i think we've got enough staff to handle it now."
-
takana smiles and nods, "yeah im thinking of trying to remember another one of moms recipes that would be good for the cafe too. not any time soon but gotta keep the buzz ya know?"
-
Izanagi snorts, " yeah lets not overwhelm us just when we get things under control? give it some time."
-
Takana chuckles, "like i said! not any time soon~!"
-
Izanagi nods, " good. i want some time off." he heads into the shop and goes into the back to change.
Arakan is waiting at one of the tables, looking at his phone while he waits for Takana.
-
takana runs in after izanagi and heads for the kitchen, happily getting the kitchen going and the rice started. he hadnt even noticed arakan in his own excitement to start cooking
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow when he looks up to see Takana rushing past, shaking his head before he gets up and walks into the kitchen. " Takana." he sets a couple papers on the table, " the schedule for the next two weeks."
-
Takana jumps and looks over to see arakan, then he notices the papers and his ears perk up, "Oh awesome!" he grabs the papers and takes a peak, grinning, "Yes! There he is!" he looks up at arakan and smiles, "Thanks for getting these. I appreciate it." He tucks the papers away safely and rewashes his hands to keep them clean before glancing over at arakan, "You look tired. Dont forget to take care of yourself now and again, okay?"
-
Arakan nods, " i am aware. i simply could not sleep last night, i will be resting shortly." the corner of his mouth quirks up at this low rank demon fussing over him. " i am glad that this was helpful. i hope you get the answers you seek."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah its really helpful. Thanks. The rice is almost done so if you want I can get some spicy curry in a to go box for you to take. it'll be a couple of minutes yet but i figured maybe some food would also be good for you."
-
Arakan perks a bit at that, " well, in that case i suppose i'll stick around for a little bit for that. Since im here, would you mind fixing up a couple boxes of normal curry? i can swing over and drop them off for that family, im sure they could use a pick me up."
-
takana blinks and for a minute he feels his heart rate quicken slightly, "Oh thats a good idea! I'm sure they'll appreciate it so much." he smiles, "I'll get it going right now." Takana starts humming softly as he starts cooking, instructing the chef to help him get to go boxes ready
-
Arakan makes himself comfortable in a chair off to the side out of the way, looking at his phone as he waits.
Izanagi walks through the kitchen in a new maid outfit and sees Arakan, smirking slightly before flouncing off to get things ready.
-
takana checks the rice cooker and smiles when he sees its ready. he prepares a few portions out for the family, and a spicy portion for arakan set aside in its own container and bag so as not to be confused. He thanks the chef for the help before going out to arakan and holds out the two bags, "All done. obviously the heavier bag is the family's, and yours is this lighter one. I even made some sweet curry for the kids since im sure they'll like a sweet treat."
-
Arakan looks up and nods, taking the bags, " i'll be sure not to mix them up. the kids will enjoy it im certain. My thanks." he nods to Takana.
-
takana nods, "No problem. consider your curry a thanks for the schedule. Have a good day."
-
" you as well. though thanks in any form was not needed." he checks his phone again before sighing and heading out, dropping the curry off at the family before heading home, chowing down on his, and going to sleep.
Izanagi peeks in, " so... did you enjoy your special visit?"
-
takana blinks and looks over at izanagi. he was about to say something when he notices mina, hikari, and kaeru also peeking from around the corner, "Wha- what is with all of you!?"
Mina and kaeru quickly scatter back to their stations while hikari just shrugs and walks back to hers
Takana huffs and crosses his arms, "Izanagi. stop. quit making something out of nothing. I wanted a schedule for the guards, and he got me one. thats all."
-
Izanagi grins, " he got something you asked for then you made him a special lunch~"
-
Takana huffs, "I also made that poor family some food as a kind gesture. thats all it was. a kind gesture."
-
Izanagi snorts, " only after he suggested it."
-
takana huffs, "i have a kitchen to run" he moves passed izanagi and goes to the kitchen and continues getting ready
-
Izanagi laughs and whistles as he gets back to work.
Yori glares at his phone, he'd been asking every few days since Makoto promised they'd go on a trip together when they would actually go, and he was completely sick of the answer 'soon'. Makoto, when are you and i gonna finally go on that trip?
-
makoto glances at his phone and grimaces. he was an adult with a meeting coming up and didnt want to deal with yori at the moment. it seemed the only good skill takana had was entertaining the baby of the family soon. about to go into a very important meeting so do NOT. bother me again today.
-
Yori growls at his phone and storms off. Fuck, he was tired of being brushed off. Takana hadn;t answered him in forever, and he hated to pester him but maybe he'd find something at Takana's apartment. He has himself driven there and checks it out, shocked when he finds out the place is totally empty of anything that may have belonged to his brother and even due to be rented out to a new person soon. what the hell was going on? He considers Makoto's text and huffs. Takana's apartment is totally empty. what's going on? fuck it, this was important.
-
Makoto's phone buzzes and the oldest sibling snarls before shoving his phone into his desk drawer and heading off to his meeting
-
Yori huffs, and after a text to his mother goes ignored he heads to the office. They all just ignored him and treated him like a kid, only Takana ever bothered acting like he was ever worth listening to. Well he was tired of not getting answered and being pushed aside. He gets admitted in when they see him, being known as one of the sons of the head of the corporation, and after a few quick questions to figure out which meeting room they're in he makes his way there and barges in.
-
Makoto and about 8 older men in fancy suits all jumped when the door is slammed open, turning to look at yori.
There was a large projector in front with a picture of a microchip on the screen until it was quickly covered up by makoto's body as he stood up, "Mother, if you could please continue the meeting. It seems I am needed."
-
Kahana nods, " go ahead dear." she flips the screen off until Her errant son is out of the room.
Yori glares at Makoto, " i need to talk to you."
-
makoto goes over to yori and grabs his arm tightly, dragging him out of the room, closing the door, "Yes. And now I need to apparently talk to you. What. THE FUCK." makoto glares at yori. If they werent at their father's company right now he would throw a vase at this brat.
-
Yori yanks his arm from the others grip once they're out of the room, " what the fuck yourself!it's been over a week since we've heard from Takana and i go to his apartment and it looks like he's never been there! Not to mention the fact that you all just act like im some pest!"
-
Makoto huffs, "Takana isnt even your family so why the hell should you care? He left by choice. And maybe if you actually tried to be a part of this company you'd have more use than he did."
-
Yori's eyes widen, " he's my brother! And he's been more of family to me than you ever have!"
-
Makoto snarls, "that is ridiculous. Just be thankful mother loves you. if you were a child from a different family you'd get the same treatment as that flamboyant freak. now go the fuck home and do something useful like figuring out what college you're going to. Mother prefers Harvard if you want to get on her good side."
-
Yori glares at him, " fuck that! All you guys do is ignore me, at least until i do something that you're going to scold me for and nag at me. Screw this, im done!"
-
Makoto snarls, "Yori knock it off! That kind of attitude is what got takana kicked out! You have no idea how to survive our there and once i tell mother about this you will end up fending for yourself!"
-
Yori's eyes narrow, " So he didn't leave by choice! You guys kicked him out?! Where is he!"
-
Makoto glares, "You'd have to ask mother because i wasnt the one who decided to kick him out so i have no clue how long he's been gone. either way, the only good takana is a dead one."
-
Yori jerks back, " you're horrible! no wonder he left. i guess you feel about that way about me too huh? Ever since Isabelle and you can;t have kids she hardly ever talks to me except to remind me i need to get into college and marry a good girl and have kids. Im tired of it. Im going to find Takana and go live with him, at least he sees me as a person!"
-
Makoto throws his hands in the air, "Good luck finding him! no one knows where he is!"
-
Yori snorts, " not like you cared to look! i hate you!" he turns and storms out of the building.
-
Makoto huffs and straightens himself up before putting in his best smile and having back in to finish the meeting.
Nikiri enters the cafe and takes his seat, making sure everything is alright
-
Izanagi flounces over to attend him as soon as he notices, " Anything i can get for you~?"
Yori heads home and groans, what was he gonna do? he had no idea where to even begin to start looking for Takana.
-
Nikiri smiles at izanagi, "just some coffee with enough sugar and milk to hide the fact that it's coffee."
-
Izanagi snorts, " sure you don;t just want milk with sugar added?"
-
Nikiri chuckles, "Unfortunately I need to be awake and I slept like crap last night."
-
Izanagi frowns, " im sorry to hear that. was it the...Takana thingy? I'll make it an espresso so you actually get some caffeine." he scurries off and gets two shots of espresso and fills the cup the rest of the way with milk and adds a bunch of sugar before bringing it over, " here~"
-
nikiri smiles when he gets his coffee, "Aww thanks! And i guess. Im in charge of watching him, arakan's daddy ordered it. So I need to be a babysitter for both of you since you and him are always around each other."
-
Izanagi winces, " well that's rough. i mean im glad that you'll be around more, but i doubt it'll be very fun."
-
nikiri shrugs, "who knows. i will be around you some more."
-
Izanagi smiles, " well that'll be nice anyway. i gotta get back to work, things are picking back up. lemme know if you need anything."
-
nikiri nods, "Of course. Dont work too hard~"
-
Izanagi blows him a kiss before flouncing off to tend other customers."
-
nikiri hums and starts drinking his coffee, pulling out his phone and browsing the internet as he plays babysitter
-
The day runs fairly smoothly, business picking up as demons get out of their inspection funks and get back to their lives.
-
the day winds down and its a couple of hours shy of closing. there are still a few customers left and mina happily bounces over to a guy who had just taken a seat, "Good evening and thank you for stopping by! Can I get you anything to drink?"
The guy grunts, not very enthused, "Not thirsty."
Mina blinks before putting on a smile again, "Okaaaayy~! Well we have plenty of dessert items to pick through, or if you came for our special ramen or curry I can easily put an order in for you."
The guy lifts up his sunglasses to look at mina, "Sure I'm hungry. but not for food, sugar tits. What menu are you on and how much do I gotta pay?"
Mina freezes up when she sees the demon's eyes. Black sclera with white iris. Not good. Demons with those type of eyes usually come from the 4th district which is made up of some cruel and awful demons. the kind that make humans look like angels in comparison.
Mina hears what the guy says and she turns pale, "U-um su-sure I uh I can get you a menu right- right away sir." Mina turns around, hoping to calmly get the manager. She cant tell what rank he is but she doesnt want to cause a scene since he could hurt somebody.
"Hey I didnt give you permission to leave!" The guy snarls and grabs her with both hands, one holding her right thigh tightly while the other wraps over her chest, pulling her close to him.
As soon as Mina feels the demon grab her she panics and starts screaming.
Takana damn near drops his pan of food but manages to set it to the side when he hears mina screaming
Nikiri startles awake and he twists around to look at the other end of the cafe, silently cursing when he sees whats going on
Hikari's eyes widen and she quickly hides behind the counter.
Kaeru shrieks and runs to find the manager, although with how loud mina screamed kaeru was sure she wouldnt have to look too hard
-
The manager soon came out of her office and pales when she sees the situation, " sir, i have to ask you to let go of my employee. this is a cafe, if you wish to order something from our menu we are happy to help. if not, i ask you please leave." almost no chance of it happening, but it was worth a try. She quickly sends a text to Arakan asking for help.
Izanagi hides around the corner in the kitchen.
-
Takana comes out around the corner and he sees the demon and he glares, about to stomp over to give him the business
Mina is shaking, trying not to cry as she just whimpers
The guy gives a short laugh, "No can do old hag. I have a job to do and if that includes kidnappin then so be it."
Nikiri's eyes narrow and he gets up, holding back the urge to kill. he really didnt have the time for this. He calmly walks up to them, his kimono hiding the fact the he already has his hand on his sword, "A job you say? I didnt realize that our little district was letting other demons in for employment. May I see your papers?"
The demon looks a bit startled when nikiri just fucking walks right up to them. he blinks and then notices the antlers, "Oh its one of you Okuya's of course I'd run in to one of you. You fucking rabbits are everywhere."
Nikiri huffs, "Deer actually. but thank you. mother will appreciate the crass comment. Now, my previous question. Papers."
"Aint got none. Aint need one."
"So you admit you are not supposed to be here?"
The demon snarls, "Just fuck off! You cant question me like that! Im a true C rank, unlike your piece of shit family. Its pathetic that you lot get to be a C rank just cuz you talk to scum!"
Nikiri's anger goes up, "I suppose thats why I can talk to you just fine. I believe I have wasted enough time. Let go of the girl."
"No! I aint leavin until I get a girl to the boss!" the demon tightens his grip on Mina, causing the girl to cry out.
Nikiri's eyes narrow and a soft 'click' is heard before he takes a step back
The demon blinks when nikiri takes a step back until suddenly his hands drop to the ground, lifeless and squirting blood from his severed arms. He screams in shock and pain as he realizes his hands have been cleanly sliced off.
Mina realizes she's not held anymore and she sobs before running over to the manager and clinging to her desperately.
-
The manager watches the exchange calmly, there was nothing she could really do in this situation. She was a bit worried when Nikiri stepped up, but he was really the only one here that could deal with him.
Izanagi grabs onto Takana, eyes wide as he shakes his head frantically.
When Mina comes to her the manager grabs onto her gently, patting her back as she shifts so that she's between her employee and the demon.
The temperature in the cafe noticeably drops by several degrees, and the doors open with fog rolling in ahead of Arakan, clearly seething. As he steps ice crackles at his feet as he walks towards the demon, " exactly what the fuck do you think you're doing in MY district."
-
nikiri quickly steps as far back as he needs to stay out of arakan's way
The demon tries tucking his arms under himself, trying to stop the bleeding, "F-fuck you man. Just fucking kill me!"
Nikiri hums, "You mentioned your 'boss' wanting a girl. does this have anything to do with that mysterious demon that smells like sulfur?" he glances at arakan, "might benefit you to freeze his arms to stop the bleeding and get him to talk. figure out whats going on maybe." he really didnt want to make arakan snap at him but he really was curious if this demon and the other are connected
-
Arakan glares at Nikiri and swears softly before looking back at the demon, " death is too easy of a way to deal with you." he quickly walks over and grabs the guys arms, freezing them from the elbows down. He then slams his fist into the guys head to knock him out. He looks at Nikiri, " you made the damn mess, you fucking clean it up." he glances over at Mina and the manager, " she's off work for a few days, have her family come take her home. I'll be back once i've put this filth someplace appropriate." he grabs the guy by the back of the shirt and drags him from the store.
The manager talks softly to Mina and pulls out her phone, calling the girls parents and tell them that there was an incident and they needed to come get her, but she was fine.
-
takana waits until arakan leaves before going over to mina, checking on her as well.
Nikiri sighs, "yeeeeah i made a mess." he hums and looks at mina briefly before looking up at the manager, waiting patiently for her availability
hikari sighs softly when everythings done and she is safe
mina sighs softly, her face bright red in embarrassment
-
The manager puts her phone away and looks at Nikiri, " you have my thanks"
Izanagi slides to the floor in the kitchen, " holy fuck..."
-
nikiri gives a weak smile, "Ah sorry for the mess. if i could get a mop then i'll happily clean this."
-
The manager nods, " of course." she gently guides Mina to the back and sits her down, grabbing a mop and bucket which she hands to Nikiri before getting Hikari to make a cup of tea which she gives to Mina to help her calm down.
-
Mina takes the cup and sniffles, sipping softly, "thank you..."
Takana shudders and goes over to izanagi, "does that always happen?"
Nikiri hums as he mops up
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " no... that was pretty unusual. i don;t think he was from this district, he shouldn;t have been here."
-
Takana huffs, "what an asshole. Im glad he's taken care of then. "
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah... im kind of surprised Arakan didn't kill him outright. But i guess what Nikiri said about finding out information made sense."
-
As nikiri mops the blood up something clatters to the floor and he blinks, seeing one of his many charms that are normally hung on his antlers on the floor. He frowns and sighs before bending down and picking it up, grimacing. His family charms never broke off easily...
-
Izanagi sighs, " and what the hell were you thinking? were you gonna go face that guy? he'd have killed you!"
-
takana blinks and looks at izanagi, frowning, "Excuse me? She was being harassed by a creep! Of course im going to step in to try to help."
Nikiri pockets his charm to inform his father later. The last time a warding charm broke so carelessly a damn war occurred. An ill omen for sure.
-
Izanagi huffs, " things are different here. you only would have made things worse. Arakan was coming, the manager had alerted him. our job is to keep things calm until someone who can match the threat comes to deal with it. you only would have died or gotten him pissed and gotten someone else killed! maybe even the manager, since she would have felt the need the step in to protect you."
-
Takana blinks and glares at izanagi, "Dont get an attitude! for one, how was i supposed to know arakan was coming in time and two, I cant help but want to jump in and help someone! Call it a bad habit or reckless or whatever you want but I cant help it!"
Nikiri finishes mopping and glances over at the two boys arguing and he holds back the urge to snarl. He was not in the mood. A rare thing indeed...
He sets the mop aside before going over to them placing a hand on both of their shoulders, "Enough." his tone was short and harsh.
Takana flinches since he wasnt used to nikiri being anything but playful and he quickly shuts up
-
Izanagi was about to reply when Nikiri comes and he instantly quiets, it was clear that was an order. He slowly raises his eyes to look at Nikiri, " sorry..."
-
Nikiri gives a quiet nod of approval, patting the boy's shoulders gently before grabbing the mop and going back to the manager, "Yosh~ all done moppin' boss! Anything else I can do to help out until closing time?"
Mina's parents step inside the cafe, looking terrified until they see their daughter. The husband looks relieved while the mother quickly rushes over to her, "Mina!"
Mina lets go of the manager and quickly grabs onto her mother, hugging her tightly, "Mother!"
Takana's ears twitch as he watches the two women hug each other. He couldnt help but feel a bit sad as he thought of his own mother.
Hikari busies herself with work, not wanting to even acknowledge the family
-
The manager nods to Nikiri, " you've done plenty, please relax and anything you'd like let us know so we can get it for you right away." she takes the mop and smiles when Mina's parents get there, " apologies for making you come out here, she's fine but it's best if she takes a few days off."
-
The husband nods at the manager, "Of course. thank you so much for keeping our little girl safe."
The mom continues to soothe and console her daughter.
-
She bows, " you may thank Nikiri for stepping in. I was unable to do much. Regardless, take her home and enjoy your days off Mina. take care of yourself." she takes the bloody mop into the back and gets to work cleaning it out.
Izanagi goes and gets a Chai tea since he knows that's a favorite of Nikiri's, bringing it to the deers table, " here..."
-
both parents give nikiri their thanks before leaving with Mina
Nikiri blinks and looks over at izanagi. He cant help but give a soft smile, going over to the small demon, "Heavens I didnt mean to let my temper get the best of me. I may have been still upset when that pest mocked my family. Can you ever forgive me?" he tried to sound like he was teasing since he wanted nagi to cheer up a bit
-
Izanagi blinks, " It's alright, i know it's a lot to have to step in and do things like that. im grateful you were here. Im sorry that i annoyed you."
-
nikiri chuckles and shakes his head, "No need to apologize. you're not in trouble. I just want you two to get along."
-
Izanagi huffs " he was gonna be suicidal!"
-
"I know. And i will have my own talk with him later as his guard, but you both need to get along before it causes serious problems."
-
Izanagi looks properly chastised, " alright alright. i'll go make nice. is there anything you need?"
-
nikiri pecks izanagi on the forehead, "Just for you to stay safe. I have an awful feeling that this was only the beginning."
-
Izanagi blinks, " you think there's gonna be more?"
-
Nikiri digs in his pocket and pulls out the charm, "these things usually dont come off my dear. The last time a warding charm fell it was one from my fathers antlers. No more than a week later we went to war against the humans. For mine to just fall off now makes me nervous. "
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " i hope that's not the case... you don't think it has anything to do with the thing with Takana do you? is it really gonna be another war?"
-
Nikiri sighs, "I am unsure but regardless I do plan on seeing my father some time to discuss matters with him and get his perspective."
-
Izanagi nods, looking nervous, " i really hope that won;t be it."
The manager looks out, " Izanagi, there orders waiting to go out."
He jumps, " ah, sorry, i gotta get back to work." he scurries off.
-
Nikiri puts the charm back in his pocket before going over to his table and sitting down, sighing. He blinks when he realizes his forgotten chai and he hums as he picks it up and sips it. it had gone cold but not surprisingly it was still good.
Takana goes back and starts the kitchen back up for the orders.
-
Izanagi works hard, getting the backlog of orders sent out.
-
The last few hours are uneventful and soon its closing time
takana is cleaning up with the chef
-
The manager sighs in relief as the rest of the day goes smoothly. She was glad she got so many new employees trained in, she could easily let Mina have a few days off to recover.
Izanagi finishes up his work and sits in the seat next to Nikiri.
Arakan comes in just as they're closing shop, sighing as he sits.
-
Takana sighs and steps out, blinking when he sees arakan. the poor demon must be having a terrible day considering his sleep probably got interrupted by that rogue demon. He frowns and goes over to izanagi, "what a day."
Nikiri sees arakan come in and glances at the clock on the wall before looking at his table top. He really didnt want to inform arakan of the charm. not until he showed his father first for input. If it was nothing to worry about then informing arakan after the day everyone just had would only put unnecessary stress on him
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah..."
Arakan sighs, he was tired. He barely got any sleep, with the whole demon thing and interrogating him. He hadn;t divulged much yet, but it was only a matter of time. He'd have to stay up tonight as well, but at least he'd be able to sleep tomorrow.
-
Nikiri gets up and goes over to arakan, "Hey. Since im watching the kid I think I'll just take the boys home while you take the girls home. that way you only have to go that one way before going home instead of back tracking all of those steps."
-
Arakan blinks, " are you sure you're alright with that? the next demon may not be so easy to take down..."
-
Nikiri nods, "of course. unless you want me following you the entire way. Im sure you wouldnt want that considering im just as theatrical as my father." he grins
-
Arakan snorts, " i'll pass. very well, you take the boys, i'll escort the girls before i begin my patrol tonight." he gets up and waits by the door for the girls to assemble."
-
Nikiri grins and chuckles, "Have fun with the girls." he goes over to izanagi, "im taking you boys home."
-
Izanagi grabs onto Nikiri's arm, " 'kay" the other guys who are employees and live in the same area get ready to follow.
Arakan rolls his eyes, " lets go." he heads out, making sure they're following before going to their houses to drop them off.
-
the girls happily follow arakan, knowing they're safe.
Nikiri leads the boys safely home, the last stop being izanagi and takana's place.
takana had watched arakan leave with the girls before following nikiri
-
Izanagi stops when they get home, " wanna come inside Nikiri?"
Arakan drops all the girls off, then starts walking around the district, watching for anything out of place.
-
Nikiri shakes his head, "Normally i would but i need to speak to my father. You'll see me tomorrow though."
-
Izanagi nods, " oh right... well, goodnight." he heads in.
-
Takana sighs and goes inside, going to his room.
Nikiri quickly heads home to talk to his father
-
Izanagi showers and gets into Nikiri's kimono, cuddling the other as Nikiri never retrieved the first one. settling into bed happily.
-
Takana gets into bed and rests for the night
~
Makoto gets home and goes to find his mother about what to do with yori.
-
Yori stays at home, he would have stayed at someone elses place but mother and Makoto always chased off the friends he liked, and the 'friends' they approved of he'd never trust that way.
Kahana is in her office, sighing softly. What had that boy been thinking barging in that way?
-
Makoto steps into his mothers office and sits down, "getting straight to the point, what do we do about yori's attitude?"
-
Kahana sighs, " im not really sure what to do. we can't just kick him out like we did with Takana, he's our last chance at getting heirs. i suppose you and Isabelle can adopt, but still...."
-
Makoto shakes his head, "Unfortunately it would be best if an heir is of blood to make sure that arguments are not to be made in the future. you said so yourself. I do not know why yori thinks he has it so bad. He doesnt seem to understand just how lucky he is and how this family asks for so little from him."
Isabelle is at her and makoto's own home, waiting for Makoto to come home by reading a book on the couch
-
Kahana nods, " im aware. Hence why we can;t simply teach him a lesson. Ugh, if there was one thing that Takana was good at, it was keeping Yori happy. Maybe i need to arrange for a cruise for him or such, that would make him happy."
-
Makoto hums, "Maybe send him out soon? If he's enjoying himself in the middle of the ocean he cant exactly runaway or try to find takana either."
-
Kahana nods, " yes... i'll see about doing that shortly. in the meantime perhaps it wouldn;t be a horrible idea for you to humor him a little, spend a bit of time with him? i know my husband has spoiled him rotten, but who thought we'd actually manage to even have Yori?"
-
Makoto winces, "Id rather we not even mention how that old man managed to have any children at all..." he sighs, "I will.... try my best to be cordial."
-
Kahana snorts, " believe me, it was no walk in the park for me dear. But it was important to secure him as my husband, and Yori secured us as blood relations. I know it's hard, but please do try for me sweetheart. Im so proud of all you've accomplished."
-
Makoto sighs and stands up, straightening his suit, "the battle isnt over yet mother. dont be proud of me until that old bastard is six feet over and we officially own the company. Then you'll never have to work another day in your life."
-
Kahana smiles, " there's my boy. now get some rest, you'll need it to keep up with your brother." she gets up, " i suppose i ought to go check in with my dear husband." she sighs and heads to their shared room.
-
Makoto heads home for the evening to get some rest
Corrin, the CEO of the company, was sitting on the side of his back, rubbing it a little. It was always sore thanks to his age and no matter the mattress he always ached. "What a damn day."
-
Kahana walks in, " hello sweetheart. Oh no, is your back hurting again? I keep telling you to take it easy." she goes around behind him and gently starts massaging his shoulders.
-
Sotou blinks and smiles at his lovely wife, "ah sweetie. Mmm that feels so good darling. I swear sometimes it feels like my back is trying to kill me. I think im going to go see my chiropractor tomorrow and see if he can help. Although im sure he'll tell me to get that damned back surgery."
-
She keeps working on his shoulders, " you know you probably ought to listen to them. if the back surgery will help then isn't it worth it to not be in pain every day?"
-
Sotou sighs and smiles at kahana, "the recovery period for the surgery is 3 months. i dont want to be out of the office for that long dear. I know you and Makoto have been working so hard at keeping everything running smoothly and I feel terribly guilty. Besides my own son hasnt reached back to me when I tried to call him. I wish i knew if I made him mad or something. He usually doesnt give me the silent treatment for so long."
-
Kahana sighs, " i know it's a long recovery, Makoto and i have things under control though sweetie. besides, it's not like you can;t look over papers and run things from bed, you just wouldn't be doing so much legwork. As for Takana... im not sure what to do with that boy. He's always so rash and willful."
-
Sotou sighs, "You're too good for me. And Takana cant help it. He takes after his mother in every way and that woman was a firecracker."
-
Kahana hums softly, " don't say things like that dearest. Well, he'll have to simmer down sometime or it's going to get him into trouble." she kisses his cheek and gets up, " did you want me to grab some of your painkillers or a hotpack for your back?"
-
sotou hums softly, "pain killers and some water would be lovely dear, but I know you worked hard today so if its easier then see if one of the servants will get them."
-
Kahana nods and goes to the door to holler for a servant, telling them to get painkillers and water before going over to her dresser and taking her work clothes off, changing into a nightgown.
-
soon a small, petite demon knocks on the door of the room, eyes devoid of any emotion. he's holding a small silver tray with a cup of water and a bottle of aspirin. he kept his eyes at the ground.
-
She takes the water and the bottle, dismissing him. She walks over to her husband and hands him the cup before opening the bottle and shaking a couple pills out for him, " here you are dear."
-
the demon quickly leaves when he's dismissed
sotou takes the meds and swallows them, chasing it with his water. he sets the glass down and sighs, "thank you dear."
-
She nods and heads into the bathroom, washing her face before laying down on her side of the bed, " goodnight dear."
-
Sotou gets in his side of the bed, "goodnight my love."
-
She settles in and turns the lights off. finally, at least his back pain made it so he usually didn't want to intimate. the sooner he croaked the better, but until then she had to be the dutiful loving wife.
-
its the next day and takana is already up, a plate of eggs, sausage and toast ready for izanagi
-
Izanagi is woken by his nose and he wanders out of his room, wearing one kimono and clutching the other as he hums softly, " mmm smells gooooood."
-
takana glances at izanagi and nods, "yeah i made breakfast. this plate is yours."
-
Izanagi sits and shovels his down, making happy noises as he eats.
Yori thinks, who was close to Takana? There was only a few people he knew that Takana had hung out with, maybe that guy he'd dated for a bit? He was pretty sure he worked at the security for the demon district... he was scared to go over there but it was his best lead. He gets dressed and grabs a quick breakfast before having the driver take him to the demon district, asking around for that guy that Takana had dated.
-
The guards quickly let yori know of the ex. His name is curtis and it was his day off today but that he'd be working tomorrow.
One of the guards rubs the back of his head, "we cant really just give out his number but if you want i can text him first and ask if he's okay with you texting him? He's a really great guy if it helps. I think if i recall the break up ended with them still being good friends. "
-
Yori nods, " totally understandable, if you would i'd really appreciate it? Im Takana's brother. I just gotta ask him something."
-
After a quick minute of texting the guard looks back at yori, "he says its cool. Here." He holds his phone so that yori can see the number
-
Yori quickly inputs it into his own phone, " thanks, you're awesome! i thought it'd be a lot scarier here." he quickly texts Curtis asking if he'd seen Takana lately, that he was his brother and hadn;t heard from him in awhile and was worried.
-
it isnt more than a minute when curtis messages Yori back, Its Yori right? Takana talks about you a lot haha only good things though! And no, im sorry but i havent seen or heard him in a while. Is everything okay?
-
Yori frowns, Yeah, Yori. Um, how long is awhile? Takana went missing like 2 weeks ago. i haven't been able to get ahold of him since then and his apartment is totally empty, even being rented out again already.
-
curtis blinks and frowns, arent those apartments owned by your mother?
-
Yori bites his lip, yeah, long story short i think mom and my other brother may have chased him off.
-
Curtis sighs and rubs his face, no offence, but im not surprised... i will try to go and ask around my co workers when i patrol in case they saw him. Im really sorry yori, i cant imagine what you might be going through
-
Yori bites his lip, not anything you can do about it. it sucks but that's why im trying to find Takana so i can get the hell out of here.
-
curtis nods, alright, good luck out there and let me know if you need anything else okay?
-
Yori sighs, not much you can help with. thanks for your help. he groans and lets his head fall into his hands, what was he gonna do? he didn;t have anyone he could count on, and he had nowhere to go.
-
Makoto sighs as he texts yori, where are you. I went to your room but you were not there
-
Yori looks at his phone, hoping for info on Takana when he sees Makoto's message. i went out. what does it matter?
-
come home. We need to talk.
-
Yori frowns, about how nothing i do is good enough? no thanks.
-
Makoto growls in frustration, no. We could do things today. Like. Go out or whatever it is you like to do
-
Yori blinks and stares at his phone, Makoto actually wanted to do things with him? ...i'll come back. but frankly this is the weirdest thing you've ever done. he sighs and gets in the car, getting driven back. What suddenly had Makoto giving a shit about him?
-
Makoto waited in the foyer for yori, trying not to look annoyed since he was trying to make nice
-
Yori walks in, hoodie pulled over his messy hair he hadn't bothered to comb this morning, " so... be honest, you're an alien aren't you? Makoto doesn't really care about me."
-
Makoto's eyes twitched and he huffs, "if it makes you feel better, mother insisted. Happy now?"
-
Yori raises an eyebrow, " well that actually kinda make sense then. well i don't need you to pay attention to me just because mother made you, you can go if you want." he looks away.
-
Makoto sighs, "i'm here to make nice. What do you want to do? "
-
Yori looks at his oldest brother warily, " well i was planning to try and look for clues to figure out where Takana went today..."
-
Makoto huffs, "anything but that. Choose something easy. Like a trip to Europe or something. "
-
Yori rolls his eyes, " yeah, super easy." he frowns, " i have something i wanna do tomorrow, but if you want to like, go drive down to the beach or something today we could do that."
-
Makoto nods, "get ready then. I'll take you to the beach. "
-
Yori blinks, he hadn't actually expected his brother to agree to that. beaches were too messy and crowded for his stuck up brother. he shakes his head and goes to his room, still a bit flabbergasted as he puts his trunks on and a shirt, grabbing a towel and his surf board among a few other essential beach items. might as well catch a few waves while he was there. He comes out with his bag and board, ready to go.
-
Makoto looks at Yori and nods before heading to his car, "Lets go. I'll drive."
-
Yori stops and raises an eyebrow, " wait, you're seriously going like that? you know it's not really spending time with me if you sit in the car and sulk while i go swim."
-
Makoto blinks and looks at Yori, "What do you mean? I'll sit on the beach then."
-
Ypri rolls his eyes, " that's seriously boring. you're gonna get sand in your suit, and you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb. at least put some trunks on and put a tshirt on. and again, having you take me so you can sit on the beach is like you're babysitting me. i might as well go by myself if that's all you're gonna do."
-
makoto is quiet for a few minutes before the slightest bit of pink tint appears on his cheeks and he looks a little unsure, "riiiight....trunks...."
-
Yori blinks and sighs, " you're hopeless. oh! i just had the best idea ever!" he pulls his phone out and sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth as he texts Isabella, favoritest awesome sister of mine, Makoto is for some really weird reason going to hang out with me today, and we decided on the beach. however he's a hopeless lump that has no idea how to have fun, does he even have swimming trunks? you should totally come with! it would be the best day ever! Also, he planned to go in his suit and just sit on the beach, can you even imagine?! he grins at Makoto
-
Makoto keeps blinking in confusion
Isabelle sees the text and she hums, replying back, ah Yori~ its so nice to hear from you. umm you know i dont think I have ever seen mako-chan go to the beach. I think he has a pair of trunks though. Why dont the two of you come over and I'll get some things packed. that way we can just take one vehicle.
-
Yori laughs softly, alright we'll be there in a bit! He looks at Makoto, " alright, lets head over to yours and Isabelle's house. she'll take care of things."
-
Makoto blinks and groans, rolling his eyes, "let me guess. you invited her?"
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Yori chuckles, " where else was i going to go to figure out if you even own a swimsuit? anyway why not? she'll be a lot more fun than you will, and you might actually not be a stick in the mud with her there. win win." he puts his stuff in the back of the car and gets in the passenger seat.
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makoto gets in to the driver seat and begins heading to his home, "because she tends to have too much fun if you ask me."
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Yori sighs, " you know, fun isn't a bad thing. there's more to life than just work."
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Makoto gives another tired sigh, "she's overbearing though." he pulls into his place and turns off the car
Isabelle is wearing a beautiful one piece suit that also has a side skirt attached. she is packing a basket together humming softly
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Yori frowns, " you must not be talking about the same Isabelle i know. she's awesome, i've never seen her be overbearing." he gets out and hurries in, " Isabelle! oh wow you look gorgeous. are you half as as excited for this as i am! i brought a camera, we might have actual photographic proof that Makoto does not stay in a suit 24/7. i swear it seems like he sleeps and showers in the damn things."
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Isabelle looks over at yori and smiles, "Yori~ Oh i am very excited~ A nice trip is exactly what we need! I made some sandwiches and i have some water bottles as well and some snacks. honey i have set a few trunks out on your bed, go ahead and pick which one you want."
Makoto gives her a tired expression, "thanks.." He goes to his bedroom
-
Yori hugs Isabelle, " they do have food and drink stands there, but this will be amazing im sure. you're really the best. Don't mind him, he's just mad he can't simply sit and do work on his phone the entire time instead of trying to have fun. if he's actually going to spend time with me for the first time in... like 2 years, im going to make him work for it."
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Isabelle smiles and nods, "I think it would be wonderful of you and makoto to have some fun. He works 24/7 and you need a break from your mother. "
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Yori nods, " yeah. though he's only doing it because mother wants him to. all the more reason to torment him a little though." he grins.
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Isabelle hums softly, "well dont torture him too much, i do have to deal with him at the end of the day." She turns to face the hallway, "dear~! Are you doing okay in there?"
You can hear makoto's voice from the bedroom, "i'm deciding!!"
Isabelle gives a soft nod, "well while we wait im going to show yori my paintings! Okay?"
"I don't care."
Isabelle takes yori's hand and starts leading him to the other side of the house, "yori. I have to ask you something very important. "
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Yori rolls his eyes, " they're swimming trunks not a life decision!" he shakes his head and blinks as he lets Isabelle lead him, " sure? you know you can ask me anything. i mean i can;t promise i'll be able to help, but you can ask. is he always such a dick about your things?"
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Isabelle nods and carefully unlocks the door to her art room and goes inside and over to a closet, "Taka-chan was supposed to stop by last week and help me with some of my paintings but he didnt. So.... i did the only thing i could do and asked makoto but he just said that takana went on vacation. I didnt think that was true because, look, you and I both know how takana is. Vacation? RIGHT before his finals? That wouldnt be a thing. he had to make time for me after all. so i went to his apartment only to find a few cardboard boxes of his stuff so... i took them." she pulls a sheet back and shows the boxes, containing takana's stuff, "I cant tell makoto because he'll get mad and scary but you'll be honest with me right? Where is Takana? Do you know?"
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Yori frowns, " yeah.... Makoto pretty much told me yesterday he and mom chased Takana off. i don't know where he is, i've been trying to find him though. Im meeting someone tomorrow that i might be able to get some help from. Did you want me to come get these boxes later when Makoto is at work or something? so he doesn;t find them?"
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Isabelle hums and looks utterly depressed, "Poor Takana.... umm... I'll keep the boxes here for now. Makoto doesnt seem to care about my art and doesnt come in here. not like he could anyway. I keep it locked in case I need to... be in here for a while. alone." She carefully covers the boxes and closes the closet, "i'll just pretend I dont know whats going on. in the mean time while makoto is at work i'll help in your search."
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Yori frowns, " Is... is he treating you okay? i know he's an ass, but i thought he at least would treat you well..."
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"He gets mad, for sure. But I know I do things to upset him. But he's never hurt me if thats what you're asking. Its just nice to have a space that is completely for you, you know?"
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Yori nods slowly, " alright...you can call me anytime you know right? i know i can;t do a whole lot that's helpful, but still. We'd better get out there before he gets impatient."
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Isabelle nods, "Of course. Takana always said that too." she steps out of the room and waits for yori to vacate as well
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Yori heads out of the room, " yeah, he's the best."
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isabelle locks the door before heading back to the foyer where makoto is waiting.
Makoto is texting on his phone, looking grumpy already, wearing a pair of trunks. His white skin shows his lack of outside time very well
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Yori shades his eyes, " oh god the glare. alright, good thing i packed sunscreen, he's gonna need about a gallon. Let's go!" he grins and heads for the car, getting in the back seat so Isabelle can sit up front with her husband."
-
Makoto tsks and heads to the car getting in.
Isabelle happily sits in the passenger seat with her basket, "Oh this will be so much fun~"
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Yori nods, " yeah! we haven;t had an outing like this in forever."
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Makoto keeps quiet, not wanting to engage in talking
Isabelle nods and smiles, "and today is a perfect day for the beach since its warm out today."
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Yori nods, " yeah. there's enough of a breeze to keep it from getting too hot. i just hope there's some decent waves."
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Isabelle nods, "mm.. on one hand i know you want the waves but its kind of scary. You cant predict the ocean."
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Yori snorts, " im fine, i know mom gets fussy about me doing 'dangerous' sports and whatnot but she hardly ever pays attention to what i do so im actually pretty good at it."
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Isabelle hums, "not just for you yori. I myself am i bit cautious around the waves since im not the greatest swimmer."
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Yori nods, " fair enough. there's some nice calm spots i know of, there's a bay that's pretty protected from the rougher surf if you wanna set up there. i'll have to walk a bit for bigger waves but that's fine."
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isabelle nods, "Id appreciate that, thank you."
Makoto parks in one of the many beach parking spots and turns off the car, "we're here."
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Yori hops out and grabs his stuff, " the bay is this way. it'll be a bit busier there since people with kids like the calmer waters, but that also means there's some good food stands over there." he starts leading the way, " we'd better get Makoto covered in sunscreen pretty quick, he's gonna burn like a lobster."
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Isabelle grabs her basket and follows yori, "He'll get some sunblock once we settle down~"
Makoto huffs and follows them, looking disgruntled
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Yori doesn;t pay attention to Makoto, as disgruntled is his brothers typical expression around him. Yori locates a decent spot a little ways away from screaming children and sets out a blanket to stake their spot and to sit on, " here we go, this is a pretty good spot." He sticks his board into the sand, making sure to be careful with the fin.
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Isabelle lays her blanket down and pulls out some sun block, "Here dear, sit down so i can get your back."
Makoto rolls his eyes and sits down.
Isabelle happily applies the cream on makoto's body
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Yori snorts, " you'll thank her later, if you get a sunburn you'll be in some serious pain. so, you gonna sit here and sulk or you gonna come into the water when she's done?"
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makoto sighs, "I've never been in the ocean."
Isabelle hums and puts the cream away, "He probably cant swim."
Makoto glares, "Hush. I CAN swim thank you very much."
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Yori snickers, " well the water is calm and it stays pretty shallow for a good while so you'd have to really try to drown. come on lets go!" he quickly rubs some sunscreen onto his own skin, then heads for the water to goof around for awhile.
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Isabelle puts on some sun lotion before getting up and grabbing makoto's hand, "Oh darling, lets go have some fun! Its so rare for us to spend time together!"
makoto huffs and lets himself be dragged over to yori
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Yori grins and wades deeper into the water, getting up to his waist before splashing Makoto. " see? it's not so bad."
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Makoto jerks away from isabelle so he can avoid the splashing, huffing, "I would rather not get splashed- thank you very much."
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Yori chuckles, " you're gonna get wet anyway, might as well speed up the process. come on Isabelle we can have fun without this lump."
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Isabelle ties her hair up into a tight bun before going over to yori
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Yori smiles and starts playing in the water with her, splashing her a bit and diving to get away.
-
she laughs and giggles before trying to wade through the water, true to her word she was not a very good swimmer
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Yori plays around with Isabelle and torments Makoto for awhile before taking his surfboard out to rougher water, catching some waves, not that they were especially spectacular that day. the day passes uneventfully and when it starts to get dark he helps pack up so they can go home.
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its the next day and curtis sits at his station with the other guards, laughing and talking
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Yori heads there, some red on his nose and ears where he got too much sun. He walks over to the guards, " um, excuse me? is curtis here?"
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Curtis looks over and grins before walking over, "Uh hey, you're Yori right?"
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Yori blinks and nods, " yes, that's me."
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Curtis holds out his hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Curtis. Although, I do wish I had met you under better circumstances."
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Yori grabs his hand, " yeah...ah, nice to meet you too. so you haven't seen him at all in the last two weeks?"
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Curtis shakes his head, "no i havent seen anyone. I asked my men and one of them said some human crossed the gate but couldnt remember what the guy looked like so cant tell."
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Yori snorts, " ask if he had pink hair, Takana is pretty hard to forget in that way at least."
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Curtis blinks and frowns, "Thats the thing. apparently the person was wearing a beanie and a lot of other unusual items to cover his appearance."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " ah... well, fuck. that was the only possible lead i had... maybe i can hire someone to look for him? im really out of leads..."
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Curtis nods, "You could certainly do that, I'll keep my eyes out of course. if anything happens I'll let you know, okay? Just... also take care of yourself too, okay? If anything happened to you I know Takana would be upset if anything happened to you. I could always tell that despite what he had going on you were always his top priority."
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Yori looks down, " thanks. i'll try, things are just... kinda tough right now, im not entirely sure what im gonna do if i can;t find him. he's the only one i could talk to about things."
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Curtis blinks and frowns, "Im sorry. that sounds... tough. i know im not the same, and heck. im technically his ex. but he still came to me with his problems so if you're desperate then dont hesitate to text me."
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Yori smiles, " thanks,i'll keep that in mind. im not sure you can help me though, no offense i know you're a good guy and all and Takana liked you but i don;t know you all that well, and you can hardly help with me getting the hell away from my family who only want me because im the only kid who can still potentially get married to a girl they like and have kids." he makes a face.
-
curtis makes a face too, "Ugh so you have that in common with your brother too huh? man I dont envy your family at all."
-
Yori nods, " yeah...well, thanks anyway i guess. text me if you find anything out." he sighs and starts to go, looking dejected.
-
Curtis frowns as he watches yori leave. he really wished there was something he could have done for the kid....
-
Izanagi lounges on the couch, " what do you wanna do? we've got some time before work."
-
Takana blinks and shrugs, "Not sure. The guy i want to talk to should be at the gate so... i guess i could try seeing if he's there..."
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Izanagi nods, " sure, i'll just grab my work bag in case the trip runs long. i... might hang back a bit, you might be okay with those humans but... i'll pass."
-
Takana nods and goes to his room, grabbing his ring in case and putting it on. He heads to the door and waits for izanagi, "i'll make it as fast as possible."
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Izanagi grabs his bag and follows with, " we do have some time, im just being prepared in case... lets get going." he leads the way to the border, looking more uneasy as they get closer.
-
Takana hums, "Well i know we wont be late, i was just saying i'd be fast for your comfort. thats all." he happily follows izanagi
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Izanagi nods, " alright." he stops a ways back, " alright, that's the border, you can go talk to them. im staying here."
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Takana nods and grins, "If you say so~" he happily walks up to the gates, "Hey~!"
the guards at the gate jump in shock that any demon would be just dumb enough to approach them, quickly raising their guns at Takana, "FREEZE!!"
Takana flinches and turns pale briefly before holding up his hands, giving a nervous chuckle, "ahhahhahaaa.... very funny... hey um, im not here to cause trouble, I just need to talk to Curtis if he's here. He's my ex-boyfriend."
The guards stammer and look at each other, completely dumbfounded.
Curtis hears the commotion and quickly goes over since he is in command and his eyes widen, "Takana!??! What the fu-" he shakes his head and quickly looks at the guards, "Um.... stand down. He's.... human. Despite the ears.... and collar..."
Takana blinks and reaches up, gently removing the ears, wincing, "ah sorry yeah, yeah. These are fake. Nice disguise, yeah?"
Curtis shoo's his flabbergasted men away before glaring at Takana, "WHAT THE HELL!? Are you STUPID?! Are you INSANE!? Why the HELL are you HERE!? Of all the idiotic things you have done, this. THIS. HAS EASILY BEEN THE STUPIDEST things you've ever done!!! HOW!? Your last stunt made me dump you but THIS is SO much WORSE!!!"
Takana flinches and raises his shoulders, not like getting this lecture, "Uh.... well.... i didnt have anywhere else to go. "
Curtis throws his hands in the air, "MY HOUSE!!!! You could have come to MEEEE!"
Takana snorts, "you just moved in with Molly fresh from your honeymoon."
Curtis slaps his face with the palm of his hand, growling softly, "What fucking guard let you in?"
Takana shrugs, "I dunno. Does it matter?"
"YES. I plan on firing him after I drag you back. I JUST got done talking with Yori. He's been looking EVERYWHERE for you! You have him worried SICK!"
Takana blinks and frowns, "Y-yori.... I..." he sighs, "I wont lie, I do want to be with him since he's the only decent family member but he's better with our families money. He could easily convince his mom to let him move out Im sure."
Curtis shakes his head, "I wouldnt bet on it. apparently your bitch of a mother is now pressuring him to have kids since you are not an option."
Takana groans, "Jeeze.... how am i not surprised..." He huffs, "Well, I cant cross over anymore. I have a collar. everyone will think im a demon."
Curtis snarls, "How are you even alive? Do they know you're last-"
"-shut it-! my last name is Kuro. thats all they need to know."
"If you're not here to come back then WHY are you here?"
"I want the rule book. I know you have a copy"
Curtis sighs, "why do you want it?"
"Reasons. Now please give it to me. And also, dont tell yori im here."
"what? But he's been looking for you!" Curtis digs in his swat team suit and pulls out a black book, holding it out to takana
Takana takes it and stuffs it in his bag, "Because if he knows im here then he'll want to sneak over and thats not safe. No one can know im here."
Curtis frowns, ".....and if i tell him anyway?"
Takana snorts, "I'll let Molly know about us."
Curtis glares, "You wouldnt."
Takana shrugs, "Im obviously desperate."
Curtis pinches the bridge of his nose and snarls, "fine. i'll keep my mouth shut for now. Now get out of here. You have a weird guy back there."
"Oh. Thats my roommate. He's pretty chill. Thanks for the book!!" he puts the ears back on, grunting a bit in pain as it re-attaches and waves before going back over to izanagi
-
Izanagi stares wide eyed at the exchange, having whimpered at first when they pointed their guns at him but just cowering when they were yelling at each other. He looks at Takana with wide eyes when he comes back, " a-are you okay?"
-
Takana chuckles, "Yeah im cool. I got what i wanted. and apparently my little brother yori has been looking for me... I hope he's doing well....he unfortunately shares the same cruel mother."
-
Izanagi peers past Takana at Curtis, eyes wide, " what are you going to do? you said you liked your brother, if he's worried are you gonna try and talk to him?"
-
Takana sighs, "No. at least... i dont know.... I fear if he knows im here he will jump over in a heart beat. and he's a good kid.... I dont want him getting mixed up in this stuff."
-
Izanagi frowns, " i feel kinda bad for him. if he's so worried and you just up and vanished... well, guess it's not my problem. we'd better get to work huh?" he's glad to put some distance between them and the guards.
-
takana sighs, "Man dont make me feel worse about it. Dont get me wrong id love to be with him but its dangerous here." he keeps walking towards the cafe, sighing
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i mean yeah, but we seem to manage despite that." he gets to the cafe and heads into the back to change.
-
Takana gets to the back and heads to the kitchen to get ready
-
The work day continues as usual, little out of the ordinary until midday, when the speakers crackle to life and Arakan's voice comes over them, " Beginning now and until further notice i am ordering a curfew for all D and E rank demons, you are not to be out after dark. It is highly recommended that C class demons consider doing this as well, although at this moment it is not required. Businesses will alter your hours to comply. That is all." and it goes silent.
Izanagi gapes at the speakers, " a curfew? that's never happened before. i wonder if it has to do with those strange demons."
-
Takana blinks and frowns, "curfew?"
Kaeru and hikari look over at izanagi and frowns
-
Izanagi looks at the girls and blinks, " what?"
-
Kaeru whines softly, "I'm scared! Arent you scared?"
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Izanagi nods, " well yeah of course i am... but we know that they're trying to protect us."
-
Hikari shrugs, "whatever. It is what it is."
Kaeru whimpers, "i know it's for the best and for our safety but for it having to happen is scary."
-
Izanagi nods, " i'd rather know there's something scary and have them trying to help us than just leave us to fend for ourselves though."
-
Kaeru shudders, "arakan will still walk us home though, right?"
Hikari shrugs, "im sure. If anything im sure the curfew will help him walk us home."
-
Izanagi sighs, " im not sure, but i'd think so. i don;t see why he'd stop."
The manager comes out, " alright, well since i need to alter our business hours we'll be closing up early. you can start getting things shut down. Hikari, may i speak with you for a moment?" she heads back to her office.
-
Hikari blinks and frowns before following the manager into her office, "is everything okay?"
Takana starts getting the kitchen ready for closing
Kaeru sighs and starts sweeping to clean up
-
The manager nods, " yes of course. Im simply concerned about you. with this curfew in effect there is obviously something going on, and you live alone correct? do you have anyone you can possibly stay with until this blows over?"
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Hikari bites her lip and glances down, "I-... no... i dont... if i did i would probably have lived with them this entire time instead f the house... I appreciate your concern manager but i'll be alright. I always have."
-
The manager shakes her head, " i don;t want you alone." she sighs, " we should go get your things packed, you can stay with me while this is going on."
-
hikari blinks before her eyes quickly widen, "O-oh I- uh I dont want to impose Manager! you really dont have to!"
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She snorts, " you'll impose far more if something happens to my best worker. i live alone and have an open couch, it's no imposition."
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Hikari looks down and gives a little nods, "O-okay. if you insist. Thank you Manager."
-
she nods, " anytime. now go get things shut down."
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hikari nods and quickly heads to the coffee station and starts cleaning up
-
Izanagi works on getting the remaining customers taken care of and out the door, cleaning tables as well.
-
Soon Nikiri arrives, expecting the curfew so he came early
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Arakan comes soon after, waiting patiently.
Izanagi gets done and changes into his street clothes before going to hug Nikiri, " Nikiri!"
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Takana steps out and goes over to nikiri
the other employees go over to arakan.
hikari sticks close to the manager
-
The manager looks at Arakan, " if it's not too much trouble, i'll go with so Hikari can grab her things before she stays with me."
Arakan blinks and nods, " very well, that deals with the concern i had about her being alone. we can wait for her to get her things and i'll drop you two off after the other girls." he turns and heads out the door, the manager following with everyone else.
-
hikari and everyone aside from izanagi and takana follow arakan
Nikiri smiles at the boys, "Lets go~" he starts heading towards the boys place
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Izanagi happily follows Nikiri, " do you know why the curfew is in effect?"
Arakan leads the girls home, waiting outside Hikari's so she can gather her things.
-
hikari goes inside and comes back a few minutes later with a backpack of what she has
Nikiri hums, "well we got limited information from that demon but since we know he was C rank we just want to try and make sure anyone under that rank who cant defend themselves are safe. I myself may have to see if the yamamotos know a higher rank demon to watch you two. I would rather do it myself considering the circumstances but I am only C rank because of my families ability otherwise I should just be D rank."
Takana blinks and frowns, "Is your ability that good? what is it?"
Nikiri hums, "we're able to recognize a language as soon as we hear it and are able to speak it fluently. almost like its a switch. very useful when demons dont know the human language since they have thousands of them, including dialects."
Takana nods, "That is useful. i suppose you dont do sign language then?"
Nikiri shakes his head, "No, that involves sight, not sound."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, his family is famous because of the ability. humans even request one of them sometimes for translating meetings with other humans. they don;t really have any offensive abilities though, not inherently like the Yamamotos."
Arakan escorts Hikari and the manager to her flat once the other girls are home. Akari unlocks her door and goes in, directing Hikari to the couch, " here we are, it's not much but it'll do."
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Nikiri nods, "Yeah because nothing we do is necessarily a dangerous power the humans tend to be pretty relaxed around us. that also helps when it comes to meetings. But because of that I focused a lot of my life in perfecting my speed and skill with my katana." He freezes, quickly grabbing on to the shoulders of izanagi and Takana to make them stop walking as well.
Takana blinks when he quickly feels nikiri roughly stop him from walking. he is about to ask what the hell was nikiri doing when the smell of sulfur quickly hits his nose
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Izanagi stops and makes a confused noise before the smell hits him as well, and freezes. He whimpers softly and tugs at them both towards an alley, hoping to hide again.
-
Nikiri tucks his arms around both boys tightly before jumping high, gently landing on a fire escape in the alley in hopes of also not being on ground level.
takana had almost yelped however he quickly covered his mouth, not wanting to make any loud sounds
-
Izanagi makes a small squeak, clinging to Nikiri. He slowly lets go, looking down fearfully.
-
nikiri's eyes narrow as he watches the demon slowly walk down the sidewalk, one hand resting on his sword.
the demon stops, slowly moving his head around, sniffing
Takana shudders and looks around to see if anyone else is nearby
eventually the demon continues walking away, his hands dragging against the sidewalk
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Izanagi lets out a sigh of relief, looking up at Nikiri, not wanting to talk just yet in case the demon was within earshot.
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nikiri waits a few more minutes before he turns around to look at both boys, "is that the demon you were talking about before?"
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Izanagi nods, " yeah! he's got that sulfur smell, and drags his arms. we think he's blind, but he's got crazy good hearing and smell..."
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nikiri nods, "Okay, im going to get you guys home as soon as possible and then im going to-"
nikiri is cut off and his body jerks painfully as a hand suddenly shoots right through him from the back and coming out in the front of his gut
takana's eyes widen and he shrieks, taking a step back
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Izanagi nods and then yelps, eyes wide as he panics, " Nikiri!"
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the demon is right behind nikiri, crouching on the metal railing, grinning, "Thought I smelled a bitch."
Nikiri snarls, blood dripping from his mouth. He grabs the demons hand, pulling it forward more before unsheathing his sword and swiftly slicing the hand off.
The demon loses his balances once he's suddenly pulled forward and his hand is chopped off, falling backwards and landing roughly on the ground below them.
Nikiri tosses the hand to the side before quickly turning around and looking over at the body at the ground, "Shit." he looks at the boys, "Take this fire escape up to the roof where there is an entrance to the building where you'll be safe then call Arakan. NOW."
Takana's eyes are fixated on the hole in nikiri's gut, shaking
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Izanagi whimpers but nods and grabs Takana's hand, dragging him along as he takes the stairs up as quickly as he can.
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Takana panics and follows izanagi, "fuckfuckfuckfuck what the fuck whatthefuck?!"
The demon holds his sliced arm up and the skin around the wound bubbles before a new hand bursts through and he flexes it, getting used to the new nerve endings
Nikiri glares, "oh hell no." he jumps over the railing and lands next to the demon, "Alright fucker. how about you do me a favor and just sit there quietly for a few minutes."
the demon hums softly and pushes himself up, "Sorry. no can do Okuya."
the stag bristles, "How can you tell? i dont see any eyes on you."
The demon chuckles, "you deer have the worst smell."
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Izanagi keeps going, " stop thinking and just do what we're told! we're dead weight!" as soon as he gets in the building he quickly pulls out his cell phone and calls Arakan, telling him where they were as soon as he answers, " Nikiri's gonna die if you don't get here quick!"
Arakan snarls, " i'll be there shortly." he puts his phone away and lets the ice crackle on his body, quick huh? well it'd hurt like a bitch, but there was only one way to go as quick as needed... He lets his body change and roars as his collar burns his neck, running through the streets leaving a trail of ice behind him.
-
the demon charges at nikiri but the stag dodges by jumping over him, however he finds himself to be slower than he should be as the injury puts a strain on him.
Nikiri turns to look at the demon but when he doesnt see him his eyes widen. he has only seconds when the demon appears behind him however his body cant move and he gets punched across the face, making him stumble backwards and drop his sword.
The demon cackles, "Face it. you were dead the moment my hand went through you. you guys can smell me coming right? That sulfur stench? That smell comes from the glands on my skin that produce toxins on contact. Its only a matter of time for you."
Nikiri snarls and his collar crackles softly before he quickly transforms into his stag form, his antlers growing more outward and large.
The demon tilts his head, "A peacock huh? Not surprised."
Nikiri's stag form gives him an extra boost of speed and he charges at the demon, slamming his antlers into him and pinning him into the apartment building. he had to just keep the demon in place until arakan shows up. he just needed to waste time.
the demon cant help but give a cry in agony as sharp antlers stab into him and pin him into the wall. He glares at nikiri and his back begins to bubble before six arms, three on each side, spurt outwards and grab tightly onto the antlers, "GET OFF OF ME." He pulls on the antlers in opposite directions with so much pressure that veins start appearing on his new arms from the strain
nikiri closes his eyes tightly as he keeps his hooves firmly planted in the ground. His body had been in too much pain for him to register anything else and the sound of his collar trying to do its job was too loud to hear his antlers giving way to the amount of force that was being applied to them and before he knew it a loud snap was heard and his head was dripping with blood.
The demon manages to break nikiri's left antler and he pushes the stag off off him towards the street, "Fuck these things are tough to break."
Nikiri hits the ground with a loud thud, landing on his wounded side. his vision blurs but he can clearly see one of his antlers in the enemies hands and he cant help but give a low whine before the exhaustion causes him to go back into his more human form, blood pooling underneath his head.
the demon huffs and goes over to nikiri, smirking, "gotta hand it to ya. it aint often a lowly rank like yourself gets me to expose my other six arms. now the only question left for me is should i let ya bleed out and give ya a slow death? Or maybe use your own antler here to finish you off? maybe stick it back into your head where it belongs~?"
-
Which is where Arakan comes charging around the corner, eyes locking on the demon and lunging at him, jaw grabbing for the demon as the temperatures drop dramatically.
-
The demon has no chance to escape as he is suddenly grabbed and he shrieks when he feels his body quickly begin to freeze
takana hears the demon's cries from inside and he glances at izanagi, "u-uh do-do you think arakan made it?"
-
Izanagi slowly goes to the door and opens it, looking down, " he did!"
Arakan slams him into the wall to silence him and break his neck dropping him on the ground and going over to Nikiri.
-
nikiri shudders and hums softly, "the kids... are on the roof....safe and sound."
Takana steps out and follows izanagi, sighing in relief when he see arakan. He sees nikiri in a pool of blood and winces, "Oh... oh god is he gonna make it?"
-
Arakan shifts back and lifts a hand to his neck, " fucking things..." he looks up and sees Takana and Izanagi, " you did good. This is gonna hurt, but i need to seal that wound before you bleed out." he puts a hand on Nikiri's stomach and lets ice seal up the gaping hole.
-
Nikiri flinches slightly but otherwise says nothing, "im gonna be fine... the real trauma here is that fucker breaking off one of my antlers. I'll have to go to my dad so that he can gently shave down my other antler so that they can both grow back at roughly the same size... thanks for showing up when you did though."
-
Arakan snorts, " Izanagi nearly made me deaf screaming into my ear over the phone. you're an ass, but that doesn't mean im going to let you die. And you would be more worried about your antler than you would about the hole in your stomach idiot." he lifts a hand to his mouth, " ugh fuck, the hell was on that fuckers skin? feel like im gonna barf." he looks back up and holler to the other two, " come on down! it's safe." he pulls out a cell phone and arranges for medical transport for Nikiri.
Izanagi nods and starts heading down the fire escape. " did you see him? His other form is so cool, i've never seen it before!"
-
takana follows izanagi, "It was terrifying..."
Nikiri hums, "Apparently his skins makes toxins... as soon as he got me the first time I could tell i was fucked so i figured id just waste enough time for you to show up and for the other two to scram. and of course i care more about my antlers. they take a lot longer for me to grow out then this wound will take to heal."
-
Arakan snorts, " vain creature. i'll probably need to see about taking some anti-toxins then just in case. you'll live to annoy me another day i assure you."
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " why? it's still him even if it looks different. you're not scared of him, why be scared of him when he just looks different?"
Soon a vehicle pulls onto the street and a woman in a blue kimono with white hair steps out with a few other demons. Arakan goes over and bows to her, " mother. i had to freeze his wound, but he'll live i think. there was a toxin on the demons body, you may want to take the corpse with you to make sure you counter it for him."
She nods and directs the others in carefully placing Nikiri into the vehicle, and collecting the body as well, " and you? you are not harmed?"
Arakan shakes his head, " nah, stomach ache from biting him, but otherwise nothing. he was no match for me."
She pulls a bottle from her sleeve and shakes out a few pills, " here, these ought to help neutralize the toxins, but tell me if you're still experiencing symptoms, we don;t want it to get worse." she quickly gets into the vehicle and they drive off with Nikiri.
Arakan sighs and pops the pills dry, grimacing and shaking his head. He looks at the two, " well, lets get you two home before anything else happens. seems i'll need to keep an eye on you until i can find a replacement for Nikiri. i should have done it sooner but... things have been a bit busy."
-
Takana glances at izanagi, "its not the appearance but just the sheer power he has. and if anything terrifying was the wrong choice of words. I mean, yes terrifying but more of it in an impressive way." watches nikiri get wheeled away and frowns before looking at arakan, "Will he really be alright?"
-
Izanagi nods, " i guess i get that. humans like to pretend demons can't do half the things they can, especially higher ranked ones. and Arakan's about as strong as they get, soon anyway. knowing about it would freak the humans out i guess. i bet his neck hurts like a bitch though." he blinks, " well he ought to be, Arakan stopped the bleeding it looked like, and that was his mother. she's part of the healer team, and she's pretty skilled. Phoenixes tend to be pretty skilled healers as far as demons go. and Arakan has good control over his ice, so he'd avoid doing any extra damage. If a demon can get to healers and doesn't die outright in a fight, they usually survive. we're pretty hardy."
-
Takana nods, "Well... im glad... he did seem more concerned for his antlers instead of his wounds so that does put me a bit at ease."
When arakan says he's going to walk them home he walks over to arakan, ready to go
-
Arakan nods, " yeah, vain fucker. he'll live." He starts walking to their apartment.
Izanagi follows along, " well... im glad that creepy guy is dead at least."
-
Takana rubs his arm before looking at arakan, "Will we still have a curfew then? Or do you think there could be more?"
-
Arakan looks at Takana, " the curfew will stay in place for now. Information i got out of the one that caused trouble at the shop implies there will be more. why i don't know, but this is to protect lower rank demons who will be the most at risk. This is why i opposed Nikiri having C rank, he can't go toe to toe with a natural C rank."
-
takana blinks, "But its not just him. his whole family is a c rank, right?"
-
Arakan nods, " yeah. not my decision. but the rest of them seem to stay out of fights, so it's less my concern."
-
takana shrugs, "well he is the only older brother. i kinda get it."
-
Arakan sighs, " it makes my job more difficult however, since i have to bail his ass out when he gets in over his head."
-
takana pouts a bit, not liking what arakan was saying. sure things... could have gone better. but its not like nikiri had much choice in this fight. He could have told them to hide and he could have charged in first but he didnt. he immediately moved them in the hopes of hiding, "with all due respect, i understand what you're saying, however, for this incident, he did try to hide with us as soon as we could smell that demon. its not like he charged in first looking for a fight. But i also dont know him like you must know him so i dont know if he's purposefully started a fight looking for trouble. I have seen him act twice, and both times he wasnt actively starting anything. just biding time for you to show up. he seems to have a lot of trust in you if anything."
-
Arakan looks at Takana and raises an eyebrow, " yes, there's that at least. he did as he should. he'll be commended for it, he kept you two safe long enough to give me time to get here." he stops when they reach the apartment, " i'll be patrolling this area tonight, if there's trouble yell, i'll be close enough to hear it. I'll likely have to watch over you two tomorrow but i'll be assigning a C rank demon to you as soon as i find one trustworthy enough."
-
takana's ears lower, not really enjoying the idea of a different demon but he doubts there is little he can change. instead he just gives a numb nod, "okay..."
-
" go get some sleep." Arakan scans the streets, alert.
Izanagi heads in, " come on."
-
takana nods and heads inside, going to his room
-
Izanagi sighs and goes to bed.
Arakan stalks the streets, alert for anything amiss.
-
Soon its the next day and takana is already up and in the shower. He doesnt stay in for too long though, getting dried off and dressed
-
Izanagi gets up and has some toast, taking a shower himself once Takana is done.
-
Takana quickly makes a simple breakfast in case izanagi wants something more than toast and he goes to his bag, grabbing the book that he got from curtis. He figures he has a little time, why not get going on learning the supposed rules
-
Izanagi comes out and sees the breakfast, sitting and eating in just a towel, " you're the best as always!"
Arakan heads into the apartment and knocks on the door, planning to keep an eye on Takana since he's done patrolling for the night.
-
Takana hears the knocking and he blinks before heading to the door, slowly opening it, "arakan? What are you doing here so early? In fact, what are you doing here? "
-
Arakan snorts, " my father ordered you to be watched. i intend to do so. Until i can find someone else anyway." he walks in past Takana and raises an eyebrow when he sees Izanagi in a towel.
-
Takana blinks and frowns. He sighs and goes to his room, "if you insist..."
-
Arakan snorts, " im not going to risk something happening to you on my watch. now if you don;t mind, i haven;t gotten any sleep, so kindly scream if you're dying." he sits on the couch and shuts his eyes as he leans back.
Izanagi heads to his room to get changed.
-
Takana sits in his rooms and continues reading his book
-
Izanagi hums as he waits in his room.
-
Soon it's time to go and takana puts his book away and gets his bag
-
Izanagi looks over at the clearly asleep Arakan, " we should probably wake him... lemme go get a stick." he heads into his room and starts inching towards the demon with a long ruler.
-
Takana raises an eyebrow, "why on earth would you need a stick?" He saunters over to arakan and gently puts his hand on arakan's shoulder, "hey, its go time. Wake up."
-
Arakan's eyes snap open and he grabs Takana's wrist roughly, teeth bared as he snarls. After a moment he realizes it's Takana and lets go, " sorry." He yawns and gets up.
Izanagi had backed up, " that's why."
-
Takana blinks, not even realizing what the fuck just happened. He glances at his wrist and flexes his hand a bit before looking at izanagi, "He always do that?"
-
Arakan snorts, " never wake a high rank demon suddenly, especially with how on edge i've had to be lately. you're lucky i didn't break your wrist. so no, not always, but usually."
-
Takana blinks and looks at arakan when he speaks since takana was asking izanagi. "Eh... its not the worst thing that you could do to me."
-
Arakan shrugs, " im just saying it could have easily happened."
Izanagi sets the ruler down, " that's why i was gonna poke him. better the ruler than my arm." he heads out.
Arakan follows behind.
-
takana shrugs and follows, "eh."
-
Arakan leads the way, yawning as they go, looking at his phone.
-
takana gets to the cafe and quickly heads to the kitchen, not wanting to be near arakan when he's this tired and cranky
-
Akari looks up and notes how tired Arakan looks, and goes over to him once they walk in. " i know it's your duty to keep an eye on things, but if you wanted to use the couch in my office, none of us would think any less of you."
Arakan blinks and considers it, " i might, lord knows i won;t get any sleep tonight. thank you." he heads in and texts a few demons, trying to find someone willing to watch over takana. He lays down to rest.
Izanagi gets changed and starts getting things ready.
-
hikari is getting her station ready, looking more alert than usual
the other employees are also getting everything ready
-
Things progress as usual, Arakan getting up after a bit to work on finding a guard for Takana and then heading out to the cafe for something to eat, ordering the ramen since he hadn;t had that yet.
-
The day soon comes to an early end thanks to the curfew and takana finishes up closing down the kitchen
-
Arakan had managed to get some more sleep after eating and waits for Takana and Izanagi, figuring the girls can head home on their own since it's still light out. " good news, i found someone to take over, so i'll be able to get some actual sleep tomorrow."
The manager grabs her things, " you ready to go Hikari? do we need to stop by your place for anything you might have missed?"
-
Hikari shakes her head, "i have what i need, thank you though."
Takana looks at arakan and gives a hesitant nod, "okay. Im glad you'll be getting rest then..."
-
Arakan nods, " yeah, i can't sleep at night since that's when we're at the highest risk. And i do need to sleep more than a couple hours a day, which has been about what i've gotten lately. He's not my first pick, but he's the only c rank that would agree to do the job and has the ability to face another c rank or higher. fuck knows none of the other b ranks in the district will do it." he sighs. " anyway, lets get you two home."
Izanagi grabs his bag, " yeah the other b ranks tend to kinda be assholes. not you." he glances at Arakan.
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i heard nothing."
-
Takana looks a little nervous but he doesnt say anything as they head home.
-
Arakan walks them home and heads up into the apartment with them, " i'll stay here until nightfall, then i need to patrol." he sits on the couch, not making it a request.
-
Takana goes to his room and sighs. he grabs his book and sits down and starts reading it, curious as to who this knew fucking demon will be
-
Arakan dozes on the couch.
Izanagi hums to himself, debating on if he ought to text Nikiri or not. He grumbles and flops onto his bed, bored with the extra time to kill and nobody to kill it with.
-
after a few hours takana decides he's bored and hungry. he hums softly before getting up and going to the kitchen, putting on an apron. it was dinner time so he might as well make something to eat.
-
Izanagi hears Takana in the kitchen and curiously goes in, " whatcha makin?"
Arakan continues sleeping
-
takana looks at izanagi, "Chicken enchilada's. that way i can make enough to make sure arakan can have some too."
-
Izanagi blinks and grins, " right."
-
Takana scowls slightly, "Oh knock it off."
-
" i didn't say anything!" Izanagi pouts, " i just think it's cute you're making extras for your crush~"
-
Takana hisses softly, "I have NEVER called him that. why is it anytime i want to do something nice for him you make it sound like its because i like him? You know it will never happen so whats the fun with all of this teasing?"
-
Izanagi huffs, " im BORED. And if i can't be getting any, i may as well enjoy pushing someone else to. He tolerates way too much from you, so he's gotta like you. i bet he'd bone you if you asked."
Arakan stirs from all the talking and waits, listening to see where this goes out of curiosity.
-
Takana turns bright red, "well thanks for the confidence boost but I aint just going to ask him to bone me. or anyone for that matter. im not- im not someone who can just have sex with anyone who'll do it if i ask. I kinda prefer a relationship, thanks." He starts working on food.
-
Izanagi huffs, " oh come on, he's hot, and he's got status. what's not to like?"
Arakan stifles a laugh, and gets up, walking into the kitchen, " excuse me, some water if you don;t mind?"
-
Takana squeaks hearing arakan and his face turns bright red before quickly scrambling to the fridge and pulling out a water bottle and holding it out to arakan, "he-here."
-
Arakan nods, " thank you." he gives Izanagi a look before going to the couch.
Izanagi blushes, " ah, um, do you need help making this?"
-
takana clears his throat a little before nodding his head over to the cooked chicken, "You uh. wanna help me shred the chicken? "
-
Izanagi nods and starts working on that.
Arakan drinks his water, glad that Izanagi has stopped tormenting Takana.
-
Takana soon gets everything in the oven with izanagi's help and sighs, "its just gotta cook and then it'll be ready. "
-
Izanagi nods, " alright. im just gonna... go in my room." he grins at Takana before scurrying off.
Arakan sighs, " someone needs to neuter that damn demon."
-
Takana snorts, "i'm sorry for anything you heard him say. I have no idea what the hell is going through his head but i won't lie, this wouldnt be the first ive tried to shut him up. "
-
Arakan shakes his head, " don't apologize for him, it's nothing you did. It does not bother me anyway, there are reasons i choose to avoid relationships, my status being desirable being one of them. I'll admit it's refreshing to have someone who's not kissing my feet and simpering at me for once."
-
Takana makes a gross face and shakes his head, "that sounds gross. No offense but if i ever did that to anyone i would have myself voluntarily neutered."
-
Arakan laughs softly, " not literally obviously. some of them though i have wondered if they would if i suggested it would incline me to them... i digress. you have far more tolerance for his antics than i would expect."
-
takana shrugs, "i may not be desperate for companionship, but I am pretty desperate for housing."
-
Arakan snorts, " fair enough. well considering your success at the cafe im sure you can probably afford an apartment of your own soon if you didn't want to deal with him anymore."
-
Takana sighs, "Ah but i dont plan on staying in this district forever so im not sure if i want to start a lease. after all i also found out that my brother is looking for me and i pray he doesnt. I know he'll come over here to be with me and i- as much as i would love to see the only person alive who likes me this place is dangerous and different. he has it really good over there since he's the favorite and i dont want him here. I'd rather figure out how to get back and just find a new place with him."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " he's in another district? our district isn;t any worse than any of the other ones."
-
takana looks at him and frowns, "he's still on the human side, living with the family that i lived with. they always liked him more and he.... kind of lives the lap of luxury. he certainly has a a lot more um freedom then i did and he got everything he wanted. but he was the only one who i actually cared about. If i have issues following the rules here then there's no way i want to have him here. its not safe."
-
Arakan frowns, " regardless of how nice he has it, it's not safe for him to live with humans."
-
takana shakes his head, "maybe if we grew up here and are therefore trained to your rules then sure but that is not what we are. we were raised alongside humans and act as such. for example, i can easily and happily see one of my friends on the street and shout at him, calling him an asshole for not responding to a text and his response would be to laugh at me and flip me off. thats normal. here? apparently such an act warrants a slaughter and i still dont understand why. He wouldnt last a day and I would rather be killed then have him ever come here."
-
Arakan frowns, " perhaps, however if those humans who do not know him see he's an uncollared demon as you were, he will be killed. they will not stop to ask why, they will simply put him down."
-
Takana shakes his head, "im sorry but he is staying where he is. end of story. i already know for a fact that his chances of getting killed are higher here. "
-
Arakan shakes his head, " you've been here such a short time, you've already seen how cruel humans can be, yet you still think they are safer than we are. foolish. you betray your kind."
-
Takana sighs, "currently you've tried to kill me more than anyone else i know. im not doubting that humans are cruel. its quite obvious that they are. But i cant say I have felt safer here then back home."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " humans must be extremely tolerant then, because you can be the most insulting and provoking rude person i've met. they really must have wanted you to breed and be their pet project if they encouraged such behavior."
-
Takana's face turns a deep red and his ears shift back before he huffs, "they just dont have this weird rank system that demons use since they're all equally useless. I grew up being taught that who you are shouldnt be a factor in how you're treated but rather your actions. You're one of the few people that can push my buttons like this so i'm sure thats why ive been so 'insulting' and 'rude' "
-
Arakan shakes his head, " you do realize you've been like this since the very start? my first actions were to get you an id, which is not an easy thing to fabricate, and a free collar. one that fits well no less. i could have let you keep that one that would rip up your neck but you literally got pissed at me for making sure you wouldn't be hurt or in trouble here."
-
Takana sighs, getting frustrated, "And i didnt know that. my first impression of you was orders with no explanation why. sure, if i knew then what i know now i probably would have been better but i didnt know shit. i had no idea how important these stupid things were and i didnt know why i had to go into a terrifying chair that straps you down that tightly in a manner that i have only seen in horror movies. nothing was explained to the person who grew up in the human world, being treated as a human from the sounds of it. So of course I had been short with you! Every time I've been nice to you is because i have seen you actively be kind and i actually know why you are being nice so I try to be nice back! Even now I made enough food for you to have something to eat because thats pretty much the only thing I can do here!"
-
Arakan sighs, " you've got a lot to get used to here, things are very different. But you have to understand the people who you've seen me attack? that's the exception, not the norm. Most demons will protect those of lower rank, presuming the lower ranked ones provide them with the respect they deserve."
-
"There! What you just said! I dont get that either! I wasnt taught to just outright give any pompous bastard full respect just because they demand it! I grew up where if you wanted respect then you needed to behave like a respectful person and EARN the respect from individual people and not just that you can swing your dick around! Thats fear, not respect! The more i figure out how this place works the more im convinced thats its better for me to just go back. and i will. as soon as i find a loophole with the guards fuckery i am out of here."
-
Arakan snorts, " well you certainly don;t treat people with respect."
-
Takana huffs, "I treat my co-workers with respect. and i do my best with nikiri. izanagi is hit or miss depending on whether he's been laid or not."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " fair i suppose. well, if you do manage to leave, which i doubt, good luck. you'll need to hide those ears, some humans will kill you just because of those, even if you are e rank."
-
takana shrugs, "beanies are a thing."
-
Arakan declines to continue that conversation line, shaking his head and deciding on another route " do you know why i never met my fathers father? he was the demon who took leadership of this district after the war, and demons were all rounded up and shoved into these pens that they called our new homes. He managed to take demons from all over the world who had been enemies before this, and make them live together despite everything going on, grief and rage about what was happening, and figured out some sort of system that would work. All while humans watched on from the walls, guns in hand ready to enforce their laws on us in whichever way they pleased. my father was young at the time, 6 years old, just a boy. It took every scrap of power my grandfather had to keep it from becoming a deathpit, which i sometimes suspect the humans hoped would happen. He ruled over it for fifteen years, until my father was old enough to be considered even slightly ready, and then he took his own life. He couldn't stand what our people had become, how we had to live. Many demons who knew how things were before did the same, only those young enough to barely remember how it was before were able to adapt."
-
takana blinks and frowns, "oh. thats really sucky. im sorry about that but um... why tell me this?"
-
" to give you an idea what humans are like. you've had the limited view of a pampered pet. i've been the monster they fear and try to contain my entire life. think about that." he lifts the water bottle to his lips, looking away from Takana.
-
Takana's eyes swell up a little and he glares at Arakan, his ears shifting back. before he's able to say anything though he hears the timer go off for the food and he quickly turns and grabs a pair of oven mitts and pulls the baking dish out, checking to make sure its ready before setting it on top of the stove. he turns the timer and the oven off, grabbing a spatula and a plate and slapping a portion ungracefully onto said plate, "Yeah I lived a pampered fucking life. No fucking doubt about it. Not like I asked for it, nor is that MY fault, just like what is happening here your fault. But FINE. We might as well play your game." He grabs the plate and roughly sets it on the table, making a clattering sound but thankfully both plate and food are fine, "Your dinner my Grace~" Takana gives a dramatic bow before turning and stomping over to the front door
-
Arakan rolls his eyes at the others drama, " it's an improvement at least. i never said it was your fault. i was showing you a bit of my world. why things are the way they are." he takes a fork and takes a bite of the meal in front of him.
Izanagi cracks his door open and peers out, " is dinner done?"
-
Takana had swung the door wide, giving himself plenty of time to physically leave before the door shuts
-
Arakan looks over and registers that Takana had actually left. " ...fuck." he gets up and quickly follows, " Takana! it's not safe! get your ass back here!"
Izanagi blinks as both of them leave. " okay?" he serves himself a plate of enchilada and starts eating. he wasn;t gonna go out there, if the other wanted to get himself killed that was his choice.
-
Takana doesnt stop, already having a major lead. he doesnt know where he's going, just that he needs a moment for himself and he cant help but rubs his eyes as he sniffles and whimpers
-
Arakan growls and jobs after, keeping his eyes on the other.
-
takana chokes back a sob and manages to find a park and he goes over to a swing and sits down, no one around since they are actually taking the curfew seriously
-
Arakan slows when he sees Takana stop, waiting a distance away for a bit and keeping an eye on him.
-
Takana lowers his head and starts crying. he didnt miss his family but he still felt so homesick. if he just kept his anger and pride in check maybe he could have convinced his step mom that he was dating a girl to get her off his back while he slowly pulled money into a bank account that wasnt a family share. then when he had enough he could have broken the truth and lived happily with money, in an apartment or his own small house with yori.
Why couldnt he JUST keep himself in check? Why was he always put through this kind of crap?
-
Arakan sighs softly as he watches the other crying, then blinks as a few drops of rain start drizzling down, " ...lovely timing." he sighs again and walks over, making a quick shield of ice over the two of them connected to the swingset to keep them from getting wet for the moment.
-
Takana chokes back a sob and wipes his eyes, "Stop being nice and just fucking kill me already! I cant go back home but I obviously cant live here so whats the point? At least if I was dead I wouldnt be such a burden, and I'd get to see my mother again. win-win right?"
-
Arakan sighs, " im not going to kill you. You're not a burden. you're going through a lot, and you're trying to adapt to a completely different world than the one you're used to. I know it's hard, and im trying to push you because this is where you belong. Being here means that even if you infuriate me, i will fight with my life to protect you because you're one of my people. I hate that i have to push you, but you need to adapt to be able to live the most safely and happily here."
-
Takana sobs and hiccups, "Gee great thanks I- Im so GLAD that someone can change 20 years of upbringing in 2 weeks." he tried to sounds sarcastic but it was hard when he couldnt stop crying
-
Arakan sighs, " go ahead and let it out, nobody but me is here to hear you anyway." He pulls a cloth from his pocket and holds it out for the other to wipe his face.
-
Takana doesnt notice the cloth as he just keeps sobbing, louder now then anything. His face was becoming drenched with salty tears and snot
-
Arakan makes a face, reaching down and tilting Takana's face up and gently starting to wipe it clean, " come on now, you'll dehydrate yourself at this rate."
-
Takana calms slightly and sniffles, a hiccup or two escapes but he does for the most part calm his crying as he looks up at Arakan, his face red from all the crying
-
Arakan blink and feels his chest tighten for a moment before he swiftly shoves those emotions aside, this was not the time. He wipes the others face, cleaning him up carefully, " come on, you'll catch your death out here, we should go back."
-
Takana looks down and sniffles, giving a numb nod before slowly standing up, "...sorry..."
-
" for what? for having a difficult time with your life being turned upside down? i'd be more worried if you weren't." he takes his jacket off and drapes it over Takana and grabs his hand before starting to walk back to his apartment.
-
Takana glances at arakan's hand holding his but doesnt say anything about it as they walk. He instead holds on to the jacket, enjoying the comfort of the heavy weighted material.
-
Arakan keeps his pace up until they get back to the apartment, ushering Takana in and sighing as they get out of the rain. he grabs two towels and drapes one over takana's head before starting to dry himself off.
Izanagi's eyes widen when he sees them come in, Takana in Arakan's jacket and holding hands, mouth hanging open with a forkful of enchilada halfway to his mouth.
-
takana is quiet the whole time, head still hung low, his eyes a little red and puffy. he carefully grabs the towel and rubs his face on it, trying to get rid of the feeling of his face still being wet. it wasn't, but it certainly still felt like it.
He also didnt want to take off arakans jacket. it certainly was the warmest thing he felt in a while.... but it wasnt his so.... he hesitantly takes it off and gently sets it on the couch, doing his best to ignore the sudden chill
-
Arakan stops drying his hair, " why the hell am i drying off? i need to patrol in this shit anyway. sorry, i wasn't thinking. He glances over at the jacket that seemed very reluctantly set aside, noting the slight pang that went through him. What was wrong with him lately? He'd have to think about this on patrol. He sighs, " thankfully it's nearly impossible for me to catch a chill, though i'd like at least one dry piece of clothing. do you mind if i leave my jacket here? i ought to get out there and patrol, though i doubt many demons want to be out in this."
-
Takana's ears perk a bit as he looks at the jacket, then a sudden wave of guilt wakes over him and his ears droop again, "oh... no...i... you never got to finish eating thanks to me. " he looks over at the table at arakan's unfinished dinner, his eyes beginning to water again.
-
Arakan shrugs and goes over, grabbing the plate and eating the cold food, " mmm, still good. that'll keep me for the night." he sets the towel over the back of a chair and heads for the door, " thanks for the meal, i'll be back in the morning."
-
takana, after watching arakan shovel the cold food into his mouth he was pretty speechless as the demon walked to the door, "u-um o-okay. bye."
-
Arakan heads out, hesitating only for a moment before walking out into the rain.
Izanagi had been watching all this, still with his mouth gaping open. " daaaaaaaaaaamn."
-
Takana sighs and shakes his head, "I dont get him sometimes." He glances at the jacket and sighs before heading into the kitchen. He didnt want to necessarily engage with izanagi's comment since he kinda knew where the damn little bastard was going with it. instead he wanted to get some food since all that crying made him hungry. he shivered a little, still cold
-
Izanagi grins, " so how was your...'walk' hm? also i see you shivering, your boo left his jacket, i won;t tell if you steal it for the night."
-
Takana snarls, "I left by myself with the intention to BE by myself. What he decided to do is not my problem so quit saying shit like that."
-
Izanagi blinks, " well clearly you didn't get any, you're as high strung as ever."
-
Takana's face flushes red and his heads whips to look at izanagi, mortified, "You think we had SEX!? Outside?! In THIS weather?! Are you nuts?!"
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " i didn;t know where you went. and it's not like you couldn;t have had a little quick fun."
-
Takana huffs and goes back to grabbing himself a plate of food and putting the plate in the microwave, "Well we did nothing of the sort, i assure you. I ran to a park i found and cried like a god damn baby. you happy now?"
-
Izanagi blinks, " well that's no fun. why would i be happy about that?"
-
takana huffs, "Because you have been so nosey in everything i do lately so instead of guessing and getting into my privacy im just telling you what happened."
-
Izanagi pouts, " but it's fun! plus look, he clearly likes you better than most people. i'd suck his dick in a heartbeat if he let me, and he pays no more attention to me than a fly on the wall. you insult and disobey him and he tolerates it."
-
Takana sighs, "Maybe its simply BECAUSE i wouldnt suck his... dick... that makes him not immediately cast me aside. I treat him like any other person and i dont give him immediate attention or praise just because he exists."
-
Izanagi pouts, " but he's hooooooooot. you're so boring."
-
takana shrugs, "Im just not as promiscuous as you are. That doesnt mean im boring i just..." he sighs and pulls his plate out of the microwave and starts eating, not really wanting to talk.
-
Izanagi sighs, " fine fine. but he does seem to like you. and he really wouldn;t notice if you swiped his jacket overnight~"
-
Takana hisses, "im sure the last thing he needs is to come back to a wrinkly jacket that smells like me."
-
Izanagi snorts, " somehow i don't think he'd mind."
-
takana sighs, "Well i do. I just plan on going to bed after eating so no need to have it."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i might snag it then."
-
takana's ears stick straight up and he turns bright red before looking back at izanagi, "What are you talking about?! you have TWO kimono's from nikiri!!!"
-
Izanagi shrugs, " one of them doesn;t smell like him anymore, and someone ought to appreciate the scent of hot man when it so deliciously presents itself. besides, you don;t want it, why do you care?"
-
Takana huffs, "Well i KNOW he wouldnt want his coat smelling like you so dont touch it."
-
Izanagi huffs, " you're not the boss of me." he goes over and grabs it, putting it on and lifting the collar to his nose, inhaling deeply.
-
Takana feels something lurch in his gut and he snarls again, "No!" he goes over to izanagi, his ears straight back, "Fine Its staying with me. give it here, and STOP sniffing it!!"
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " jeez, you'd think it was your boyfriends or something. what does it matter to you if i sniff it?"
-
"Its WEIRD and it makes ME feel weird! Knock it off and hand it over already."
-
Izanagi scurries to his room with the jacket still on, " then don;t watch!" he flops onto his bed and hums happily as he sniffs the jacket.
-
Takana gasps and shrieks, "GIVE IT BACK!" He runs after izanagi, pouncing on izanagi on his bed to grab the jacket
-
Izanagi screams as suddenly he's pounced on and Takana is attempting to strip him.
Arakan who's patrolling outside hears the faint shrieks and screams, running back inside and bursting into the apartment as he looks for whatever is attacking the boys, and his eyes land on Takana who is straddling Izanagi as it appears he's trying to taking Arakan's jacket off the other demon.
-
takana freezes, arms high in the air as he's gripping the jacket tightly, looking at arakan, terrified and frozen
-
Arakan blinks slowly.
Izanagi looks over, " uh...wanna join?"
Arakan snorts and shakes his head, " i don't even want to know what's going on. try not to kill each other and kindly do it with less screaming?"
-
Takana whines softly, "Its not my fault!! Nagi was going to sleep with it even though i told him you wouldnt like that!! I was trying to save your coat!"
-
Izanagi blinks, " so what? you're the one that got super possessive of it as soon as i grabbed it!"
Arakan sighs and shakes his head, " Takana gets custody of the jacket, quit fighting." why did he say that? he should just take it with..." i need to get back out on patrol." he turns and starts to go.
Izanagi blinks and grins, " seeeee~"
-
Takana glares at izanagi and hisses before jerking the coat close to his chest and gets off of izanagi before running out of the room, "Arakan, see you in the morning."
-
Arakan stops and looks back, smiling at Takana, " see you in the morning."
-
Takana's eyes widen slightly and his face flushes a bright red before he quickly scurries to his room with the jacket to hang it up somewhere safely
-
Arakan heads back out into the rain to patrol.
-
Takana quickly goes to the kitchen and puts the leftovers away before getting ready for bed. As he gets on his bed he realizes that he still feels cold and he cant help but give a soft shiver. he glances at the coat and bites his lip before getting up and grabbing it again.
Its not that he WANTS to sleep with the coat. he's just COLD damn it. he wraps himself in the coat before falling asleep
-
Arakan comes in as the dawn breaks, grabbing the towel he'd used last night and starting to dry himself off somewhat.
Izanagi burrows into the kimonos and his covers, it was cold.
-
takana is still asleep on his bed, fetal position and curled in a small ball, holding the jacket tightly
-
Arakan blinks when it;s quiet and goes to peek in the rooms, blushing a bit when he sees Takana snuggling his jacket.
-
Takana's eyes slowly open and he rubs his eyes, "mmmm~" he yawns and stretches before blinking, his eyes landing on arakan. He blinks and turns bright red before quickly stumbling out of bed and holding out the jacket, "I- I wasnt using the jacket!! I swear! I just didnt trust nagi thats all!"
-
Arakan chuckles softly and gently takes it before putting it over the others shoulders, " i don't care. i keep it with me half the time for others to use anyway. i don't get cold."
-
Takana clears his throat and nods, "I- I see. well. regardless. I uh. Im going to make breakfast. as usual. in the mornings. you uh. you are welcome to join us since you're here. its rude to eat in front of others if they arent eating so I would honestly feel better if you joined us. it would keep my mother from haunting me for being rude."
-
Arakan nods, " fair enough. I won;t be here too long, just until Kaiten comes to take over for the day."
-
Takana blinks and looks up at arakan, "kait...en?"
-
Arakan nods, " yes, the C ranked demon i pulled rank on to get him to guard you. He's a serpent Chimera, and he's got venom. some of his family make it to B rank, and i expect he will eventually so he's one of the better choices, as he won't be instantly beaten by a b rank should we be so unfortunate to have to deal with one. He's young though."
-
Takana's ears twitch briefly and he frowns, "Ah... and thats because nikiri's hurt. um... when nikiri is better can he go back to watching us?"
-
Arakan shakes his head, " no. Nikiri is a C rank that has the strength more of a D rank, he could barely keep a C rank at bay, he'd be crushed by a B rank. putting him in charge of you two was a mistake and foolish."
-
Takana's ears lower and he looks down, "o-oh...." he sighs, feeling like he just lost someone that he felt was safe. he walks slowly to the kitchen, giving another sigh as he starts cooking
-
Arakan sighs, " Nikiri can stay with you guys if he chooses, but you need a higher rank demon to be able to actually fight if need be."
-
Takana snorts, "hopefully nikiri would stay by my side just to make sure this Kaiten doesnt kill me just like he kept you from killing me."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i would ask that you try to not antagonize the person trying to protect you?"
-
Takana sighs, "i mean- ugh obviously I wouldnt trrrry on purpose... kinda depends on how much of an ass he is. "
-
Arakan gives him a look, " i know this is tough for you but you really need to try and be respectful. He'll protect you with his life if you do, otherwise you'll just piss him off and then i'll have to come back and be your guard. i do need to sleep sometime."
-
Takana looks down, feeling defeated as he gives another sigh, "again, i said i would try. But i can't keep a promise like that when i know the possibility of it breaking is extremely high. It's why i enjoyed nikiri watching me. If i get mad he just talks to me like we're both adults and he knows i'm never going to be like you guys. "
-
Arakan sighs softly, " he's not in the same position im in. he can afford to allow you to be different, where i need there to be consistency in my people so i can protect you all. If i have to be figuring out new ways to keep the peace, then im not keeping the humans from coming in guns blazing, and im not keeping the higher rank demons appeased."
-
Takana huffs, "and this kaiten guy? Is he in your position or nikiri's? Because thats what i'm concerned about. I understand nikiri and you.... i get you to a point. But kaiten will be new so of course im tense right now."
-
Arakan shakes his head, " neither. he has not the freedom or influence Nikiri does, making him able to be as carefree as he is. nor does he have as much responsibility as i do. He is a strong demon from a powerful family however, and ought to be treated as such."
-
Takana sighs, again, in defeat and continues cooking, "great... you sure you cant just kill me? If im going to die i oddly feel better if it were you to do it."
-
Arakan snorts, " not happening. I don't kill for fun. I kill people who threaten the peace my family has sacrificed so much to make, and i kill to protect. It's not something i particularly enjoy doing..."
-
Takana finishes making breakfast, setting a plate of french toast, thick bacon, and some sliced fruit on the side with all the fixens and a fork in front of arakan, "greeeaaaat....welp. then i'll be dead by the end of the day anyway."
-
Arakan sighs, " please don't. if you die while i've been tasked with keeping you safe, my father might just have to make another heir."
-
takana sighs, "Why couldnt a high level demon do the patrol and you watch me? Surprisingly I find that a lot safer for me." he makes another plate and sets it down, knowing izanagi will be out soon because his nose was a hound for food
-
Arakan takes a bite of his food, swallowing before he answers, " because im one of the highest ranked demons in the district, and i have the most authority after my father. im taking the night shift, he takes the day shift. that way one of us is available at all times. Plus there's very few demons that can ever go toe to toe with me and win, so having me out on the streets at night during the highest risk time means im there if needed."
Izanagi soon comes out, nose to the air and sits at his spot, shoveling food down.
-
takana rubs his face, "This is going to be painful... like i said.... i will give a genuine effort.... but i make no promises."
-
Arakan nods, " i appreciate that you will make an effort." he keeps eating.
Izanagi blinks, " what's wrong?"
-
takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "Im getting a new babysitter and i might have to suck his ego. needless to say, i am not hopeful."
-
Izanagi blinks and snorts, " if he's hot i'll suck more than just his ego~"
Arakan sighs, " well that'll put you on his good side most likely. lets not discuss this while im trying to eat?"
-
takana makes a grossed out face as he stares at izanagi, "Well.... if i fuck up i know i can at least count on you to distract him. ANYWAY." he goes to grab his own plate of food and sits down, eating as well
-
Arakan snorts softly in amusement, then his phone chimes and he looks at it, " speak of the devil..." he gets up and heads to the front of the apartment, meeting Kaiten out there and leading him inside, " Kaiten, this is Takana, he's who you will be guarding. Izanagi is the other E rank, they live and work together so you'll be around them both."
He looks at Takana without expression, " right..."
Arakan finishes his plate and puts it in the sink, " i expect him to remain alive. Takana, Izanagi has my number if you need anything. I'll be back tonight."
-
Takana looks at kaiten and frowns a little, feeling extremely nervous before he turns and watches arakan leave, "okay.... bye."
-
Arakan heads out and goes home, looking forward to getting some solid sleep instead of a few snatched hours here and there.
Izanagi keeps eating until his plate is empty.
-
Takana sighs and goes back to the kitchen and starts to clean up, not wanting to work on sticky syrupy plates later.
-
Kaiten looks out the windows, bored.
Izanagi looks at Kaiten, letting his eyes roam over the others figure and lingering on his ass. he glances over at Takana and notices the jacket Arakan had never taken back, " oh~? looks like you have a new jacket."
-
Takana blinks and looks over, his ears moving back, "oh for the love of- no i dont. He probably just forgot it since he's so tired. If we see him at the cafe then i'll remind him to take it back or something."
-
Izanagi chuckles softly, " sure."
-
Takana quickly finishes up cleaning before grabbing the coat, "I dont trust you though, not after last night, so its getting hung up in my room for safe keeping." he heads to his room to keep it safe
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " i get it, you're staking your territory. considering you're willing to assault me for it i have no intention of trying to lay a finger on it."
-
Takana hangs it up before going back to the kitchen, "im not staking territory! Its his coat and like i said before arakan probably doesnt want to wear it and end up smelling like someone else. Im just keeping it safe from you."
-
Izanagi snorts, " come on, if you weren;t extremely jealous of someone else touching it, you wouldn;t flip out over it. he's someone you claim to not like at all, so why do you care what happens? it;s not like the jacket would get ruined."
Kaiten sighs, " good lord..."
-
Takana doesnt acknowledge kaiten, knowing he didnt have anything nice to say to the demon so he just chooses to not engage. instead he huffs at izanagi, "Knock it off."
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " we need to get you some swimming lessons because you in denial."
-
takana turns a little red but doesnt respond. instead he just grumbles and goes to his room, not wanting to deal with this topic
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes before he sidles up to Kaiten, " Hi~"
" not interested." He keeps his eyes at the window.
-
Takana glances at the time and figures since he has a small bit of time he could read some more of the rulebook
-
Izanagi grows bored of the demon ignoring him and goes to his room, pouting.
-
After an hour or so takana sees the time and hums. Perfect timing. He puts the book away and gets his stuff together, "izanagi! Time to go! "
-
Izanagi pops out of his room, " alright." he slings his bag with his uniform over his shoulder.
Kaiten walks to the door, " lets go then."
-
Takana heads out and hums softly as they head to work
-
Izanagi sticks close to Takana as they walk.
Kaiten hangs back a bit, not really wanting to be there but watching for threats diligently none-the-less.
-
Takana smiles and hums, "I know its summer but does the cafe do anything cute in the fall or winter? any menu changes or special limited edition drinks or food items to match the season? "
-
Izanagi blinks, " well, the outfits change a bit, adding stockings and longer stuff so we don;t get cold. And we usually have more soups and hot drinks."
-
"And decorations?" Takana glances at izanagi as he schemed
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, we made some paper snowflakes and some other stuff. we gave out the snowflakes for christmas, you'd be surprised how many customers drool over the chance to have one made by one of the employees."
-
takana nods, "Im hoping to see if my moms apple cider and hot chocolate holds up to your guys. among other ideas i have that i might want to bring up later."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " im sure they'll be a hit. watch you don't make yourself too indispensable of our manager might chain you to the kitchen if you tell her you wanna leave the district."
-
"Oh i'll teach the chef before i go! there. done. easy."
-
Izanagi snorts, " we'll see."
-
takana chuckles, "Well i dont want to take his job! that wouldnt be fair!"
-
Izanagi snorts, " we needed another cook. he does his best, but frankly he's the assistant and you're the main cook these days. not that i hold it against him, we don;t exactly get any training or have much supplies to practice or experiment with."
-
Takana nods, "then i'll train him, as i have been. You guys will be okay."
-
Izanagi snorts, " i mean you can try, but you clearly have years of experience and practice. things... well they're a little more square one here. we've only been doing anything near that fancy stuff for a few generations. normally we let humans do that kind of stuff apparently."
-
Takana snorts, "yeah but i'll show you guys how to do it. And how to do it well. Then you wont need a human to take care of it. You guys can do anything they can and when i get back home i'm going to throw a fit about it."
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " the thing is you can teach him how, but he'll only ever know what you taught him. he can;t come up with new stuff like you can."
-
takana blinks and glances at izanagi, "so he's not creative?"
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " that and while he can make simple stuff, he doesn;t know how to do the fancy spices and whatever things you do. i dunno, i've never tasted anything like what you make."
-
takana blinks before chuckling, "well, then he just needs to taste some spices and get used to them."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " you can try. anyway, here we are." he heads into the building, going to the back to change.
Kaiten makes his way over to a table out of the way and sits.
-
Takana heads in the kitchen and gets working.
Kaeru and hikari both notice Kaiten, but choosing not to say anything unless he talks to them first
-
Kaiten opts to look at his phone instead of paying attention to the employees.
The manager notices and figures this must be the new guard for Takana, so goes about getting things ready as normal.
Izanagi also gets things ready.
-
soon the cafe is bustling and takana is pushing orders out, easily keeping up with the demand
-
Kaiten waves one of the girls over at one point, ordering coffee. He lets his eyes roam over the girl briefly, might as well enjoy the sights.
Izanagi bounces around, taking care of customers as quickly as possible.
Yori sighs as he looks at his phone, texting Curtis again, hear anything? i haven't found out anything. i should probably hire someone, a PI or something. im really worried...
-
Kaeru takes kaiten's order before going over to hikari and getting the coffee. Soon she comes back and sets the coffee in front of Kaiten, "Here you are sir."
Curtis looks at his phone and hums softly. He really wanted to give yori the truth but at the same time if takana finds out he told yori then his marriage was fucked
-
Kaiten nods and takes it, sipping at it without saying anything.
Yori waits for a response and wilts when none comes. He groans and flops onto his bed, what was he gonna do? he checks his bank account and hums, how much would it take to hire a private investigator anyway? They might actually be watching his accounts for once since they knew he wanted to find Takana and would notice that charge. maybe he should just go to the cops and file a missing report or something? that was a start right?
-
curtis sighs, alright i'll tell you what i know but you HAVE to promise me you wont tell takana that i told you
-
Yori looks at his phone and blinks, staring for a moment before he furiously texts, wait, have you heard something?! is he alive?! How come you didn't tell me!
-
i talked to him yes but.... he.... told me not to tell you anything. he's fine and he just wants you to be safe."
-
Yori blinks, Takana...doesn't want me to know where he is? oh. he feels tears form in his eyes and he wipes them away furiously, he was used to getting dismissed by the rest of his family but Takana? Did Takana suddenly think he was too childish? or had he only been humoring him all along?
-
yeah. he's afraid you'll try to follow him to his location and he'd rather you be somewhere safe. and honestly considering where he is I'd rather you not go there either. he's right in the fact that you ARE so much safer right now, even if your life is crap.
-
Yori frowns and huffs, that's not your choice! or his! im tired of everyone always deciding what i should do for me without any input from me!
-
curtis sighs, well either way, I'll tell you where he is as long as you dont tell him how you found out, okay?
-
Yori glowers at his phone before texting back, fine. i'll say i did hire that PI or something.
-
he's staying with some demon at the demon district. Like, that day you found me at the gate, if you had just waited around a bit longer you would have seen him
-
Yori blinks and pales, the...demon district? he bites his lip, but he really wanted to talk to Takana...he'd go get a prepaid phone to give to Takana and go find him. do you know where i can find him? and how can i get in?
-
curtis frowns, im not honestly sure how Takana got in myself but i dont think you want to go in there. if a demon sees you and knows you're human it'll kill you for sure
-
Yori sighs,well Takana got in and has been alive for a few weeks, im sure i can too. im gonna get a phone for him, but obviously i need to find him to give it to him.
-
curtis scratches the back of his head, i...i mean...im sure a guard let him in.... and when i saw him he was wearing cat ears and one of your guy's own Good Boy Collars which is alarming.
-
Yori bites his lip, seriously? that's... crazy. maybe if i just wear some fake ears or something and something that looks like a collar?
-
Curtis sighs, i dont think takana would want you to go in there. Im sure you could stay at the gate though if i'm on shift and i'll let you pass it through
-
Yori huffs, well i don't want him in there either! how do you expect to get ahold of him? who knows when he'll come to the gate again, that's why im getting him a phone.
-
and what good is giving him a phone for communication if you end up being stuck there? Your family may not care where he is but if you go missing then they'll rip the pavement up looking for you. That might put you both in danger[ /i]
-
Yori huffs, if you're not gonna help me then i'll figure out how to get in there to help him myself. thank you for the information, i'll deal with it from here. he shuts his phone off and hurries to the store, buying a collar that looks close to the ones their family makes, a set of cat ears, and a prepaid phone with a few months of time on it.
-
curtis yelps and keeps trying to text yori, not knowing his phone is off
-
Yori makes sure he has a few hundred dollar on him in cash, most of it well hidden, and heads to the demon district. apparently Takana got in looking human, so he'd try that first. He makes sure he has a hat on and gets up to the gates, looking at the guards, " i want to go in."
-
The guards blink as they all look at yori, then at themselves, stunned before they start laughing.
One guard looks back at yori, "alright kid we'll entertain the thought, where are your papers? "
-
Yori blinks, " papers?" he frowns for a moment before holding out a twenty dollar bill, " i need to go in to find someone, then i'll be back out."
-
one guard sneers, "20 dollars? What are you boss, a cheap slut? the balls on this kid."
-
Yori blinks, " oh. sorry." he pulls out a few more 20s, about 140 at this point. he didn;t want to have to dig into where he had the rest stashed but he had more. " is this enough?"
-
the other guards blink, becoming quiet.
the leader blinks before narrowing his eyes, "What piece of shit demon is worth going in there with no papers and a chunk of cash boy?"
-
Yori frowns, " well... just someone i know. but he doesn;t have a phone and i can;t get ahold of him. so... i wanted to go find him. what does it matter to you? the money spends the same regardless of who im looking for."
-
the boss snorts, "Just gotta make sure humans dont start getting chummy with demons. otherwise the demons will take advantage of that and kill us all. nothing but savages..." he takes the money and opens the gate, "Dont say i didnt warn ya though."
-
Yori nods, " i'll keep that in mind. i'll be back to leave before it gets dark, whether i find him or not." he takes a deep breath and heads in.
-
Rin Okuya is happily walking around the streets, pretending to be minding her business, but also keeping an eye on anything weird since her brother is being tended to with the other older sisters.
-
Yori had popped into an alley and put the collar on and the ears just in case, and was walking around the district looking for his brother. where would he even start?
-
Rin notices Yori and blinks as she watches his demeanor for a few minutes before frowning. She crosses the street and hums softly as she approaches him, "Hello?"
-
Yori jumps and whips around to look at her, " oh uh, hi?"
-
Rin blinks when yori jumps and she cant help but smile, "for having cat ears you sure act more like a rabbit. You look lost."
-
Yori's eyes widen, " um, okay? im not lost, i totally belong here." god damn it could he be acting any more suspicious? he couldn;t help it though, he knew he could die at any point here and he was majorly tense.
-
rin raises an eyebrow, "mm. i never questioned whether you belonged here or not, but if you lost someone. are you okay?"
-
Yori blinks, " actually you asked if i was lost. but im actually looking for someone. Um, pink hair?"
-
Rin hums, "well, i dont know maybe people here because this isnt usually my district but my brother knows everyone. he can find your friend. Come with me."
-
Yori blinks, " uh, okay?" oh gods, he was following a demon. she didn;t look like a demon, but that was probably to lure in unsuspecting humans to eat them! this was a bad idea, this was so a bad idea... he follows behind her reluctantly.
-
she goes to their family home, "Summer!! Is nikiri decent?"
Summer peaks around the corner and huffs, "Physically? yes. Emotionally? he's being a child."
rin sighs, "He's probably still upset over his antlers. i dont blame him. he was growing those for a long time instead of letting them shed."
-
Oh god, he was going to talk to someone who normally had antlers. He peers around Rin at Summer and pales, oh god, this chick had antlers. where girls supposed to have antlers? wasn;t it just guy deer? what was going on. He probably looked about ready to bolt.
-
summer sees yori and blinks, "Who's the kid? he looks like he's about to pass out. or barf. or both."
Rin glances back at yori and frowns, "Hey, you okay? If its about nikiri being cranky then dont worry about it. he also likes to help others and his antlers will grow back. now, lets go see him, okay?"
-
Yori nods, " im fine, totally fine. this is fine. lets do this." he was not fine.
-
rina gently grasps yori's hand and gives him a soft smile, "You'll be okay. " she leads him up a flight of stairs and heads down a hall, passing a few rooms where the babiest of sisters are playing, Elyza Phae and Seraphi.
Soon rina enters a large room, gently knocking on the side of the door frame, "Big brother? Can you help us right now?"
Nikiri is pouting, arms crossed over his patched up stomach with bandages on one side of his head and a small brown nub peaking out on the other side of his head, "As long as it doesnt involve getting out of bed since father seems quite demanding that I stay here...."
-
Yori grimaces, " he sounds like he doesn't want to be bothered. i can just go..."
-
rin drags yori inside and smiles, "he's lost someone and is trying to find them."
nikiri looks over at yori and he raises an eyebrow, "who the heck could you have lost here?"
-
Yori yelps as he's dragged in and freezes, looking at the battered apparently deer man, " uh... im um, looking for my brother... pink hair? his name is Takana..." he manages to get out.
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Nikiri slowly sits up from his bed, "Rin, step outside and close the door."
rin nods and steps out closing the door
Nikiri hums, "Yeah I know quite a bit about Takana."
-
Yori blinks and before he knows it he's shut in the room with this guy. he backs away slowly, looking terrified, oh god this was it, he was gonna die here. " i-is that so? well that's great, i forgot i have somewhere i need to be, right now, so uh..."
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Nikiri hums softly, "Yeah, Takana told me he didnt want you to be here. now I can see why."
-
Yori's eyes widen, " He..." his eyes narrow and he swallows hard, " what did you do to my brother!" he grabs a chair and levers it towards Nikiri.
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Nikiri raises an eyebrow "Besides giving him a means to live and not be murdered by demons? Oh i guess also protecting him from a demon and ending up in my current condition. I assure you, despite your brother having a death wish he is alive and well."
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Yori blinks, and slowly sets the chair down, " you got like that protecting him? is he okay? i need to find him..."
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nikiri glances out his window and hums, "its starting to get dark so curfew will be in effect soon. I can have one of my sisters take you to where he lives if that makes you feel better. I assure you, us Okuya's are an in between for demons and humans so you are safe with one of us."
-
Yori looks at the window and bites his lip, " shit... i really want to see him, but i should get back tonight... i suppose if i hurry i can give him the phone and still get back home."
-
nikiri shrugs, "Make a decision. you want to see him or not? If you want to go fast then I'll send you out with luna."
-
Yori nods, " i need to see him. that's what i came to do and im going to."
-
Nikiri nods and grabs his phone, texting quickly
after a few minutes luna enters the room, her face showing zero signs of emotions, "Yes brother?"
Nikiri hums, "I sent an address to you. take this kid to the address and when he is done take him back to the gate."
Luna glances at yori before looking back at nikiri and nodding, "Yes brother." she heads to the door and opens it, looking back at yori for him to follow her
-
Yori glances at Nikiri, " um, thank you." and quickly hurries after the girl.
Kaiten yawns as the shop closes up, bored.
Izanagi finishes up his closing stuff, " alright!"
-
luna steps out of the house and waits for yori, "um. i'll be faster if i hold you. please allow me to do so."
takana sighs and goes over to izanagi, "ready to head out?"
-
Yori blinks, " uh, hold me? um, i guess so?"
Izanagi nods, " yeah, lets go. im so ready to relax a bit. and im sure you're dying to see your ice prince~" he grins.
Kaiten gets up and walks over to the boys.
-
takana snarls, "Knock it off with that. its getting exhausting that i apparently cant be nice to anyone without secretly wanting something."
Luna picks yori up, bridal style before jumping up high into the air
-
Yori shrieks and clings to her.
Izanagi pouts, " you're no fun." he sighs and starts walking home.
Kaiten follows.
-
takana huffs, "I am fun, i just dont like to be teased constantly."
Luna lands on a nearby powerline before jumping off again, making her way to the apartments
-
Izanagi sighs, " if you say so." he opens the door to their apartment building when they reach it.
Yori clings to her, not even paying attention to the fact that he had his face buried in her chest.
-
Takana grabs the door of the apartment building.
Luna lands gracefully on the sidewalk of said apartment building, still holding yori, "We have arrived."
Takana stops when he hears Luna and he turns and blinks. antlers? who was she.
-
Kaiten looks at Luna and raises an eyebrow, " oh look, it's the emotionless Okuya."
Izanagi blinks, " Luna? why are you here?"
Yori slowly untangles himself, " oh god, i never want to do that again..."
-
Luna lets go of yori, "This child wanted to see someone here. Nikiri told me to bring him here."
Takana's eyes widen and he turns slightly pale when he sees who luna has, "Y- yori?"
-
Yori pouts, " im not a child!" he looks at Takana and waves hesitantly, " uh, hi. i found you finally. oh, here." he pulls out the new phone and holds it out, " it's prepaid and everything so mom can't trace it. i already put my number in there"
-
takana's eyes drop to the phone, then back at yori, then at the phone, then back at yori before his face turns red, "Wha-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" his eyes begin to water. god how he missed yori so much and now he's here and takana is trying to be mad but damn he's also so relieved to see someone he knows
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Yori flinches then straightens up and glares, " Im here to find you! you went totally dark, do you have any idea how worried i was? at least leave a damn note or something!"
Kaiten snorts, " as amusing as this is, yelling in the streets is not smiled on." he starts herding them towards the apartment.
-
Luna also follows, intending to keep her promise of escorting the small one out
Takana makes a ton of meep sounds as he's brought inside and he huffs, "Its not my fault that i went 'dark' as you put it. and I couldnt leave a note! they wouldnt let me back in the house, they shut off my phone before i could contact anyone, and even if i did leave anything in the apartment behind I doubt makoto or kahana would keep it or show you! they would have trashed it like im sure they did with the rest of my stuff!"
-
Yori blinks and smiles, " well i can reassure you there, Isabelle saved all your notebooks and stuff! But anyway, i mean it still sucked, it;s been two weeks, i've been searching all over. i thought you might have been dead..."
Kaiten ignores the feeble protests and moves all 3 boys into the apartment before taking a seat on the couch.
-
takana blinks and is quiet for a moment, "I-Isabelle? I.... I hadnt realized.... i mean.... she's nice but she also doesnt seem to be the type to... disobey or anger makoto if she can help it..." he clears his throat before sighing, "look, im sorry i just up and disappeared. i didnt really have much of a choice in the matter. and im sorry that I worried you. it was not my intention. I just... wanted you safe. Thats all. You were never not on my mind."
-
Yori huffs, " then find some way to get word to me you dumbass. she was worried too. she took that risk because she cares about you. I gotta go, it's gonna be dark and i don't want mom to figure out im gone. text me though okay? i can come back tomorrow if you want?"
-
takana huffs, "you shouldnt come back though. its not safe here. its safer for you out there. at least its your family and they like you. but with this phone I can text and call you so you dont need to be worried about me."
-
Yori sighs, " im not in good favor with them right now, all they want me to do is shut up, go to one of the colleges they want for a degree, and have kids."
Izanagi is watching, this was so much better than one of those old movies!
-
takana's ears droop and he sighs softly, "sounds about right...a-anyway, at the moment its not safe for you here. " he's quiet for a moment as he glances at yori. gods he wanted to hug his brother...
-
Yori huffs, " well if it's not safe for me then it's not safe for you either! Anyway i need to go, but im going to be back! im not done talking to you about this." he heads for the door.
-
takana watches yori leave and he hesitates slightly, his ears drooping, "o-okay... bye..."
-
Yori gets outside and leans against the building. he did it! he stood up for himself, and he found Takana and he didn't die! He looks at Luna, " um, can you please take me to the gates?" please say she didn't want to pick him up again...
-
Takana whimpers softly and paces briefly before huffing and quickly running outside, "Yori wait!!"
-
Yori blinks and turns to look, " Takana?"
Kaiten growls and glares at Izanagi, " stay put." and follows after.
-
Takana goes up to Yori and hugs him tightly, "I am sorry, and I am SO happy that I can see you...you're the only family I have..."
-
Yori blinks and then hugs him back just as tightly, " and you're the only family that really ever gave me the time of day. Don't get me wrong, i love dad but he's never around. it was awful not having any idea where you were or what happened."
-
Takana sighs, "Yeah dad was never the observant one. I... im okay. at the moment. I am thankful to have izanagi as a roommate despite how annoying he is... i'll talk to you n the phone, okay? Thank you for it.... my phone was pretty much useless so this is nice. Now... um" he lets go, "i'll let you head home."
Luna is patiently waiting
-
Yori nods, " we'll figure this out. Be careful, i don;t want anything to happen to you... it's nothing super fancy, but there's a few months of prepaid time on it, talk and text and all that. i love you." he gives Takana another quick squeeze before heading over to Luna, " alright, im ready."
-
Luna nods and swiftly picks him up and jumps back to the gate
Takana sighs, feeling a little better before heading inside, "Sorry... didnt want him to leave without a hug."
-
Yori clings again, regretting this particular life choice.
Kaiten snorts, " so i noticed."
Arakan chooses that time to come along, " Alright Kaiten, thank you, i'll take it from here for the night."
The younger demon nods to Arakan before leaving.
Arakan goes inside with Takana, " im glad to see you two have at least not driven each other insane."
-
Takana raises an eyebrow, "All i did was ignore him. he didnt talk to me, i didnt talk to him. hopefully we can keep that trend going."
-
Arakan snorts in amusement, " well it'll do at least. is there anything you two need before i head out onto the streets?"
-
takana pouts, "you forgot your coat again."
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Arakan shrugs, " you seemed like you needed it more than i did. i don't get cold."
-
Takana's ears go back, "But izanagi is relentless with the teasing."
-
Arakan blinks then sighs, " i'll take it with me then." he grabs it and pulls it on, " anything else?"
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takana hums, "No i dont think so. thank you though."
-
Arakan nods and heads outside, getting to his patrolling.
Yori heads to the gates and takes the collar and ears off before he reaches it, shoving them in his bag, " alright, im ready to leave."
-
the same guard is there and he sighs before opening up the gate, "Surprised to see you even come back."
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Yori shrugs, " i found what i needed. thanks!" he hands the guy another 50 bucks as thanks, " i'll probably be back again soon."
-
takana holds the phone close to his chest and smiles, he was ecstatic that he could contact yori whenever he wanted.
-
Yori heads home, feeling happier about everything now that he'd made contact with Takana.
Izanagi hums, " so that's your little brother then?"
-
takana looks at izanagi and smiles happily, "Yeah. he's the greatest."
-
Izanagi blinks, " okay? i mean he seemed about ready to piss himself when Luna brought him over, but sure. i know you were worried about him though, so im glad you got to talk to him even for a bit."
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takana shrugs, "thats big for him. as mad as i am that he actually came here I am incredibly happy that I could see him."
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Izanagi chuckles, " looks like jumping into the shark pool runs in the family then."
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takana snorts, "surprisingly i dont think it is. my father isnt like us at all and he's the only reason why yori and i are actually related. I just was raised more by my mother and I kinda took care of yori."
-
Izanagi hums, " well we'll see. seems like he has no intention of staying away for long. anyway, i think im gonna turn in." he yawns.
-
takana glances at izanagi, "Okay. good night."
-
Izanagi heads to bed, cuddling his kimonos which were sadly losing their scent.
-
takana opens the phone and smiles when he sees his phone already has yori's number. he sends his brother a quick text, im going to bed. goodnight. thank you.
-
Yori feels his phone buzz as he gets home and smiles when he sees it, you're welcome. goodnight. we'll figure this out and get you out of there, i promise.
-
takana smiles and heads to bed, feeling renewed and excited for the next day
-
Yori locks his phone and goes to bed, so happy that he'd gone. He blinks and looks at his phone to see about 50 missed messages and such from Curtis and sends a quick text, found Takana, he has a phone now, here's the number. everything went fine. and snickers, serves the guy right having to stew for awhile for refusing to help him find Takana.
-
curtis' mouth hangs open when he gets the text, jesus kid you are fucking crazy
-
Yori chuckles, just determined to make sure my brother is alright. so there.
-
curtis sighs and shakes his head, just remember our deal. takana can not find out i told you.
-
Yori sighs, yeah yeah i know. i didn't say anything about how i figured out he was there. i think he;s more peeved that i actually went and happy that he has contact with me to think too much on it.
-
curtis nods, yeah i can imagine. well i guess you get some sleep kiddo
-
Yori smiles, plan on it. goodnight. he sets his phone aside and settles in for some well earned sleep, at ease for the first time since he found out Takana was gone.
-
soon its the morning and takana is happily awake humming softly. he sends a quick good morning text to his brother
-
Yori is woken before he'd normally be up and grumbles at his phone, sending something vaguely resembling a good morning before ducking under the covers for more sleep.
Arakan comes in, taking a seat at the couch while he waits for Kaiten.
-
takana tucks his phone away and continues to hum softly not even noticing arakan as he starts cooking
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " well you're in a good mood it seems. what happened?"
-
Takana hums, "Ah just woke up on the correct side of the bed today i guess."
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Arakan snorts, " didn't think that was possible when one sleeps on a couch."
Izanagi makes his way out, smelling breakfast, " mmmmmm~"
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takana shrugs, "Found a cushion that still had a uniform shape to it maybe. although when I save up enough i wouldnt mind.... getting an actual bed."
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Arakan shrugs, " figured you'd be trying to get out of here before that becomes an issue. you'll have trouble letting them take anything out of the district, even something as simple as a mattress."
-
takana shrugs, "When i do get out i plan on having my old stable income again so that shouldnt be a problem. but even still any bed is better than a couch. at the very least as well after im gone izanagi could take the bed since it'll be newer and nicer."
-
Arakan snorts, " don't waste a bed on Izanagi, there's a reason why his is trashy. because he ruins them all."
-
takana snorts, "maybe they get ruined so quickly because they were bad in the first place. besides it doesnt mean that he shouldnt have a decent bed."
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He shrugs, " whatever. for someone who can't wait to get out of here it sounds like you're getting pretty settled."
Izanagi just sits at the table, quietly enjoying the show.
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takana rolls his eyes, "In your dreams im sure. i just want to be comfortable for the duration that I am stuck here." he sets a plate of food in front of both arakan and izanagi
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Arakan blinks when a plate is set in front of him, " you don;t need to feed me you know. not that i don;t appreciate it, but i know you two need to save your money."
Izanagi digs in.
-
takana shrugs, "as long as izanagi can curb his.....hobbies of owning weird outfits then we're more than alright."
-
Izanagi makes a protesting sound with his mouth full.
Arakan chuckles, " good luck with that one." he shrugs and starts eating.
-
takana chuckles and sips his coffee, staring out the window.
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Arakan looks over, " are you not going to eat?"
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takana glances over at arakan, "Ah im not much of a morning eater. Makes me a little nauseous to eat right away."
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Arakan shrugs and finishes his meal, " make sure you eat at some point."
Kaiten comes and knocks on the door.
-
Takana keeps sipping his coffee, purposefully ignoring the door
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " Takana...the door."
Izanagi keeps stuffing food in his mouth, wanting to see how this goes.
-
Takana blink and looks at arakan. He weighs his options carefully, "well.... you ARE eating so.... i guess..." he sets his coffee down and goes over to the front door grumbling softly before swinging it open for kaiten before going back to his coffee
-
Kaiten looks at Takana before coming in.
Arakan nods, he wasn;t going to ask anything too out of question, but Takana needed to follow the rules of the land while he was here. he finishes up and stands, " well, since my replacement is here im off. have fun." he heads for the door.
-
Takana nods, "Bye arakan." he starts tidying up, humming softly
-
Arakan heads out, going home to sleep.
Izanagi finishes his meal and sighs, " so what do you wanna do this morning? gonna try and get your brother back out here?"
-
Takana snorts, "we have to go to work today."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " yeah, but not for a few hours. and we work every day, that's nothing new."
-
takana sighs, "I dont want him here. remember my first day here? i was almost killed because i dont understand your weird laws. i still dont and he wont be any better and even if he is if someone decides to order him around then I will do my best to beat the fuck out of them for going near my brother. which you and i will both know how that will end."
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Izanagi snorts, " well i don't think he's gonna stay away even if you tell him that though. the laws are simple, don;t piss off higher rank demons. not sure how you don't understand that."
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Takana snorts, "the fact that someone i dont know can treat me like crap just because they think they're better than me is what i dont understand. im not an ass kisser. never have been. if you're nice to me then yeah, i'll be nice back but thats about it."
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Izanagi shakes his head, " see then you just choose not to follow them instead of not understanding them. things are different here, you came here, so you follow our rules. easy enough."
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Takana huffs, "i just need to do my best and keep my distance from higher rank demons. It's unfortunate that arakan thinks i need a babysitter when i don't, and i'm positive kaiten has like 50 things he'd rather do then watch me but it is what it is. After all, i'm the one that got kicked out. It's not like i'm a runaway so no one should be looking for me."
Besides cooking he wasnt even useful. If he had his tools then sure, he could show off a little with what he learned in his classes but that was about it.
Although if yori should up with his electrical kit, if that was something isabelle grabbed, then he was sure he could put on a show.
-
Izanagi snorts, " with your attitude? there's no avoiding higher ranked demons. there's good reason why you have a guard, just deal with it."
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Takana huffs, "all the more reason to keep yori out. "
-
Izanagi sighs, " you're hopeless."
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takana nods, "Yes. agreed. thats why i dont belong here."
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Izanagi snorts, " and never travel out of the country. not that i have any experience, but you'd do very poorly with customs that clash with your own habits."
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takana snorts, "i only went places if it was for yori."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " your brother likes to travel?"
-
takana nods, "Honestly being out of the house for him in general is his favorite thing to do so whenever he was on vacation from school I would take him anywhere he wanted to go. the farther from his mom and older brother the better for him."
-
Izanagi nods, " fair enough i guess. that would be so nice, being able to travel the world."
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takana nods, "when i get back home I'll see about taking you with some time. I can easily get you some papers for the trip. ah, id have to ask yori though. he's a bit of a scaredy with certain things but he's also a good kid so im sure he wont mind."
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Izanagi's eyes widen and he shakes his head, " ah, no... no thank you. besides, we really only get to leave the district for work, they wouldn;t let me go for that kind of thing."
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takana blinks and pouts, "oh come on. you'll be with yori and me. in my family if i want something i get it so im sure i could bring you somewhere. even if its to the beach. thats literally a 20 minute drive for me."
-
Kaiten growls, " enough. it's one thing for you to be ignorant, however giving false hope to one who may not know better than to believe the humans would permit such things is nothing short of cruel."
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takana flinches before frowning at Kaiten, "Ugh. Im going to my room." He gets up and storms to his room, grumbling softly
-
Kaiten shakes his head, " that one is going to get people killed... let him go back to the human world, they'll deal with him soon enough."
Izanagi frowns and watches Takana go.
-
Takana plops onto his bed and opens up the rule books again, going through the rules again. he had to memorize this.
-
Yori does eventually wake up and realizes he hadn;t told Isabelle, quickly texting her and asking if Makoto was home. best not to leave a text trail to follow.
-
isabelle glances at her phone and blinks before smiling, mm he's not home honey. is there something you need?
-
Yori smiles, just wanted to talk to you. can i come over?
-
of course!!! you're always welcomed over~ I'll make some lemonade~
-
Yori grins, on my way and quickly has their driver take him over there, running up to the door and knocking.
-
isabelle opens the door, wearing an adorable summer dress, "Hello yori! so good to see you hun! come in~" she steps aside for yori to come in
-
Yori goes in and hugs her, " i found Takana! he's safe, for now anyway."
-
isabelle blinks when yori hugs her and she hears the sudden news, "oh!" she quickly hugs him back, "Well done yori! i knew if anyone could do it it'd be you. Is he alright? you said he's safe but um, where is he then? at a friends place?"
-
Yori rubs his neck, " it was not easy. um, im not sure if i should tell you where he is, you'll just worry. He's alright, though i think i need to try and work on getting him to a safer place. i might try and take his stuff to him, some of it anyway. i can give you his phone number, i got him a prepaid phone so he can keep in touch."
-
isabelle brightens at the mention of having his number, "oh yes i would love to be able to talk to him!"
-
Yori nods and pulls his phone out, giving the number to Isabelle, " just be careful, we don;t want mom or Makoto to know i found him." he thinks for a moment before sending a text to Takana, giving Isabelle your number. anything from your place you want me to see if she saved?
-
takana glances at his phone and his eyes widen, was my laptop in any of those boxes? or at the very least a red metal box that kinda looks like a briefcase?
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Yori looks at Isabelle, " did you get takana's laptop or a red metal box briefcase....thingy?"
-
isabelle hums softly, "i just took the boxes so if its in there then we would have to check. didnt think rifling through them was appropriate. Makoto wont be home for a while so maybe now would be a good time to check the boxes?"
-
Yori nods, " alright. good idea." don;t know, gonna look. he heads to her painting room and starts looking through boxes to find the items Takana wants.
-
isabelle heads inside, her painting room being unlocked since she had been in there so yes, yori would be able to just go inside. and she grabs a separate box and starts to go through it
-
Yori hums as he works, sorting the stuff as he goes, putting journals and notebooks into one box so that he'd be able to find it later if he needed to.
-
isabelle digs through, eventually making a soft humming sound, "the red thing is at the bottom of this box!"
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Yori looks over ans smiles, " awesome! and i just found his laptop. he's gonna be so excited."
-
isabelle nods and pulls out the red box, grunting, "oh jeeze its heavy!"
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Yori quickly goes over and helps her with it, " christ you're right, it weighs a ton! He seriously wants me to lug this thing?" he shakes his head, " well i'll do my best." he puts the laptop on top of the box and grunts as he picks them up, " thank you so much Isabelle, you really are the best."
-
Isabelle nods, "would it be easier if you had a little wagon or something on wheels to roll it around with? I think that would help you."
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Yori chuckles, " yeah, but im already gonna be pretty conspicuous as it is, i'd rather not. thanks anyway." he hefts the two and heads for the front door, " i really do appreciate it Isabelle. you're the best sister ever you know that right?"
-
Isabelle blinks, a little stunned that something nice was said about her, "oh um... i just try to do the right thing."
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Yori smiles, " and you do. i don't understand why Makoto doesn't appreciate you more, because you really are the best. i'll be in touch soon again im sure." he puts the stuff in the vehicle and directs the driver to near the demon district, grabbing the stuff and carrying it a few blocks until he gets to the gate.
-
Isabelle blushes a bit and she sighs before packing up the other things before locking the room back up
The guards curiously watch yori, not sure what he's doing
-
Yori sets the stuff down and pulls out 150 dollars and holding it out, " i'd like to go in again please?"
-
the same boss from yesterday approaches yori, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Kid.... what are you doing now? You gotta know you cant just bring stuff into the demon district."
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Yori blinks, " it;s not like it's a bomb or anything. it's a laptop and... whatever this is. and why not?" he pulls another 50 out to make it 200, " how about now?"
-
"You dont even know what that red thing is! where are your parents!"
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Yori huffs and opens the red box, " see? nothing bad. The thing is, our demon servant has been... helping me, with my school projects, if you know what i mean, so i need to get these to him so he can do my project and get me a good grade okay?"
-
The guard snarls, "And what the fuck would those retards know about this crap? I dont even know what the hell im looking at!! Those poor bastards are dumb as shit, they cant even read for gods sake."
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Yori huffs, " well he'd better figure it out! it's due in a few days. and if he doesn't i'll have him fired, that usually motivates the brutes. besides if i get a professional to do it my teachers would never believe i did it anyway."
-
the guard blinks before sighing again, "Alright. 200 dollars then."
-
Yori holds the cash out, " alright." he hands it over and grabs the stuff before heading for the gate.
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the guard takes the money and shakes his head, grumbling about how stupid kids were these days
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Yori texts Takana once he gets inside, hey got the stuff, they really gave me a hard time getting it in, not sure if you'll be able to get it back out when you leave. anyway this stupid box is heavy, come meet me partway? he then ducks into an alley and puts his ears and collar on to be safe.
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takana feels his phone buzz and he reads the text, oh gosh i could have met you near the gate! hold on!
takana steps out of his room and goes to izanagi, "hey, favor to ask of you. can you come with me to find my brother? he managed to get some of my stuff and said he'd 'meet me half way' so i kinda wuld like to find him asap."
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Izanagi blinks and nods, " yeah of course." he gets up and heads out.
Kaiten sees them going and gets up, " where exactly are we going?"
Yori snorts, yeah like he was gonna explain his brother to the guards at the gate.
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takana shrugs, "Not sure. Izanagi which way is it to the gate? if he said half way then im guessing we can just walk until we spot him."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " this way." he heads for the gate.
Kaiten raises an eyebrow, " he's coming from the gate? they seriously just let him through?"
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takana sighs when he hears kaitens comment and he follows izanagi
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Yori grunts as he gets halfway and stops, setting his stuff down and taking a break, " stupid heavy box thing..."
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Takana sees yori and he quickly runs over, "yori!! Oh geeze i cant believe you lugged my kit all the way here."
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Yori grins, " had to. well that and an extra few blocks so the driver didn't know where i was going. the guards gave me a lot of trouble getting it in though, i had to lie through my teeth."
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Takana frowns, "i appreciate it, i really do, but please dont get yourself in trouble for my sake. Id feel awful if anything happens to you. "
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Yori huffs, " just like i feel bad that you got yourself into this sort of situation? you're not getting rid of me so easily. it might not be easy on the pocketbook but thankfully nobody pays attention to what i spend money on."
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Takana pouts, "you bribing them? Jeeze you're gonna get the whole lot of them in trouble."
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Yori pouts, " how else am i supposed to get in?"
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takana sighs, "i'll shut up about it. sorry." he grabs the red tool box and huffs, "aw shit i forgot how heavy this thing was. i havent really needed a reason to use it when i could just buy something i wanted instead of make it."
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Yori snorts, " well now you get to carry it." he carries the much lighter laptop.
Kaiten sighs, " im not entirely sure what's going on here, but this is painful to watch." he reaches over and grabs the toolbox, carrying it easily.
Yori blinks, then looks at Takana, " um, so do you have some time? i'd love to actually be able to talk with you for a little bit, spend some time with you."
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Takana blinks when the toolbox is taken from him. He glances at yori, "ummm... " he looks back at izanagi, "do you know what time it is? I know we have work today. "
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Izanagi checks his phone, " we have a few hours yet."
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Takana nods, "Do you ....is it okay if he comes over so i can chat with him? i dont know where else he can safely be. "
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, that should be fine." he heads back to their apartment.
Yori follows, blinking, " oh cool, i didn;t really get to see your place when i was there before."
Kaiten sighs and follows.
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takana follows izanagi, "its certainly not my old apartment but its alright. oh but now that i have my red tool box i can really make it a little bit better since i certainly cant use it for my classes anymore."
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Yori blinks, " you never did tell me what that thing is for anyway." he does look somewhat nervous, his brother seemed at ease but these were two real life demons, right there!
Izanagi nods, " i am also curious as to what the box is."
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"its the toolbox that had all the tools used for my nanotechnology class. you know the tiny robot i made that could talk in different languages? I made that thanks to a bunch of dumpster items i found and my tools in there. i could honestly say whats inside but im sure im the only one who would even know what im talking about."
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Yori blinks, " well, im glad i had no idea what it was. i bet they never would have let me bring that through if they knew."
Kaiten sighs, " i swear to the gods if you start some shit that's going to piss off the humans i will personally kill you."
Yori yelps and hides behind Takana.
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takana snorts, "He aint gonna kill me. Not today at least. besides its not like im going make make a bomb or anything. "
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Kaiten snorts and keeps walking until they get to the apartment, setting the toolbox onto the table.
Yori looks nervous, whispering, " he's scary."
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takana nods, "He gotta be. he protects. but he also attacks." he goes over to the tool box and opens it up. the toolbox was stuffed with wires, a soldering toolkit, circuit boards, and a mess of other metals and tools.
He looks at the toolbox longingly and sighs, "Just as i remembered it smelling..."
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Yori blinks and frowns, he really wanted to ask Takana how he could live around these demons but that was obviously a bad idea. " maybe we can go into your room?"
Kaiten sits on the couch, looking bored.
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Takana blinks, "Sure." he takes yori's hand and leads him to his room
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Yori closes the door behind them and lets out a breath, " how can you do it?! those are actual real life demons! we gotta get you out of here before they kill you." he looks worried.
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takana's ears move back and he frowns, "I am working on it but they arent going to kill me."
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Yori blinks, " well yeah, they don't know you're a human. but you literally live with a demon. Takana we gotta get you out of here. did you forget about all the things they say the demons used to do before we got them to stop murdering people and whatever? this is no place for us."
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takana sighs, "The only killing i have seen around here is the guards murdering a father in front of his entire family and all of us."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " did he... threaten them or something? im sure there was a good reason."
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Takana shakes his head, "Apparently they have an inspection once a month to make sure the collars are working and if they are not then the demon gets executed on the spot. but... apparently one of the kids and the dads collar broke at the same time and they couldnt afford to replace both so they were waiting on his next paycheck. the mother was begging them to give them a chance but that didnt matter. I honestly wouldnt have believed it if i didnt see it myself but it happened...I thought the collars were supposed to be free. Dad said since they are required that they would be free but they arent and they are stupid expensive. everything here seems to have an upcharge and its not great quality. So when i do get back im asking dad some questions. He shouldnt lie to me like that."
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Yori frowns, " you must have misunderstood something. It's a good thing they make sure the collars are working though, can you imagine if they weren't? anyway you can;t ask dad anything from here anyway, so we gotta get you out regardless."
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Takana shakes his head, "you werent there. I just... i cant find any justifications for the guards to kill a father. Thats not helping the fact that demons don't like humans. "
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Yori sighs, " okay, even if you are right you still can't talk to dad from here. we need to get you out so you can ask him the questions you have to figure things out."
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Takana nods, "yeah that was the plan. But its nearly impossible for a demon to go to the human district unless it is for work in which its mainly E rank demons. "
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Yori frowns, " so how are we gonna get you out? i suppose i could like, hire you or something? then you just not return. i can probably borrow one of those things to take the collars off."
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Takana sighs, "that sounds a wee bit illegal... plus i have no where to live even if i were to get out. Its kinda why i'm here to begin with."
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Yori huffs, " im pretty sure a human living here disguised as a demon is illegal too. we'll figure it out, mom never pays attention to what i spend so i could funnel some money to you for a place."
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Takana blinks, "ah to have free access to money again... sometimes i wonder if this was all worth it... like, maybe i should have met up with that girl your mom suggested just to appease her..."
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Yori frowns, " well im not sure it's worth it...but can we focus? im worried about you."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "hey im okay. I have a job and as long as i'm not too much of an ass things are pretty okay."
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Yori gapes at him, " are you listening to yourself? 'as long as i don't irritate them, and as long as they don't find out im human, im fine.' no you're not fine! the guy out there casually threatened your life! and he was able to lift that heavy box with no issues, does that really not scare you in the slightest?!"
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Takana sighs, "you know i've always been more sympathetic than the rest of our family. I blame being raised by my mother. I know you only saw Mirai a few times when you were very young but she was always overly compassionate. She believed in not immediately judging others because you have no idea what their story is."
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Yori rubs the bridge of his nose, " that's great and all, but can you make them your compassion project after you're safely back on the correct side of the wall?"
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takana huffs, "and i'll get to safety. but pushing to get back so fast might raise suspicion. for now the best course of action might be to let you take care of securing someplace safe for me while i continue acting like everything is normal. then when things are set i can just leave without anyone looking for me. who knows, maybe you can find an adorable two bedroom apartment for you and I to live in quietly."
-
Yori blinks and pouts, " i guess... i don;t even have the first idea how to do that. do i just like, start pulling money and hiding it under my bed or something?"
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takana blinks, "Um... well you could go to a bank and create your own checking account. one that no one knows. you're an adult so its not like they're gonna tell anyone. and i suppose to keep it even more secret you'd pull money out in cash and then deposit it into your hidden bank account. i wouldnt do straight money transfers because it might show up on the families account and they'll ask about it."
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Yori blinks and nods, " yeah okay. i think i can do that."
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Takana nods, "i know you can do it. You came here all by yourself after all. And dont worry about me, i'm pretty okay here. After all, izanagi knows i'm human and he's been keeping that a secret since he really needed a roommate. He's not a bad guy once you get past his weird girly clothes obsession."
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Yori blinks, " he knows? is that... safe? And i know i came here by myself, it was terrifying though..."
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Takana nods, "it's fine. He wont tell anyone. He kinda also loves my cooking, who doesnt?, and he is happy im working at the cafe with him. If he wants to keep that up he's going to have to keep what i am a secret. "
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Yori tilts his head, " you're cooking at a cafe? i mean i know you always made good food, but you actually got into it professionally? here no less?"
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Takana chuckles, "i needed a job, they were hiring for server initially but no surprise that i'm terrible with customers so when it was found out I could cook they shoved me to the kitchen where im content. "
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Yori snorts, " yeah i can see that. thank goodness you're so good at cooking, im surprised you didn;t get into trouble with the customers serving."
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Takana shrugs, "short gig. Most of them were nicer than the weird old guys at the downtown subway. "
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Yori wrinkles his nose, " i do not want to know why that particular tidbit comes to mind. Or why you were even at the downtown subway."
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takana blinks, "Ah its how i got around town. i dont want to bother the driver."
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" ew. seriously." Yori shakes his head, " that's what he gets paid to do. drive."
Izanagi knocks on takana's door, " we should probably get going."
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Takana snorts, "Yeah but he-" he hears izanagi and glances at the door, "Okay! thanks for the heads up." he looks back at yori, "Ah sorry bro. work calls. are you going to be okay getting back to the gate yourself?"
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Yori nods, " yeah i guess so... be careful okay?" he gets up, heading for the door.
Izanagi has his bag and is waiting, and Kaiten is also ready to go.
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takana follows after yori, he's already ready to go and he looks at izanagi, "Thanks for letting me know about the time."
-
Izanagi nods, " well duh." He heads out and starts walking towards work.
Yori heads back towards the gate, he wished he had been able to talk his brother into leaving this place, there was so much danger. but Takana was stubborn... he'd just have to do his best to make sure when he did get out they would be taken care of.
-
takana follows izanagi, chuckling, "You coulda been a dick about it. nothing's stopping you."
-
Izanagi snorts, " well first, he's your brother, and second, he's not my type."
Yori gets to the gate and waits for them to let him out.
-
takana blinks and his eyes widen before huffing, "NOT that kind of dick!!"
-
Izanagi snickers softly.
Kaiten sighs, " what am i dealing with..."
Yori goes home.
-
takana glances back at kaiten before looking forward and frowning. while he was a lot rougher to deal with then what takana was used to he was sure that kaiten was just always cranky because he was doing something he didnt want to, not to mention putting up with izanagi.
Takana looks back at kaiten as they walk, "Oi. you're around us from dawn until dusk it seems. do you ever eat? or are you just doing that once you're dismissed from Arakan?"
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow, " i usually eat before i come and once i get home as well. as long as i don't get my blood heated i can go with just a meal or two a day easy. why do you care anyway?"
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takana huffs before looking away, "well i WAS going to suggest allowing me to make food for you as well so you wouldnt starve but its fine if you'd rather not."
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Kaiten raises en eyebrow, " im here doing a job. i do this well, i get recognition from the ruling family here. I don't eat on the job."
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takana snorts and looks at izanagi, "how sad considering im not worth watching. oh! we should dumpster dive soon now that i have my toolbox! i would love to fix something that was haphazardly tossed."
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Izanagi shrugs, " Arakan and his father think otherwise. i mean sure? we can do that. we don;t get a ton of good electronics here though. broken collars are sent out of the demon district."
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takana frowns, "hmmm...no tv's or anything? i dont want to mess with the collars." he knew what happens to sabotaged collars, "I once made a decent projector out of a magnifying glass and several toasters that were trashed but im not sure what dumpsters here have."
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Izanagi shrugs, " we can look. but most can;t afford things like that. i mean, i got a crappy old tube tv that i manage to smuggle from the human district."
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takana whines softly, "maaaaaan whats a guy gotta do to get some recent tech around here."
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Kaiten snorts, " be rich, bribe a human, or not be a demon to begin with."
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takana rubs the back of his head and starts whistling, not needing to comment on that considering he was 3 out of 3 on that
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow and sighs, " i might...know a place. deep in the slums, at the back of the district there's a spot where humans apparently like to chuck large appliances. apparently they have to pay to dispose of them otherwise. it's not inside the district, but there's a few demons who are able to go get things. but it's a dangerous area, and they don;t do it for free."
-
Takana blinks and looks back at kaiten, "Oh. thats good to know. um. thanks."
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Kaiten shrugs, " i wouldn;t suggest a couple e ranks go back there. frankly i don;t think it's worth it."
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Takana shrugs, "you could be right but we wont know that for sure until i go check first. "
-
Kaiten snorts, " well you won;t be doing it on my watch. im not about to risk you two."
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Takana stammers for a split second before he huffs, "Then why the hell would you fucking tell me about it??"
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Kaiten crosses his arms, " if you want to try and convince Arakan to take you that's your choice. either that or give me enough cash to try and get you a few things myself. i can protect myself there, i can't promise to be able to keep you and him safe. too many factors."
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Takana huffs and glares at the sidewalk, "I gotta convince arakan that I'm not worth the babysitter if anything."
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Kaiten snorts, " and that proves more than anything you need the babysitter. you, who isn;t from around here, wants to just waltz into the slums. you have no idea how dangerous that is. the truly desperate and void of morality live there. and usually they like it that way. the rules are easier to break, and the line of what's okay blur. i can't promise you'd come back."
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takana pouts and crosses his arms, not enjoying being chastised, "But i cant just ask for someone to grab me stuff for me. I want to be there to dig around myself. " he hums softly, "Maybe if Curtis is working the guard station I can just have him dig around one of the dumpsters near his house. or maybe he has some tech he would be willing to toss my way. then i could avoid the dumpsters here all together."
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Kaiten huffs, " well you aren't doing that on my watch either. i don;t know what relationship you and your brother have with those guards, but they're just as dangerous as the slums."
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Takana bit his cheek to keep himself from mentioning that he fucked one of the guards. He was sure kaiten would probably not like hearing that.
-
Kaiten sighs as they arrive at the cafe and he goes to sit at a table out of the way.
Izanagi heads into the back and shimmies into his maid uniform.
-
takana quickly starts getting the kitchen ready and starts prepping
-
The start of the day progresses as normal.
-
as the day ends takana finishes cleaning up the kitchen before going to the main area and taking a seat, waiting for izanagi and kaiten
-
Several more days pass the same way, nothing out of the ordinary happening. Izanagi yawns as he gets up in the morning, heading out where Arakan was sitting on the couch waiting for Kaiten to arrive.
-
Takana is already awake and is making breakfast, something different than normal, sticking to a more savory style of breakfast as he enjoys making Omurice.
He happily sets a plate on the table, "Arakan. Food." He sets another plate down for izanagi
-
Arakan looks up from his phone and raises an eyebrow, " oh? and what is this?" he pockets his phone and goes to the table, sitting and sniffing at the dish.
Izanaig sits and digs in, knowing full well by now that no matter what it was, it was gonna be good.
-
Takana hums, "Its Omu rice. Specially made fried rice with a cheesy and delicate omelet on top that mixes well with the rice. Mom used to make this for me all the time for breakfast and she would draw smiley faces on the omelet with ketchup all the time. It was always my favorite.." he gives a soft smile as he thinks back to those memories.
He glances at arakan, "It is actually quite common to have a bit of sauce on the side that is very spicy if you want some, otherwise kids just eat it with ketchup."
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Arakan takes a bite and nods, " well it's good. and i would like something with kick if you have it, not that it's not great on it's own."
Izanagi growls and pulls his plate closer, he didn't care if people normally had sauce he wasn't letting go of his plate for even a moment.
-
Takana blinks at izanagi and chuckles softly before grabbing a small saucer like bowl from in the fridge, "i thought you'd say that so i went ahead and made some hot oil. Figured it would be perfect for you." He sets the dish close to arakan, "its exactly what it is. I heat up some oil just before smoking point, and then toss in a shit ton of dried and crushed Korean red peppers. Thats it."
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Arakan blinks, " alright? sounds good enough." he takes the bowl and dips a bit into it before taking a bite, nodding in approval before drizzling it over his meal and digging in.
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Takana goes over to his phone and picks it up, texting his brother good morning
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Yori rolls over and grabs his phone, peering at it under the sheets and smiling before texting back morning
Izanagi soon polishes off his plate, sighing happily.
Arakan takes a bit longer, enjoying the play of flavors and the burn of the spice.
-
Takana smiles when he gets a reply and hums softly. He pockets his phone and goes back into the kitchen, "is it safe to take your plate izanagi?"
-
Izanagi hums happily, " it's empty, you may have it."
Arakan snorts, finishing his own shortly after.
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Takana chuckles and shakes his head, "i assume you enjoyed that." He also takes arakan's empty plate along with izanagi's before taking them over to the sink and washing them
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Izanagi nods, " it was weird but it was really good."
A knock at the door sounds and Kaiten lets himself in, not waiting to be let in.
Arakan gets up, " well, that means i can go get some sleep. have fun."
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Takana sighs when he hears the door, knowing kaiten is here, "Alright. see ya arakan."
-
Arakan nods and heads out, going home for some much needed rest.
Kaiten sits on the couch to wait before they head to work.
-
Takana hums as he goes to the bathroom to take a quick shower
-
Izanagi goes to his room and plays on his phone while they wait until it's time to go.
-
Soon its time to go and takana grabs his bag, "Izanagi! Go time!"
-
Izanagi grabs his bag and head out to Takana, " alright alright. man i can;t wait to get some time off."
Kaiten gets up and heads for the door.
-
Takana nods, "yeah no kidding."
Nikiri, with summer and luna at his side, leans against the cafe walls waiting for izanagi. His head no longer bandaged and two soft, round bumps where his antlers had been now reside as they quickly grow back.
-
Izanagi nods, " the manager did say we could take some time off soon since the newbies are pretty well trained in." he blinks when he sees Nikiri and rushes over, " Nikiri!" he slows and hugs him gently instead of glomping him as he normally would have, wary of the others injury. " aw your poor handsome antlers. those nubbies are pretty cute though."
Kaiten sighs, keeping pace with Takana, the one he was actually guarding.
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Takana smiles when he sees nikiri and goes up to him, "thank goodness you're okay! You had me worried!"
Nikiri chuckles softly as he smiles at both of the boys, "i'm just fine, thank you takana. And you. " he grins at izanagi, "i know you may try so im just going to say it once. Please do not touch the growing antlers. They are very close to my head and are quite sensitive."
Luna takes a few steps back from nikiri since the addition of more people felt like too much
Summer smiles at the boys, "his abdomen is still a bit tender but thankfully everything is closed up and just fine. Luna and i are only babysitting him under father's orders."
-
Izanagi pouts, " aww, they look so fuzzy though..."
Kaiten glances at Nikiri, " ...Okuya." he glances at the girls and then just heads inside.
-
Nikiri and the girls bows respectfully to Kaiten before nikiri smiles at izanagi, "waaaaay too sensitive. in public."
Takana and luna both recoil at the same time from nikiri's suggestive comment.
summer whistles innocently before heading in the cafe, knowing her brother will stick around anyway
-
Izanagi blinks and grins, " ooooh~ very well then~" he heads into the cafe, eager to get changed into his way too exposing of an outfit.
-
Takana shakes his head and goes in, getting ready.
Mina's days off are done and she is back
Nikiri and luna head inside and sit with summer
-
Kaiten is already at a table out of the way, looking at his phone.
Izanagi soon flounces back out and over to Nikiri, " what can i get for you~"
-
nikiri hums and happily licks his lips, "mmm the vanilla bean milk tea, hot, sounds good."
-
" coming right up~" he quickly goes and gets it, setting it in front of Nikiri before looking at the girls, " anything i can get for you two?"
-
Summer hums, "Nah. nothing here thats a little...strong."
Luna looks at izanagi, "water."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " yeah there's no strong drinks here. sorry. people get handsy enough without adding alcohol into the mix. i'll be right back with that water." he goes and grabs a glass with water and ice, setting it in front of Luna.
-
luna nods and takes her water, "Thanks."
-
Izanagi nods and gets to work.
-
The day progresses as normal, nikiri happily flirting with izanagi any chance he gets.
His sisters give a tired look, knowing they couldnt just leave and risk upsetting their dad.
After a while, almost close to the curfew end time a young man steps into the building, taking a seat in the far corner of the cafe, trying not to attract any attention to himself despite the fact that he was wearing a crisp black panama style hat, a black coat that went to his knees and with the collar popped up. As he seated himself he sighed softly and took his hat off, setting it on his lap as a sign of high manners.
Kaeru happily walks over and greets him with a smile, "hello! And welcome! Is there anything i can get for you sir?"
The man looks at her nervously, "um. Oolong Tea would be just fine. Thank you."
Kaeru nods and goes over to hikari, putting in the order, "its summer and yet that guy is wearing a coat. How silly. "
Hikari blinks and looks at the guy, staring at the back of him, "yeah.... that is silly. " she could quickly tell something didnt feel quite right with him
-
Izanagi is more than happy to flirt back, occasionally plopping onto Nikiri's lap when he has a free moment. He makes sure to glance at the other's antler nubs with a devious look now and then, promising to fully abuse his knowledge when they have private time together.
He walks over to the girls in time to hear the conversation, peering at the guy in the coat, " that's... really odd. doesn't look half bad from what i can see here." he tilts his head, looking the new guy over.
Kaiten, also being at a table out of the way is near the guy, and looks at him with suspicion as he doesn't recognize him at all, and the guys behavior had him wary.
-
Kaeru sighs, "well as long as he's not a weirdo." She takes the tea and goes back over to the demon, "your tea sir." She sets the tea in front of him, "is there anything else i can get for you?"
The demon shakes his head, "no, im good. Thank you though. Im just here to wait for someone."
Kaeru blinks before nodding, "okay. Well. If you do need anything else please let us know!" She walks to another table to see if anyone else needs anything
Shiro takes his tea and sips it slowly, enjoying the taste.
-
Kaiten watches him for a little longer, studying him as he tries to identify Shiro. He growls and walks over, " exactly who the hell are you. you're not from here."
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Shiro flinches before looking up at Kaiten, "oh uh, apologies. I am not from around here, you are correct. My name is shiro." shiro looks a little nervous, not wanting to have this attention on him.
Nikiri looks over and blinks, frowning, "oh dear. day 1 on the streets and already there is trouble brewing." he stands up
luna frowns, "Brother-"
Nikiri shakes his head, "Its already. im not fighting today." he happily walks over to kaiten, staying to the side though to show that kaiten is clearly in charge for the moment, "Papers should just be fine. this restaurant IS getting popular after all."
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Kaiten glances at Nikiri and nods, " your papers will suffice." he was a bit miffed at having Nikiri butt in but he wasn;t about to cause a scene.
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shiro nods and pulls out his papers, handing kaiten his papers. kaiten was higher rank of course. he just hoped that kaiten wasnt high enough to notice his last name. he was hoping to wait until arakan showed up. but he wasnt going to piss off this demon by semantics
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Kaiten looks it over before grudgingly handing the papers back, " ...fine."
Arakan walks in the front door, looking tired and irritated to be here instead of sleeping. " alright, now where the hell is he..."
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Shiro takes the papers back and sighs softly.
Nikiri glances over when he hears arakan and grins, "helloooooo! Oh my you look terrible my good sir! Its felt like forever since i last got to tease you."
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Arakan glances over and spots Nikiri, stifling a growl, " oh great, yeah this day keeps getting better." he then notes Shiro and walks over looking at Kaiten, " i've got it from here, stand down." he sits across from Shiro.
Kaiten nods and goes back to his seat.
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Shiro blinks and stiffens a bit in fear, "s-sir arakan. "
Nikiri blinks, "eh? Arakan, you're here for this guy?"
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Arakan nods, " yes. you can go back to your seat Nikiri." his eyes narrow as he looks at Shiro, " now, i'd advise you tell me exactly what's going on and why i was summoned here."
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Nikiri blinks before shrugging and doing as arakan is told
Shiro sighs, "i was hoping i could beg for some help and also offer an apology for my brother's actions as to what has been occurring in your district." He hands the papers to arakan sonce he knows arakan will definitely recognize the 7th districts family name
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Arakan takes the papers and looks them over, eyes narrowing as he notes the name. " The ruling family of our neighboring district only ever has one child, so explain yourself." he passes the papers back.
-
"There have been a few rare cases of a second child, however they typically get neglected early shortly after birth so that they can die and no one outside of the family knows, thus continuing the tradition of power being passed down. I was... lucky if you'd call it that. regardless, I am here and I..." he looks down at the table, the look of disappointment on his face, "My brother is the one who caused those men to come into your area. Koshi, my brother is a vile demon. He brags to his friends about how he plans to kill our own parents once he's the new leader, I have seen him have private conversations with human officials, and he considers any demon that is a D or E rank not worth the air they breathe."
He looks back at Arakan, "I mention this so you understand the kind of monster he is. a month ago he told mother and father that he wanted them out. to let him be the ruler immediately and that he had their power so he was done waiting. Father told him that the transfer of power wasnt complete until he had a wife. someone to officiate the line and carry on the next generation. at any point they could take back their power if he doesnt complete this part of the tradition so he better start looking if he wants to be the ruler. ...it was the first time Koshi was ever told no. and it wasnt even a real no, just a 'not yet' if anything. It... didnt sit well. He took his rage out on anyone he could, including me, and when I was finally able to venture out again I had found out that he had been sending out his goons to find a demon they felt worthy enough to carry his child. He knows Kiri and Zuu havent come back yet and are probably dead and since his other goons are accounted for I dont think you currently have anyone else in your district but I cant say for certain."
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Arakan listens to the other with growing concern, not that he allowed it to show on his face. " if this is all true... this is indeed distressing. however im not inclined to take you at your word. But, since you seem to be familiar with 'his goons' as you say, and claim they are the cause of the attacks we've had, perhaps you can describe the two demons to me."
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shiro perks up a bit, "oh yes! Zuu is kinda a boisterous asshole. always grabby and loud with his words. really arrogant and stupid but its Kiri that i have always been fearful of. he's blind and has insanely long, tattooed, arms. incredibly fast and his skin emits this weird... sludgey like toxin. His hearing is extraordinary and he emits a weird sulfur stench that can reach up to a few meters when he's hunting. A lot of people dont know this but that stench is for his nose. it covers everything like a blanket, wiping his surroundings clean until anything with a different smell moves, giving him a clear radar and thats how he hunts. That is how my brother sends out his men. in a pair of two. one who is loud and will keep eyes on them while the other takes care of the actual work and hopefully not get caught."
-
Arakan sighs, " well fuck. We have Zuu, he's alive. Kiri i killed myself."
-
"I am honestly surprised Zuu is even alive honestly. I figured he'd talk himself to an early death. I know it may not mean much coming from me but I am terribly and deeply sorry for what my brother has done. I hope he hasnt caused too much damage as it is."
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Arakan snorts, " he wishes he was dead. he is lacking hands, courtesy of our antlerless wonder." he jerks his head at Nikiri, " and he's been most irritating. we've been trying to get information from him, however he's been mostly vulgar and annoying. there are some demons missing i suspect are dead at the hands of Kiri, and Zuu accosted one of our employees here, however did not get the chance to do much harm. now, what exactly do you hope to gain by coming here."
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"Koshi has plans on increasing the size of his district once he's the leader and wants to make this world free of e and d rank demons. I also fear what will happen once he's leader considering his... relationship with the humans. I want him killed before he is able to solidify his position. I know full well you cant just do that but I was hoping for some assistance in coming up with a plan on stopping him since it is your district he is targeting."
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Arakan looks at the other considerately, " if i can get proof he is indeed behind this, then i would consider it an attack against my district personally and be more than willing to challenge him over it. however i am not able to leave my district."
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Shiro perks, "I dont have any currently but I can always get some. Koshi is a talker and a bragger so i know he'll mention it if i bait him to. thankfully since my status is D rank at the moment I can easily pass through to the other districts freely. no human ever actually remembers anyone's name around here."
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Arakan nods, " do that. once i have that proof we will consider how to move forward." he gets up, clearly dismissing the other demon.
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Shiro nods, "if it makes you feel ay better, he does not have anyone else in your district at the moment. with his men missing and assumed dead to him he is waiting a couple of weeks before making another move knowing with only two demons he can play it off as them doing something on their own and not going through with an order, taking the heat off himself." he lowers his head a bit to arakan, showing respect towards the demon.
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Arakan nods, " i suppose i can lift the curfew for the moment then. we've kept any lower rank demons inside at night to prevent incidents."
-
"Please, enjoy the rest of your day. I will vacate once I am finished with this tea. It is quite lovely." shiro picks up his cup and continues sipping his tea
-
Arakan hums thoughtfully and makes his way to the table Nikiri is at, sitting and staring off at a window, deep in thought as he considers the situation and the ramifications of it. What a pain.
Izanagi builds up the courage to bring over a small teacake to go with Shiro's tea, " on the house. enjoy~"
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shiro look at the cake and blinks, not being treated nicely ever in his life before he smiles, "oh!" he looks at izanagi, "That is awfully nice, thank you very much!"
Nikiri blinks when arakan comes over, "you uh.... you doing okay?"
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Izanagi smiles and leans over getting a closer look at his face, " anytime handsome~" he then flounces off, making sure there's some extra sway in his hips.
Arakan sighs and rubs his temples, " just fine, nothing big, only a neighboring district apparently intending genocide and starting a war. you know, the usual."
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Nikiri sighs, "well.... i suppose that explains the charm on my antler that snapped off...at least you have been given some form of warning instead of not knowing about it until it was too late." He glances back at shiro in time to see izanagi flirt with him, "poor guy already got izanagi's attention."
Shiro's eyes widen and his face becomes bright red
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Arakan nods, " lets hope we can get this under control before it becomes a further issue. assuming he is being truthful. we shall see." he glances over and shakes his head, " well i can't say im surprised, with Takana living with him and you out of commission i doubt he's been as active as he prefers."
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Nikiri sighs, "well i did what i could to at least keep him happy since it always helped those two get along."
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Arakan sighs, " well we'll perhaps need to find something to get him under control so he doesn;t drive us all insane soon." he waves Mina over, " coffee please, make it strong."
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Mina smiles at arakan, happy to see him again since she is still very much thankful for his kindness days prior, "Yes sir! Right away!" she skips to hikari, "Hikari! your best, strongest coffee!"
Hikari rolls her eyes and begins making the coffee, not rushing or acting excited at all since she knows its better to take your time to make sure you dont mess up
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Arakan sighs, " im leaving the curfew in place for now until he brings proof, i see no reason to change things until i know for sure."
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nikiri nods, "Fair." he hums softly, "Maybe I should call Kacie back for now then. I dont want her in a district thats potentially going to start a war. I dont care if she thinks she's fine, she's one of the few of us who dont have antlers naturally so not everyone immediately knows of her surname."
Mina comes back with arakan's coffee, gently setting it in front of him, "Here you are sir."
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Arakan nods, " i would highly suggest you do that due to the things i have heard. regardless of what she says, get her out of there."
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Nikiri sighs and gets up, "I'll go do that now. I'd rather do so as soon as possible."
summer and luna get up as well. both girls nod at arakan before all three of them head out
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Arakan nods back at the two girls and sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. While it was good he was getting this figured out, it seemed it was going to be a whole damn thing.
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Shiro finishes his food and tea, sighing softly. he was glad to have this moment of sincere peace and it made him not want to go back but... he had to. he quickly pays for his tea and grabs his hat, ready to head out as he promised
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Arakan does eventually get his own coffee and takes several long drinks of it, watching Shiro as he leaves. part of him hoped this was still all false, but the description of those demons...it was unlikely. thankfully the cafe closed soon and he could mull things over while he patrolled.
-
a few minutes after shiro leaves its time to close up with the curfew and everyone begins cleaning
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Izanagi jogs over as Shiro leaves, " don't forget to come back and see me cutie!" he quick stuffs a bit of paper with his number on it into Shiro's pants pocket before flouncing back to work.
Kaiten decides with Arakan there he can go early, since he was not needed.
Arakan waits while the boys get things closed and cleaned up, waiting to take them both home.
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Takana steps out from the kitchen and sighs. he was starting to feel tired and he could really use a nap. forever.
mina blushes as she watched izanagi, "you really dont let them get away from you, do you."
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Izanagi blinks at Mina, " well i mean it's not like i can force him, but if i want him i gotta make sure he knows it otherwise i'll never get the chance. gotta go for what you want girl!"
-
mina shakes her head, "the guy acts like no one has ever wanted his attention before. good luck getting him to have sex with you. im sure you'll be his first."
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Izanagi hums softly, " well it'll be a bit of a pain to teach him what to do, but it can be pretty cute for a guy to be all flustered when i go down on him." he giggles.
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takana looks at izanagi and frowns, "i dont even want to know what you're talking about. c'mon, lets hurry up for arakans sake, okay?"
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Izanagi grins, " really cute guy that i'd like to take for a ride~" he follows after Takana.
Arakan sighs and heads for the door, " lets get you two home."
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takana follows arakan, looking back at izanagi, "dont you have nikiri?"
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Izanagi sighs, " not nearly as often as i'd like. and he'd injured. he's always so busy, i've only gotten to screw him a few times. i mean don;t get me wrong, it was really good, but i can;t go this long!"
Arakan pointedly keeps walking, ignoring this conversation.
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takana huffs, "thats not what i meant but okay..." he shakes his head and keeps walking
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Izanagi blinks, " what do you mean then? like, are we dating? no, i wish. i could guilt him into fucking me way more often i bet if he would."
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takana turns bright red, "that almost sounds worse."
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Izanagi shrugs, " suit yourself." he skips ahead, remaining in sight but a bit further ahead.
Arakan drops a bit back in line with Takana, " it's not entirely his fault he's like this. it's partly his type of demon. emotional influencing is along the incubus bloodlines. his is mild, but it does make a difference."
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takana blinks and looks up at arakana and sighs, "I guess...just wish i didnt have to hear it all the time." he rubs his arm, "But yeah you're right. its not his fault. I'm just a little sour over my previous relationship so listening to him is a little.....I keep him fed cuz it keeps him quiet is the nice way of saying it."
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Arakan snorts, " oh trust me, you're not the first to find ways of shutting him up. He's not the easiest to deal with. Im sorry you're having trouble. things will get easier over time."
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takana waves his hand and sighs, "No need for apologies. if anything I can blackmail my ex any time i want to and I have been so its not all bad."
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Arakan blinks and coughs, " well, good for you then?" they reach the apartment and Izanagi claims the shower right away.
Arakan sits for a minute, checking his phone.
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takana goes to the couch, sitting down and checks his phone as well, texting his brother, hope you're having a good day! miss you!
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Yori glances at his phone and smiles, surviving, mom keeps trying to send me on a cruise. i think she's getting mad i keep refusing.
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takana frowns, a cruise? that sounds like an easy way to keep you in a location you cant leave from....
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Yori nods, exactly. they're trying to keep me from looking for you. i've made sure they don't know i found you, i've been pretending to look every day just about.
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takana frowns and sighs of course your mother is doing that...im sorry thats happening yori
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Yori shrugs, not much i can do about it. i opened a bank account and have gotten a few thousand into it. so eventually i can get the hell out of here.
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takana nods, good im glad! i was hoping kohana would be herself towards you since you are actually her son and not the leech from the previous marriage but apparently i gave her too much credit
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Yori sighs, well she and Makoto just really want me to go to college for a good degree and get married and have kids. and they're upset i don;t want to do that. not yet anyway.
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takana sighs again. he really wished he knew how to help his brother, well hang in there. im really proud of you for putting up with all of this crap and when this is all over with I'll take you somewhere cool. anywhere you want to go, you name it
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Yori snorts, anywhere away from our family. i'd even go live with you at that awful demon district.
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Takana snorts, oh stop calling it awful. Its not nearly as bad as some places ive been.
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Yori shakes his head, says the guy who apparently has a 24 hour watch on him and his guard threatened his life. that's scary stuff. i had a chick pick me up and leap over buildings i think, i dunno, i wasn't looking. it was terrifying.
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Takana blinks, oh, luna? Yeah she has a crazy means of getting around. She stays quiet though and is kinda emo in a way.
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Yori stares at his phone, dude, im seriously worried about your mental state.
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Takana sighs, look... maybe if you can promise me you wont freak out or.... make yourself obvious you could come over for a day? See that its not so bad?
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Yori scowls at his phone, i managed to get in there and find you without being caught or freaking out. externally anyway.
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Takana raises an eyebrow yeah but you were here for a... hour? 2? Im talking, ghost me the whole day, come to the cafe and half some of my ramen. You love my ramen and so do the people here
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Yori grumbles softly, fine. but if i die im so haunting you.
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takana chuckles as if my life isnt already hell~
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Yori sighs softly, so should i plan that for tomorrow?
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takana hums hold on, lemme ask my roommate. see what he thinks takana gets up and looks towards ianagi's room and then to the bathroom, wondering if izanagi was done in the shower
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Izanagi is done with his shower and lounges on his bed in Nikiri's kimono. He glances up, " hey Takana."
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takana hums, "Hey, i kinda want to.... show yori that this place aint bad cuz he thinks im crazy for telling him not to rag on it so much. what do you think if tomorrow yori kinda... hangs out for the day? I'll let him use my laptop or something while he's at the cafe to keep him occupied if he gets bored but i dont want him to keep thinking im going to die every second of the day. since that would also involve him being here I wanted to ask you first."
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Izanagi blinks then shrugs, " i don't really care honestly."
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takana perks up and goes back to his phone sounds like a plan! just make sure you pop by in the morning before we go to work. do you want to meet up halfway again? I drew a map this time so i actually know where to go from my place!
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Yori chuckles, you always were bad with directions. sure we can meet halfway. guess i'll actually have to get up early, bleck
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takana smiles, walking past arakan as he goes back to the couch and plops down, yeah well luckily hikari makes some damn good coffee and tea.
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, seeing Takana's good mood. " well i suppose i'd better get out there."
Yori smiles, good, im gonna need it if im gonna be there all day.
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Takana looks at arakan, "oh! okay. are you... patrolling again tonight or are you finally going to catch some decent sleep?" he glances at his phone long enough to send a simple, 'see you in the morning' text to yori
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Arakan sighs, " i was considering getting some rest. new information that appears correct says we have no threats for the time being, so i can leave the night patrol to a few c ranks. i feel uneasy leaving you two here alone though, so perhaps i ought to patrol anyway."
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Takana shakes his head, "no you should rest. You being exhausted isnt great either. If we had another bed id just tell you to crash here, then you'd sleep and be close for your ease of mind, but we dont and i doubt you'd enjoy this couch."
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Arakan glances at the couch, " while it's not my first choice i'll survive it. i've slept in worse places. i'll probably sleep easier being close at hand if needed anyway."
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takana nods, "alright. sleepover it is. do you need or want a pillow? blanket perhaps?"
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" pillow please. blanket is enjoyed but not needed. i don;t really get cold, it's just a sensation thing." he had expected the other to protest more.
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takana nods and gets up, going to his rooms and grabbing one of his pillows, picking the one he personally brought from home. probably one of the nicest things in this whole building honestly so he hoped arakan would appreciate the egyptian cotton which had mulberry silk knitted into it. the zipper tread was 24 carat gold while the zipper pull had a design in it using sapphire's. it probably was his favorite pillow in the world.
he gave it one good squeeze before going to the living room and holding it out for arakan, "Here. its the pillow i brought from my home so even if you're on a shitty couch this pillow should make up for it."
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Arakan blinks and takes the pillow, looking at it, " is... this a usable pillow? it looks... fancy."
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takana blinks before raising an eyebrow, "Uh, yeah? i use it all the time. it feels incredible to lay on."
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Arakan looks at the zipper, " is...tell me that's just gold colored. this has to just be a gaudy pillow."
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takana blinks, "no? thats 24 carat gold. i mean, its all real. its shaped by a professional head and neck specialist. this pillow has saved my insomnia troubles quite a bit. i know you'll like it."
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Arakan holds it out, " i can;t use this, not if it's that expensive."
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takana raises an eyebrow, "And, realistically, what does it being expensive have anything to do with sleeping on it? i sleep on it all the time."
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Arakan huffs, " because it's yours. that's your choice. if i ruined it, i'd never be able to replace it."
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takana shrugs, "arakan. its also my choice to let you use it. I appreciate the thoughtful concern but if i didnt want it to get ruined then i would have left it behind."
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Arakan sighs, " im not going to get another pillow if i refuse to use this one, am i?"
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takana nods, "you got that right mister."
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Arakan sighs, " very well. go get some sleep, i'll be right out here if something happens." he settles on the couch.
-
takana grins, taking the personal victory before nodding, "if you need anything let me know." he heads to his room for the night
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" i won't." Arakan shakes his head and curls onto his side, getting as comfortable as possible.
-
takana happily goes to bed, curling in for the night.
-
Arakan sleeps lightly, but the pillow is surprisingly comfortable.
-
soon its morning and takana happily gets out of his bed and goes to the kitchen and starts cooking breakfast, picking something a littler meatier since he had arakan to feed
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Arakan has his nose in the pillow, having unconsciously turned to it and taking in the scent. When he hears Takana up he wakes, lifting his head with messier than usual hair and yawning, blinking slowly as he wakes up.
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takana hums happily as he works on making sausages, getting eggs ready as well, his humming slowly building to quiet singing just above a whisper
-
Arakan gets up and makes his way to the kitchen, running a hand through his hair to tame it slightly, " good morning."
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takana squeaks when he hears arakan and he quickly stops singing, his cheeks slightly pink, "Ah- morning! sorry, i didnt wake you, did i?"
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Arakan chuckles, " yes and no, not the singing, i woke as soon as you were up and about."
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takana looks at arakan, his face turning even more red, "Oh god im sorry you actually listened to any of that. Here, as an apology let me get some fresh coffee going for you." takana gives the sausages another quick toss before going over to the coffee pot and starting it up
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Arakan shakes his head, " don;t be sorry, im a guest in your home you may do as you please."
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Takana shakes his head, "friend, guest, or enemy no one deserves to hear me sing. Thats cruel and unusual punishment."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i didn;t mind it."
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Takana snorts, "you just havent woken up yet. Here." He hands arakan some fresh coffee, "have a seat. I gotta get back to the food. " takana brings his focus back on making breakfast.
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Arakan takes the coffee with a snort and decides it wasn't worth arguing about, taking a seat and watching Takana cook.
Izanagi soon gets up and makes his way out to the kitchen and plops at the table in his seat.
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Takana piles two plates of cheesy scrambled eggs, sausages, and some toast before setting them in front of arakan and izanagi with forks, "dig in! "
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Izanagi happily digs in.
Arakan starts eating, enjoying the flavors of the simple dish
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Takana smiles and pulls out his phone, yooooori! Time to get up!
-
Yori groans and looks at his phone, too early... and pulls the covers back over his head.
-
awwwww but yori i am so excited to see you again~!
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Yori groans as his phone buzzes again, looking at it, im excited to see you too, but it's so early...
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Takana snorts, alright sleeping beauty, I'll give ya 10 minutes.
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Arakan looks over at Takana, " you seem cheerful."
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Takana glances up at arakan and nods, "uh yeah. I told my brother that as long as he doesnt act like me he could hang out today so i'm kinda excited to see him."
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Arakan snorts in amusement, " fair enough. he lives outside of the district yes? we'll probably need to go pick him up, make sure the humans aren;t harassing him." he finishes his meal and takes the plate to the sink.
Izanagi had finished his and was leaning back in his chair happily.
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takana shrugs, "Im meeting him halfway. im pretty sure curtis is working today so he'll be fine."
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Arakan curls his lip, face suddenly full of contempt, " i know that guard, he is one of their leaders. He's no better than the rest, i assure you. I've multiple times had to deal with the after effects of him dealing with those demons who leave the district to work."
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takana flinches a little and his ears move back, his face bright red, "Well.... uh...um. then you probably wont like to know that the ex i mentioned yesterday is him..."
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Arakan blinks and then growls, " well now i understand how you have blackmail material on him then. He's scum. We probably ought to meet your brother at the gate, im not sure how he's been getting by before now but even when a demon has the proper paperwork the humans can be cruel."
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takana rubs the back of his neck, "Well- i mean-" he sighs, "i dont know what curtis has done for you to despise him, but my blackmail material has nothing to do with other demons. It actually has everything to do with his then girlfriend slash NOW pregnant wife. "
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Arakan shakes his head, " it's better not to discuss things like that. and i can't say that surprises me. We'll go to the gate to pick your brother up when he arrives. this is not a question or a request."
Yori hears the 10 minute timer go off that he set for himself and groans, getting up and getting ready, wolfing down some breakfast that is made for him.
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takana sighs and nods, not wanting to argue about it before going back to his phone, hey uh. change in plans, i'll be meeting you at the gate instead
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Yori blinks as he looks at his phone, okay? im just getting my stuff ready and heading out now. it'll take me a little bit since i have the driver drop me off at a store a few blocks away.
-
takana nods, okay, we'll head out in a bit then since the walk for us will be a hot minute
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Izanagi sighs happily, full from breakfast.
Arakan sits back down, tense.
Yori gets in the car and directs the driver, he supposed he's have to put his ears and stuff on before he went to the gate so that any demons with Takana wouldn;t see him without them
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after a little while takana checks the time before nodding, "im gonna head out now."
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Arakan gets up, " alright."
Izanagi looks over, " you want me to come with?"
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takana shrugs, "If you want to, its totally up to you. I figure with arakan following me i shouldnt get lost."
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Izanagi nods, " mkay, i think i'll stay if it's the same to you."
Arakan shrugs, " he's not the one i need to keep an eye on so fine by me." he heads for the door.
Yori gets out of the car and starts heading the few blocks to the gate, putting his 'collar' and ears on.
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takana heads out of the apartment and check a piece of paper that has a scribbled mess of a map on it before nodding and heading towards the gates
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Arakan hangs back slightly, letting the other lead. He'd correct him if he went the wrong way, but since he seems to have issues with directions he'd let the other try and learn it himself.
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Takana checks his map every so often just to make sure he was still going the right way, despite not having many turns to even take, you could never be too careful. He is able to carefully lead them to the gates and he takes this as a small victory, smiling when he sees the familiar entry way
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Yori reaches the gate around the same time, " i'd like to go in please."
Arakan puts a hand on Takana's shoulder when they get within sight, clearly tense and serious now.
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curtis sees yori and he sighs, "Kid, one of these days you're going to get in trouble, you know that right?"
Takana smiles when he sees yori and he's about to run over until he felt arakan's hand on his shoulder
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Yori shrugs, " im not going to let it stop me from seeing Takana. so are you letting me by or what?"
Arakan nods, " we'll step in if things get dicey, seems like their focus is on your brother at the moment."
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takana sighs, "Curtis is just probably being Curtis. it'll be okay."
Curtis sighs and shakes his head, "Your funeral." he goes to his station and holds out a small blue ticket to yori, "Here, in case im not around when you come back. It lets you through, no questions asked."
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Yori takes it and nods, " alright. thanks." he walks through.
Arakan walks up to meet Yori as soon as he comes in, " so you're Takana's brother then." he glances at Curtis.
Yori freezes when Arakan walks up, oh shit this guy has friggen horns! well, that other dude apparently had antlers, but still!
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Takana smiles and quickly hugs his brother, "Yori~! I missed you so much~"
Curtis looks over and flinches when he sees arakan, "Ah its that bastard. welp. those two are dead." he glares a bit before sighing and going back to his work
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Yori starts and hugs Takana back, " i miss you so much."
Arakan gives Curtis a glare before carefully ushering the two boys away from the gate.
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takana takes yori's hand as he starts to head back to the apartments, "I cant wait to make you ramen like i used to."
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Yori grins, " your ramen is the best, this is gonna be so good!"
Arakan walks a bit behind them to give them more privacy once they're away from the gate.
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Takana nods, "well it'll never be good as ma's but i think i got as close as possible. She always filled hers with so much love."
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Yori smiles, " im sorry i never got to meet your mom, she sounds like such an awesome person."
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Takana shrugs, "is what it is unfortunately. But i know she would have loved you. She had a huge heart and told me that she wasn't even mad at our dad for what happened, as long as he was being honest with himself. I don't think she had a mean bone in her body. "
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Yori nods and walks next to Takana quietly.
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takana's ears flick a bit before he glances at yori, "You okay?"
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Yori sighs, " yeah, it's just a lot. i've been really worried about you. and..." he leans in to whisper, " the guy behind us has HORNS."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "and?"
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Yori blinks, " so that's just... normal... okay."
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Takana shrugs, "I wouldnt say... normal. but its about as normal as eye color or whether your body produces more sweat than other people."
-
Yori looks sideways at Takana, " yeah, sure. we seriously need to get you to see a shrink, this place is screwing with your mind."
-
takana sighs, "I also just had been raised a few years by my mom and i still have her lessons instilled in me."
-
Yori nudges Takana gently, " that doesn;t mean you gotta throw yourself into the lions den. you tell me it's not safe for me to be here with you, but it's safe for you to be here alone?"
-
takana shrugs, "I was desperate at the time. besides i'm getting the hang out of this place. a lot of things still upset me but thats just because things happen that i dont find fair."
-
Yori sighs, " you shouldn't have to 'get the hang of it'. i have enough that i can pay for an apartment for you for a few months easy, then you'll be safe and i can see you more often."
-
takana frowns and blinks, "Along with a security deposit? you never rented an apartment before so do you know about security deposits?"
-
Yori huffs, " i have a few thousand put away, i think it'll cover it."
-
Takana sighs, "well im not done here. but once i am i will let you know and we can get that set up."
-
Yori tilts his head, " 'done?' what on earth are you doing?"
-
Takana reaches their apartment and huffs, "just- you might understand when you've been here a while, okay?"
-
Yori makes a disgruntled noise, " i don't understand. there's no good reason for you to risk yourself."
Arakan sits on the couch, pretending to not hear any of the conversation.
-
takana sighs, "Look, had this been an option a couple of weeks ago I would have taken you on your offer and bailed but currently there are some things here that are bothering me and you know how i am. once i have questions i become a stubborn little gremlin until i get an answer that satisfies me. So, until my life is actually in danger I'm sticking around."
-
Yori makes an unhappy noise, " but your life IS in danger. these guys could kill you in a moment and you'd never have a chance to get out! what's so important you're willing to risk yourself for anyway?"
-
Takana sighs, "because I have been experiencing the complete opposite of what we were taught. I dont appreciate being lied to. A trait from my mother if you will."
-
Yori groans, " im not going to be able to convince you to leave until you've gotten things as you please, am i? you're gonna get yourself killed and my only brother is gonna be an asshole." he pouts.
-
takana chuckles, "Yeah makoto honestly could suck a bag of dicks. no lie, he is like, 10 percent the reason why i dont want to go back."
-
Yori whines, " so don;t leave me alone with him! i need at least one decent relative."
-
takana's ears lower slightly and he sighs, "I'm sorry. i know im being an ass about leaving but please trust me when i say i gotta stay. I promise i'll make it up to you."
-
Yori sighs, " fine... you're gonna give me white hair worrying about you."
-
takana snorts and gently nudges yori, "I think you'd look good with white hair~"
-
Yori gently shoves at him, " that's not the issue and you know it! besides,i don;t care what my hair looks like, it's not like im trying to impress anyone."
-
takana shrugs, "i think you worry too much. nothing is going to happen to me, i promise."
-
Yori sighs, " if you say so... but i just have a bad feeling you're in over your head. all the history books say how dangerous and aggressive demons are, especially high ranked ones. that's why we have guards making sure they don't go crazy. and the collars to keep them controlled."
-
Takana huffs, "that is what we were told, yes, however I have seen things with my own eyes that counter that information." he keeps his voice low for the next sentence, "And i would like to remind you to keep these comments to yourself as long as you are in the same room with your own kind." He didnt want to have a harsh tone towards yori but damn it arakan was RIGHT in the living room!
-
Yori winces and his eyes dart towards where the other is sitting. He'd forgotten the demon was even there, he was so quiet." um, should we go in your room so we don;t uh, bother him?"
Arakan keeps his eyes on his phone, still pretending he wasn;t hearing all of it. Takana behaved as if demons were not his own kind, so it didn;t surprise him that his brother behaved similarly. it was something to note however.
-
Takana sighs, "I suppose if it helps get your thoughts out but remember you promised me to be on your best behavior in the cafe so once you're in there you cant keep saying this stuff out loud."
-
Yori nods, " you'll probably be too busy working to pay me much mind anyway."
-
takana takes yori's hand before taking him to his room and closing the door, "yeah but there are demons also there so you need to not do anything to cause attention to yourself. I can bring my laptop and earbuds and you can just play while im at work. be nice to my co-workers as well. they are all E rank and are just as useless as humans. no powers whatsoever, with or without the collars."
-
Yori nods, " sorry. i wouldn;t say stuff like that to a demon though, i just... forgot he was there."
-
takana sighs and grabs his laptop, "Well hopefully this will entertain you enough while im at work. there was some extra pieces in my toolbox so I soldered some things together and connected some wires and made a little usb hot spot. just plug this in to the laptop and it has internet." he holds up a small, open faced usb
-
Yori smiles, " you can do such fancy things. i should be able to keep myself amused."
-
takana nods, "Alright. and this isnt that fancy. just some electrical work. i'd be excited if i could get my hands on a microwave or something."
-
Yori sighs, " i mean i could probably get you one, but who knows how much grouchy would charge me to let me bring it here."
-
takana shakes his head, "dont do that, its fine. "
-
Yori nods, " alright... well if you leave here you can get all the stuff to tinker with you want." he chuckles.
-
takana nods, "And i will, in time. for now im learning to be grateful for what i have."
-
Yori blows a raspberry, " you're just making excuses to stay. did you meet someone? is that it? it wouldn't work..."
-
Takana bristles a bit and huffs, "what the hell kind of question is that? Seriously. Dont even joke about things like that man."
-
Yori crosses his arms, " i doubt your reason for wanting to stay is actually because you want to change things here, that's insane."
-
takana sighs, "Then doubt all you want, its not going to change what i want to do here."
-
Yori groans, " you're on a wild goose chase, things are the way they are for a reason! come home please? i really do worry about you... i never told isabelle where you are because i know she'd be worried sick."
-
takana's ears flick again as he starts to get annoyed, "Yori. Enough. You didnt see what I saw, okay? I dont want to keep having this back and forth with you."
-
Yori looks away and crosses his arms, upset. what was so wrong with him wanting his brother to be safe?
-
takana rubs the back of his head and looks away, half looking guilty and half looking frustrated. he wasnt sure how he was supposed to get it through yori's head that he was currently fine. maybe.... seeing him was a bad idea after all. "Yori.... are you going to act this way every time we see each other?"
-
Yori sighs, " i don't know. i just want you home where it's safe... you don;t have anything to prove, i just want my brother back..."
-
Takana sighs, "You didnt lose me yori. im right here, you can text and call me all you want. Its not like i've been in the house with you for a long time and then i left, I moved out and had been living in the apartment before."
-
Yori shakes his head, " but you only have that cell phone because i hunted you down. you're in danger every day here and what if you leave again? if you go someplace else i don;t know if i'd be able to find you again. I want to move here with you, then i can make sure you don;t vanish on me again."
-
takana huffs, "you're the one more in danger here than i am. i've been able to blend in perfectly thanks to my ears and i dont freak out at every other demon that shows up"
-
Yori huffs, " i'll get used to it and stop getting nervous. and i could get some of those ear thingies i bet."
-
Takana sighs, "i dont know where you can get them unless you want to talk to a demon. literally. aside from izanagi who has been amazing and keeping a lot of things a secret for my sake, nikiri is the only other demon who knows im human and he's the one who gave them to me."
-
Yori perks, " Nikiri? i think i met him, he's the one that helped me find you."
-
Takana blinks before frowning, "when did you meet him? he's been pretty badly injured and only just started moving around recently."
-
" the day i found you. one of his sisters i think brought me to him and he answered my questions." Yori gets comfy sitting.
-
Takana nods, "Got it. Yeah nikiri is weird but he is a good guy. He's saved my ass multiple times, not only with the ears but also keeping my smart mouth from running."
-
Yori blinks and nods, " he seemed kind of scary at first, but then i was freaked at everything. he was helpful though, im glad i ran into his sister."
-
takana nods, " as long as you dont mess with his sisters you're fine with him. he apparently takes his role as older brother very seriously."
-
Yori snorts, " i think his sisters are more of a threat to me than i am to them."
-
Takana shrugs, "its not like they have any actual abilities. at most the okuya family are translators from humans, thats it."
-
Yori shrugs, " i mean that chick that was leaping over buildings carrying me can do a heck of a lot more than i can."
-
takana raises an eyebrow, " and humans having weapons can do a whole lot more than her."
-
Yori snorts, " but they have to have weapons. she can do it just being her. even if i had a knife i wouldn't count on winning."
-
"Yeah fat load jumping did for her. Humans still won the war despite their powers."
-
Yori frowns, " but that's because w-... they had to use armies and lots of weapons. the books say the demons had to be outnumbered."
-
Takana sighs, "we read history books that were made from the side of the winner so of course there is bias. I have a book made from the demons perspective and I have been writing notes of things that actually match up. I want to know what happened. I want the truth. "
-
Yori blinks, " but you can do that from home just as easily as from here. take the book with."
-
Takana bristles, "I- Im not gonna take probably the one book they have of their history. thats stealing."
-
Yori snorts, " we can always bring it back when you're done. obviously they're not using it right now if you have it. you'll probably even be able to be done with it sooner if you leave since you won;t be working here anymore."
-
"Yori. I already told you. It's enough. I'll come home when I come home. "
-
Yori huffs softly, " well then i want to move here."
-
Takana glares, "absolutely not."
-
Yori glares back, " and who says i need your permission? maybe i'll just go ahead and find an apartment here for myself."
-
"Yori i dont like telling you what to do and I dont WANT to but you would need to turn your attitude a complete 180 before I would feel comfortable with you living in the demon district. And im not about to have this discussion with you right before my shift for work."
-
Yori's eyes narrow but he doesn't respond. he was tired of being treated like a kid, and he wasn't about to let Takana boss him around like everyone else did. he couldn't stop him if he wanted to move here, and he wasn't going to leave Takana here alone. He jsut sits silently, not continuing the argument.
-
Takana sighs when yori doesnt talk back and his ears droop, "Thank you. I hate having to act like the bad guy but I just dont think you'd take to their weird laws. Hell even im not getting the hang of it but I just need to worry about me so its fine. but if you were here then i'd be stressed the fuck out especially since nikiri isnt babysitting me anymore."
-
Yori looks away, " you don;t need to worry. i can take care of myself. i've had to deal with everything after you left so i've got it under control."
-
Takana sighs, "this is nothing like being home though...E rank demons are basically at the bottom of the food chain here. this isnt a place where if you want to respect someone they need to respect you first thing. if a demon of a higher rank tells you what to do you do it and thats that. whether its for your own good or not, or if they have a nasty attitude about it you cant just tell them to fuck off and eat shit like when your mom tells me to do something or makoto with you. Or even me right now, telling you not to live here. If arakan came in here right now and demanded that I did 100 sit ups I'd HAVE to do it. He wont, because he's not a dick as long as he's not in the public eye, but he's a high rank and no one would bat an eye for him to demand something unreasonable."
-
Yori blinks, " that's not right. why would you want to stay here if you have to do whatever that guy says? no wonder they keep them locked away..."
-
takana gives an exasperated sigh, "because the higher rank you are the stronger you are so for them this is normal. and this district isnt so bad because they dont really abuse that whole rank thing. they think its weird that we would just respect someone for no reason. and he only really ordered me around one time and that was to make sure I was safe. other than that he just makes sure we're all safe. we had a scare of a demon from a different district being here illegally and he was so concerned about us that he's been walking us home, and THEN staying up all night patrolling to catch them."
-
Yori blinks, " i thought you said it was safe? it's weird that they just let a few people boss them around, though i guess if they're the strongest that kind of makes sense. So that guy in the living room, is that the Arakan guy? so is he really high rank or something?"
-
Takana nods, "apparently a demon just coming into their district without permission is rare which is why arakan took it so seriously, otherwise yeah they place is typically safe. And uh...well.... arakans dad is like, the leader of this district. So... i guess... eventually arakan will be the leader as well."
-
Yori's eyes widen, " so....that guy sitting out in the living room, is pretty much like one of the strongest demons in the district? and he can just order us to do whatever and that's okay with you?"
-
Takana shrugs, "he hasnt really abused that power so as for now, yeah. "
-
Yori frowns and sighs, " that's... a lot to digest."
-
Takana sighs, "he's been nice to me so it hasnt been as bad as you think. Ah but i know its only because he thinks im a demon."
-
Yori hums, " well as long as he thinks the same of me i should be fine. i've always been less likely to get people pissed off at me than you." he grins.
-
Takana pouts, "well as long as you don't say that stuff out loud then you should be fine. Oh and your last name is Kuro. We cant mention our full last name for obvious reasons."
-
Yori blinks and nods, " well yeah, and alright. i guess that makes sense."
-
Takana sighs, "what a mess. If only our family wasnt... the way it is."
-
Yori snorts, " if i had a dime for every time i had that thought."
-
Takana snorts and grins, "honestly if you did we'd be a lot closer to just owning our own house instead of renting. "
-
Yori nods, " right? we could have a mansion anywhere we wanted with that kind of cash." he chuckles.
-
Takana chuckles, "Maybe even have our own yacht too."
-
" at least one." Yori grins.
-
takana shakes his head before glancing at his phone, "Ah. we should probably get going..."
-
Yori nods, " alright. i guess we're doing this then. want me to carry the laptop since im gonna be using it?"
-
takana nods and puts the laptop in its carrying bag before holding it for yori to take
-
Yori slings the bag over his shoulder.
Izanagi knocks on Takana's door, " you two gonna come? we should get going."
-
Takana goes over to the door and opens it, "yeah we were just getting ready. Let's go yori." He smiles at yori before heading out
-
Yori nods and follows.
Izanagi hums with his bag over his back, " lets go then~"
Arakan sighs and gets up off the couch.
-
Takana grins at everyone following him as they head to work, "we've got quite the convoy going on here~"
-
Arakan snorts, " well if he's anything like you, i'll have my hands full dealing with two troublemakers now."
-
Takana chuckles, "well he has some stuff to occupy himself with so he should be good."
-
" i'll believe it when i see it." he looks at all three of them before walking towards the cafe, leaving it at that.
Izanagi snickers, " so serious. aaaanyway... so, got any good dirt for me? like did your brother tell you that he's totally got a crush on the ice prince up there?" he looks at Yori.
Yori blushes, " wh-what?!"
-
Takana bristles and huffs, "dont start spreading lies just because you're bored." He looks at yori, "i was nice to him one time and now izanagi thinks that means i like the guy. Dont buy into what nagi says. Half the time he's bored and wants to start rumors."
-
Izanagi pouts, " it's so not a lie, you got seriously feral when i tried to snuggle with his jacket. he attacked me to get it!"
Yori shakes his head, " i seriously have no idea what's going on here."
-
takana snarls, "I know how you are izanagi. i dont trust you with someone's property that wasnt directly given to you."
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " the hell did you think i was going to do to it? hump it? seriously."
-
takana snorts, "you havent really done anything to prove me that you wouldnt."
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " wow, rude much? just because i enjoy his scent and might jerk off to it doesn;t mean i'd hump it and risk staining it. that's totally going overboard."
Yori turns bright red.
-
takana chokes softly, "you would probably stain it if you jerked off to it!! jeeze! that doesnt make me feel any better!"
-
Izanagi snorts, " dude it's called using a tissue? you know, to keep it from getting everywhere? i might live in a shit hole but i don;t want stains all over the place, and i also don;t want to have to change my sheets every time i need some relief. come on, ew. can you imagine rolling over onto a random ass wet spot you missed? yuck."
-
Takana turns bright red, "Oh gods stop talking, please. why are you like this?"
-
Izanagi huffs, " you're the one that thinks i just spray all over my damn room. remind me never to borrow your bed. gross."
-
takana huffs, "when EXACTLY did i say that? I didnt want you to have the jacket in case you were going to use it for masturbation and you proved me right. that is as far as that conversation went. everything else has been added to this conversation came directly from your mouth. Also, you cant assume my bed would be in that same disarray since you also think im such a prude. both of those things contradict themselves."
-
Izanagi snorts, " you assumed i'd stain the jacket if i jerked off. why does it matter to you what i did with the jacket anyway? unless you're being possessive of it's owner."
-
"I would have assumed you would sleep on it and drooled. and im only thinking of the fact that ANYONE would probably be grossed out about that. Im supposed to respect the person that the coat belongs to yeah? Then of course I would want something thats his to not be used like that without his permission. "
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " oh please. what are you, the jacket protection patrol?"
Arakan reaches the cafe, " alright, enough bickering, you're at work now, so everyone inside." he holds the doors open.
-
Takana chuckles, "well maybe? Who knows, arakan's coat was the only coat i could protect. Gimmie another coat to try. "
He enters the cafe.
Mina smiles at takana, "mooooooornin! Hey hey takana i have a question! "
-
Izanagi heads into the back and changes into his maid outfit.
Yori settles himself at an out of the way table and settles onto the laptop.
Arakan sits a little ways away, studying Yori and considering the opportunity to talk to him about the situation outside of the demon district.
-
Takana goes over to mina, "what do you want?"
Mina flutters her eyelashes, "i was just wondering if I could take some of that tasty ramen home for dinner~ my parents are going to be out tonight and i want something tasty~"
Takana raises an eyebrow, "you dont have to ask me, you could just put an order in."
Mina pouts, "i spent my money on some new bras...."
Takana snorts, "well thats not my problem. Nor am i making you free food."
Mina whines softly, "well then maybe you could pay for my bowl? I'll pay you back~ besides it's not that expensive and you don't look like someone who spends money to improve your appearance."
Takana pats mina on the shoulder before smiling, "you're right. Its NOT that expensive. Good luck!" He goes to the kitchen to get ready.
Mina blinks before huffing, "how cruel. He honestly wants to see me starve?"
Kaeru looks at mina, "um im sure you could just eat other food in your house? "
Mina sinks her body against a table she was wiping down, "....well yeah but it's food i have to cook first. Im like, soooooo bad at cooking. "
-
Arakan snorts softly in amusement at the exchange.
Yori has earbuds in and is watching a video, not paying attention.
Izanagi flounces out in a tiny poofy skirt and starts working on setting things up.
-
kaeru frowns, "well i suppose if takana makes you free food then he'll get in trouble right? it would make sense that he would say no."
Mina sighs loudly, "i said id pay him back."
Kaeru tilts her head, "Yeah but then you kinda insulted him."
Mina pouts, "Nooooo its just fact! i get dresses and make ups and us girls just buy a lot of things to make us look good. he shows up in sweatpants and stays in the back."
Kaeru blinks, "Make up? I have never bought make up before."
Mina blinks, "You're kidding me. right? your skin is perfect and you're telling me thats not make up?"
Kaeru chirps and smiles, "I'm an amphibian mina. my skin has to be naturally smooth in order to help me breathe!"
Mina recoils a bit, "I..... am not going to continue this conversation. not right before we open."
-
Izanagi laughs as he hears that exchange, " as amusing as this is, you two need to help me get this all ready."
-
Kaeru squeaks and blushes before nodding at izanagi, "Ah! so-sorry!" she quickly goes back to getting the store ready to open
Mina sighs and nods, "Ah. yeah you're right." She goes to help as well
-
Izanagi snorts, " amateurs." and flounces around, finishing up.
The manager goes and opens the doors to open the shop.
-
Takana finishes getting the kitchen opened up and ready for orders.
The girls quickly start taking orders
-
Arakan gets a coffee when he can flag down one of the girls, settling in for a long day.
-
after a short while of working kaeru nervously approaches izanagi, "Um. nagi? who-who is that boy that came in with you guys? he's just been sitting there."
-
Izanagi blinks, " oh, that's Takana's brother. don't worry, he's just here to spend some time with Takana, so he's gonna stick around while takana works."
-
Kaeru blinks, "Oh. okay. i didnt know takana had a brother."
-
Izanagi nods, " yup. Yori is his little brother. I think he's mostly just gonna chill on that laptop so you can pretty much just ignore him. He's cute, pity he's too fem for my tastes." he shrugs.
-
kaeru nods before sighing, "Yeah i guess he does have some looks to him. ah but i just hope he knows to order something if he gets hungry or thirsty. id hate for him to be hungry or thirsty for the whole day."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " im sure he can manage. i know takana planned to get him some lunch so there's that anyway."
-
kaeru blinks before nodding, "Alright. thats comforting. thanks for the info. I would have felt bad if we uh... kinda ignored him not knowing he was a customer and not a friend waiting for someone."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah i get that. and i get that someone just sitting there forever is kinda creepy too, he's harmless though."
-
Soon more demons come in to get food.
Kaeru sees the new crowd of people and hums, "talk time is over for now. Thanks again nagi!" She goes to a table to get their order
-
" yup!" Izanagi flounces over to the customers to take care of them.
-
the day progresses well and around lunch time takana has some ramen set aside, made how yori likes it and he peaks out from around the kitchen to see what server was close since it was certainly too busy for him to leave his post
-
Yori was getting hungry and thirsty at that point and sees Takana peeking out, getting up and going over, " i uh... is it too much bother for me to get something to drink?"
-
Takana perks when he sees yori and smiles, "Yori, order whatever you want to drink. i'll pay it at the end of the day. oh and here." He grabs the bowl and fork and hands the ramen to yori, "I already paid for this and made it for you so take this to your table and wave down one of the servers for a drink. I'd figure something out for you myself if i could but its kinda busy so i gotta leave it up to you."
-
Yori blinks and takes the bowl, " oh, thanks. you're the best!" he goes back to his table and watches for one of the servers to be not busy, trying to subtly get one of their attention.
-
Kaeru, since she had already been vigilant of yori earlier, notices him looking around at his table and when she sees the food she wonders if he needs something so she hesitantly walks over, "He-hello. Is there anything I can um, get for you?"
-
Yori smiles at her, " um, if it's not too much to ask can i get some coffee and a water? if you're busy though don;t worry about it."
-
Kaeru nods, "of course! " she goes over to hikari to put the order in, and after a few minutes she comes back with a small tray, first setting down the glass of water, then a mug of coffee and then a small bowl that has assorted single use creamers, a stir stick, and packets of sugar just in case, "here you are sir. Is there anything else i can get for you today? "
-
Yori waves a hand quickly, " ah no, thank you. i've already pestered you enough." he smiles and puts cream and sugar into his coffee, tasting it and quickly putting more in to cover the taste of the coffee. it was not his usual high quality stuff he got at home, that was for sure. not that he was gonna say anything. he starts eating the ramen and sighs happily, Takana's cooking was always so good!
-
Kaeru nods, "well just let me know if you do need anything, you're also a customer just like everyone else!" She smiles and goes to check on her other table
-
" i don;t want to be a bother." Yori rubs the back of his neck, abashed.
-
After a little while longer nikiri enters the cafe and hums happily now that he doesnt have luna and summer hovering over him. he happily takes a seat in his usual spot, knowing izanagi will see him soon
-
Izangi spots Nikiri and flounces over, " what can i get for you handsome~?"
-
nikiri hums and licks his lips, "ah i suppose some nice hot chai would be lovely~"
-
" coming right up~!" He grins, " makes me wish my name was Chai~" he goes to Hikari to get the drink.
-
hikari makes a face at izanagi at his last comment, "if your name was chai then i'd never make another one again." she quickly gets the mug of tea on the counter
-
Izanagi smirks and winks at her before taking the mug and taking it over to set it in front of Nikiri, " Here we are, something delicious. ant the tea isn't too bad either~"
-
Nikiri hums, "Something delicious you say? But i never saw you on the menu~"
-
Izanagi chuckles and plops onto his lap for a moment, " it's our secret menu, special customers only~"
-
nikiri hums playfully, "Well are you still available to order when the cafe closes for the day? My happy hour starts particularly late."
-
Izanagi grins, " im open for orders for you anytime~"
The manager pokes out around the corner, " Izanagi!"
Izanagi quickly gets up, " whoops, busted!" he hurries off to take care of customers.
-
Nikiri chuckles as he watches izanagi leave before his eyes land on yori, a few tables away. He wondered if all of the kuroshiba family lacked the common sense.
-
Yori was finishing up his ramen and pushes the bowl aside, taking a drink of water and putting his ears buds in, eyes on the laptop. He was doing his best to keep a low profile and try to not be noticed, so he kept his attention on his laptop.
-
after a few more hours it gets close to closing time and the cafe finally starts quieting down
Mina takes the chance to sit down, the first time she has sat all day. it wouldnt be for long but she just needed two minutes. it was a busy day today
-
Izanagi makes his way over to sit on Nikiri's lap again now that it's calmer and he can take a minute, " so, is that order you wanted a promise~?"
-
nikiri chuckles, "well of course. im feeling much better today if you didnt notice. no sisters today."
-
Izanagi smirks, " well i'll make sure that order is hot and ready to go then~"
Yori blushes as he overhears all this.
-
nikiri snorts, "Well then I better get it 30 minutes or less or else its free."
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Izanagi snorts, " for you? always free~"
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nikiri chuckles and kisses izanagi's forehead, "Why dont you go back to your job okay? i'll be right here waiting for you~"
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Izanagi blinks and blushes a bit at the affection before he gets up and gets to work.
Yori shakes his head but declines to comment.
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nikiri goes back to watching the people in the cafe, paying particular mind to yori
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Yori glances up and notices Nikiri staring at him, looking behind him to make sure it's him that's being stared at before ducking behind the laptop. why was he staring at him?
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nikiri grins when yori finally notices him. ah it had been so long since he could actively tease anyone. made him feel better despite still having nubs on his head
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Yori glances up now and then, progressively getting more nervous and redder each time he sees Nikiri watching him. what the heck was going on!?
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nikiri is content with the amount of staring he's been doing and stops, giving yori a break to 'cool down', going back to what he was doing
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Yori slumps down to hide behind his laptop, relieved that the other finally stopped staring at him.
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nikiri goes back to texting on his phone
soon its closing time and takana starts cleaning up
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Izanagi hurries through his clean up and rushes back over to plop into Nikiri's lap once he's done.
Arakan gets up and stretches before looking at Nikiri, " are you taking him home then?"
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Nikiri looks over at arakan, "My home. yes."
Takana finishes up and goes over to hikari who is working the till and hands her payment for the tab he opened for yori, "Thanks hikari."
Hikari snorts, "No need to thank me. you paid."
Takana nods, "This is true."
Hikari finishes counting the till before taking it out of the register and bringing it into the manager's office.
Takana goes over to yori, "Hey im all done. did everything go okay? you okay?"
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Arakan nods, " yes. i'd better get the other two to where they need to be. have fun."
Yori glances over at Nikiri, " he kept staring at me... it was creepy. but otherwise i just kinda kept to myself."
the manager takes the till and deal with the things she needs to do to close up.
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takana blinks and frowns before looking over at nikiri, "Oh. yeah he does that. he is kind of a.... i wouldnt say bully but he definitely likes to tease. but its probably just to get a reaction out of you. you're okay."
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Yori blinks, " alright..." he packs up the laptop and gets ready to go, " so i guess i should head to the gates huh?"
Izanagi grins at Nikiri, " ah it's been way too long im so looking forward to tonight!"
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takana looks at izanagi and frowns a little, his ears drooping when he hears he'll be alone again tonight. he blinks when he thinks he hears his brother and he looks at him, "What? sorry i spaced out."
Nikiri picks izanagi up, bridal style and smirks, "How I longed to hold you like this~"
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Yori blinks, " uh, you okay? i was saying i should head for the gates."
Izanagi squeaks and laughs, " can't say im complaining~"
Arakan rolls his eyes, " get a room. alright lets go." he heads for the door.
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takana blinks and frowns some more, "Oh. yeah. right. that would probably be for the best."
Nikiri carries izanagi out of the cafe, heading to his place. he was definitely planning on getting a room regardless~
takana sighs and goes over to arakan, ready to leave.
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Yori frowns and follows, " are you okay?"
Arakan sighs and looks at them, " the gates or the apartment?"
Izanagi kicks his feet happily as he's carried.
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Takana sighs and looks at yori, forcing out a smile, "Im fine. I just... need to find something to do." he glances at arakan, "The gates.... yori needs to go home..." He looks back at yori, "Seems like nagi will be out tonight so i'll be alone. Im not quite used to it yet."
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Yori frowns, " i could stay the night if you wanted."
Arakan waits patiently for them to decide, " it's not like i'd leave you there alone regardless."
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takana looks between arakan and yori, unsure of his own answer, "um...i'm not sure. do either of you two even want to hang around me tonight?"
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i would have anyway. it's my job to make sure you're safe, i have no intention of slacking off when my father gave me that job. if he wishes to stay, i'll watch over you both."
Yori looks at Takana, " if you want me to stay tonight i can. i'll just tell them i slept over at a friends."
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takana's ears twitch before he perks up and grins, "A sleepover wouldnt be a bad idea. I could make some pizza!"
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Yori chuckles, " sounds good to me!"
Arakan heads for the apartment, " apartment it is then. though actually i may take us to my place to get some extra bedding. there's one one couch and i doubt you want to sleep in Izanagi's bed."
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Takana looks up at arakan, "your place?" That sounded....intimidating even if it was just for bedding
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " indeed, my home, my place of dwelling, where i live. where we can get some extra bedding to make sure your brother will have something to sleep on."
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Takana's ears flatten against his head and he nods, "alright but... no one tell izanagi. He gets bored way too easily and will turn this into such a big deal and i dont wanna deal with that headache."
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Arakan chuckles, " can do. good thing he's going to be well occupied tonight, he'll give you a break after Nikiri has worn him out." he changes direction and starts heading towards an area of the district that's new.
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Takana reaches over to yori's hand, gently holding it as he follows arakan
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Yori gladly takes Takana's hand and squeezes it gently.
Soon they arrive at a large building, huge and well made by the standards here, but would look somewhat run down in a rich neighborhood outside of the district. Arakan heads in and gestures to a few couches in a room off the entryway, " i'll be right back."
A woman in a blue and white kimono walks over, smiling at Arakan, " oh? guests?" she looks at Yori and Takana and blinks before carefully schooling her expression.
Arakan kisses her on the cheek, " just for a moment mother, we'll be leaving in a bit. excuse me." he leaves.
She waits until he's gone before going closer, " now, im going to assume one of you is the one that has my boys in such a tizzy. And im also going to assume that neither of them has any idea of your... true nature hm? Don't worry, i'll keep it to myself, unless you threaten our home or my family."
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Takana's eyes widen at the very beautiful and intimidating woman before his ears twitch and quickly flatten back against his head as he considers her words very carefully. She knew they were human but wasnt going to say anything? For now at least which was... relieving. He wasnt here to purposefully cause harm to the family of course. Although he wasnt sure about the first thing she mentioned, "um... t-tizzy, ma'am? Im afraid i dont understand what you mean..."
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She hums, " you don;t need to look as if im about to eat you, so long as you're not here to make trouble, i could be a great ally. As for that...i know my husband is worried about some potential demon breeding experiment that involved you, and has a watch on you. My son has taken his concern personally and has been spending a great deal of time ensuring your safety. now, i wouldn;t put it past them to be doing such a thing, so looking into it does little harm, but i do hate to see my boys so stressed. not to mention this thing with those demons from our neighbors. what a boorish little brat they have to behave such a way." she waves a hand, " regardless, im glad i met you, something seemed off, i just didn't know what until i saw you."
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Takana gives a hesitant nod, "I dont wish to cause any trouble, or... at least anymore than I probably already have. Im sorry to cause them stress, i try my best to make sure arakan is still taking care of his health in the small ways that i can. i felt bad that he was constantly on patrol when he was looking for anymore demons from the other district."
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She nods, " well he was doing as he ought, he'll be a good leader some day. you just stay out of trouble and you can come to me if you need anything. im one of the heads of medical here so you can make up an excuse if need be." she lifts a finger to her lips and a minute later Arakan walks over with a dufflebag stuffed full.
" alright, a bedroll and some other stuff. take care mother." he places a kiss on her cheek before heading for the door.
She smiles, " take care of yourself!"
-
takana blinks when she had put a finger to her lips but he doesnt say anything until arakan shows up. he turns to follow arakan glancing back at her and mouths a silent, 'thank you'
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She gives him a serene smile and waves with her fingers, amused.
Yori follows after, not really getting all that just happened.
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Takana hums as he looks up at arakan, "have you had pizza before arakan? Homemade? "
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" pizza yes, homemade, no." he glances at Takana, " i presume you are implying that is also something you make?"
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Takana nods, "of course. Im thinking some pizza and a movie sounds good tonight. I have a few lenses and wires in my toolbox so i could make a projector and connect it to my laptop and aim it at the big blank wall in the living room and since it has its hotspot already we can watch whatever is on the internet. I think that is the best way to end tonight, dontcha think?"
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Arakan blinks and nods, " interesting. do we need to stop by the shops for you to get supplies?"
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Takana hums, "well, we have everything for a basic cheese pizza so i guess it depends if you want something specific."
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Arakan waves a hand dismissively, " im good with whatever. "
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takana nods, "Then we'll just head home. which is fine. gives me more time to work on the projector."
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Arakan nods, " whatever." he leads the way to the apartment, making sure the two brothers are in safely before settling on the bed.
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takana gets inside and quickly starts working on the pizza, "once the pizza is baking i'll focus n the electronics. unless someone else knows how to make pizza dough."
-
Arakan chuckles, " nope."
Yori shrugs, " i mean i've watched you make it. i could try? i don;t remember the exact measurements."
-
Takana chuckles and shakes his head, "Its okay yori. I got it~" takana keeps working on the pizza
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He shrugs at sits at the table, going back on the laptop to amuse himself.
Arakan looks at his phone, reading texts and sending out orders.
-
Takana gets the pizza into the oven and sets a timer before going to his room and grabbing his red toolbox and bringing it over to the table and opens it up. he puts on a pair of magnifying glasses and some circuit boards and starts fiddling with wires
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Yori watches curiously.
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He solders a few wires together before rummaging through his tool box and pulling out some trash glasses that he found one day and pops one of the lenses out of the frames and starts patching some things together with a laser lens from a dismantled disk reader, "okay, lets see."
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Yori blinks and watches intently.
Arakan sighs, rubbing his temple as he reads reports.
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After a few more minutes takana reaches over and grabs his laptop and plugs in the little device via a usb port before gently clipping the lenses over the laptops built in camera.
Within seconds light shines from the laptop's camera and its enhanced quickly from the projectors lenses and takana quickly ducks so the light doesnt hit him dead on.
"Okay, now we just need to find something to watch."
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Arakan looks up and blinks, " impressive."
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Takana chuckles, "Thanks. What movie we want to watch? If no one picks something Im gonna pick something silly."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " how the hell should i know what's out there?"
Yori hums, " lemme think, maybe rise of the guardians?"
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Takana nods and loads up the movie before picking up his laptop and going over to the living room. He makes sure his battery is plugged in and that the projector has a clear shot of the wall. He hears the oven timer go off and goes back, pulling the pizza pan out and smiles, "pizza looks and smells pretty good. "
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Yori bounces and plops himself onto the couch, " yay! smells awesome!"
Arakan blinks and looks at the smaller male that just plopped onto the couch next to him.
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takana evenly cuts slices for the three of them and plates up before handing arakan and yori their food, "Careful. its still hot." He starts the movie and looks at the wall, smiling when it starts perfectly, "Awesome." He grabs his own plate of pizza and turns out the lights before sitting down with them
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Arakan takes the plate, watching as Takana sits between him and Yori in the open spot, " thanks." he was suddenly very aware of the thigh touching his thanks to the small couch.
-
takana smiles as he pays attention to the movie, "This is such a good movie."
-
Arakan does his best to ignore the body contact and picks up his pizza, taking a bite, " hm, pretty good."
Yori is happily digging into his portion as he watches the screen, " shhhh!"
-
after an hour or so the movie is close to the end and takana is passed out, exhausted from working every day, his body slightly leaning against arakan just because the guy was bigger and softer than yori
-
Arakan had noticed as soon as Takana passed out, and had looked over to see Yori passed out leaning against his brother, making him the end pillow. He debates as he looks at the two brothers, what was he going to do? they'd both end up with sore necks if they slept like that.he carefully gets up and gently lowers Takana down, Yori following as he's still crashed. He then goes and sets up a bedroll on the floor on Takana's room for Yori, going out and scooping the younger brother up and getting him into bed before going back and carrying Takana to his bed, pulling the covers over him. Such a hassle these ones put him through.
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Takana shifts when arakan pulls the cover on him and he eyes open ever so slightly, "mmm a...ra....mmmm' sleepy..." he yawns and smiles
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Arakan snorts softly, " sleep then." He shuts off the light and leaves the room, getting himself comfortable on the couch. he had debated giving Yori the couch, but figured the brothers would be more comfortable being in the same room.
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takana nods and soon falls back asleep, being out for the rest of the night
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Yori stays passed out through it all.
Arakan soon falls asleep himself.
Morning arrives and Arakan groans as he phones buzzes, waking him. he looks at the text and grumbles.
-
soon takana wakes up and scrunches his face. he huffs and rubs his face before getting up. how did he get into bed?
He sighs and gets up. breakfast. breakfast. he has people to feed. he yawns and gets out of bed, rubbing his face some more before heading to the kitchen
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Yori murmurs as Takana gets up and goes by but doesn;t wake up.
Arakan gets up and runs his fingers through his hair to make himself somewhat presentable, heading towards the bathroom and blinks when he sees Takana, " morning."
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takana sees arakan and he smiles, "Good morning. I seem to have been brought to my bed. Thank you for that."
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Arakan looks away, " think nothing of it, both you and your brother passed out, so it was the easiest way to free myself and my sleeping spot."
-
Takana shrugs, "you could have woken me up and told me to move. But you didnt. It was kind of nice honestly." He chuckles, "and im sorry for passing out. I didnt realize i was so exhausted. Anyway, i'm gonna start getting breakfast going."
-
Arakan shrugs, " why bother when moving you was just as easy? you're light. don't be sorry, i did not mind." he goes to the bathroom and freshens up before going out and sitting at the table.
-
Takana goes to the kitchen and starts making pancakes
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Arakan sighs softly as he looks over his phone, " i'll have to get Kaiten to watch you today while you're at work, i have some things to take care of."
-
takana glances and nods, "Alright. after breakfast I'll need to make sure yori gets back through the gate okay."
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Arakan nods, " i can go with to see that everything goes smoothly, but then i'll need to drop you off. i'll have Kaiten meet us at the cafe."
-
takana nods, "alright sounds good. do you want any coffee at all? sounds like you might have an annoying day."
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Arakan nods, " it would be appreciated. it's less of a particularly annoying day and more of i've been shirking my other duties too long, and father's had enough of it."
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Takana winces, "is it my fault? I know you've been by me a lot..."
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Arakan glances up at him, " if anyone is to blame it's the humans who wanted to use you. i would have been doing night patrols regardless with those demons in my district. and likely i would have a guard on the cafe as well, though it probably would not be myself. i will probably need to have Kaiten keep an eye on things at the cafe during the day more often, he's a capable young demon."
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takana sighs and his ears flick back. he wished arakan didnt constantly think it was always a humans fault for everything bad going on. sure the ones he has to deal with have a power trip but... not all humans are like that... he just wished he could prove that somehow without putting himself in danger.
He pours some coffee into a mug and hands it to arakan before going back to making pancakes, albeit his mood was slightly sour now
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Arakan frowns as he notes the others mood change, taking the coffee, " sorry if my reminding you of it upset you. i'll try to remember not to. but this isn't your fault."
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takana sighs, "I just....you dealing with me isnt the humans fault. is it their fault i was kicked out? Yeah sure but, like, i chose to come here on a whim. I could have ended up anywhere else but Im here by my own choice so i just dont feel like they're to specifically to blame. If i went to another district you would never have known of my existence."
-
Arakan growls, " it is their fault you were not here to begin with. you belong in one of the districts. had you gone to another district besides ours you would likely be dead, since Nikiri stepped in and defended you. had you been raised among your own you'd know our ways."
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takana's ears twitch again and he snarls under his breath, doing his best to not lash out, "i still do not 'know' your ways. im only pretending when im in public since it seems it doesnt get me killed but I hate them and I hate this whole thing that i have gotten myself into. I'm starting to regret ever coming here." he angrily flips the last pancake onto a plate that he was piling them onto before turning off the stove and tossing the pan into the sink, making a clattering sound, "Have your damn pancakes. " he heads to his room with the intention of waking his brother and getting him out of the demon district
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Arakan growls, " it would not be something you hate and do not understand had you been raised with us! no matter how you pretend, you will never be a human, and they will never see you as one of them!"
Yori blinks sleepily as he hears yelling, " hm?"
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takana ignores him and goes into his room, closing the door and sighing, "Come on, we should get you back home."
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Yori yawns, " mkay..." he sniffs the air, " mmmm pancakes?"
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takana hesitantly nods and forces out a smile, "Yeah. i made pancakes. come on, we'll get some food in you real quick first."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " are... you okay? i heard yelling... and you seem upset."
-
Takana keeps his smile from fading as he chuckles, "not sure what you're talking about. Im fine."
He heads out of the room, not making eye contact with arakan as he goes to the kitchen, grabs a plate and fork, some pancakes, and the syrup and heads back to his room.
The faster he got yori fed the better
-
Arakan watches Takana and sighs.
Yori frowns, " Don't lie to me. don;t treat me like a kid who doesn;t know anything."
-
Takana sighs and holds the food out to yori, "Im not like makoto or your mother. Me not telling you certain things has nothing to do with your age or intelligence. Maybe I just had a really embarrassing dream that i didnt want to even think about?"
-
Yori huffs, " you could just say it was a dream or that you'd rather not talk about it...though i'd still be worried about the second." he looks at the pancakes and blinks after a moment before looking around the room, " how did i get here? i don;t remember getting up off the couch."
-
Takana huffs and blushes, "we fell asleep so... arakan brought us to bed."
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Yori blinks and blushes , " a-ah. is that... normal?"
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Takana turns even more red, seeing his brother blush and he whines softly, "i- I don't know! This has never happened before!!"
-
Yori blinks and leans back, blushing, " what are you freaking out at me for?!"
Arakan hears the distressed voices and goes, opening the door, " IS everything alright?" he blinks as he sees the two boys blushing, " uh, should i go?"
-
Takana blushes even more and he's about to make a comment when arakan opens the door.
He freezes and stares at arakan for a moment before huffing, "we- we're just fine thank you! "
-
Arakan rolls his eyes at Takana's sudden mood change, " i heard distress, i just checked. don't get your panties in a wad." he closes the door as he goes, shaking his head.
-
Once arakans out of the room takana sighs and looks down, his ears lowering, "coming in without knocking..."
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Yori pokes at his pancakes, " i guess i would too if it sounded like you were in danger..."
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Takana sighs, feeling flustered, "I just- I'm with you. Why would I be in danger? You're the only one I trust completely after all."
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Yori shrugs, " he doesn;t know me though."
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"But he knows we're siblings, and that should mean something. And why are you even defending him?"
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Yori blinks, " Makoto is my sibling and he's shit. so blood relation is irrelevant. And im just pointing it out since it's a valid point. I don;t know what issue you have, but it seems like he does a lot of things he doesn;t have to to make sure you're safe and comfortable despite...you know."
-
Takana huffs, "he does it because he thinks I'm like them. He's not like nikiri or izanagi who know the truth. Trust me, the second he finds out is the day I'll probably need a grave."
-
Yori frowns, " thought you said it wasn't that dangerous? I dunno, things just seem off. why so nice to him last night and now you seem mad? I'd want to treat him nice if i wanted him to...i dunno, not kill me if he found out something less than ideal about myself?"
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Takana sighs, "he... has a very skewed perception on humans from how he was treated so he tends to say some very hurtful things about them and I get... upset. Like this morning. So I am upset that he said some things."
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Yori blinks and considers that for a minute, " kind of like you got upset at me for saying thing about demons? is it fair to get mad at him when all he sees is what's here? It's not like he can go and see humans without bias, he can't even leave right? i mean, it'd be scary for someone like him to just be able to go out freely, but i guess i can see where he'd be frustrated never being able to leave..." he frowns as he looks down, " are they really treated that bad here? i've always been told they like it here and are happy to stay in the district, even the ones that aren't allowed to leave."
-
Takana sighs, "they are treated horribly. God forbid you're here at the next inspection. "
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Yori tilts his head, " then is it really fair to get mad at him for having a bad opinion if that's all he sees?"
-
Takana turns red and sighs, "I mean no but... it still hurts. And at any rate when I was trying to sympathize with this place you ended up thinking something was wrong with me. Now, you're the one rationalizing the situation."
-
Yori huffs, " well im trying to understand! i still don;t totally get it, but i can see why he'd think badly of humans if all he saw and heard was bad things. just like you're telling me im wrong about all the bad things they tell us about demons."
-
Takana sighs and rubs his arm, "ugh. This whole thing is so complicated. I don't mean to get so snappy. I'm just constantly on edge."
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Yori sighs, " i mean, you're afraid you'll die if you're found out, i'd be on edge too. if there was a way to show him not all humans are bad that would help, but im not sure there's a way to do that..."
-
Takana sits down, "it doesn't help that any time I try to be nice izanagi suddenly teases me. As if just being nice to someone means you suddenly like them. "
-
Yori sighs, " isn't that just how is he though? he seems kind of... uh..." he clears his throat and turns red, " uh, slutty?"
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Takana shrugs, "I mean he is a succubus demon i think. thats what arakan said."
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Yori blinks, " oh, i guess that makes sense?" he finishes off his now cold pancakes and stands up, stretching.
-
Takana sighs, "let's get you ready and get you home." He takes the plate and fork and heads out of the room, going to the sink and putting the dirty dishes in the sink before going back to his brother
-
Yori waits and tilts his head, " well i didn;t bring a change of clothes, so uh i guess there's not much to get ready. lets go ahead and go."
-
takana nods, "yeah. i still gotta make sure you have everything in case you came over with your phone and what not. unless you slept with your phone in your pocket which would have been uncomfortable."
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Yori blinks and reaches into his pocket, pulling his phone out, " totally didn;t even notice."
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takana snorts, "an earthquake would go off and as long as you were asleep you'd never notice."
-
Yori grins and rubs his neck, " you're not wrong."
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takana chuckles, "Come on, lets get going." He heads out of his room
-
Yori makes sure his ears are on straight before following him out.
Arakan looks up and raises an eyebrow, wary about Takana's mood swings.
-
Takana gets his shoes on before glancing at arakan, "im taking yori back to the gate."
-
Arakan nods and gets up, " very well."
-
takana waits for yori and arakan before heading out the door
-
Yori sticks close to Takana.
Arakan follows behind, eyes scanning the area as they went. hopefully the guards didn;t give them a hard time.
-
Takana holds yori's hand, feeling more nervous than yori probably was. He tries to lift the mood by smiling at yori, making light chatter, "Im sorry i passed out during the movie yori but i did enjoy having you visit."
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Yori blinks and looks at Takana, squeezing his hand gently, " i fell asleep too, don't apologize. it was still fun!"
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Takana nods, "The cafe does have some new employees so im hoping to have a day off coming soon so when I find out when that will be we can have a proper sleepover."
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Yori smiles, " maybe we can sleepover at my place, or a hotel maybe. so you can relax away from everything there."
Arakan takes them to the gates and stands a little ways back, well within sight but not looming over threateningly.
-
Takana nods, "I wouldnt mind that. it'd be nice to relax for the first time since I left home."
-
Yori nods, " well, text me then?" he heads towards the gate, waving.
Arakan tenses as he watches.
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Takana nods and waves, "Always! Stay safe and give my Ex some hell since I know he is the reason why you found me~~"
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Yori blinks and squeaks, " just don't say anything please! i didn;t tell you, but he'd be mad at me." he shakes his head and goes up to the gate, digging in his pocket and pulling out the little pass.
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Takana gives a slight crooked grin as he thinks about yori's plea. Yes. he could keep it a secret, however he did ask Curtis to keep his location a secret soooooo.
The main guard of the day squints his eyes at Yori as he huffs, "Papers brat."
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Yori holds out the pass, " i um, have this?"
Arakan watches carefully, ready to step in if things get ugly.
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The guard takes the pass and shifts his flashlight under it, a normally invisible film glitters and shines, showing its authenticity. He grumbles softly before taking it, "Fine. Go. But the moment you do anything against our law you're dead." he steps aside and opens the gate for yori
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Yori nods meekly and heads through, sighing in relief once he's on the other side.
Arakan relaxes a bit when he's let through, " that was easier than normal. anyway, i think you have some time before work right? we should go back to the apartment."
-
Takana looks at arakan and nods, glancing back at the gate until he cant see his brother anymore. He sighs his ears drooping a bit before he heads back
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Arakan looked back at the gate for a minute, staring not at Yori but at the area beyond, before shaking his head and turning away, " he ought to be fine." he walks away, resolutely not looking back. There was no use pining over something he'd never be able to have.
-
takana sighs as he continues walking, "I know he'll be fine. He is incredibly smart and kind and i know what he's capable of."
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Arakan nods, " indeed. and as a low grade demon they'll ignore him more likely than not." he soon gets them back to the apartment and sighs once they're inside, " i know it's hard for you to hear anything bad about humans, you've not had to deal with the same things i've seen. im sorry things got so out of hand this morning. it's frustrating for me, and admittedly i can let my temper get the better of me."
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Takana blinks and looks at arakan. he frowns a little and his ears flick before lowering, "I... Im sorry too. I'm... I dont mean to snap like that and believe it or not I am not usually like that... being here has put me on edge something fierce... but that doesnt mean its okay to just snap at you like that..."
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Arakan nods, acknowledging his apology. " i just want to say, i won't stop you if you wish to leave, i know things are difficult to adjust to here, not having grown up with it. we were never meant to live this way, with so many demons in one small area. But i will warn you, if you leave, there's nothing i can do to help you. once you're outside of those walls, you're on your own. i can't go past that gate. If i do, there will be consequences that im not willing to risk."
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Takana sighs, "I will. eventually. for now, I have my own goals and I have given myself a mission that i want to complete before i go. until then, despite my unease about being here, I am not leaving. I told my brother yori the same thing."
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Arakan nods, " very well." he stands there, unsure of what to do now, then goes and sits on the couch."
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takana's ears droop slightly before he heads to his room.
Soon Nikiri enters the apartment, humming happily, "Mooooorning~" he has Izanagi on his back, giving the smaller demon a piggyback ride for fun since he doesnt have to worry about antlers obscuring nagi's view.
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Arakan sighs softly, he had no idea what to say.
Izanagi is happily being carried, head resting on Nikiri's shoulder as he hums contentedly. would he be able to walk right? no. did he regret it? not for a moment.
Arakan looks over and raises an eyebrow, " i gather you two enjoyed yourselves."
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nikiri blinks when he only sees arakan and tilts his head, "well of course we had fun. did you not? where's Takana and Yori?"
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Arakan shrugs, " Takana is sulking in his room for whatever reason this time, his brother has gone home."
Izanagi nuzzles Nikiri's neck.
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nikiri hums, "im sure he just misses his brother. Those two are extremely close after all."
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Arakan sighs, " perhaps."
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Nikiri glances at izanagi, "where do you want me to set you down?"
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Izanagi hums, " anywhere is fine, maybe my bedroom though? should pick out my work outfit for today."
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Nikiri nods and goes to izanagi's room, gently placing the smaller demon on his bed
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Izanagi carefully scoots to the bed and slowly gets up, making his way to his closet and poking through his outfits.
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Nikiri hums, "apologies for the night of debauchery we had on a work night."
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Izanagi snorts, " every night is a work night these days, and im not sorry in the slightest."
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nikiri shrugs, "Still. I shall apologize as i see fit. although, it would be erotic to watch you try to do your job while my cum drips out of you. a shame im such a gentleman to clean you up first."
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Izanagi chuckles, " yeah im pretty sure it'd only be erotic for you, everyone else would probably be grossed out. plus i do wear underwear." he pulls out an outfit and goes over to his bag, putting it in and pulling the one from the previous day out, setting it aside to clean it later.
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nikiri grins, "Then dont wear underwear~"
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Izanagi laughs, " tempting, but i think more customers than just you would probably take advantage of that. not that i really mind that much~"
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Nikiri shrugs, "yes you are right. Plus I wouldn't want you to be in trouble at work."
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Izanagi laughs, " yeah i doubt the manager would like so many distractions~"
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nikiri nods before stretching on izanagi's bed and yawning, "I think im going to head out then. im exhausted and could use a little nap before i see my father this afternoon."
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Izanagi nods, " alright, enjoy your nap. Call me anytime you want a repeat~"
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"Will do" nikiri gets up and leaves izanagi's room, closing the door as he looks at arakan, "how was your night with the brothers? Did you get a little adventurous or did you act like your normal self~?"
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Arakan looks over and raises an eyebrow, " i can't fool around like you do, even if they were interested. Takana set up a movie and they fell asleep watching it. i got them settled in his room and went to sleep on the couch. end of night."
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Nikiri blinks curiously, "movie? Where? Their TV is... lackluster at best. Not that we could get any better...:
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Arakan waves a hand towards the table where the laptop is, " apparently he has some talent at crafting things, he made a projector of sorts and played it on the wall, some movie i've never seen so it must be from within the last decade. something about imaginary holiday icons and snow and kids believing in them or something. i wasn't paying terribly close attention, movies like that make no sense and i don't have the patience to try and make sense of it."
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nikiri hums softly and nods, "Well im sure his studies at his college play a major roll with his abilities to create. its kind of incredible really. i wonder what things he'd be able to make with an old toaster." he chuckles before heading to the door, "welp, im out of here. have fun with the little inventor."
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Arakan sighs, " well if we had much in the way of spare appliances im sure he'd have a hayday. perhaps if he can fix things he'll be able to make a living that way, we can certainly use that sort of skill. or if he can teach others how." he waves a hand dismissively, " mmmm i'll try to not get into any more difficulties with him."
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nikiri chuckles, "well have fun." he heads out and heads home
Takana is still in his room, sighing as he thinks about what yori said earlier. he scratches the back f his head and huffs before relaxing on his bed, waiting for their shift to start
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Arakan sighs softly and settles on the couch to work on his phone.
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After a while Takana sighs and rolls on his bed so he's laying on his stomach. he should really start eating breakfast because having enough time to sometimes eat dinner is not something he can just keep doing. Sure he's never had an appetite first thing in the morning but he snacked all throughout his classes so he had never been hungry but now he was working and couldnt eat as frequent as he used to.
He felt so tired. Maybe some coffee would help.
Takana pushes himself out of his bed before heading out of his room and to the kitchen
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Arakan's eyes flick up from his phone to Takana when he hears the other come out, " hello." he looks back down at his screen with a frown at the text he was reading."
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Takana looks at arakan and nods, "Hello." he starts making a small pot of coffee, his ears twitching every now and again since he still wasnt used to them
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Arakan glances up and sees the ears twitching, " you alright? your ears are twitchy. if they itch, that can be a sign of ear mites. it's not super common, but it does happen."
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Takana blinks and glances at arakan before his face turns a bit red, "o-oh. thats a thing that can happen? I- I'm sure its not that. I just.... have a lot on my mind. As you may have noticed im not good at keeping things to myself and im also dealing with a lot of stress so them twitching tends to be... a stress reaction."
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Arakan nods, " alright. well, remember im here, it's my duty to try and take care of my people. now, i can;t change our entire culture and society to suit you, and i can't...there are things i cannot control." he stopped himself as he was about to say he couldn't control what the humans did, " but im here to take care of my people."
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Takana blinks, staring at arakan for a few solid minutes, "are you... trying to be nice to me?"
Takana was genuinely asking since he never thought arakan would bite his tongue for someone like Takana.
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i usually do. i know things are difficult to adjust to here for you."
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Takana sighs and pours himself a cup of coffee, gingerly blowing on it before taking small sips. He's quiet for a moment before glancing at arakan, "yes. That is true. But you are being careful with your words. Because you don't want to upset me. So it feels like you're trying a little more than usual. Not that I'm complaining..."
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Arakan sighs, " i mentioned earlier i would try and be careful with certain subjects, so that is what im doing."
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Takana gives a hesitant nod, "well um... thank you. I do appreciate that."
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Arakan nods, " you're welcome. despite what you sometimes seem to think, i want to make things as comfortable for everyone here as possible." he sighs softly, looking back at his phone.
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takana thinks back to his time here and hums softly, "despite what you might think I do believe you."
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Arakan snorts softly in amusement, " you certainly give me a tough enough time of it sometimes."
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takana shrugs, "like i said before, im not good at keeping my thoughts inside. But thinking about it rationally you arent doing a bad job."
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Arakan snorts, " what a glowing praise. good to know that what my entire life revolves around im doing simply ' not bad' at."
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takana shrugs, "well you also shouldnt accept such words from someone who has been here, what, 2 weeks? My words mean nothing..."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " seeing as you're new and know nothing of our ways, your input is particularly interesting, as it's not affected by the expectations of our society."
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takana shrugs, "its not that interesting. you work to better your people while also making sure the humans.... i wouldnt say, stay in line, but kind of i guess? they seem to over step regardless but you are literally doing your best to make sure another war doesnt happen. thats incredibly tough and draining even without an unknown person showing up and throwing a wrench in your daily life."
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Arakan nods, " you're not wrong, but having a fresh perspective has been... informative. i also was not aware there were demons living outside of the districts, so that is interesting information. it may be worth looking into having some of our demons go talk with them now and then, see what they know about what the humans are planning. i doubt they'll know much but since they're already somewhat integrated they may have something useful."
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Takana takes this opportunity to drink from his coffee, not necessarily wanting to correct arakans assumption about demons being in the human district.
He isn't sure he can keep this charade up forever, but for now he'll just pretend what arakan said is true. That there are demons living in the human district. After all, he had seen a few demons now that look like humans so it could be possible that a few could be living as a human.
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Arakan looks at his phone again, " just when is that little d ranked runt from the next district going to get back in touch? i'd rather try and see this matter resolved before his brother sends anymore troublemakers this way."
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Takana blinks and looks back at arakan, "....what?"
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Arakan blinks and looks up at Takana, " ah, nothing. just another matter i need to deal with. the source of those two demons that weren't from our district that were causing trouble, well i have a lead on it. If it turns out true, i'd rather deal with it sooner rather than later."
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Takana gives a hesitant nod, "oh I see. Um. I'm glad you have a lead then. Those two demons were scary."
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Arakan nods, " yes, and the one was dangerous. i'd rather avoid any more such incidents, however if what i've been told is true, it will not be an easy fix. simple, yes. easy? not so much." he sighs.
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Takana tilts his head, "simple but not easy? What's the fix? I admit I'm a bit lost. Seems like you talked to someone when I wasn't around so I'm clueless."
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Arakan chuckles, " the fix would be to kill the heir of the district closest to us. apparently he's a little shit who wants to cause trouble with us, and wants to get rid of lower ranked demons."
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Takana frowns, "cause trouble? But there should be sanctions, and rules in place to keep him from doing that."
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Arakan looks over at Takana, " well, the humans don;t really give a shit if we cause trouble among ourselves, so long as it doesn;t mess with them. hence the distinct lack of give a fuck about the curfew in place, and the fact that we'd had a dangerous demon attacking our people. not that i would have accepted help had they offered it, they'd be utterly useless and get in my way, but still the point stands. The main way they keep things like this from happening is by restricting travel via the collars, however apparently this one has some... arrangement with the humans, and they're giving him certain benefits. such as removing the collars from some of his underlings so he can send them to us. neither of the demons he sent had collars, if they did, i would have been able to find out which district they were from."
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Takana looks down and sighs. "So... thats another lie then." he shakes his head and finishes his coffee, before setting the cup in the sink
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " oh, another thing that the humans tell the masses to keep them complacent? doesn't surprise me."
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takana's ears move back and he sighs again, "you maybe..."
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Arakan shrugs, " i've dealt with this sort of thing for a lot longer. regardless, if it is arranged for this little shit to come here and the best option is indeed to deal with him, it is certainly an easy fix, but he's still a decently high rank. i doubt he's at my level since it sounds like he's been pretty spoiled, but that doesn't mean i won;t have to work to win. If that's the route i take, then his younger brother who shouldn't exist will be heir. He'll need to grow a pair of balls, since for whatever reason the strength of the family is passed to the heir, so he's barely a d rank right now. he'd become stronger, but his mindset is that of a d rank, and he'll need to grow a backbone unless he wants every b rank in his district fighting him for leadership."
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takana listens to arakan and shrugs, " im sure he will need to learn a few things but at the very least he has real hands on approach as to the issues his people face since he doesnt sound as conceited as his brother so that may help him. ah, but i guess all of this i sup in the air until something actually happens. good luck on that."
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Arakan nods, " yeah, it's been a few days since i've heard from that younger brother. hopefully he didn;t get caught, i can guarantee his brother would kill him. what a pain..."
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Takana's ears droop slightly and he frowns, "and there's.... no way to check on the guy to make sure he's okay in guessing?"
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Arakan looks at Takana thoughtfully, " not really. i could try and send a low rank demon to ask about him, but that's a big risk for the low rank demon, assuming they're even allowed out of my district and into theirs. it's not a risk i'd ask any of my people to take."
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takana nods, "Yeah.... I understand. if a lower rank demon understood what they were getting into and volunteered that would be one thing but to ask just any low ranking demon is far too risky."
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Arakan nods, " even if they did volunteer...im not sure i'd allow it. their chances of coming back unharmed would be slim, it's one thing for me to take on a fight, but sending one of them into a situation where they have little chance of survival? that's not how i do things. thankfully it's not a choice i've had to make, since everyone has had more sense than to ask. it helps that most of the populace doesn't know the details, and i plan to keep it that way. there's no need to start a panic over something that may not exist, and if it does, i plan to end before it becomes a problem." his voice gets cold at the end.
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Takana nods, "well, you won't see me volunteering any time soon. I may act like I have a death wish sometimes but I assure you I won't be going anywhere near that district if I can help it."
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Arakan snorts softly, " i would forbid it. you can hardly keep me from wanting to kill you sometimes and i know your background. i doubt another district, especially that one, would be as generous."
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takana shrugs, "That district is known for favoring humans, I would probably fit in more there than here, however im not dumb enough to step foot into that place."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " but you are not human. you're an e rank demon, the type he wishes to do away with."
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Takana shrugs, "Hide my ears and my collar and I act the part of a human quite well. Not that thats possible regardless, im just saying if it werent for the only two main giveaways on my body no one would question if i said i was human. I even know just the human history and customs so if i was quizzed I would give right answers."
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Arakan nods, " to most demons yes that would be enough. there are those who are not so easily fooled however. my mother for example, as a phoenix she can see the flow of life in ones body, and can tell at a glance what you are. there aren't many of them around, but there are other species with abilities that would make it impossible for you to lie about your true nature."
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takana sighs and shakes his head, "Yes well all this talk is nice but unnecessary since I already stated that I wont be going to the district."
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Arakan nods, " true." he looks down at his phone, since that was the topic of their conversation and now he didn;t really have anything to say.
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he slightly feels bad for ending the conversation so abrupt but he was starting to feel frustrated again and it would have just gone in circles until he said something he would really regret. he didnt want to have an argument with arakan, least of all right before work.
Maybe he should have more coffee... he needed to find a way to focus.
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Arakan sighs softly as he reads on his phone, frowning slightly.
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Takana pours another cup of coffee, pounding it quickly as he tries to ignore his thoughts
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Arakan glances over, " you're drinking a lot of coffee this morning, did you not sleep well?"
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Takana glances at arakan, "I slept okay I guess. I suppose the same amount of sleep that I normally get here."
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Arakan frowns, " and yet you need that much coffee? we need to figure out why you're not sleeping well, it will effect your work and health."
-
takana shrugs, "I mean, would you sleep well if you found yourself in my position? at the very least getting back to a routine where I feel okay enough to sleep would take more than two weeks."
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Arakan nods, " yes, however there are ways we can help with that. i'll see about asking my mother for a tea blend to help you sleep."
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takana blinks, thinking back to the woman, "ah you dont have to do that. i wouldnt want her to be bothered with something so trivial."
-
Arakan snorts, " she would want to know. besides, you are hardly the only person she makes such things for, it simply means her giving me the right one for you."
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Takana sighs, "Well.... if she doesnt mind... I just dont want to cause any more problems then i already have by existing."
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Arakan looks back at his phone, " it will get less that way as you settle into life here. She is a healer, she would be upset if someone was having trouble and did not seek assistance. she is a formidable woman in her own right even if she is not as physically powerful as my father and i, it's not wise to upset her." he chuckles, " believe me, she taught me that one as a child very swiftly."
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Takana glances at arakan, "Trust me, upsetting your mother is the last thing i want to do."
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Arakan laughs, " you did talk to her for a bit there, she's intimidating isn't she? try being the child explaining to her exactly why you thought it was a good idea to freeze the kitchen floor. she's very caring through, and takes her role as one of the heads of medical very seriously."
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Takana shrugs, "You're absolutely right about that. Its something i could sense almost immediately. Just the way she carries herself makes it obvious that she can either be your best ally or the reason why you're six feet under."
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Arakan chuckles softly, " that's my mother alright. sweet and caring and absolutely terrifying. if i find a mate half as good as her i'll consider myself lucky."
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Takana nods, "I hope you do find someone like that. Everyone deserves a significant other who is kind and caring."
-
Arakan nods, " not to mention the chances of my parents having another child are low, how different they are makes it more complicated, so it's becoming more important for me to find a mate so we can secure our bloodline. it's not easy though." he sighs softly.
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takana glances at arakan, "I bet. I dont really see you as the type to hang around a girl."
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He runs a hand through his hair, " not for their lack of trying i assure you. getting in the good graces of the one that is likely the next leader is high on many's priority list. but that just makes it harder, do they actually like me or simply see me as an opportunity? And is this their true self, or just a part they're playing to get what they want. a female is more ideal, fewer hurdles to deal with in getting an heir, though not a requirement. and i can;t simply pick someone i like either, i need to keep what's best for the district in mind as well..." he sighs and blinks, " ah.... apologies, i shouldn't be unloading all this on you. seems to happen more often, my saying more than i mean to around you." he gives a bitter smile.
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Takana listens to arakan talk, semi venting from what he can tell, shrugging slightly, "no need to say sorry. It gives me a chance to get to know you better. I wouldn't be surprised if you subconsciously feel like you can open up to me more since I am new here. I had no idea who you were when I first came nor does your title really affect me in any way since I have to eventually leave."
Takana blinks as his mind clicks to a different thought, "wait, what do you mean that a girl isn't a requirement for an heir?"
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Arakan sheepishly nods, " yeah, i guess so- oh." he looks at Takana, " im surprised you don't know, that's one of the few things humans actually want from us, things they can exploit. There are some demons who are able to take essence from two people, regardless of gender, and mix them to make offspring. They dislike doing it often, so usually only demons with a lot of pull or humans willing to pay out the nose get it. same with things like phoenix tears, and other things from us that have... well i guess you humans would say magical properties."
-
Takana's eyes widen slightly but he seems to calm down after a few minutes, "oh... thank goodness. i was terrified that you were about to tell me that male demons can get pregnant. thank god."
-
Arakan snorts softly, " well every demon is different, there are some that have that ability. But it's not common for one that's truly male to be able to conceive. of course there's hermaphroditic species, but that's different. No, you're safe in that aspect, i highly doubt you're the sort to be capable of it, or else im sure your humans would have taken advantage of that fact."
-
Takana coughs, his ears darting back as his face turns bright red. "thank gods im not like that. still embarrassing to talk about."
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Arakan chuckles softly, " i suppose it would be. well there you go, the birds and the bees rudimentary lesson demon version."
-
Takana sighs, "I guess. What a time to learn it though." He glances at the clock and frowns, "izanagi and I need to get going for work or we're gonna be late." He sets his coffee cup aside and gets his shoes on
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Arakan nods and gets up, going to Izanagi's room and rapping on the door with a knuckle, " get ready for work."
Izanagi opens the door and walks out, carrying his bag and in fresh clothes, " im ready."
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Takana heads out, making sure the other two are following him
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Izanagi follows behind, " hold up! slow down a bit will ya? oof, legs still feel a bit like jelly."
Arakan walks a ways behind the two others.
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takana chuckles, "im not going that fast. and no worries, we can take a slower walk if need be."
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Izanagi grins, " thanks~ don't get me wrong, i enjoy the ache, but it does make walking faster hard." he licks his lips, humming contentedly.
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Takana snorts, "yeah but if we're busy then you'll have a hard time to keep up. when do you think we'll get the chance to have a day off so you can just relax for the day after your adventures?"
-
Izanagi sighs happily, " even if i get yelled at for being slow i don't care. felt too good. hopefully soon! can you imagine an entire day for just getting pounded? mmmm~ i can't wait."
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takana slowly looks at izanagi, looking a little disturbed, "uh. no. no i cant, and i personally dont want too."
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Izanagi snorts softly, " i mean it's not like that has to be the WHOLE day, there's foreplay and such to be thought about too. regardless, it'll be great~"
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Takana shakes his head, "I mean... for you im sure thats great."
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Izanagi shakes his head, " i can't understand you. you have no interest in the best stuff."
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takana sighs, "I do enjoy that stuff but im not a fanatic about it. is it a nice perk to a relationship? sure. do i expect it out of my potential partner? no."
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Izanagi stares at him, " wait, you would stay in a relationship without sex?!"
-
takana nods, "of course. i wouldnt go into a relationship with only sex in mind after all. i would want to be in a relationship with someone who i can call my best friend. someone i love talking to for hours and who will treat me the way they would want to be treated."
-
Izanagi gapes, " but... i mean that shit is nice and all, but that's what friends are for! you're crazy."
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takana shrugs, "sex just isnt that big of a factor to me. again, i like sex, it feels good im not denying that, but that isnt my priority in a relationship. not even in life. "
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " you're a crazy person." he goes into the cafe and heads in back to change.
Kaiten is waiting outside the cafe and looks over as they get near, nodding to Arakan.
Arakan stops outside, " i have things to take care of, Kaiten will stay here today. if im not back by time the cafe closes he will take you two home."
-
Takana looks at arakan and nods, "okay. See you later." He heads into the cafe and begins getting it ready
-
Arakan nods and heads off at a quick walk.
Kaiten heads in with Takana and sits at a table.
-
Mina and kaeru finished cleaning up the shop while hikari checked the temp of the water for the coffee to make sure it was at the right temp before turning on the machine.
-
Izanagi had gotten changed and was going about his work, though at a little slower pace than normal.
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the day goes by slowly, mina happily picks up the pace to cover any slack on izanagi's end.
kaeru busses tables, keeping them clean for the next people who come in
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Izanagi is even more perky and cheerful than normal, flirting with customers happily. The day is fairly uneventful, Kaiten only asks for a drink now and then from one of the girls, looking bored most of the rest of the time. Once the cafe is closed Kaiten gets up and waits for the two boys to be ready to go.
-
takana goes over to kaiten, ready to go as he waits for izanagi
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Izanagi comes out once he's changed and heads out, walking towards home. Kaiten waits until Takana goes to follow, since technically he's guarding Takana, not Izanagi.
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takana follows izanagi, humming softly, "today was a pretty good day."
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Izanagi nods, " definitely~ i still feel great. mmmm nothing like something to remind you of the fun you had~"
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Takana makes a grossed out face before sighing, "not what i meant but okay."
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Izanagi grins, " well that was what made my day the best so there."
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"Yeah well I meant how everything felt steady and not super busy."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, the hype has died down somewhat. not many demons can afford to keep coming to our cafe so often, no matter how good the food is. So it'll be calm, until you whip up something to drive them crazy again. But with the new staff we have, we should be able to take time off. the manager said she thinks next week she'll be able to start alternating shifts so nobody is always on all the time."
-
Takana nods, "that's good. I'm glad. And I'll hold off on a new meal for now. Just to give all of us a break."
-
Izanagi pouts, " you better! if i have time off dangled in front of me just to have you snatch it away by driving the customers crazy again i'll... i'll be mad!"
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Takana chuckles, "then be nice to me, or else I will give the manager some ideas." He grins at izanagi, showing he was obviously joking
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Izanagi growls playfully, " do it and i swear i'll... hm, maybe i'll torment that brother of yours. he's not my type but he seems like he'd make some fun expressions~"
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Takana's mood quickly flips, "uh no Not funny. Don't even joke."
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Izanagi sticks his tongue out, " you're no fun." he heads into the apartment.
Kaiten sighs as he follows.
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Takana shrugs, "gotta protect my only family"
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Izanagi shrugs and heads into his room.
Kaiten sits at the table to wait.
After a bit Arakan knocks before coming into the apartment, looking tired and stressed. " go home Kaiten, i've got it from here."
Kaiten nods and gets up, leaving.
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Takana hears arakan and goes over to him, frowning, "oof. Rough day I take it?"
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Arakan snorts, " that's an understatement. there was a lot that needed to be done. i'll probably need to bail tomorrow as well, just to get caught back up..." he sits on the couch, sighing softly. " it doesn't help that relationships between the district and the humans have been getting worse. more and more the lower class demons who seek work outside of the district report poor treatment, and there's nothing i can do about it. we need that income into the district, there's little we have that we can get the humans to purchase from us, and yet there are so many things that need to be imported into the district. there's only so many phoenix feathers, Caladrius tears, and so on we can ask people to give to be sold." he rubs his temples, " things can;t continue this way... but i don't know how to fix it."
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Takana's ears go back and he sighs, "I wish I could help you in that regard, truly. "
-
Arakan sighs, " unless you can make the humans stop treating us like we're one step above rabid dogs, i doubt it'll happen. i'll... just have to look for more things we can make or produce that humans might want. maybe i can work on trying to make my cold last longer, then i can sell things with that? i don't know..."
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Takana rubs his arm, "i... if we need money, and the humans have money, then... couldn't they come here and personally buy our goods? If we made sure they felt safe enough to come in, shop, give us money, then maybe it'll help them see that we're not animals? I know I'm personally working on making the cafe more successful, and humans love food. That could be a potential start. Completely up to you though. "
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Arakan nods, " yes... except that there are many demons who are angry with our treatment, and would be aggressive. not to mention the guards don;t exactly just allow anyone through. i've only ever seen humans come through with an armed guard." he sighs.
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Takana nods, "yes I am aware about that but something has to give and we can agree that we both would rather have it give in a good way. I also know a few humans that might agree to pass the gate just to see me but that's if it needs be. It's there any way to have like, a big meeting with everyone and explain the situation to them? We need the economy. "
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Arakan sighs, " i mean, i can try and order people to not mess with the humans, but if those jackasses at the gates keep instigating things it's only a matter of time before someone takes it out on the humans that are easier to get to. i can;t ask my people to overlook that we're being cowed and sometimes killed, for little reason. not without breaking everyone down so far that we'd hardly be people anymore. i can;t do that to my people."
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Takana nods, "absolutely. Maybe we can work on getting the cafe and a couple of other places to a high enough standard that they will catch the humans attention regardless. They'll want to come in, and we can let them IF they follow our rules about it, and that goes for the guards as well. That includes not messing with us, and in turn we don't mess with them? "
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Arakan runs a hand through his hair, " ...perhaps." he looks over at Takana and studies him for a few long moments, " ...you seem to have a decent relationship with some of the guards, or at least they seem less aggressive towards you. i hate to even ask it... but do you think you can convince their captain to speak with me?"
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Takana blinks, "curtis? Yeah of course."
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Arakan nods slowly, " then we will try and get that going. sooner is better. i believe he will be there tomorrow, i can get you off work for this. this is a little more important no offense."
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Takana nods, "that's fine, I'm sure the manager will understand. "
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Arakan nods, " indeed, she knows i would not pull you from work without a good reason. i will text her tonight." he sighs, " well, i suppose i probably ought to get some sleep if im going to keep my temper in check with that arrogant fool. you should get some rest as well."
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Takana nods, "I'll get some rest as well, is there anything I can get for you? "
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He shakes his head, " nothing you can do, thank you though. if we don;t start a war i'll consider tomorrow wildly successful... goodnight." he grabs the bedding he'd folded up and set aside and starts getting the couch ready.
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Takana nods and heads to bed, falling asleep quickly
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Arakan gets comfortable and manages to sleep despite his nerves about this whole thing.
When the morning light hits him he wakes, having slept lightly. He gets up and groans softly, going to the bathroom and freshening up and getting as presentable as possible.
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Takana is still asleep, curled up on his side, snoring softly
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Arakan decides a shower would be prudent, quickly doing that and wrapping the towel around his waist when he's finished drying off with it. He notices Takana still asleep when he's finished and heads into his room, gently touching his shoulder to wake him.
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Takana makes a soft grunt noise as he curls tighter. He slowly opens his eyes and rubs them before looking up at arakan, "Mmmorning..."
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Arakan chuckles softly, still just wearing the towel, " morning. come on, get up. i'd rather get this moving sooner than later." he turns and heads from the room, going to get dressed.
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Takana blinks as he watches arakan leave his room. In the towel. He can feel his face heat up, and his dick twitch slightly before he shakes his head quickly.
Takana quickly gets dressed, imagining anything gross to calm himself down before stepping into the kitchen to grab some coffee
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Arakan quickly gets dressed in the livingroom, having brought spare clothes. He grabs a packet from his bag and heads into the kitchen where Takana is, " ah, i forgot about this last night but here. give these a try to sleep, they're packets of an herbal tea. if they're not strong enough let me know, she figured it was best to start you lightly and see if that was enough."
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Takana hesitantly grabs the packet curiously before looking at arakan, "ah. Thank you. I'll give these a try tonight." He sets them on the counter for now and grabs his coffee, taking a dip.
"You want some coffee?"
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Arakan nods, " please, im going to need every bit of help i can get for today..."
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Takana gets a cup poured and hands it to arakan, "curtis isn't that bad. Although, maybe that's just with me and yori. I have no idea but I'll be there to keep him in line. I just have to let him know that I'm sure his wife would love to meet me and he'll behave."
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Arakan snorts softly, " He's a heartless bastard. And if you ask him what he thinks of me, he'll probably say im a sadistic bastard or something like that. Im glad you have some leverage over him, however that alone might make him less reasonable. I plan to send you in ahead without them seeing me to request the meeting, to keep things as minimally tense as possible to begin."
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Takana shrugs, "I'm sure you both have mutual feelings about each other. " He finishes his coffee and heads for the door, "I hope izanagi doesn't over sleep."
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Arakan nods, " that we do. we can wake him before we go if you want. but you guys don;t start work too early so i think he'll be alright. a note telling him what's going on might not be a bad idea though."
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Takana nods, "wouldn't want him to panic." He heads back to the kitchen, grabbing a pen and paper, quickly scribbling a note that he was off today to assist arakan with something before setting it on the counter and going back to the door
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Arakan checks to make sure there's nothing more he really needs, that he's clean and presentable but not looking like he's trying to impress them, and sighs, heading to the door. " lets get this over with."
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Takana nods and starts heading to the gate, "nothings gonna happen as long as I'm with you. No worries."
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Arakan looks at him doubtfully, " i think you over-estimate this hold you have over him."
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Takana makes a soft grunt sound, "hope not. We were apparently in a relationship for 5 years up until he told me he was marrying his fiancé that I never knew about..." takana's tone was incredibly sour near the end of that sentence, his ears moving back in anger.
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Arakan growls, " somehow that does not surprise me. though my opinion of him is low." he stops when they get near. " i will stay back here, around the corner. They will be on edge if they see me. Im relying on you."
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Takana nods before smiling up at arakan, "don't worry~ I'm not one for letting people down." He turns and runs over to the gate, "Curtissss!!"
The guards flinch and look over. They quickly begin to get up from their posts to aim their guns at takana until they see their Captain hold up his hand to them. He mutters something to them quietly and they stand down and go back to playing with their deck of cards.
Curtis goes up to takana and sighs, "you're still alive. Thank goodness. I figured you would have been killed by now."
Takana sighs, "They're not that bad, man. You just think that because you haven't had any positive experiences with them. It's only been about your job which is very stressful, I get it."
Curtis grunts, "it's not like any of them would even approach us. We hate them and they hate us."
Takana gently puts his hands on Curtis' chest and looks up at him, "don't you think this has gone long enough? They need our help, and we need theirs too. Why can't we all just work together for once?"
Curtis blushes as he looks at Takana before groaning slightly, "look, if you knew a demon that wouldn't outright kill me then fine. I'll listen to what they have to say, but I can't make any promises. That would be up to your father and you know that."
Takana nods, "I do actually have a friend with me. Would you be okay talking to him?"
Curtis sighs, "fiiine..." He turns to look at his men, "everything is okay. Take a 15 minute break, I'm going to talk in private with Takana."
The guards nod and set their cards down before leaving their station, a couple of them waving at Takana since they know him.
Takana turns to look behind him, where he knows Arakan is hiding
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Arakan takes a breath to steady himself and walks out, keeping his head high and his gait confident as he walks over. He looks at Curtis without a change in expression, " Curtis."
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Curtis' face falls slightly, however he doesn't make any negative comment. Of course it would have been Arakan, "ah... Arakan."
Takana smiles at both of them, "Curtis, please hear Arakan out seriously, okay? "
Curtis glances at Takana and takes a deep breath before looking back at Arakan, nodding slightly, "What seems to be on your mind today, Arakan?"
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Arakan nods to Takana before looking back at Curtis, " First things first, things need to change. The tension between demons and human can't continue to rise like this, or something will eventually give. I intend to change things before someone gets killed and things get even worse. Now, if you'd like to avoid bloodshed, then perhaps we can sit and talk."
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Curtis huffs, "we're just doing our jobs."
Takana jabs Curtis in the side with his elbow, glaring, "if another war broke out then you'd be on the battlefield, possibly killed, and then your poooor NEW wife would be a widow. "
Curtis grumbles, "you're still mad about this? I thought we talked about this. "
Takana glares at Curtis, "you were with her for seven years and me for five. At the same time! And you only married her because you got her pregnant! You're a pig!"
Curtis glares at Takana, "maybe if you weren't so hot headed I would have picked you over her! "
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Arakan rubs the bridge of his nose, " can you bicker about this later? your jobs are to keep the 'aggressive bloodthirsty' demons under control right? if we aren't that, then you don;t have to try and keep us under control. Are you seriously not even willing to discuss it?"
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Curtis gives another glare in takana's direction before looking at arakan, "look, we could talk all day but it's not like I could make things change. I can pass information to had of command but at the end of the day I'm not the one who makes the rules. "
Takana crosses his arms and huffs, "well, then talk. Inform your boss afterwards and let us know. But just letting things go and carry on as it has been is dangerous for both sides. "
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The temps drop perceptively as Arakan starts losing his temper, " They'll listen to you a hell of a lot faster than they will to me. And what im telling you is if things don't change soon, there won't be a damned thing i can do to keep humans from paying the price. There will be another war."
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Curtis feels the temperature drop, and having worked with arakan before he understands what that means, "don't start getting all twisted in a huff here, did I say I wasn't going to talk to you yet? No, I just told you not to expect miracles out of me! There are a lot of people between me and the boss so while I'll try my best I don't want to make any promises if I can't keep them. "
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Arakan growls, " i never asked you to make promises. i asked you to sit down and speak with me, and all im hearing is excuses."
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Takana glares at both of them, knowing this is going in circles, "COOL. SO. IT SOUNDS LIKE WE BOTH AGREE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER, RIGHT?!"
Curtis flinches before looking away, "ye- yeah. "
Takana shoots a look at arakan, "it sounds like Curtis is open for conversation as long as we keep our expectations realistic. Is that okay? Can we start talking with these terms? "
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Arakan crosses his arms, " i agree. now, someplace to sit down and talk? as i suggested before?"
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Curtis nods, "I am unfamiliar with a nearby place to sit in your district so if you know somewhere nearby then I will follow you."
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Arakan thinks for a moment before turning and starting to walk, " there is a small shop nearby that the owner ought to home there at this time. they aren't open this early, but they'll allow us to use it if i ask." he heads to a small tea shop and goes around to the back, knocking at the delivery door. It opens to reveal a woman with a long serpentine body.
She blinks and looks at Arakan, and then behind him, " oh? isn't this an unusual sight."
Arakan waves his hand dismissively, " would you mind if we came in and sat? i know you're not open, but this is important. we simply wish to discuss some things."
She smiles slyly, " for you, i will consider it a favor~" she moves aside to let them in.
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Curtis nervously follows, feeling very terrified that he's so far away from the gate
Takana happily follows, close behind arakan, oblivious to any danger
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Arakan goes in and sits at a table in what looks like a very small but cozy tea shop. The owner of the shop respectfully goes into a back office to give them the space.
Arakan leans back in his chair, " alright, have a seat. you will not come to harm under my watch."
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Curtis sighs, "I guess this is a trust exercise then..."
Takana glances at arakan. Is he allowed to sit in on this too, or is this a private conversation. He did initiate it and he might still need to be watched so he figures he is good to sit down with them at the table.
He snorts in curtis' direction, the comment the other man made was ironic considering the only one who broke any trust was him.
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Arakan glances at Takana and waves at one of the chairs as well. " If i intended to kill you, i wouldn't go through all this hassle to do so. So, to begin with, we have established that our treatment is causing undue tension. If you can ease up on harassing and threatening those who leave the district to work, it would be appreciated. second, one major issue that has become worse over time has been the economy. we have no choice but to purchase nearly everything we need through you humans, however the flow of money tends to be one way. If humans can be convinced they can visit the district safely, we would be able to offer goods and services to them to even out the imbalance. it would also make it easier for us to sell the things that we are able to make that you humans desire, presently there is a monopoly since the Kuroshiba corporation is the only one that comes in to purchase these things, they can give us an insulting low price and resell it for much higher. With other humans entering the market, we will be able to get a fairer price for these things. I am no fan of humans, we know this, but if the tensions and relationships between our kinds improves, i cannot see that as anything except a benefit." he watches Curtis and gives him some time to process all this.
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when the name kuroshiba exits arakans mouth Curtis cant help but glance at Takana who, in turn, gives him a nasty 'keep your mouth shut' glare.
Curtis sighs softly, rubbing the back of his head, "I can tell my group at our gate to lay off and keep an eye on them to make sure they follow through, however for the other gates around this district I will need to schedule a meeting with the other officers. as for the money issue.... i cant... make humans to come here and shop. They are rightfully terrified and wont believe anyone that it is safe enough for them to come here. We are led by example after all so unless I have a highly influential person who is willing to come here no human will even try much less listen."
Takana perks up a bit, "What about Isabella? Everyone knows her and she is in People's Magazine and Time Magazine and she is very popular. She is really the only person that makes the company look good."
Curtis' mouth gapes open, "You want someone as delicate as isabella to come HERE?!"
Takana shrugs, "Yori said it himself that she misses me. If I spend the day with her I can even take her to the cafe I work at. She loves tea and honestly? This place has amazing tea, even by human standards."
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Arakan nods, " i appreciate your willingness to speak with the others. I don't expect you to find people willing to come, but simply allowing them to is one of the big hurdles. I do not know this Isabella however i will personally make sure she is kept safe if need be. things will be tense to begin with, however any who dare try and start something in front of me will swiftly find out just how bad of an idea that is." he lets his voice go dark and threatening, promising violence to any demon who attempts to harm the humans he brings in.
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Takana looks at Arakan, "Isabella is married to Makoto Kuroshiba, however, i assure you, she is nothing like the others. Yori and I actually like her and hope she divorces him since.... he isnt very nice to her..."
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Arakan tenses at that, " ...i see. my statement still stands. so long as she does not try to harm any of my people, i will ensure her safety."
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"She once took care of a butterfly that had only one wing until it passed a few months later, and when it did she was depressed for three days. I dont think there is a bad bone in her body. But i still wanted to let you know of her last name because out of all humans, its that family that is the most hated so thats important info to know."
Curtis watches them both talk to each other carefully, figuring out that arakan didnt know of takana's last name.
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Arakan nods, " indeed. we will not make it publicly known who she is, and i personally will ensure her safety. this is too important to fuck up."
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Takana smiles, "It feels like forever since i last saw her. thankfully yori gave me her number so I can just ask her myself if she would be willing to visit."
Curtis frowns, "I could always ask her, my next shift is at their place anyway."
Takana looks at Curtis, "Nah she would say no to you. If its one thing she cant stand its cheaters."
Curtis blinks and huffs, "What, did you tell everyone?"
Takana snorts, "Obviously not since your wife is still with you."
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Arakan leans back and allows them to banter back and forth for awhile. " well, i think for now that's about as much as we can do. can i perhaps count on your aid again?" he looks at Curtis.
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curtis looks at arakan and sighs, "i... depending on what you need and how uh... this thing we're attempting to do now. if it goes well for both parties then i will be more inclined to assist in what i can."
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Arakan nods, " i will not ask anything unreasonable. lets get you back to the gate before the other guards do anything rash." he adds the last part dryly and gets up, heading back out of the shop and towards the gates.
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takana follows arakan
Curtis heads to the gate, noting how his men looked relieved to see him
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Arakan stops a ways back, to avoid making anyone more nervous than needed. " returned safe and sound. Takana, it's still early, you could work today if you wanted to, otherwise i did get you the day off if you'd like to use it another way."
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Curtis glances at Takana before heading back to his men, talking to them quietly
takana blinks and looks at arakan, "Ah... im not really sure what id even do honestly. there's not much i can do here so i might go to work..."
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Arakan watches Curtis and his men for a few minutes, " well, the choice is yours. if there were things you needed to get, i know you haven't had time off so this may be a good chance to purchase things you need."
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takana sighs, "Well if you have no problem taking me to the grocery store i would appreciate that. we do need groceries."
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Arakan nods, " we can do that. i presume we need to head back to the apartment for your wallet and such?"
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takana nods, "Yeah. I havent done anything to deserve sugar daddy treatment yet so i have to pay my own way for now." he chuckles at his own joke
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Arakan snorts softly, " if we get this to even halfway work, i will be deeply indebted to you."
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takana glances at arakan as he heads home, "Oh yeah? well i'll try not to get my hopes up then."
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Arakan snorts, " don't let it go to your head too much." he follows to the apartment, going in and waiting. Izanagi was already gone, having headed to work.
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takana goes to his room and grabs his wallet. he goes back to arakan, "got it. ready?"
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Arakan nods, " yep, i think we got some shipments in a couple days ago so hopefully you can get everything you want. it's always kind of a gamble." he grimaces and heads out of the apartment, going to where there were several shops that sold food.
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takana shrugs and follows close to arakan, "honestly we should grow our own food. i didnt see anything in the books that said you guys couldnt so even if you buy sub par produce you can take the seeds, use the rest of the food for compost and start up a cheap garden to save a little bit of money."
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Arakan sighs, " the problem is space. im not sure if you noticed, but there aren't exactly any fields around here. most available space goes towards homes or shops. it's not like we can just expand our district as our population grows."
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takana hums softly, "are there any apartments with a flat enough roof top and are also stable to hold maybe a small garden on top? if its just empty concrete up there we could put it to use."
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Arakan blinks, " hm, perhaps. i will look into it. are you volunteering to show us how to do that?"
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takana shakes his head, "i have never done it but isabella is an exceptional gardener and she can tell me how. she has a whole room dedicated to her paintings and plants as well as her garden in their back yard."
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" well i suppose that is another reason to hope her visit goes smoothly. if she enjoys herself, we may be able to convince her to be here more often." He walks into one of the larger shops, " what would you like to get?"
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takana hums softly, "im not quite sure what all i want. I know we need some more eggs and coffee but i tend to browse and see what sparks my interest."
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Arakan nods, " browse away." he looks around the shop, trailing after Takana.
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Takana hums as he browses, picking out a few items that he is interested in
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Arakan picks up and sniffs some questionable looking fruit, " hm, these don't look half bad. not totally rotten yet anyway."
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takana looks at it and hums softly, "Its already releasing a lot of natural sugar in that state so id have to use it pretty fast. right now what comes to mind is cooking it and making a puree that i could drizzle on top of desserts or pancakes, french toast, waffles, ect."
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Arakan shrugs, " i might just get a couple for those kids, they like sweets, they'll probably enjoy this. not often you get fruit still decent." he carefully grabs a few and grabs a basket for himself, trying to not bruise them more than they already are.
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Takana blinks, looking a little crestfallen as he remembers the family before looking away, "thats... awfully sweet of you."
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Arakan glances back at him, " well i can't do as much for them as i'd like, but i try and visit every few days at least. make sure they're still doing alright. they've settled in well with the other broken families, tends to be men that take the hit, they let pride get in the way. So at least the widows know what everyone is going through and help watch the kids so everyone can have a break now and then. works out pretty well, for something born out of tragedy. I can only help people if they let me, and pride is one of the few things we have left, so it's difficult to ask for help. plus sometimes there's malfunctions that simply get missed. It's shit, but that's how it is."
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takana frowns, "Mal...functions?"
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Arakan looks back at him, " where the collar doesn't work the way it's supposed to. it's supposed to be obvious when it stops working, but sometimes it doesn't trigger. that's why i encourage everyone to get theirs checked the day before inspection, but if it breaks between that and inspection, and especially if it malfunctions, there's not much anyone can do about that."
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Takana shakes his head, "n-no no. I know what malfunctioning means it's just that... they shouldn't be malfunctioning. I know izanagi mentioned something like that before but I thought he just didn't understand how they worked. Are these things... actually just breaking without giving the little beep sounds?"
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Arakan nods, " it's not frequent, but it does happen occasionally. we've lost a few this year that way."
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Takana looks down, his ears twitching back before sighing, "thats.... not right."
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Arakan snorts, " And you think they care if it's right or not? fair is not a factor, it's simply how things are. i should get a few more of these fruits or the other kids will probably have a fit." he grabs several more, " anyway it's not something we can change, so it is what it is."
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takana sighs. arakan didnt understand. he didnt see the designs and assembly line for the collars. they werent supposed to fail.
Was the company using cheap materials? Not performing quality checks? He just didnt understand why a multi billion dollar company that his perfectionist of a father commanded was making cheap collars
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Arakan looks over the other 'fresh' produce and dismisses it. " hm, perhaps you would like to visit the kids? if you made a lunch for them im certain they would all be excited. they loved the last meal you sent for them."
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Takana perks up and looks back at arakan, "they loved it? really?" he cant help but smile excitedly. he always enjoyed it when people liked his cooking, even if it was just kids.
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Arakan nods, " they were skeptical at first, as children are, but as soon as they tasted it they were very excited. the younger was very upset that he was unable to eat the whole portion, nearly made himself puke trying."
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takana laughs softly and shakes his head, "okay uh. well. i guess i can try to think of something. you wouldnt happen to know what they might like or not, right?"
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Arakan grimaces, " uh, not really. i mean i check in on them, but it's not like im there all the time. just make stuff kids normally like? you don't have to, it was just an idea."
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takana hums softly, "thats fair. im not normally around kids either. They honestly terrify me a bit so I have always kept my distance.... but I do feel bad for their situation so I want to do something to help."
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Arakan nods, " if i remember right kids like things kind of bland. usually when i see the mothers cooking they're making things like macaroni and cheese, or chicken. i'd probably be better at this if i had any siblings."
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takana chuckles, "Bland? im sure everything tastes bland considering what you enjoy."
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Arakan snorts softly, " well yeah, i just mean in general. i don;t think they like a whole lot of seasoning. but we can go talk to the women first if you want, get a better idea what we're doing. or even ask what the kids want."
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takana nods, "Yeah we can try that out first. id rather make sure i dont spend money and time on things they wouldnt like."
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Arakan nods, " then lets get your shopping done, then we can go visit them and come back. i will take care of the ingredients for their food of course."
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Takana nods and continues his shopping, making a mental note of the fruits and vegetables that would do well in a garden.
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Arakan looks over some hot sauces, looking at the backs of them boredly as he waits for takana.
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Takana finishes up and smiles at arakan, "thanks for waiting, I'm ready to go."
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Arakan looks over, " ah, yes. no problem. " he looks back at the tiny bottle, many of them on the self as apparently they're too hot to sell well, and then puts the bottle in his basket. He then heads for the checkout.
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Takana heads to the check out, humming happily at the idea of cooking for other people
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Arakan pays for his purchases and waits for Takana to do his, " you seem happy."
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takana pays for his things as well, grinning, "well, i have a chance to do some good in what little way i can. of course im happy."
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Arakan nods, " well, im glad that you'll be happy about giving those kids something to look forward to."
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Takana nods, "it's not every day that something I can do helps other people. The most I can do is stuff that involves computers."
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Arakan nods, " fair. lets drop your groceries off then we can go visit the kids. you're new, so it's probably going to be a mixture of them being wary of you, mostly the more recent ones, and excitement from those who have been there awhile and have adjusted well."
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Takana nods, "oh trust me, I'll probably need a quick minute to adjust to children."
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Arakan chuckles, " well i'll distract them with the fruit." once they reach Takana's apartment he heads in, setting his hot sauce aside, " don;t want the kids getting their hands on this on accident."
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takana glances over at the object and chuckles as he puts his things away, "Yeah definitely not that. although giving kids lemons is pretty hilarious."
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Arakan laughs, " some of these kids may enjoy it. plus most are too old to fall for that one."
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takana finishes getting everything put away and cleaned up and he smiles before looking at arakan, "ready to go."
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Arakan nods and grabs his bag with the fruit and heads out, leading the way to an area somewhat near his own home. He reaches a larger building and opens the door, the sounds of shrieking children at play reaching their ears from further in.
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the sound causes takana to flinch, his eyes quickly scanning the area in case he needed to back up from any kids just in case.
he makes sure to stay close to arakan.
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Arakan glances at him and raises an eyebrow, " they're further in one of the big rooms. need a moment to collect yourself before we go actually see them?"
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takana's face flushes red and he shudders, "Ma-maybe. Sorry... i cant even remember the last time i was near a child..."
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Arakan nods, " we can wait here for a bit." the noises of children playing continue.
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takana glances around some more before he begins to feel himself calm down. he looks up at arakan, "okay... i think im good."
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Arakan nods, " alright then. they're good kids, it's just gonna be noisy if you get that many of them together." he heads down the hall and turns into a room, 4 women sitting at a table working on something, a few younger children in bassients sleeping next to the women. About a dozen kids between 5-12 run around the room playing and making the most noise, while some older kids sit at a table clearly doing some sort of school work. The playing kids stop and look over at the two, the younger ones running over to the women and hiding while the older ones run over and clamor for attention, asking about 5 million unintelligible questions. Arakan holds up a hand to stop them for a moment and starts hanging out some fruit, silencing them as they dig into the treat.
One of the women with feathery hair gets up and walks over, " Arakan, we weren't expecting you. what can we owe this visit to?" she looks at Takana curiously, " surely not him? he's a bit old to need taking care of." one small child gets braver and comes up behind the woman, peering around her leg and she absently ruffles his hair.
Arakan kneels down and offers a fruit to the kid, which he shyly takes. He stands back up and looks at her, " just checking in, and bringing a treat. He's also new to the district and was curious about how this works here." he moves away and passes out fruit to any kids who hadn't gotten any yet.
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takana nervously looks at the women, "My name is Takana and uh... yeah im pretty new."
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She smiles, " ah, well there's not a whole lot here, and the kids can be kind of rambunctious, but it works. this way a few of us can watch the kids and the other mothers can either have a steady job or even just a day off now and then. plus those of us who stay here can work on other projects while watching the kids." she gestures to the table where the other women are, who wave. " we have a siren, and her scales can be used to make lovely jewelry, and they change color when introduced to toxins. so they're quite popular with human women. so we do that while we take care of the kids." she smiles.
Arakan nods and lowers his voice, " how is she doing? i know she'd never be honest to me about it. Is she getting enough time in the water? i know there's not much we can provide..."
The feather haired woman sighs softly, lowering her voice, " she has good days and bad days. she makes sure Kyon gets a lot of soaking time, but she neglects herself a lot. not that i can blame her, it's been a rough situation."
Arakan sighs softly and then makes himself smile, " i'll talk with her. Takana was thinking about maybe making something for the kids, what kinds of food do they like?"
She blinks, " oh, well they like different things, but they'll eat almost anything. meat dishes are always popular, since we don't get that very often."
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Takana nods, "meat, okay. I can work with that. And just so I have a head count, how many servings will I need to make? I want to make sure I have enough for all of them."
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She smiles, " oh, there's 17 of them that will be able to eat a meal you make. might wanna make some extra, some of the older boys are like bottomless pits. the littlest ones of course can't have any, but i didn't count them."
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takana nods again, mentally taking notes for later, "okay, thats good to know. thank you for the information."
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She smiles, " no problem. i know it's a lot so if you change your mind it's alright."
The kids soon finish their treat and the younger ones start clamoring around Arakan and Takana. Arakan steps away from the kids and lifts a hand, snow swirling around it and getting their attention on him. " lets go to the gym okay?" they all get excited and he heads to the next room, a large gym like room with a solid floor. Arakan takes a few deep breaths and soon snow starts falling heavily in the room, piling up about a foot deep, and the kids busy themselves playing. He heads back out of the room and grins, " there, that'll keep them busy for awhile."
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Takana had almost panicked when the kids surrounded them however it didnt last as Arakan led them away. He blinks curiously when arakan comes back, "what did you just do?"
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Arakan grins, " filled the gym with snow. it'll stay there for about 2 hours and then evaporate. no mess left behind. they love it when i do that."
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takana blinks again before nodding, "I see. thats nice of you to do that for them."
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Arakan blinks and shrugs, " it's the least i can do to give these gals a break. anyway, did you want to go pick up supplies? you can back out, i know it's a bigger thing than before, not being just those two kids."
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takana shakes his head, "of course im not backing out, however i will need some time to think of an appropriate dish for them. Im also going to see what my brother could potentially get for me in case so i wont be grabbing supplies today."
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Arakan nods, " alright, i'll make sure she knows it's not for today. did you want to play with the kids in the snow at all?"
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takana shakes his head, "no thank you. Maybe when i come by with the food next time."
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Arakan nods, " alright, lets go then. anything you still wanted to do? otherwise if you just want to relax i wouldn;t mind getting some things done at home that still need my attention."
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takana smiles, "a day to relax sounds wonderful. i could probably sleep the entire time."
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Arakan nods, " very well then. i'll show you where our archives are in case you want to read anything, and where one of the guest rooms are. i'll be moving around, but you'll be safe in my home so i don't need to watch you as closely. do you have my number in your phone?" he starts walking out of the building they're in and towards his home.
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Takana follows and hums, "no I don't. I suppose having it in general would be a good idea."
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Arakan nods, " indeed it would be, especially since trouble seems fond of you. phone." he holds out his hand as he walks for Takana to give him his phone.
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takana, knowing only yori and isabelle were in his phone since it was a new 'burner' phone, handed arakan his phone, "well technically I flirt with trouble so its really my fault."
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Arakan goes into the contacts and barely even glances at the previous ones as he adds his own, then hands it back. " there. please limit the contact to my phone to important things."
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Takana snorts, "trust me, that won't be a problem. " He takes his phone back and stuffs it in his pocket. He hardly remembered that he even had the thing most of the time unless yori texted him
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Arakan chuckles, " you can't be worse than Nikiri anyway, some of the garbage he sends me..." he shakes his head, " i swear the mans sole goal in life is to annoy me sometimes." he steps into the same intimidating house as before, turning and heading down one hallway. He stops partway down in front of an archway leading into a large room with bookshelves, his mother standing in front of one with a book in her hands, " these are the archives. there's everything from our histories from before the war, to recordings of what happened during and after. there's also histories of the different communities and how they lived before, as well as just about everything we know. medicinal herbs, what properties different distinct demon species have, most htings are here. not everything, some was lost during the war, and some species keep their own abilities a close secret, but it's all we've got. please be careful, some of these books are old and can;t really be replaced." he turns and walks a little further down, turning a hall and stopping in front of a door which he opens, " here's a spare room, you can make yourself comfortable here. there's a bathroom in the room. the next room is mine, i ask you not go in there."
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takana nods, "Understood. growing up i always had a rule of never going into bedrooms that weren't your own so this works just fine. I appreciate you letting me check out the archive though. have you ever considered.... fixing the books? i know you cant replace them but have someone who is able to re-write the knowledge into a new book? That way you could at least preserve the original books for history sake but have newer, nicer versions for browsing without worry."
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Arakan nods, " it's been considered, and done for some. mostly those with information, like herbs. It's difficult to find someone trustworthy enough to give that job to, and who actually wants it. it's important to do it properly, and also very tedious. rarely does anyone desire to do so, and it takes a long time."
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takana nods, "Its understandable. well, i do hope you can find someone to do it who is trustworthy enough before those books are too far gone."
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Arakan nods and sighs softly, " not that it'll make much difference if the books are here if the war starts again. i think i can speak for all our kind when i say i doubt we'll surrender this time. it'll either be victory or death."
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Takana bristles a little at that thought before hesitantly looking up at arakan, "another war isnt going to happen. it cant. if we can slowly warm the humans up to us then maybe we can avoid that. ....hopefully. and isabelle being here is the first step."
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Arakan nods, " that is the hope. But it's not something we can count on. i will do all i can to prevent a war, but if it must happen... i will not show mercy. i will take as many humans down with me as i can."
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Takana's ears go back and a wave of nausea hits him at the thought of arakan killing his friends, yori, isabelle or even him. he pales slightly before muttering that he wants to go to his room now, silently walking into the spare room.
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Arakan sighs, well that wasn't the best thing to say, but it was true. he'd fight as long as he could force his body to move. He shakes his head and leaves, going to deal with demons with issues that need taking care of.
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Takana settles on his bed and considers what he needs to get done. He had to avoid another war at all costs, to avoid his friends meeting their end
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Arakan's mother waits until her son is long gone before going to the room, having overheard most of the conversation. She knocks, " you alright in there?"
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takana jumps slightly and looks at arakan's mother. his ears droop and he clears his throat a little, "Im fine, thank you. Um, how are you?"
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She smiles slightly, " im just fine. i overheard your conversion, im sure you're feeling a bit conflicted at the moment."
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takana looks down and sighs, "ah. yeah i... yeah.... I dont want my friends, or the few family members i like, to get hurt in a war. Nor do i want anyone here to be hurt."
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She nods, " then you have a war to prevent then, don't you? we can't do much from here, the humans won't listen. but you...may be able to make a difference. He also desires those he cares about to be safe, so he will fight with every fiber of his being to protect them. even if protecting them means bending his pride and treating with the humans. you two spoke with one today did you not? that took a great deal for him to do with what he's had to endure from them over his life." she studies him carefully.
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takana blinks before nodding, "Yeah we talked to curtis, one of the main guards and my ex. I also have a family member who is the sweetest person i know possibly coming. Her name is Isabelle and she is the wife to... my step brother makoto who is an absolute ass. Honestly if she could just replace my step brother. She might be hesitant and timid but i also know she wants to see me. I just worry about the aftermath as well. I know Makoto will be upset to learn she came here without a good reason so i also want to make sure that she is okay as well. "
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She raises an eyebrow, " oh? that is interesting information considering i heard that this Isabella was married into the Kuroshiba family. you really ought to be more careful with what you say, the mistress of the tea shop told me everything. So, you're from that family then? Interesting... you may be more useful than i first thought." she hums softly in thought as she looks at him, " if need be this Isabella can seek refuge here with us. it's unconventional, and i'd rather not anger that family, but if she's useful to secure an improved economy then we may not need to worry about that family as much. Tell me, does she have any other valuable political ties? And if her husband is as bad as you say, do you think she would be willing to leave him? It's never been done before, between humans and demons, but political marriages in our own community are fairly common. Im certain i could find a high ranking demon willing to take that responsibility if it was a good opportunity. i may possibly even consider Arakan for it, however he may be best saved for another. i will need more information first."
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takana's ears move back and he looks a little anxious, "I uh.... I'm not sure whether she would leave him or not. She has put up with his behavior a lot for god knows why but she is way too kind for her own good so i dont want her to be taken advantage of. And uh... yeah I am from that family technically but aside from sharing dna with the ceo I dont really involve myself with what they do. I even used to live in my own apartment while i attended college. Right now im just focusing on isabelle shopping here safely for your economy since that is going to be a big deal as is."
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She chuckles, " don't fret, if I do work towards that, it will be after a great deal of consideration. After all, she's not in the planning here, so ideally the mate selected for her would be able to win her over himself. And as an important political connection, she would receive the best treatment and care."
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"IF she decides to leave makoto. A lot of ifs here. And yes, she does have important ties but that's for her to disclose. She also... can't have children due to health complications so I'm not sure if that affects your plans for her to be with someone here."
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She smiles, " well, the ideal time to present a potential mate will be when she comes to visit, even if he's not presented as such. as a protector and guide he'll be in the perfect position to earn her trust. Don't fret about children, we have ways around that. it's not something we often offer to the humans, but if she were among us, if she desires a child it will be seen to." she waves a hand. " no matter, i will oversee such things. the more we can do to secure our future the better. she will not be forced, but i see no problem in tempting."
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takana sighs, "as long as its not forced i guess. but she's like actual family to me so I am very protective of her."
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She nods, " i assure you if what i've heard of her husband is true, if she does take a mate here, her life will improve considerably. Her status will equal that of her mates, and only a b rank, or possibly extremely important c ranking demons will be considered. I will not risk souring her to us by selecting someone for this that is unsuitable or will treat her badly. I would put as much effort into this as i would if i were seeking a mate for my son."
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takana nods, "well.... if it helps to know, she is an extremely wonderful artist and botanist with a passion to help the planet so whoever you pick will need to be able to handle those. Makoto... doesnt appreciate those things so she keeps her art in a locked room and her garden is in a greenhouse which is also locked up."
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She nods, " don't fret, i assure you anyone i pick will be tolerant of whatever hobbies she decides to enjoy. especially since taking such a political mating is a great favor to us as the ruling family, so they would be assured a larger home than normal. she will have plenty of space for her desires."
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"And again, thats if. She could very well shop here on the daily and still go back to her home since that house is in her name and she built her life there. even if makoto left her he would probably move back in to the mansion where his mother resides."
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She smiles slightly, " you leave that to me. she may stay in the human district if she prefers, but obviously it's ideal if she mates to reside here. unless her mate is permitted to leave with her, which is questionable. unless... hm, i may have just the male. yes... i think he would suit nicely." she hums thoughtfully.
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takana sighs, "just dont force her into anything. if she likes a guy then fine but if she doesnt and prefers to stay single or if things dont change with makoto then I dont want her to feel pressured. she may be kind, even a little too open hearted, but she's also very sharp. she also has the belief that she married her highschool prince charming and i just- I dont want her treated like a prize to be won."
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She shrugs, " well, as i said, she will not be forced. you may meet the male in question if you'd like, since i think he will be ideal. His family used to be high ranking due to their abilities, however being stuck in the districts have put them on harder times. He's an Alicanto, they are able to sense precious metals and minerals. They also enjoy eating them, and their feathers are coated with the minerals they consume, making them quite lovely. They're not strong physically, not compared to other c rank demons, but they are clever and have some powerful defensive abilities."
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Takana's ears twitch and he blinks, "i... dont know what an Alicanto is... or looks like. Feathers? So is he like a bird or something?"
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She nods, " indeed he is. I can see if he's willing to come meet you, so you may see if he meets your expectations. If he's permitted to leave the district, he will be able to do what his species is known for, and not only increase his own fortunes, but that of the district as well. i am certain he will be agreeable to attempt to win this young lady over. It does not hurt that he's a handsome and charming young man. Even if she does not select him as a mate, she may be willing to argue in his favor once she hears his plight and aid him that way. either way, win win."
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"I...suppose. for now i just hope she responds to my text. i know its a lot for her to consider and if she agrees she will need to find a way to make this sound like a thing that will benefit makoto specifically which will be hard as it is so for now im just focusing on her getting here."
-
" indeed. perhaps it may be implied that there are untapped resources we have that someone with her sensibilities may be able to sniff out. after all, you humans do love the things we are able to provide. Caladrius tears are one of our most coveted items, giving just a drop to a human will make them speak only truth for about an hour. we limit how much we allow out, that's a powerful thing to be in the hands of our enemies. But, if they were not enemies... there are other items as well, that we have kept to ourselves." she smiles.
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Takana sighs, "maybe.... unless she asks in leaving the reasoning up to her. She knows makoto better than anyone. "
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She nods, " fair enough. im simply giving you options. you worry about getting her here, i'll worry about the rest. now, did you want to meet Indigo or not? I can get him over here."
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Takana nods, "might as well. I should meet new people anyway. I know hundreds of humans so I should also meet new demons when i get the chance."
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" very well. i'll call him and explain a bit of the situation. you just sit tight." she hums as she heads to another room, pulling out a phone and making the call, chatting away to the person who answers. After a few minutes she comes back in, " he'll be over shortly. he does not know your true connection to her, or that you're human. not that i think he'd mind, but the fewer who know, the less likely it'll be to get out."
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takana sighs, "yeah id rather keep my deal a secret so that it doesnt get back to the wrong people."
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"precisely." After about 10 minutes a young man with dark grey hair and eyes walks in, feathers interspersed in his hair dull and tarnished looking.
He looks at Arakan's mother and bows deeply at the waist before looking at Takana, " i presume you are the one im here to speak with regarding to see if i am an acceptable candidate for this proposal of hers? i admit it's intriguing. My name is Indigo, rank C, Alicanto. im aware i am low rank for such an important task, however despite my lack of offensive capabilities, i have great defensive capabilities. and If i am allowed to leave this district, i can secure great wealth."
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Takana sighs, "I just need to know if you will be a good friend to Isabelle first. I'm not even going to consider you being a potential partner when she still has a husband and is very loyal to him despite how better she could have it. that sounds wrong to me, cheaty in a way and i am in no way about to have that happen if i can help it." he pulls out his phone and and does a quick internet search before showing a picture to Indigo. It was a magazine cover featuring a beautiful garden in the background, and an even more gorgeous Isabelle in the forefront, "This is Isabelle. She tends to be very shy and timid but she is also sharp like her father."
Really anyone could look up the infamous beauty that is Isabelle Kuroshiba. Some say her kindness and sincerity is the only reason why that family hadnt gone through any serious scandal's. She handles the spotlight and paparazzi and its rare to find a human that didnt like her. She's even been on TV show's involving being interviewed that can be found on youtube.
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He peers at the photo and smiles, " very well. Either way she is quite easy on the eyes, this will be no chore. Is there anything you would like to know about me?"
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takana hums, "whatever you're willing to share. I consider Isabelle my sister so i need to be thorough when vetting anyone even if they just wish to be friends."
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He tilts his head, " very well. As you are aware, my name is Indigo, i am 24 years of age and i am an Alicanto. Presently my job is identifying real minerals and metals from fakes. i am the second son of 3 sons in my family, and i have one very young sister. I can't say i ever foresaw myself courting a human, but i am not opposed to it. i have heard you are not very familiar with most demons so you are probably unaware of my defensive ability. Never ask an Alicanto to sing, if our song is directed at you, it will make you dizzy and disoriented, often nauseous. After a few moments it will effectively disable all but the highest rank demons. Even if it is not directed at you, it will make you dizzy and disoriented, although to a far lesser extent."
-
"You are befriending a human. Befriending. Courting is her decision. Isabelle loves all animals despite being scared of dogs, she is a botanist so plants are important to her, and she has high level of skill involving oil pants. Do you have a problem with any of these things that would make you unable to befriend her?"
-
He hums softly, " i have no qualms about any of this. Plants do not particularly interest me, however they do not bother me in any way. Animals are also fine, and i do not particularly care for dogs. Art is a lovely thing to look at, though i have no interest in making it. I do not care if another does so, so i do not see it causing any problems." he shrugs.
-
"Okay, what is your ideal way to spend the day? A casual hang out on a casual day."
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He blinks and tilts his head, " a walk around town perhaps. ah, and maybe a meal at that cafe that supposed to be so good recently. im afraid there are not many entertaining things to do around here. i have heard from lower rank demons that there are large parks and places with a lot of water outside the district, that sounds like a pleasant place to go to. otherwise my brothers and i occasionally spar, though i doubt that would be something that would interest the lady, unless she enjoys it as a spectator sport. Some people say it's lovely to watch two Alicanto fight, since the colors and reflections of our feathers are so striking. Of course, that was the old days, im afraid my feathers are rather lackluster with the limited minerals and metals we are able to afford for consumption." he lifts a hand to his hair, touching one of the dull and tarnished looking feathers.
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takana tsks softly, "Yeah she isnt much into fighting. just her husband raising his voice gets her to shrink. But she would be happy to be out walking. she likes to jog in the mornings and go on hikes. And if she can come here she will visit the cafe for sure since thats where i work."
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He shrugs, " fighting is a way of life here, but i assure you i will see to it that even a voice is never raised in her direction so long as i am around to prevent it. I will see to it if i am selected as her escort i will take her to see that cafe then."
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takana eyes him carefully before nodding, "alright. that'll do for now. thank you."
-
He bows at the waist to Takana before turning to Arakan's mother, " is that all im needed for my lady?"
She nods, " that will do. you may go." He bows to her before leaving.
-
Takana blinks and his ears stick up when indigo bows, not used to anyone bowing to him. A part of him wants to tell indigo that he doesn't have to bow to him but at the same time he also didn't want to say anything that might embarrass him in front of arakans mom
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She waits until he's gone, " well now, it seems he really does like the idea. He's already treating you as higher rank to earn your favor. Alicantos tend to have a refined mannerism, they can be a bit conceited but that's tolerable. and honestly their bad history with humans is fairly limited, usually it could be a partnership. But even the bit of negative that there was is enough to have them in here with us, labeled as 'dangerous' just because they had a habit of leading some nasty sorts off cliffs. it was their own fault for trying to follow them to their feeding sites without any intention of sharing what they'd harvest, greedy miners. ah well, it is what it is."
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Takana had no fucking clue what she was talking about in the last bit of her sentence so he elected t ignore it for now. "yeah well he didnt have to bow to me. i am nothing special. just a bratty college kid with too many questions and a weird obsession of creating."
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She waggles her finger, " you're not looking at the larger picture. you're the key to potentially restoring his family's health and prosperity. We allocate them enough metals and minerals to keep them in a reasonable state of health, but it's an expensive dietary need. they could use far more than they get. this may be the key to returning them to being able to hunt down ore and gemstone veins. so of course he will do all he can to be in your good graces."
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Takana sighs, "i just...this whole respect and ranking thing still weirds me out."
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She laughs lightly, " ah, so that's it. well, our culture is different than what you're used to, but it works for us. it keeps the peace between the different ranks, especially in such close quarters. It used to be more lax, before the districts. Of course it was required to show deference and respect to those higher rank, but it wasn't often needed. our territories were like... circles within circles. a large territory was under the protection of an A ranking demon family. that large territory was split into 5-6 chunks, roughly the same size, for B ranks. and within those were C ranks. get it? usually the E ranks never even really met the A rank family of their territory, but they could rely on them to keep the territory protected and organized. it's a chain of command, designed to ensure everyone does what they're most skilled at doing, but it was also a community. we're packing in too tightly and have to adhere to human ways of life too much for such a method to work well, and being unable to do what our instincts tell us is how things are supposed to be tends to grate against many."
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Takana sighs, "Yeah but I disrespect my older step brother all the time because he was an asshole and it never got me killed. I got an earful from his bitch of a mother but that was all."
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" it was a far rarer occurrence for demons to kill each other over that sort of thing before. they simply didn't be in contact enough. And when you consider the sheer power we can wield, it's important to know you can trust those around you to obey."
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Takana sighs, "obey is such a.... gross sounding word. Sorry its just... thats a weird word that i dont hear often."
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She shrugs, " regardless of what you think, this is our world, not yours. exceptions will be made for humans that come to visit, but as you are with us as one of our own, you must follow our rules. when in rome, do as romans do, i think the saying goes."
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takana nods, "Im tying. i have cut down the sass around your son for obvious reasons and im trying not to get as miffed as i usually get but, again, bratty college kid."
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She nods, " well, he seems to be more tolerant of your antics than he normally would be. but perhaps that's him trying to be understanding of your perceived background. regardless, you're doing well. keep it up and you might just survive this whole thing."
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takana's ears twitch before they lower a little, "right...i... im trying. um well... thank you for helping me. i do appreciate it."
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She tilts her head, " i've hardly done much. besides, it's best to keep a close on on potential problems, and potential assets. you are both, so it's wise to keep a close eye on you indeed."
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"Just you not mentioning anything makes me grateful enough even if you dont think you're doing much. i still appreciate it so im going to say thank you."
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She chuckles, " presently keeping up the facade is the most beneficial. if i thought it was harmful or that i would benefit my family or people better by revealing you, i would do so. do not mistake my actions for kindness, i only do what's best for those i protect. Anyway, im sure my son will be back soon. We've spent quite a bit of time talking, and i have medicines to prepare. unless you needed something in specific, i'll take my leave."
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takana's ear move back hearing that before he sighs, "yeah Im done talking as well..."
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She turns and goes, heading back to her work.
Arakan soon comes back, a bundle of papers in his hands that he's looking at as he walks by the room Takana is in, frowning slightly.
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takana watches arakan walk by and he blinks. he wants to ask what the frown was about but he figured it was better not to ask... he instead decides to go to the archive that the ice demon mentioned earlier to take a good look at the history books. fair to say this is the most reading he thinks he'll ever do
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Arakan sighs and goes into his room, filing away the papers before going to the room, finding it empty, then to the archives, " hey, you doing alright? it's probably about time to get something to eat."
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Takana glances over and hums before gently setting a book back in its proper place. "Yeah I'm feeling pretty hungry. Did you get a good chunk of work done?"
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Arakan nods, " we'll get something to eat then. and yeah i did, im nearly caught back up. we can eat out someplace, or we can have the guy that usually makes meals here whip something up."
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Takana looks up at arakan, "you have a guy make your food for you? "
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Arakan nods, " well yeah, it's not like anyone in my family has the time to worry about that. he's not as good as you, but i don;t need amazing food, i just need nutrition that will keep me going."
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Takana gives a dry chuckle, "I'm not that amazing at cooking. It really is my mom's cooking. SHE was amazing at cooking."
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He waves a hand, " it matters little. regardless, we can eat here, or we can seek some of the food vendors around the district if you prefer. it doesn't matter either way to me."
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Takana hums softly, "we can eat here. I'm not really a picky eater so I'm sure it'll be fine."
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Arakan pulls out his phone and sends a text. " it'll be about half an hour before it's ready, so if you'd like to go back to reading go ahead."
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"What do you plan on doing for that half hour? "
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Arakn blinks, " probably look over my papers again? i didn;t really have anything planned yet."
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Takana hums, "got it. Alright, I'll go back to the archives then."
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Arakan goes to his room, grabbing the papers and coming back, making himself comfortable in a large cushy chair. He crosses one leg over the other and leans his head on a hand while he looks them over, occasionally taking a pen to them and marking the paper.
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Takana settles into the archives and finds the book he was reading and goes back to reading
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After a half hour a female demon comes into the room and sets two plates on the big table, as well as a pitcher of tea. The meal is slices of liver and veggies.
Arakan sets his papers down and sits to eat, " not the most appetizing i know, but liver is cheap and easy to get, and full of nutrition, so it's pretty common fare here." he starts eating without complaint.
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Takana had gotten up and went to his plate and, while keeping his face neutral, mentally panicking at the idea of eating liver for the first time.
he sits down and blinks a bit before glancing at arakan, "just a quick question though, what does liver taste like?"
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Arakan blinks, " it's got a strong flavor, kind of metallic and earthy." He takes a drink of his tea.
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takana nods. okay. metallic and earthy. he can handle that. he hesitantly takes a bite of the liver, not wanting to be rude and not eat it. he ate worse things in college he thinks. he once consumed three redbulls instead of actual meals once because he had 5 exams in one day and couldnt be bothered so realistically this is probably better for his body than energy drinks.
The texture was off putting though..... and it could have honestly used thyme. but to be fair he wondered if spices were hard to come by. even humans seem to treasure them a little too much in the past
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Arakan makes his way through the meal, emptying the plate, " at the very least, you'll know you got a lot of nutrition. it's really good for you, if not the most appealing." he drinks a full cup of tea after, " i'll admit it's not my favorite though.
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takana manages to bite through his meal before drinking down his tea, thankful to save this blessing for last to save his taste buds. he sets the cup down and sighs, "It certainly is better for me than some things i have consumed, i'll give it that."
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Arakan snorts softly, " at least things are better than when we first came to the districts. i've heard some bad stories. i also know some demons in the rougher areas lure rats and pigeons in to catch for food, since meat is hard to come by."
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Takana shudders, "okay I know I said I wasn't picky but I would prefer not to eat rats or pidgeon in the future. Not sure if that would mess up my stomach or not."
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Arakan chuckles, "one of the perks of the main family is we don't have to resort to that. And though organ meats are common here we usually just get liver, it's the most palatable, and the most nutrient dense. so it's perfect for us who have to keep ourselves in peak condition."
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Takana snorts softly, "okay. I'm going to see if yori can't sneak over a rump roast. That might be a good treat."
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Arakan blinks, " oh sure."
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"It won't be a fancy steak or anything but I could make an excellent pot roast if I could also get my hands on a slow cooker." He hums softly
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Arakan rubs the back of his neck, " uh, i know there's some older methods of slow cooking. like getting coals going and having the food buried with them. im not sure if i know anyone with a slow cooker."
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Takana looks at arakan and shrugs, "I'm sure I can figure something out, thanks though. If I ever went that route I'd also want to get my hands on something to wrap it with but, again, I can figure this out. "
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Arakan shrugs, " put it in a pot with a lid. then you keep the juice and everything and can put lots of stuff in."
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"Would have to be a pretty thick pot and lid. Eh. It's fine, it's fine. It will be a thought for a different day. " He hums and glances at his tea cup. They always had pretty good tea thankfully.
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Arakan nods, " metal with a metal lid would do the trick. i've heard clay can be used, but that's not something we get often here." he sighs, " right, well we can take you home, or if you'd like to stay here until it gets a bit later and Izanagi will be home we can. either way i'll find work to get done."
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takana hums, "I better get home. then you wont be disturbed from your work later."
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Arakan shrugs, " i will be staying with you anyway so it doesn't matter much." he grabs the stack of papers he'd set aside. " lets go then. i can at least look these reports over while i keep guard."
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Takana nods, "alright." He gets up and waits for arakan to lead the way
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Arakan heads out and back to Izanagi's apartment, " i hope it wasn;t too boring while i was gone."
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takana follows and looks up at arakan, "its fine. your mother talked to me for a little bit so it wasnt so boring."
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Arakan looks over, " oh? well, im glad you two had a chance to chat. And im glad you weren't too bored." he opens the door to the apartment and holds it open for Takana.
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takana goes in and nods, "as long as i dont do anything that upsets her i consider our conversations a success."
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Arakan chuckles softly, " she's difficult to upset usually. depends on the subject really i suppose." he heads in and makes himself comfortable on the couch with his paperwork.
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takana snorts, "Yeah but I have a unique talent of pissing people off so when she comes to talk to me i usually try to be on my best behavior. "
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Arakan chuckles, " that's a good point."
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takana goes to his room and sits down to relax a little while he waits for izanagi to come home, pulling up his laptop and browsing the web while he waits
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A couple hours later Izanagi comes home, seeing Arakan on the couch and tilts his head, " oh, Takana must be here too." he pouts and goes outside takana's room, " it was lame without you there! everyone was dissapointed the food wasn;t as good as yours."
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Takana flinches and looks up at izanagi, "ah sorry. arakan needed my help today so it was kinda outta my hands."
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Izanagi sticks his tongue out, " well i hope it was good at least."
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takana blinks and frowns, "um... not really? i have no idea what you're talking about right now. we went and talked to one of the guards and to work on a way to get isabelle here to visit to help boost your economy."
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Izanagi blinks, " Seriously? you take a day off, spend time with him alone all day, and you didn;t do anything?"
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Takana turns bright red and he squeaks loudly, "Wha- NO. I dont want to have sex with someone i am not in a relationship with, how many times do i have to say that?"
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " uuuuugh you're so boring. what a waste of a day off." he sighs and heads to his room.
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takana sputters and gets up, following izanagi, "it wasnt a waste! we're trying to help the economy! how is that a waste?"
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Izanagi blinks and looks at him, " i don;t really get how getting one human here is gonna help with any of that."
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takana sighs, "You dont know who isabelle is so you dont know what ties she has but just her coming here safely and shopping a little bit is a door being open to encourage other humans to shop here, thus bringing money in for you guys."
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Izanagi blinks and frowns, " is that... safe? humans don;t like us... i know if Arakan is on board he can keep other high rank demons in line, but if a human attacks one of us, the lower rank, that's gonna start a chain reaction."
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Takana sighs, "right now its only isabelle and she wouldnt hurt a fly. if that even goes over well then there would be strict rules that Curtis agreed to enforce on the humans side. This is an opportunity to make a bridge between the both sides and hopefully avoid a war. Arakan seems to think a war is going to happen regardless of what we do so hopefully this will keep one at bay. But we havent even gotten that far yet, its a bit of a touch and go plan at the moment. But if she can come here to shop im hoping for her to come by the cafe. She loves tea and coffee and she misses me so..." takana shrugs
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Izanagi hums, " well i suppose if that's how things are it's worth a try. have you talked to her yet?"
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Takana sighs, "I sent her a text, explaining the proposal while ensuring her safety however i dont expect a reply within the next day or so. she is going to have to convince her husband to let her come here since he is.... not the greatest. if she can word it in a way where he would come on top and benefit from this more than the demons here then he'd allow it."
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Izanagi wrinkles his nose, " sounds like a piece of work."
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Takana nods, "oh trust me. he's a real ass."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " but then if this woman is so great, why would she marry him?"
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Takana snorts, "Apparently he was a lot better before. a gentleman if you will. That and her father was a man who was hard to please so to finally hear him like her boyfriend and not scare him off was the deciding factor apparently."
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Izanagi hums, " weird."
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Takana shakes his head, "you're telling me."
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Izanagi sighs, " really though, even if it wasn;t a waste of time, it was certainly a wasted opportunity..."
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Takana blinks, confused, "what...was a wasted opportunity?"
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Izanagi grumbles, " being alone all day with Arakan! yeah you got some important stuff done but that was a perfect chance for a trip to bone town!"
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Takana's eyes widen and he turns bright red, "i- I don't think he would appreciate that at all. Besides, like I said, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing something like that to anyone I wasn't in a relationship with. "
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Izanagi sighs, " i can still be of the opinion that it was a wasted chance. i would have at least given him a blowie, de-stress him a little you know?"
-
Takana's ears stick straight up and his face turns a deeper shade of red, his face now being pinker than his hair. "a-a-a blow- UH that- um yeah i wouldnt do that. that is so embarrassing."
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Izanagi blinks, " whaaaaaat?! seriously? it's just a blowjob. i'd give one to him right now if he'd let me. he likes you better though it seems." he sighs again.
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takana snorts softly, "if he does like me more than you its probably BECAUSE i wouldnt just give him head out of nowhere. I dont really like to be handsy like that, its probably the only reason why i didnt drink as a college kid."
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Izanagi blinks, " Drink? oh, like that alcohol stuff? i've heard of it and seen it outside the district, but we don't get any of that here."
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takana blinks, "you guys.... dont get alcohol here? really? "
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Izanagi nods, " i think it's banned by the ruling family. never really thought about it, you'd have to ask Arakan."
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Takana shakes his head, "To be fair, thats probably for the best. alcohol isnt great for you and if you could only get it from the humans then you guys would have no economy at all instead of just barely an economy."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah. i've heard some demons in the slums make their own sometimes... but it's usually shut down pretty quick."
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Takana hums, "why? is alcohol bad for you guys?"
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Izanagi tilts his head, " i don't think so. i know right before they shut those down is usually when we hear a lot of reports of trouble."
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takana's ears move back and he hums, "Thats interesting. "
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Izanagi shrugs, " like i said, you'd have to ask Arakan for more details. im just an e rank."
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takana shrugs, "its fine. im sure there is a reason for it."
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Izanagi nods, " anyway... i think i want a shower." he heads into his room and grabs a towel before heading into the bathroom.
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takana sighs and heads back to his room, going back to his laptop
-
Izanagi happily showers before he goes to his room to rest.
Arakan works on his papers.
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takana stays in his room for the rest of the evening, dozing every so often as his laptop plays youtube
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Izanagi soon goes to sleep for the night, and after awhile Arakan gets the couch set up and also goes to sleep.
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once morning comes takana is already awake and happily cooking breakfast, making enough to include himself this time
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Arakan groans as he wakes up, hair a mess. He yawns and gets up, wandering into the kitchen to see what all the noise is.
Izanagi is still asleep.
-
Takana glances at arakan and hums softly, "Coffee?"
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Arakan runs a hand through his hair, smoothing it somewhat, " please, if it's not too much trouble."
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takana smiles and grabs a mug, "no trouble at all since i already have a pot made." he fills the mug before handing it over to arakan, "breakfast will be done as soon as these hashbrowns are ready."
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Arakan gives an affirmative grunt and takes the mug, sitting and sipping at it slowly.
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Takana grabs a plate and goes over to the cooling quiche, cutting a large square out and placing it on the plate before going back to the cooking potatoes and setting the plate down. They were well cooked but he was waiting patiently for parts to brown a little more for a nice crispy crunch and not just be soft mushy hashbrowns
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Arakan sighs softly, " that hits the spot... much appreciated." he sets the empty mug down and gets up, heading to the bathroom and quickly freshening up, coming out looking as clean and collected as he usually does.
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takana finishes getting the hash browns perfect and plates the food up, "im sure this food will hit the spot even more than coffee. dig in, this quiche is delicious." he sets the plate on to the table with a fork, and a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of hot sauce, "i personally prefer ketchup on my hash but its up to you."
-
Arakan chuckles, " i have no doubt. And i know my tastes are a tad spicier than most. speaking of which..." he gets up and goes over to where he'd set down the bottle of hot sauce he'd purchased the day before, " this im eager to try." he sits back down and carefully lets a few drops onto his meal before digging in.
-
Takana chuckles and shakes his head before setting another plate of food down. he heads to izanagi's room and knocks on the door, "Nagi, breakfast!"
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Izanagi stumbles out, " mmm food." and makes his way over, plopping down and digging in, eyes barely open.
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Takana grabs a plate for himself for the first time in a while and sits with them, eating and drinking coffee quietly
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Arakan lets a breath out, fog dissipating as his breath crackles in the air, " damn that's actually got a kick. good shit though."
Izanagi peers at the bottle and wrinkles his nose, " you sure that stuff isn;t used for chemical warfare?"
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takana snorts and chuckles softly, "if it was used for chemical warfare im sure it wouldnt be for sale here."
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Izanagi wrinkles his nose, " i dunno... they might like if we killed ourselves on accident."
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Takana sighs, "that would be fucked up..." he stares at his plate a little bit before poking at his hash browns
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Arakan notes Takana's response, " Izanagi, shut your mouth. It's just hot sauce."
Izanagi tenses and blinks, looking wide eyed at Arakan, who continues eating, ignoring it.
-
Takana's eyes widen slightly as well, not expecting Arakan to say something like that. He blinks a little bit before going back to eating, not wanting to do anything to make arakan snap at him
-
Izanagi slowly starts eating quietly.
Arakan soon finishes his meal, closing up the bottle and getting up, going back to the couch.
-
takana finishes eating and puts his plate in the sink. he felt shitty that arakan was harsh to izanagi. he could have handled it better... after all, they werent in public so there was no need to be so harsh right off the bat...
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Arakan frowns at his papers, he should have stopped that conversation sooner, he waited too long and now everyone was all quiet. he needed to be more decisive, this time it was only a little squabble, but next time it may not be.
-
takana begins washing the dishes, his ears twitching back as he thinks. maybe he should mention it to arakan.
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Arakan sighs softly and gets back to his papers. he was almost done with this stack, he ought to pop over home to get more while the boys worked.
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takana finishes doing the dishes except for izanagi's since he was still eating. he hums softly and goes to his room
-
Izanagi soon finishes his meal and does his best to clean off his dishes before going to his room.
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takana changes clothes out of his pajamas and combs through his hair, humming softly as he gets himself decent for work
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Izanagi soon shakes off the shock of being scolded and gets dressed, flopping onto his bed with an old and torn comic to amuse himself with.
-
after a few hours takana notices the time and hums softly before getting up and closing his laptop, "time to go to work."
-
Izanagi grabs his bag and heads for the front door, " yay good food today."
Arakan tucks his papers into his bag, " i'll need to leave briefly while you are working, but it won;t be long. Have you spoken with the woman?"
-
Takana looks at arakan and nods, "I explained the situation to her and I'm waiting to hear a response. She didn't say she was oppose to it but that it will need to get explained to her husband delicately so as to not....cause an uproar."
-
Arakan nods, " very well, we are playing the waiting game again then i suppose."
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Takana hums, "As soon as i hear back from her I will let you know."
-
Arakan nods, " very well. i'll admit my patience seems to be running thin these days."
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Takana shrugs, "you're also waiting to hear from that one demon involving his brother too right? A shame you didn't get his number or anything to see what the status is?"
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Arakan nods, " yes, however i deemed it wiser to not have direct contact. if he is to live, his brother must not find any suspicious numbers in his phone."
-
Takana nods, "that's a very valid point I guess. From the way it was described though it didn't really sound like he was ever even... acknowledged I guess? I mean, yeah I'd rather be safe than sorry but I wonder if his family even remembers he exists sometimes."
-
Arakan shrugs, " im not sure. but as you said, better safe than sorry. especially seeing as there will be no be no second chances. If it's true, this must be done right the first try."
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Takana hums softly before sighing, "won't lie. I hope that guy ain't dead. That'd be a bummer."
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Arakan nods, " indeed. especially since if it's all true and he did die, it will be very troublesome. im not entirely certain how i'll deal with it, perhaps i will need to find some... less than savory options to deal with the problem. i will not allow them to threaten my district, even if i must break the law and take care of it myself. That would leave this district without an heir, as i doubt i will be permitted to come back alive, but it's better than letting them have their way."
-
Takana blinks and frowns, "hey, don't say that. There are plenty of options to think of that don't involve you fucking
your own future up. "
They reach the cafe and takana looks at arakan, "while I'm sure everyone here doesn't want another district butting in and disturbing the peace I can guarantee they'd also prefer you around as well."
-
Arakan looks over at Takana, " and if this other district decides to destroy ours, what other options do you see? i will not allow them to come here. Yes the ideal would be that it not come to that, but it is my duty to protect my people. i will not risk that sort of slaughter." he enters the cafe, " if i am gone, either another high ranking family will take over this district, or my parents will need to seek aid in obtaining another heir."
-
Takana huffs, "you're already locking yourself into a situation that hasn't happened yet. Who knows, maybe if this district becomes more popular with the humans then it'll be enough of a deterrent to keep him from doing anything else here. Regardless, you said you had work to do today so I'm ending this conversation before we have a stupid spat in public. Don't work too hard, and have a good day please."
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Arakan grumbles, " i doubt he would give up so easily. but we shall see." he sits at one of the tables and texts Kaiten, who arrives shortly after and Arakan leaves.
Izanagi changes into his maid outfit and flounces around as he works.
-
takana heads inside and quickly starts working in the kitchen
-
After a few hours Arakan comes back, a bag of papers with him, and Kaiten heads home. Arakan sits and pulls some of the papers out to work on.
-
after a few hours of working, shiro quietly slips into the cafe.
His left arm is in a sling and his right eye is black and only slightly swollen but otherwise he is in one piece
-
Arakan glances up and notes Shiro's condition, waving him over to the table he's at.
Izanagi perks when he sees Shiro, " ooooo."
-
Shiro looks over at arakan waving him over and he goes over to the table, sitting down across from the demon, bowing his head a little, "A-apologies for the delay."
-
Arakan looks him over, " clearly it was for a reason. care to fill me in?"
-
Shiro blinks when arakan looks him up and down before glancing at himself and giving a weak smile, "Ah. my appearance has nothing to do with my absence. My brother was actually in a good mood so im pleased with the outcome of my injuries this time."
-
Arakan's eyes narrow, " this is a regular occurrence then? shameful. regardless, did you get the proof i asked for?"
-
Shiro blinks, slightly taken aback by arakans comment before deciding that the superior demon must mean that shiro's inability to defend himself was shameful, which made more sense to him. He holds out a flash drive, nodding, "Everything you need to know is in here. This device was the easiest way to bring all of this information across the border."
-
Arakan carefully takes the drive, " very well. i happen to know someone with a computer." he carefully puts the drive away, " i will look into it as soon as possible. you are welcome to remain here, and if you would like medical attention it's the least i can do."
-
Shiro rubs the back of his head, "ah. i appreciate the offer, however it would be best if i didnt stick around for long, and if i go back with these injuries in better care then that would be suspicious. No need to waste time on these anyways, its nothing im not used to." he nods to arakan respectfully, "now, if you'll excuse me, its best i head out. im glad i could catch you though."
-
Arakan frowns and nods, "try to come back soon if it's safe. i ought to be able to review this tonight, and i would like to move quickly if possible."
-
Shiro nods, "The sooner the better. Brother is growing restless and it is only a matter of time before he causes enough damage to gain the humans attention in a bad way..."
-
Arakan lifts a corner of his lips in a snarl, " we're running out of time then. i will review this and then we will plan. good luck and stay safe, i need you alive."
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Shiro nods and gets up from his spot, bows to arakan, and heads out
-
Arakan sighs softly and holds the little flash drive up, looking at it contemplatively. If this held what it was supposed to, things were about to get messy.
-
mina happily bounces about, happy that they have more customers today then yesterday with takana back
-
Arakan sighs and puts the drive away before waving Mina over and ordering some coffee.
Izanagi pouts, he hadn't gotten a chance to flirt with Shiro, the other had came and went too quickly and he'd been taking care of another customer. it just wasn't fair.
-
hikari notices izanagi's pout and snorts softly, "Surprised you arent running out after him to get his number or something. He's about as useless as a human so its not like he can actually get very far."
Mina takes arakan's order eagerly before going over to hikari, "What are you talking about~?" she hands hikari the order slip
Hikari prepares arakans coffee, "Nothing. dont worry about it."
-
Izanagi sighs, " tempted, but last time i gave him my number and he never called. and the manager would get mad at me...." he pouts.
-
Mina perks a little, catching on to the conversation, "oh. That shiro guy? He kinda seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't be the first to text. Maybe you should have got his number instead and texted him first?"
Hikari huffs at mina holding the coffee out, "talk later! This is the owners order after all. He comes first over your trivial matters."
Mina blushes and pouts, "don't be such a brown nose hikari." She takes the coffee and puts on a smile as she brings the coffee to arakan, "here you are."
-
Izanagi blinks, " next time i definitely will then. i'll make him give me his number."
Arakan takes the coffee and nods to Mina, " thank you." he stirs it and takes a sip, sighing softly as he get back to work.
-
Hikari rolls her eyes and sighs, "cool, a group of six just walked in so go do your job."
Mina nods and goes to another table to tend
-
Izanagi sticks his tongue out and flounces over to tend to them.
-
The rest of the day goes by without any incidents and soon its closing time, takana already getting the kitchen ready for the next day
-
Izanagi soon finishes getting the dining area all clean and heads into the back to get changed.
Arakan waits patiently for the boys, and as soon as they're ready to head out he moves over to Takana, " would you mind if i used your computer tonight? it's important or i wouldn't ask."
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Takana looks up at arakan and blinks before nodding, "uh yeah sure. That's fine."
-
Arakan nods, " thank you." he heads briskly to guide the boys home, eager to get to work.
Izanagi picks up his pace to keep up.
-
Takana blinks again before humming and briskly catching up with the two, curious as to why arakan needs his computer
-
Once they get to the apartment Arakan pulls out the flash drive, " i need to look at the contents of this."
Izanagi shrugs and heads into his room.
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takana nods and goes to his room. he grabs his laptop and the charging cord before heading to the living room and setting it down and plugging it in, "There you go. do you know how to work it?"
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Arakan shakes his head, " not that well. the one we have looks nothing like this. this is so small." he holds out the drive.
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takana shrugs, "well you might have a computer instead of a laptop, either that or the oldest laptop in the world." he sets down in front of his laptop and takes the drive, plugging it in, "Im surprised something like this flash drive is on this side considering its definitely a newer model, and it actually has a decent amount of gigs."
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Arakan nods, " i have not seen one before, but i presume their connection to humans has given them better access to technology."
-
Takana opens the flash drive file and blinks and the other many files inside, "um...there's a lot of folders here.... where do you want to start? Voice recordings, photo's, contracts or files?"
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Arakan blinks and frowns, " hm, start with the files please. then we'll move onto the photos and contracts. i think i will save the recordings for last."
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takana nods and goes into the file, several pdf documents with various titles are in said folder, "I guess we just start from the top...."
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Arakan nods, " before we start, i want your word you will not disclose anything within these files to anyone without my express permission, understood? there may be information that if leaked, could cause major issues. im trusting you here."
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takana looks at arakan and nods, "o-okay. although if you think you can handle it from here you could always boot me to my room. just a thought."
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Arakan sighs, " i... am not sure i know how. so long as you give your word i'll trust you. besides, seeing as you, me, and Shiro will be the only ones with the information, i'll know where to go for a leak." he snorts softly.
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takana shudders, "well, i am in no favor dying any time soon, unlike before, so I promise i'll keep my mouth shut."
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Arakan nods, " lets see what Shiro got for me then. with all of this, there's more than likely something damning enough that i can use it."
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takana opens the files, each file containing schematics and codes to current and upcoming devices and inventions made by Kuroshiba corp.
The young man's ears perk up and his eyes widen slightly, absolutely stunned seeing his families lifework on his computer like this
-
Arakan sharply inhales as he sees all this, " well now. i know he said they were working with the humans, but these humans? look at the newer stuff, i'd like to see what new humiliations they have in store..." he scoffs softly.
-
Takana is pale and he is frozen in his spot, terrified of opening the next file. What else could they have? The Good Boy Collar schematics were staring him in the face and he felt sick when the file also pointed out the Collar's average failure rate and which collars were more prone to failure then others.
He felt incredibly ill....
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Arakan blinks as he sees those statistics and growls, " those bastards know some of them are more likely to fail and they still make us wear them? bastards... that's good information though, knowing that i might be able to keep more people alive..." he sighs softly, and notices that Takan is frozen, " ... hey, are you okay there? oh right, you don't like anything negative against the humans, well sorry, but this is reality." he puts a hand on the others shoulder, " this information can save lives though, if we avoid the ones that are more likely to fail we can make our odds better."
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Takana shudders and hesitantly clicks to the next file, almost regretting it instantly when he sees his own microchip schematic pop up. Some of the notes were still in his own handwriting for gods sake!
He couldnt believe his family stole his own ideas from his notebook. Did his dad know? They didnt even change the materials used or what to even call it.
small and convenient, rechargeable battery and can hold important document information so there is no longer a reason for demons to carry around papers, safe and secure, demons no longer needing to wear collars which fail due to every day wear and tear
Sure that all sounded nice but it was in his fail folder for a reason.
In the upper right hand side of the schematic was a note to see contract file 55620.txt for upcoming microchip procedure.
-
Arakan leans in for a closer look and snarls, the temps dropping, " is that a fucking implant? i'll allow them to put a fucking chip in any of my people over my god damned body!"
-
Takana flinches and looks at arakan, panicking, "i-im sure the design wasn't made as an implant! What- what if the person was just trying to make it easier for the demons and was just- i- I don't know, not being sensitive towards the idea of a microchip?"
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Arakan snorts, " and where else is it going to go? it says it's a replacement for collars. it's too small to be something to put in our pockets, and they wouldn;t trust us that much."
-
Takana huffs, not liking his own invention to be critiqued so suddenly, "glad you hate it so much I guess." His ears flatten, before he goes into the contract folder, looking for the file number that corresponds with the microchip file, wanting to know what's happening with his design
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Arakan looks sharply at him, " and you would enjoy having something put into your body that will track your every movement and probably have the ability to shock you if you do the wrong thing? The collars are bad enough as it is, i don;t think you understand. You do not have another form, for those of us that are 'discouraged' from taking our other shape with electric shocks, it's forcing us to try and ignore half of ourselves. I am this shape, but i am my other shape just as much. they are both parts of me."
-
Takana snarls, "the original design didn't have any of that!! It was literally just a way to make things more easier for demons but it was a trash design and it got pitched so it shouldn't even be here!!"
-
Arakan looks at Takana and narrows his eyes, " and how exactly would you even know that?"
-
Takana's eyes widen and he turns pale as his face falls, "i- "
He wasn't sure what to say. Did he just out himself? He suddenly felt very.... fucked.
He shrunk in his seat, arakans gaze making him suddenly terrified
-
The temps start to drop until Takana's breath is visible, Arakan's eyes fixed onto him, " I advise you tell me. NOW."
-
"It-it was from a college project in my nanotechnology class. We were supposed to find an everyday item and design a smaller, better version of it that would improve people's lives and i... I chose the collars. I saw them on all the demons around me and they never looked comfortable, I heard they failed a lot, and I thought that would be a decent thing to work on... um..." He looks back at the laptop screen, his ears drooping, "but I ended up failing it myself when I realized that it wasn't really appropriate, and put it in my folder with all of the other things I designed that were a failure. Someone must have taken the folder when I was kicked out..."
-
The temps raise a little as Arakan studies him for a long moment, " ...very well. move onto the next item." he wasn;t entirely certain he believed it, but he had no proof contrary. And for the moment it was more important to continue going through this information.
-
Takana sighs, now depressed thinking about it. It was the truth, entirely in fact, but the thought of his family stealing his designs, flawed or not, really made his stomach churn.
"I'm... going to look at the contract that my stolen schematic references since I'd kinda would like to know what the hell they are doing with it."
He opens the contract and reads through it, "the 7th district will be compensated for the purchase of lower class products in which will be tested with the new MicroMini also known as their new microchipped collar? What does that mean?"
-
Arakan frowns, " im not certain. i will need to ask someone with more technical know how. i presume it means that they'll be paid to test the products on their citizens, which i hope not."
-
Takana sighs and frowns, "well it looks like they at least plan on testing the chip before rolling it out which... isn't ideal but it's better than just...making everyone have it without at least seeing what it does. Hopefully they'll make it... optional to the collar and then you can just not do the chip."
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Arakan decides not to add his doubts to that. " well, it's good information anyway. next?"
-
Takana goes back to the files and returns to going through the schematics, pausing when they get to an assortment of profiles of different high class demons with info on who they are, what are their ranks and what their powers and weaknesses are, arakan and his parents also on the list
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Arakan frowns, " our specialties aren't exactly secret, but this compilation... they've been gathering this data for awhile. i'll consider that later. continue."
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Takana frowns, feeling slightly unnerved at this information before moving on. The next file listed details what Kashi wants in a potential mate, "Rank, not important, gender, not important, attraction level must be... at least an 8? An 8 out of what?" Takana frowns as he reads through, "he apparently just wants someone unique and attractive enough to fuck and that's it? How shallow."
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Arakan snorts, " somehow im not surprised. what little i've heard of him is not flattering. it doesn't really matter who he takes as a mate i suppose since as long as he has a child, the powers will transfer to his heir. so it's not important for his lineage to be careful about their mates. continue."
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Takana nods and clicks through, this time find profile pages of different looking demons, their names, age, rank, a photo, what district they are from and why Koshi had them as a potential target.
Most of the demons takana had never seen until he got to a small chunk of profiles that included Mina, izanagi, and himself.
Mina's profile stated she had huge boobs and looked easy to manipulate.
Izanagi's profile stated he was a slut and probably enjoy being fucked all the time.
And Takana's own profile stated he was pink, cute, and how Koshi couldn't find any information about him aside from the fact that Arakan seems to stick by him so he must be important enough.
Takana pulled his hand away from the mouse when he saw the photo used in his profile. It was taken recently. It had him, izanagi, and kaiten, more than likely walking to work.
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Arakan snorts softly as he reads the profiles, " well, he's got Mina and Izanagi down. This is a recent photo though, he must have people in our district working for him... this is unsettling. all the more reason this needs to stay between you and I. And this is why i've kept such close guard on you."
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Takana looks at arakan, "yeah but from the sounds of it you guarding me so much caught his attention."
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Arakan shrugs, " and if i did not, then he may have taken interest regardless and you would be vulnerable."
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takana sighs, "i doubt anyone would kidnap me just because im pink."
-
Arakan shrugs, " as you said, he's a shallow man. your association with Izanagi may have made him think you are similar in preferences to him. it's impossible to know."
-
takana shudders, "Well now he's acting like a spoiled child, wanting everything that the other kids have. its gross..." he sighs and goes to some more files, showing different demons that are all from the 7th district and what they specialize in and what district they had been assigned to and which demon they were supposed to take. Several demons on this list say deceased after their name, including the two demons that infiltrated arakans district whom were assigned Mina and Izanagi.
Takana blinks and frowns, "so... the guy that took Nikiri down came after us for izanagi?"
-
Arakan nods, " presumably so. im glad i had you two under watch, otherwise Izanagi might have gotten taken then."
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takana sighs, "Then im even more thankful for nikiri for keeping us safe and buying time."
-
Arakan nods, " though had i not been so foolish as to have him as the guard, and had someone of higher rank do so, it may have been better. That was my mistake, his injuries were my fault." he sighs, " continue on."
-
Takana sighs, "I don't think his injuries are your fault, and I doubt nikiri thinks so either. I mean, you could even talk to him about it. I know he can be annoying as fuck towards you but I'm sure a serious question will get you a serious answer..."
He continues through the files for arakan
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Arakan snorts, " it was my call to leave him as your guard when i knew there were dangerous demons around. therefore it's my fault. as a leader, i need to do better."
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Takana sighs and shakes his head, "if that's what you think then I won't stop you."
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Arakan sighs, " this isn't worth fighting over. start playing the recordings."
-
Takana nods and opens up the folder that has the recordings.
there werent many, but takana wasnt surprised considering it was probably hard to record anything without being caught.
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Arakan glances over them, " start the first one."
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takana nods and opens the recording file, almost immediately you can hear a man and a woman talking to each other, who they are Takana wouldnt know.
Mirai sounds bored in the recording, "Darling, what are we going to do about son?"
Hontou groans softly, "which one?"
"Wha- the only son we have. Our beloved Koshi."
"The other parasite is still technically alive you know"
"how he is still alive I have no clue. Now, what are we going to do about Koshi? You and I have been in charge for too long and it is making our citizens restless. Its bad enough we have a second child to cause our own district to question my legitimacy as your wife and now Koshi is 31. You killed your parents at the age of 22 when you and I became mates and your mother was 20 when she killed her parents"
"I had no idea you were so eager to die. Besides us having a second child would be your problem."
"wha- I- HONTOU!!! Thats not a nice thing to say to your beloved wife!! I just want to follow traditions! I knew this was inevitable when you and I became a couple!"
"Mirai, darling, it will be fine. Koshi is doing his best to find a suitable mate on his own and we should just leave him be."
"Leave him be? Hontou, he sent his friends out to different districts. we're going to catch heat when the other leaders find out about this"
"If anyone shows up making claims about that then we'll just feign ignorance, threaten them to leave, and then inform Chi that a high ranking demon passed boundaries to harass us and Chi will make sure the humans give that district a hard time for a few years."
"sometimes I think you rely on Chi way too much. makes a girl feel a little jealous, ya know?"
"you're the only one breaking traditions, dear."
"I- SHUT IT YOU ASS."
The recording stops.
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Arakan nods, " that's what i needed to hear. Chi... i wonder who that is. i will ask Shiro. you may go, i have things to think about...."
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Takana blinks and looks at arakan, "you're not at all curious about the other few recordings? "
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Arakan chuckles softly, " well i suppose so. go ahead then."
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takana nods and opens up the next audio file.
"Zuu, and kiri have not come back yet mother... I can only assume that their mission was a failure. A shame really. I had enjoyed.... well... I tolerated Kiri's presence. Im thankful Zuu is out of the picture though. I assigned him to the girl in hopes that he would fail just to get him out of my sight. "
"Zuu was useless but its a shame to lose Kiri. What about the other one? Have you sent Persefoni out yet? I would like to not lose her if at all possible"
"No she is still in our district. I wont send her out until things have calmed down. She is too useful to lose."
"You know Koshi, sweetie.... Have you... thought about maybe finding someone here? It would be easier and we wouldnt be messing with so many other districts."
You can hear snarling through the mic, "Mother, I have already TOLD you why I wasnt going to look for a mate in this shit hole. Now, leave me be to think. I'll be contacting persefoni soon and I'm feeling like im in a good mood today so I might go easy on the punching bag."
"A-apologies dear, I just worry-"
"Well dont. By the time any heat hit this district you and father will be gutted like a fish by my hands so it wont be your problem. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes dear. I look forward to the day." her voice was low and sounded tired.
The recording stops.
Takana blinks and frowns, "So... there's a third one still?"
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Arakan nods, " play it. looks like we have another coming soon to deal with..."
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Takana frowns, "Yeah and it sounds like she is going to be in a whole 'nother league..." His ears droop as he feels uncomfortable about the whole thing, "Im... going to go use the restroom. feel free to just keep double clicking on the files. they'll play automatically." he gets up and goes to the bathroom, shutting the door
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Arakan nods, " alright. even if this other person does come, i don't doubt i can match them. and should i somehow fail, my father though he dislikes dealing with things these days, still is extremely powerful." he double clicks on the last recording.
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"we were supposed to have a visit from a guard working for the company who was smuggling some collar removers. He never showed. I want an explanation. now."
"Yes sir. it would seem as though the family is having an internal struggle that has caused a shift with the guards to follow a new schedule so he could not meet at the original time. "
"...an internal struggle? I see... do you know what has happened?"
"no sir. we're waiting to hear from the guard to figure out what is going on."
"Damn it...as soon as you get any news let me know. Im going to try and get into contact with Chi and then Persefoni"
the recording stops
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Arakan growls softly, " he's going to be getting collar removers? that's bad. there's some problems with the family... is that the Kuroshibas? hm..." he sits back and looks at the computer, trying to make everything click into place and failing. " damn, just more issues to deal with. i think i can expect a visit from this Persefoni soon though." he ejects the flash drive and tucks it away, this he'd have to put someplace safe.
-
After a few minutes Takana feels a little better about the wave of information they got and sighs softly. he stares at his reflection in the mirror and frowns as he glances at the fake ears on his head.
With arakan and kaiten watching him all this time it has been impossible to take these things off and he half wondered if that was a good thing. He had more than one friend in the past needing surgery to remove contact lenses that they either forgot was even there or getting new ones or glasses was too expensive so keeping on old lenses was the affordable move for them. This thing IS connected to his head after all...
He looked down and huffed softly, deciding next time he saw nikiri he would try to talk to the deer about it.
He exits the bathroom and goes back over to arakan, "all done?"
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Arakan nods absently, frowning as he thinks. He looks over, " you have some ties to the kuroshiba family yes? since you know this Isabella woman. Are there any... internal struggles or issues you're aware of?"
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Takana blinks and frowns, "internal? Like, the family having problems? There certainly weren't any before i got here so im not sure."
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Arakan nods, " alright. have you heard from the woman?"
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"Isabelle? Let me check." He pulls out his phone and hums softly, "she gave the pitch to her husband and is waiting to hear his response. She doesn't want to pressure him for an answer in case it pisses him off enough to say no. Maybe... her asking him caused the problem in the family?"
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Arakan sighs, " i suppose it's possible, though the timing is a bit close. i wonder... do these say when the recording was taken?"
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"Oh yeah if you right click on the file and click properties on the drop down that shows up it will show when it was taken."
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Arakan takes out the flash drive and puts it back in, copying the instructions to see when the last recording was taken.
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Takana peaks over to look at the screen and hums, "this was taken just yesterday in the morning."
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Arakan sighs, " well, yesterday was the day we went, so i think the timing is too close for that to be it. unless it happened right after we spoke with curtis. That's a a close timeframe though."
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Takana hums, "well I can't think of anything else. "
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Arakan sighs, " if us trying to allow humans into the district and fix things causes that much of an uproar, we may be fucked."
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Takana's ears droop and he frowns, "i-i... let me ask isabelle. Maybe she knows if something else is going on that we don't know about."
He opens his phone and starts texting her.
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Arakan blinks, " ah, i appreciate it."
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Isabelle glances at her phone before frowning softly. She looks at the back of Makoto's head as the angered man continues working on his laptop.
She texts back, your father tried to get a hold of you via your old phone. When that didn't work he went to the apartment only to see you weren't living there. He's been trying to figure out where you are and yori and I haven't said anything only because we're concerned about word getting out that you're in the demon district and they could hurt you.
Takana sees the text and he feels his heart sink, "oh..."
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Arakan glances over, " oh? does she know something?"
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"Umm... one minute. " He quickly went to yori's contact and sent him a text, hey, isabelle just informed me that my dad is trying to figure out where I am. Is that true?
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Yori looks at his phone and grimaces, yeah... he's trying to find you.
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takana's ears droop and he sighs, welp...figured he didnt care... must be annying the shit outta your ma though. sorry about that.
he looks at arakan and frowns. what was he going to say? "the... well... one of the kids in the family has gone missing apparently. so yeah."
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Arakan frowns, " one of their kids? well no wonder they're in a tizzy... is this going to mess with our plans?"
Yori sighs, of course dad cares, he's just got a lot on his mind these days. mother is very upset.
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Takana's ears move back and he sighs, "Well....im not sure. it would depend if the kid is okay or not. If he's fine and just being a little shit then we're good. I guess for now we just keep our eyes out for anything suspicious." yeah. technically he is being a little shit to the family that cares...
he looks at his phone and sighs, i suppose that explains a lot about isabelle's delayed response to a request i had sent her. im sure she didnt want to bring such a thing up on makoto if he was upset about dad throwing a wrench in his business.
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Arakan sighs, " well i guess we'll just have to wait and see then... damn it all."
Yori sighs, probably. hope you're doing alright over there.
-
Takana glances at arakan before going back to his phone, the 7th district which is ruled by a different family apparently is working to get collar removers from one of the guards working at dad's lab. We don't know if dad knows or not but that's how we found out stuff is going on back home. Are you okay? "
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Yori gasps as he reads it, that's so dangerous! i don't think dad knows, that doesn't sound like the kind of thing he'd do. Makoto's been at work a lot lately and he seems crabbier than normal though. hard to know if that's just from the family issues or something else. im alright, dad's mostly fretting over me and fussing about you, and mom is trying to keep him calm.
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dad's fretting? Oh man... kinda wished I was there to witness that. Well, thanks for the info. I miss you already and I can't wait to see you again!
-
i miss you too. i'll try and come when things settle down, i think if i left now dad would have a heart attack.
Arakan sighs and runs a hand through his hair, " well, nothing to be done. we'd better get some sleep and hope for the best."
-
agreed. He might not be old old but he's still in that range where a heart attack is a very real concern. I'm gonna go to bed so I'll talk to ya later.
He looks at arakan and nods, "yeah I could honestly use some sleep after hearing that bit of information."
-
talk to you soon. yori sighs and sets his phone aside.
Arakan snorts, " close to that family are you?"
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takana hesitantly looks away, "well... not... i mean.... there were... the kids who... weren't anything like the rest of that family. to the point that they made sure no one even knew who they were."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " that made no sense. i asked if you were close to that family. if you're trying to say you were friends with one of those kids, then they didn;t do a very good job at making sure nobody knew who they were."
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Takana huffs, "I didn't say I was friends with them."
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Arakan frowns, " then why do you care what happens to them?"
-
"you looked after me when i first arrived knowing what would happen if you didnt. you could have easily asked yourself that same question. And you can say you were looking after 'your own people' all you want but it didnt matter to me. Im not just 'your people', i had a whole life with humans and even now i dont feel like its appropriate to be considered a demon." Takana looks down his ears drooping, "I guess im the only one who cares about both sides. and i might be the only one honestly..." he sighs, wipes his eyes a little before turning towards his room, "Im tired... goodnight."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i meant why do you care about that family in particular. you obviously have some ties with them to be able to influence the wife of one. you're in a difficult situation, you've been raised by them and influenced by their ways. even with all you've seen you still have sympathy for them. i've seen too many of my people suffer at their hands to feel much sympathy towards them, but then i've lived here my entire life. been on the front row for every execution, it's my duty as heir. they say we're the monsters, but our children fear humans under their bed or in their closets."
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"No, I got it, I just don't think you got it. But I'm too tired to have an argument. Please drop it."
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Arakan shakes his head, " go to sleep. maybe you'll make a little sense in the morning, because that made none."
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takana pouts, "I make perfect sense to me. you're the one not making any sense." he goes to his room and closes the door.
He sat on his makeshift bed, grumbling softly before reaching up and itching at his head and extra ears, "dumb fucking things so itchy.... i wish nikiri watched over us again so i could remove these without worry..."
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Arakan shakes his head, waiting until Takana leaves, " the insane usually think they make perfect sense..." he gets his bed set up on the couch and settles in, sighing softly.
-
soon its morning and takana is already awake, cooking in the kitchen as per usual, a pot of coffee already made as well since Takana has already consumed two cups
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Arakan slowly gets up and yawns, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. He had too much on his mind these days, he was sleeping like shit.
-
Takana glances at Arakan and inwardly sighs before pouring a large cup of coffee for the demon, "Coffee is ready."
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Arakan gets up and goes over, touching the cup and a crackling sound is heard as he cools it enough to drink, and downs the cup. He sets the empty cup down and shakes his head, " there's so much shit going on these days..." he sighs and nods, " thanks." he goes back over to the couch and sits, looking at his phone.
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Takana hums softly to acknowledge Arakan's thanks as he continues cooking. he feels his phone vibrate and he frowns, knowing yori wouldnt be up at this hour he hesitantly checks it to see its from Curtis. he blinks and furrows his brows before turning to look at arakan, "hey quick question?"
-
Arakan glances up, " yes?"
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takana scratches at his head and sighs, "Curtis just texted me saying he caught wind of your monthly inspection being a 'surprise' inspection, whatever that means. Does that you guys wont be getting an announcement about it?"
-
Arakans head jerks to look at him, " well seeing as i haven't the confirmation on when it'll be, i presume that is probably the case. fucking humans, as if we don;t have to do enough to try and make sure all our people are safe." he snarls and runs a hand through his hair. " but when will it be? i always try and give people a few days notice so they can get their collars checked the day before. this is bad." he starts pacing, " fuck...i need to make some calls." he pulls his phone out and quickly tells his father.
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Takana goes back to his phone, do you know when it will be?
Commander told me it will be in 4 days. i hope that is enough time for you to leave, im so sorry I was only just told ten minutes ago. i dont want you there when they have an inspection.
hahahahaha jokes on you i have already was in one and i ended up fine. besides im not about to leave just because of the inspection. thats not fair.
Takana looks up and over at Arakan, "Curtis said its in four days. He would have informed us earlier but he just found out 10 minutes ago from his boss."
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Arakan nods, " well, i don't think it's wise for me to announce it over the loudspeakers as usual, the humans might hear and change it. we need to do this the hard way." he calls up Nikiri, " the humans are having a surprise inspection in 4 days, we need to tell the entire district without using the speaker system. i need your family to help me get this done."
-
Nikiri had answered the phone in the middle of breakfast and nearly chokes on his food, "are you shitting me? god damn it. Alright, i'll tell mom to round up the girls. do you want me to send my father to see your dad?"
-
Arakan sighs, " i've already told him there would be a surprise inspection, i found out when after. it's probably a good idea. why the hell are they pulling this shit... it doesn;t matter, we need to get this sorted."
-
nikiri groans and gets up, "alright, well, the sooner i hang up on you the faster i can send messages to my family. text me any updates you get okay?"
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Arakan nods, " of course." he hangs up and rubs his temples, feeling a headache coming on. " four days... four days to inform everyone in the district without the humans getting wind of it. because being the sadistic fucks they are they'll probably change the inspection date if they find out we know."
-
takana is quiet for a bit as he nervously glances at arakan. his ears lower and he nervously goes back to cooking, not sure what to do or if there is anything he can do.
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Arakan sighs softly, and starts making more phone calls, recruiting more high ranked demons he trusts to start informing the district that they'd need to get their collars checked in 3 days. " i'll need to have the shop owners let their employees get checked the day before..."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "wouldn't the fact that we're all getting our collars checked tip off the humans? Or do those workers not not report back as much?"
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Arakan runs a hand through his hair, " it might, and it probably will, but what else can i do? if they don;t get them checked then the chances of collar failure between now and then goes up. it's my job to ensure the chances of anyone dying is as low as possible, and those damned humans seem to want to kill as many as they can!"
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takana's ears lower and he frowns before going back to his phone, texting fast, "What if we can get our hands on a collar scanner ourselves? could we also scan the demons and keep it on the down low? I know you guys arent supposed to.... technically have such a device but they arent supposed to do surprise searches either..."
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Arakan frowns, " but can we get our hands on such a thing? they're pretty strict about keeping things like that away from us. scanners, collar removers, those aren;t things we're supposed to be able to have. i mean that would be ideal, but i doubt we can get it."
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takana sighs, "I am going to try. if we had a few more days i could make one since you have the schematics on that usb drive but i dont think i can make one in less than one day in order to start scanning everyone."
-
Arakan sighs, pacing, " this is so gods damned fucked up..."
-
takana hears his phone go off and he looks at his phone, "if we get to the gate before the next security shift, so asap, then curtis can give us a scanner. but we cant say anything to ANYONE."
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Arakan blinks and frowns, " he would do that? nevermind, lets go. Izanagi will be fine here alone for a little bit. I can go faster if i go alone, but i presume you need to be the one to get it." he quickly heads for the door, " turn the stove off. we don't want to burn the building down."
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Takana moves the pan to the side and turns off the stove before quickly running out the door, "Yeah the only reason why he is doing this is because he told me to leave and i refused so this is the only other way he can make sure i am safe."
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Arakan nods, " figures. well whatever his fixation on you is, it may save other lives." he starts to run as well, making sure not to outpace Takana as he heads for the gates.
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Takana shrugs, "I mean, despite him lying to me we were still in a relationship for 4 years so I'm sure there still is some feelings in there that I am willing to exploit."
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Arakan shakes his head, " i wonder how he could have dated a demon for 4 years and still be the arrogant prick he is. perhaps because you weren;t raised among us he sees you differently."
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Takana huffs, "well if you took a pair of Halloween cat ears on a person you would basically have me so I'm sure it wasn't hard for me."
They get to the gate just in time to see Curtis walk up and relieve the current guard, knowing the actual next guard wouldn't show up for the next few minutes.
He looks a bit nervous holding an adorably large blue teddy bear
Takana's eyes widen, "Jack? You brought the teddy bear you won at the fair 2 years ago?"
Curtis huffs and hands takana the bear, "it belongs with its owner."
Takana huffs, "you said you were-" as he's handed the bear he feels how heavy it is and his eyes widen. He gingerly flips the bear over and you can clearly see a poor sew job on his back, and takana snarls, "Oh you asshole. Shoulda figured you would literally stab a back after you figuratively stabbed mine."
Curtis looks tired and fed up, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her but you really need to get over what happened. I'm helping you right now even though I could get in huge shit for this."
-
Arakan rolls his eyes and gently moves takana away, " lets not bite the hand helping us. thank you."
-
Takana pouts and huffs before backing up, grumbling.
Curtis gives arakan a half hearted glare, "just don't let this get back to me. I don't want to get punished for this."
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Arakan looks at him, " is it not enough that you may be saving lives of people who are simply doing their best to survive? i will not tell anyone you actually have some compassion." his voice is dry.
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Takana sighs, "let's go arakan. Before the next guard shows up and gives all of us a hard time." He turns to leave, "thanks Curt. Remind me to suck your dick later as thanks."
Curtis turns bright red before glaring at takana, "oh quit being a lil shit." He goes to the station to make it look like he had been working there all day
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Arakan snorts and heasd back to Takana's apartment, texting people and telling them to arrange for people to come to his place in groups throughout the day the day before the inspection to get their collars checked. and not to ask questions how.
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Takana gets back into the apartment and sets the bear down before turning it over to stare at the incision, "do we have anything to... gently cut the thread... off....?"
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " it has sentimental value? i will be careful." he takes the bear and two sharp shards of ice form on his fingers. he carefully uses them to snip only the threads, using his other hand to pluck the thread free as often as he can. it was a crappy job, and hasty, so it didn;t take much. He hands it back and the ice vanishes. " there."
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Takana sighs softly in relief and smiles at arakan, "thank you." He gently pulls the scanner out from the fluff, being sure to remove any stuck fluff from the device and put it back into the bear. He hands the scanner to arakan before gently feeling the bear, frowning as he finds that it is limp. A lot of fluff must have been removed in order to fit the scanner and now without it the bear was too empty.
Takana's ears drooped and he makes a dissatisfied tsk under his breath, "you wouldn't happen to know... if it's possible to get stuffing fiber or anything like that here, would you? "
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Arakan hums, " might be able to convince one of the Fauns to give up some wool. they usually shear themselves and weave the wool, but seeing the circumstances i think they'd give some up."
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Takana nods, "I hope they don't mind... I wouldn't mind having Jack back to normal."
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Arakan nods, " i'll see to it. sorry that your uh, bear got ruined."
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takana shrugs, "i probably shouldnt be so attached to it... it was just a prize at one of those overly priced carnival games, but he was so determined to win it for me. I told him I could just go out and buy myself a bear but he said some cheesy shit about how money wasnt everything and how he wanted to earn it. honestly that was the first time someone said that to me and when he did actually win and get me the bear i realized that I was so excited to have it I decided to try my best to earn what i wanted instead of just buying shit. so...yeah. its stupid i know..."
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Arakan waves his hand, " i said nothing of the sort. things have sentimental value, we don't see many toys around here, but i understand."
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Takana sighs and slumps his shoulders a little, "it certainly feels stupid. I am a grown ass man after all and im clinging to a stuffed animal."
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Arakan shrugs, " im not judging, and you me and curtis are the only ones who know. and it can remain that way."
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takana nods before giving arakan a soft, sweet smile, "I would appreciate that a lot. thank you."
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Arakan blinks and feels his cheeks start to heat up, sending some cold to them and keeping them from reddening. what the hell was that reaction anyway? " well it's nobodies business but your own anyway, so telling people would be wrong. uh, anyway, i maybe should get us something for breakfast since you had to ditch it midway."
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takana's eyes widen and he quickly darts to the kitchen to look at the now half cooked, ruined breakfast. his ears droop a little before he shakes his head, "It may have been a waste of food but....it was for a good reason. we have a way to discreetly help your citizens so its not a total loss."
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Arakan nods, " indeed. it was for a very worthy cause." he grabs his phone and sends a text for someone to pick up something for them and bring it over. " Indigo will be by shortly with something for us. probably not as good as what you were making, but it will suffice. and it's not from my own chef, so it'll be palatable." he looks over with a grin.
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takana blushes slightly at that last remark, "i mean, its not that it wasnt palatable its just- its what i would call a culture shock. i get it ya know? "
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Arakan chuckles softly, " liver is the least offensive of organ meats we get as well. stomach, kidney, lungs, heart, all of these are common. my family gets mostly liver because of it's high vitamin content, so it is logical that we get what will keep us in the best shape."
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Takana shudders, "alright those other organs are a little too much for me. At least I know humans also eat liver."
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Arakan shrugs, " i know the heart is good dense meat, and i have had soup with kidneys and tongue. not too bad, but then i grew up with it."
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Takana sighs, "Yeah I grew up on caviar soo....this is kinda on the opposite spectrum of consumables."
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Arakan blinks and shrugs, " well, i guess fish eggs isn't that different if you think about it."
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Takana sighs, "Yeah but caviar is like, right person food. And I had it served on a silver platter. And on days when I was exhausted I could legit have it spoon fed to me. That or Gelato. Oh but I also loved eating Turkish delights too."
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Arakan blinks slightly, " wow. yeah that's... a lot different from here."
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Takana nods, "I told you my life is entirely different to this place."
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Arakan nods, " well, i doubt that will ever be something that will happen for anyone here." he checks his phone when it dings, " ah, indigo is here. i'll be right back." he heads out to meet the Alicanto at the front of the building, leading him inside. Indigo looks around curiously as he hands over a bag, then blinks and sniffs the air. " i smell... gold?"
Arakan sets the bag on the table and blinks, " ah, yes. it's a fancy pillow. please don;t eat it."
Indigo swallows and shakes his head, " as tempting as it is, i have more self control than that. i will however take my leave, having such a delicacy near enough to smell will be quite tortuous."
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Takana watches indigo, before nodding in understanding, "probably a good thing a lot of my items aren't here, "he gives a dry chuckle
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Indigo looks over, " well if you had that much gold around it'd be cruel of you not to offer a guest a little taste then." he grins. " well enjoy breakfast. im going to see if i can sneak out to the dump and find some copper to take the edge off my metal hunger." he heads out of the apartment.
Arakan hums, " probably best if we not bring him here. i'll keep that in mind." he opens the bag and pulls out a few containers, opening them to expose some less than fluffy pancakes and eggs.
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takana watches him leave before chuckling, "I better keep my eye on my laptop if he comes back. my laptop itself has about five pounds of copper in it."
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Arakan shakes his head, " copper is one of the easier metals to get, otherwise he probably would have been sniffing around it. Gold is nearly unheard of as part of their diet these days, and it was always much sought after. your laptop will be fine, he just needs some metals to curb the hunger awakened by smelling the gold. he can change into his other shape, which is bird-like, and fly over the wall where humans dump things. it's not something i encourage, but they need to get metals somehow. he'll only be out there long enough to tear apart some machines and eat some metal and minerals before he comes back." He sets one of the containers in front of Takana. " we should get Izanagi up so he can eat as well." he stats eating his own portion.
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Takana perks, looking slightly relieved that his laptop is safe, "oh good. and yeah i can go wake him." he gets up and goes to izanagi's room, gently shaking him, "hey sleeping princess. time to get up."
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Izanagi grumbles but gets up, yawning as he comes out. " mmm doesn;t smell as good as usual."
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takana sighs, "apologies. something came up and i couldnt make breakfast. but arakan had something delivered so there is that at least."
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Izanagi makes some random dismissive noises and digs in, seeming not overly worried about it.
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takana goes back to his spot and curiously investigates the food briefly before trying it out
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the pancakes are made from a rice flour, and are somewhat dense thanks to it. it's also not perfectly ground flour, but not awful overall.
Arakan and Izanagi both eat without comment, working through their meal until it's gone.
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Takana eats the food, glancing at izanagi every now and then. He wondered if they should tell him now about the surprise inspection. Would it be better now or later?
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Izanagi takes his own tray and arakan's once it's empty and throws them away. " thanks for the meal."
Arakan nods, " yeah. no problem." Izanagi was kind of a loose gun, it was probably best to wait to tell him about the inspection. otherwise he'd act nervous and possibly give it away. " Takana, have you heard back from Isabelle?"
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Takana looks at arakan, "oh, yeah. With everyone so focused on the family thing going on she was told that as long as she doesn't go missing either that they didn't have time to care about what she did. So she has the green light currently."
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Arakan nods, " well, then i guess we ought to plan when she can visit. probably in about a week, to give us and her time to prepare. tell her not to wear any real jewelry. i know Indigo would never do something so foolish, but no sense in tormenting the poor man."
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Takana nods, "She only wears her wedding ring, anything else makes her feel over the top. its bad enough the amount of attention thats on her for her looks, the last thing she wants is to bedazzle a target. her words."
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Arakan nods, " just saying, might want to explain the situation to her. if the ring is gold, another ring to stand in it's place might be a good idea. i'll see if i can;t allocate some extra metals to him before she comes, but it's hard to get ahold of them."
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Takana hums, "silver I think? With diamonds? I don't know I'm not really a ring guy."
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Arakan nods, " diamonds are less tempting surprisingly, they're a fairly common mineral. the silver will be tempting, but not as bad as gold."
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Takana chuckles, "maybe diamonds are less tempting because they're actually a very common rock and humans only made them more expensive by controlling the mining business. Personally I don't really care for jewelry."
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Arakan nods, " exactly. they're mostly carbon anyway, and that's easy enough to get."
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Takana hums, "good to know. I wonder if that affects all diamonds or just the white ones. I know the kuroshiba family has the pink star diamon ring and that took a hefty chunk of money but I'm not sure if it's really all that rare."
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Arakan hums softly, " the amount of minerals that change the colors is very small, so it's barely worth noting.
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takana nods, "i see. i suppose the monetary value doesnt come from the material itself. " he glances at the time and hums softly before getting up, "ah gotta get going for work."
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Arakan nods, " indeed."
Izanagi flounces out with his bag.
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takana gets his bag and heads for the door, "Im hoping for a normal day today. at least normal for work."
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Arakan nods, " hopefully. though with how crazy things are lately i won;t be holding my breath."
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Takana waits for izanagi and arakan before making his way to work, humming, "its a nice day too so keeping the shenanigans to a minimum would be great."
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Izanagi sticks his tongue out, " speak for yourself. this is a beautiful day for shenanigans. especially of the sexy sort."
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Takana snorts, "I wasnt talking about YOUR type of shenanigans. I was actually talking about life or death type shit."
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Izanagi grins, " yeah those tend to make sex kind of a drag."
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"oh my god... okay just for that comment, also a no to your shenanigans." he chuckles shaking his head before heading inside the cafe to quickly get ready
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Izanagi laughs and heads into the back to change.
Arakan gets settled at a table, looking at his phone.
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takana gets changed and starts working in the kitchen.
Hikari finishes getting the coffee and tea going and prepped
mina is bouncing about happily waiting for the cafe to officially open
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Izanagi gets things prepped once changed, and the manager soon goes and opens the doors for the customers.
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Everything goes by normal however there is a slightly tense atmosphere from the customers, some of them probably finding out about the surprise inspection
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Arakan reassures them when they come to him, asking them to keep things quiet for the time being.
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mina is bubbly with her energetic personality and is thankfully really good at bringing up the mood. she isnt sure why some of the guests feel upset when they come in but she makes quick work in getting them to smile, knowing a happy guest leaves bigger tips.
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Arakan talks with dozens of people that day, reassuring each of them that he has it under control and will do all he can to keep them all safe.
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The day soon ends and mina hums as she sweeps, "today sure was weird. Why was everyone so quiet?"
Hikari cleans out the coffee machine, "not sure but it was a nice change."
Mina huffs, "sure for YOU. you don't need to earn tips! You just make drinks all day."
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Izanagi hums, " people were acting scared of something. wonder what it was."
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mina hums, "maybe having a demon show up from another district is throwing them off? I dont know."
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" maybe? dunno. anyway things seem to be alright. i gotta go change." he goes and gets his street clothes on after helping get everything cleaning up for the day.
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takana finishes cleaning the kitchen up and comes out.
Mina sees takana and smiles at him, "takana, what are you doing after work?"
Takana looks at mina and blinks, "ah. going home?"
"sooooo like you have no plans?"
"no i do have plans. my plans are going home."
Mina blinks before sighing, "damn you're boring. Look, you're not bad looking and its clear you're not in a relationship so why not spend some time with me?"
Takana frowns, a bit confused, "because i dont want to?"
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Izanagi walks out, " don;t you prefer guys Takana?"
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takana looks at Izanagi and nods, " one hundred percent."
mina follows them followed by kaeru and hikari since they were also leaving, "oh but like, we wouldnt DO anything! we would just hang out at the store or something~"
Hikari snorts, "ah. so this is less of a relationship thing and more of a, you spent all of your money already but still want new clothes thing."
Mina turns bright red and she whines at hikari, "stop outting meeeeeeeeeee."
Takana's face falls and he gives her a deadpan expression, "WOW. its a no brainer why you're single."
Mina shrieks and pouts at takana, "dont you pick on me too!!! we are ALL single here!!!"
Kaeru blushes, "um... i... i have a girlfriend so, no, im not."
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Izanagi smirks, " i may not have a boyfriend but i have fuck buddies. Sorry Mina, you're gonna have to find someone else to be your sugar daddy."
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mina groans softly, "i just want more new outfits."
Hikari snorts, "you are probably the only E rank demon i know who owns as many outfits as you do, im sure you're closet will thank you if you dont buy anymore clothes."
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Izanagi huffs, " you have more outfits than i do, and that's saying something."
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mina sighs, "i love my outfits..."
takana rolls his eyes, "and i love my money. ANYway, nagi and i gotta get home."
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Izanagi nods, " yep!"
Arakan gets up and walks towards the boys, " lets get going."
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Takana nods and heads back to their place. He had heard that the cafe felt off and he wondered if word spread fast about the surprise inspection... he glances back at arakan, feeling slightly worried for the guy since he was going through so much all the time
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Arakan looks a bit more frazzled than normal, but mostly looks tired. He leads the boys home and lays down on the couch right away.
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takana goes straight to his room, not sure if being around arakan would necessarily help the poor guy or not
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Izanagi blinks and shrugs, going to his room to relax.
arakan rubs the bridge of his nose, why the hell did things have to be so complicated.
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takana curls up a bit and scratches at his ears in annoyance before huffing and going to his laptop and surfing the web
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Arakan soon passes out, needing the sleep desperately.
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takana peaks his head out and frowns when he sees arakan passed out. he sighs and takes a spare blanket, gently throwing it over arakans body before heading to the kitchen to figure out dinner
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Arakan rolls over with the blanket, not waking.
Izanagi wander out and grabs a drink from the fridge, " wow he's out. i did see a lot of people talking to him."
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takana frowns, "Yeah.... he has been having a stressful time lately. i wish there was something i could do to make him feel better..."
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Izanagi hums softly, " well i know what i'd do, buuuuut you've already told me you'd never do that so i dunno."
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Takana blushes a bit and huffs, "If he doesn't ask for it then I'm not doing it."
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Izanagi shrugs and heads into his room, humming.
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takana rubs his face and groans softly before heading to the kitchen and start looking through to see what he can make for dinner
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Izanagi is in his room, taking dick pics and sending them to Nikiri.
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Takana finishes cooking dinner, something simple, rice with vegetable curry. none of the vegetables looked amazing in the store but they werent off so he figured something that had the vegetables thoroughly cooked and in a thick flavorful sauce would be perfect to hide appearance but not nutrition. he also made some dumplings with some meat to get some protein in the dish
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Arakan sniffs the air, the spicy scent waking him up, " smells good."
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Takana chuckles, "Hey, i was just about to wake you. I made dinner. you have to make sure you eat at some point."
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Arakan rubs his hand over his face, " yeah... you shouldn;t have to be the one to feed me all the time though. perhaps i ought to start bringing money to pay you for the meals you make."
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takana chuckles, "you dont have to, but i wont refuse. It will be used for future dinners if anything." he sets the table, making sure to put the hot sauce by arakan's plate, "let me get izanagi." he goes to the demons room and knocks on the door, "Hey izanagi? foods on the table."
-
Arakan gets up and goes to his plate, " it is only right."
Izanagi quickly pulls his pants back up, " be out in a minute!" he makes sure he's presentable before bouncing out to plop in front of his meal.
Arakan tastes his, then adds a generous amount of hot sauce onto it and digging in with pleasure, his face flushing with the heat.
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Takana goes to his spot and starts eating, humming at the amazing flavor, "ah i love rice. Super cheap and super versatile."
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Arakan nods, " indeed, seems to be plenty of it as well since we get a lot."
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takana nods, "they make a lot more than they can eat but they still put expiration dates on it because of regulations even though its just fine. "
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Arakan nods, " good thing for us."
Izanagi is just happily munching his food.
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takana nods happily and keeps eating, dipping one of his dumplings in a little sauce he made before biting into it, humming happily, "you should try the dumplings too. low quality, fatty meat is perfect for these since when they get steamed and the meat gets cooked that fatty liquid stays inside so it almost like eating a soup dumpling and its super delicious."
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Arakan takes one and dips it into his hot sauce before biting into it, nodding in agreement.
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Takana happily finishes eating, sighing happily, "that was good. im glad you guys seemed to enjoy dinner as well."
-
Izanagi nods, " you always make great food! better than anything i've ever gotten here in my entire life."
Arakan glances at Izanagi with amusement, " i hate to admit it but he's right."
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Takana blinks before blushing a little and he gives a shy chuckle, "ah really? Thanks. I do like the fact that I can find a way to feed people something good."
-
Izanagi takes his plate to the sink, " i would 100% blow you in thanks for the cooking you do. you only gotta ask."
Arakan rubs the bridge of his nose, " and there he goes."
-
takana turns bright red, "And I told you before, I wouldnt ask. you're not my type."
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Izanagi grins, " how about if i offer~?"
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Takana's face goes to a dead pan before he huffs from annoyance, "I would suck nikiri's dick before i let you suck mine."
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Izanagi looks offended, " don't you dare! i have enough trouble getting his attention."
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Takana snorts, "No worries, nikiri is also not my type so no, i wouldnt suck his dick either. im not making a point of showing you how far you're down the list."
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Izanagi pouts, then gets a mischievous look in his eyes, " well then, how about Arakan? you didn;t seem opposed the other night when we talked about it."
Arakan blushes.
-
Takana's eyes widen before turning deep red. He shoots a glare at izanagi, "w-we didn't talk about anything! "
-
" really? because i swear i remember you saying you wouldn;t mind giving him a blowjob if he asked for it~ also payback is a bitch!" he giggles and darts into his room.
Arakan coughs and takes a sip of his drink, trying to look like he heard nothing.
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Takana's face is as pink as his hair and he snarls before scrambling from the table to chase after izanagi, "YOULITTLESHIT!"
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Izanagi yips and locks his bedroom door.
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Takana stops right at the door and snarls at it before whipping his head to look at Arakan, huffing softly, "D-dont read too much into that. Last night after you fell asleep I made the mistake of thinking out loud, about uh... finding some way to help you... not uh... be so stressed. And of course izanagi had to put his two cents about how I could do that and I said absolutely not. I'm a consent first kind of person and I um..." takana seemed to look more and more embarrassed as he rattled on the explanation until he came to a full stop, feeling the weight of his words in his throat.
His ears move back and he hisses softly, "it's just Nagi. That's just how he is. I uh. E-excuse me." Takana quickly turns and goes to his room, closing the door gently before plopping on to the bed and hiding his face. He was hot from feeling self-conscious.
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Arakan nods, " yes, that's how he is. im not going to ask, and you didn;t have to tell." he watches the other go, how in the hell did he get himself into these situations? now he had an awkward boner because who the hell was able to listen to someone talking about blowjobs without thinking about it?
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Takana stayed put on his bed, huffing quietly. He didnt want to think about it, but at the same time the image of him blowing arakan was already in his head. he really hated his dumb body for having a boner....
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Arakan checks to make sure nobody is out before getting up and going into the bathroom, taking a shower to take care of his issue.
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Takana sighs and reaches into his pants, taking care of his issue in his own way, feeling slightly disgusted with himself when he has to wipe his hand clean with some tissues in his room.
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Arakan jerks off in the shower, glad to wash the evidence down the drain. He dries off and gets dressed afterwards, settling down on the couch to try and get some sleep.
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Takana curls back up on his bed, sighing. What a terrible night. He soon falls asleep, exhausted from jerking off.
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Arakan wakes when the sun hits him, remembering the previous night and blushing before he gets up and heads to the window to look out it. another day gone, another day closer to the 'surprise' inspection.
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Takana soon emerges from his room and he notes arakan actually being awake before him. He thinks about last night, turning red and feeling slightly ashamed and his ears droop slightly.
He decides not to make any comments, just heads to the kitchen and starts the coffee pot
-
Arakan looks over his shoulder when he hears Takana up and nods, trying to smile slightly when the other seems upset and walks off. ah well, he tried.
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Takana hadnt even noticed any attempt arakan made as he walked to the kitchen and as the pot started heating up he continued to not look at the man, still feeling embarrassed as he tried to focus on making breakfast. Pancakes. simple and hard to fuck up pancakes.
-
Arakan sighs softly and walks into the kitchen, " anything i can help with?"
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Takana jumps a little, almost dropping the flour. He turns and looks at arakan, blushing, "o-oh um- n-not that I know of. i uh im just making pancakes. figured i cant screw that up since they are pretty simple."
-
Arakan quickly lunges forward to steady Takana's arm when he jumps, " ah, sorry. if you wished to not cook this morning i can order food in again."
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Takana turns red and he looks up at arakan, "n-no i uh Im fine with cooking, its no big deal. um I-izanagi likes pancakes and i- um need to keep my mind focused. as best as possible. Tha-thank you though."
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Arakan crosses his arms, " do we need to talk? because you're clearly bothered."
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Takana's eyes widen slightly before looking away nervously, "N-no we dont. Its just me, okay? I'm just still embarrassed from yesterday but thats my fault, not yours. im sorry if I gave you that impression."
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Arakan sighs, " im not upset at you. I mean, i'd be lying is i said it did not affect me, however it's fairly normal for lower class demons to have such feeling towards the leaders of the district, or in my case the heir. there's nothing to be ashamed of."
-
Takana blinks before his eyes widen and his ears dart back, "are you..." He glares at arakan and takes a step back, "you better not be telling me that you think I like you for your title. If you are then I'm gonna need a minute around the block to cool off."
-
Arakan lifts his hands, " im not saying that. Im saying that a lot of the things that go with it tend to be something demons like. now a lot of them do like me for my title, or the power that comes with it, i know you're different. But since im a higher rank demon i protect lower class, and help them when i can. i know that can be seen as attractive. i've saved you, and i've helped you a lot. also understandable reasons. regardless of reason, im saying there's nothing to be ashamed of."
-
Takana cools down for a hot minute before huffing, "your willingness to do what it takes to help others is.... a reason why I like being a friend to you but you could also do those things without your rank. Anyone can be a good person if they just try. Human, demon, government pig or an A class demon. I like someone's personality and morals before their title or looks."
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Arakan shrugs, " regardless. im simply trying to clear the air so you're not stumbling around me freaking out. i can assign another guard to you if it's too much."
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Takana sighs, "No, you're fine. It's me. I just...." his ears lower and he turns more red, "I'm normally better about handling my own... issues. But it has been a while so...." He looks even more uncomfortable before huffing, "it's not you. It's me, okay? I want to stop talking about it please."
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Arakan nods, " fair enough i suppose. if you need to speak with me, just say so."
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"other things, sure. this particular issue? no thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me." he turns back to the ingredients and goes back to making pancake batter
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Arakan snorts and takes a seat at the table, deciding it'd be best to leave it be.
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Well... at least takana was more cranky than embarrassed so he was able to focus on making food.
His ears stayed in an anger position as he kept cooking, "coffee's ready by the way."
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Arakan gets up and pours a mug, " appreciated."
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Takana nods and keeps cooking, soon 3 plates are set on the table each piled with a stack of pancakes. He goes over to izanagi's room and knocks on the door, "Breakfast." He heads back to the table to set the forks, syrup, and butter down before sitting himself down, "food is done."
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Arakan nods, " thank you." he starts eating.
Izanagi come out, yawning and wrapped in one of Nikiri's kimonos, sitting and digging in.
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takana nods and starts eating quietly, not commenting on izanagi's.... choice of fashion outside of his bedroom in fear that the bastard will make anymore comments
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Izanagi just eats happily.
Arakan raises an eyebrow at the kimono before shaking his head and eating quietly.
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Takana finishes his plate of pancakes before getting up and putting his plate away. He grabs a cup of coffee and greedily chugs it down
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Izanagi finishes up and puts his plate in the sink before going back to his room to send more picture to Nikiri and some other guys.
Arakan enjoys his meal, eating slowly. Once done he gets another cup of coffee, " thank you for breakfast."
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Takana sets the cup down, empty, and sighs softly. He needed a vacation from his life. He looks at arakan and nods, "you're welcome."
-
Arakan nods and goes to the couch, sitting and working from his phone.
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Takana pours himself another cup full of coffee, this time sipping it slowly. he considers the little amount of time people have left before the surprise inspection and sighs, frowning.
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Arakan looks over at Takana, " i'll need to have Kaiten watch you two today, i need to work with people to check their collars."
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takana looks over at arakan and gives a hesitant nod, "Okay. I hope everything goes.... smoothly."
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Arakan nods, " yeah, hopefully. things are going to get hectic, i wish i could check everyone right before the inspection but normally there's a couple technicians for the day before inspection day, i've just got me and the one scanner so it'll have to be over a few days. i can't do any deep checking of the things either, just what the scanner tells me. this is such a mess...."
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Takana frowns and sighs, "I'm sorry this is happening... at least we got our hands on a scanner..."
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Arakan nods, " not your fault. the scanner, and the information, may save some lives. so for that, i thank you."
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Takana blushes a bit before looking away, "no thanks are needed. I plan on trying to find out for sure why they just changed up their own rules on the fly like this. It isn't allowed..."
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Arakan sighs, " when you're the ones in control, everything is allowed it seems. regardless i appreciate every life that this will save, so you indeed have my deepest gratitude. there's no way i can repay you for this tool."
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Takana sighs, "as long as they don't find out we have this scanner and where it came from its fine. And in control or not they have to obey the rules they made out for themselves. If they don't then they are supposed to get reprimanded."
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Arakan nods, " i will do my utmost to ensure it is not discovered, and even if discovered i will never reveal where i got it. perhaps i can have a covering made for it so it is not obvious what it is."
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Takana hums. "It kind of looks like a grocery store price scanner. Could we have it painted like one? "
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Arakan blinks and tilts his head, " that would work."
-
Takana nods, "then we'll just keep it a secret until isabelle is able to come here and we can see if she can paint it for us. Unless you know a painter."
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arakan nods, " probably best to wait then, paints aren't something we get in large supply, so what we get is used for things that are needed, not for recreation."
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Takana shrugs, "Yeah but we can see if isabelle can bring her paints. She is an artist after all. "
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Arakan nods, " we'll see. i suppose the plan is just to get through this inspection for now."
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Takana nods, "That kinda sounds like life here. Just get through this one thing for now. I wish you didn't have to deal with so much."
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Arakan sighs, " that's part of being the heir, it rests on my shoulders to ensure everything runs smoothly. just how it is. anyway i ought to get Kaiten here, that way i can get started." he pulls out his phone and sends the chimera a text.
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Takana frowns, "Yeah there can be hard times but it shouldn't be all the time. You should have some good times with your people too."
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Arakan sighs, " well, what would be ideal and what is are two very different things. we have not seen good times since we surrendered in the war, i doubt that will change anytime soon."
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Takana blinks and huffs, "Yeah that seems to be incredibly apparent. But we'll figure out what's going on and I'll fix things. I won't be able to make everything perfect but doing anything is better than letting things go as is."
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Arakan sighs, " i hope you're right, and you do manage to change things. but please don't be offended when i say i will not be counting on it."
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"I'm already doing my best to change things. Isabelle is coming thanks to me and hopefully she'll boost your economy, and teach you guys about gardens."
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Arakan nods, " and im glad, these things will hopefully prevent a war from breaking out."
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Takana nods, "I can't change everything, but I can start small. It's better than doing nothing..."
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Arakan nods, " well preventing a war is good, though i wouldn't equate that to good times. just... not unbearably awful. anyway we shall see."
A knock at the door prompts Arakan to go over and open it to let Kaiten in.
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Takana quickly shuts up once kaiten is inside,not wanting to deal with this demon
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Kaiten sees Takana and nods, going to the couch and sitting.
Arakan sighs, " well, i'd better get moving. Keep them safe."
" yes sir."
Arakan glances at Takana, " text me if you need anything."
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Takana looks at arakan and his ears twitch before he nods, "okay. "
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He heads out, leaving them alone.
Kaiten looks around the apartment boredly.
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Takana glances at kaiten and frowns before going to the kitchen and begins cleaning up breakfast
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Kaiten glances over and sees the frown, " is there a problem?"
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Takana keeps cleaning, not looking at kaiten, "no. "
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The chimera crosses his arms, " im not certain what beef you have with me, im only doing what i've been asked."
-
Takana sighs softly and pauses washing the dishes, "but I don't have a problem with you. I just don't see a reason for us to communicate since you're only here to do a job. I literally looked at you, and then went to clean up. You're the one who asked if there was a problem and I told you no." He turns and looks at Kaiten, "so, let me ask, what exactly do you think I've done?"
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Kaiten sighs, " if you insist. you simply seem displeased with my presence."
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Takana sighs, "im upset that arakan is dealing with so much at the moment. im upset that one of the many things thats on his plate is making my ass is covered by a babysitter. It feels like ever since i got here that he has had to deal with more shit than anyone should and despite my arguments with him he insists that i stay here." his ears droop and he huffs softly, "Im so utterly useless here."
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow slowly through this speech, " and where exactly do you think you will go, and to do what? back to the human realm? The trouble that has arisen since you arrived was festering long before you came, you simply exposed it before it burst and became a putrid wound beyond saving. With power comes responsibility, he would have to deal with this infection whether you were here or not, you simply gave him the tools to lance it and try to heal our community, instead of it becoming so enraged and deadly that the humans would be forced to destroy us to ensure their own survival."
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Takana huffs, "I had my own place, unlimited income, and free college education. I went out with friends and enjoyed some activities. And I didn't help arakan with anything. I just did what was right. What anyone else should do. I'm just so irritated at everything."
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Kaiten sighs, " you were lucky and sheltered. what is right or wrong is often a matter of opinion, and convenience. after all, to give us more, means less for them. letting us rot away here takes very little effort. standing up and doing something takes a great deal of effort. for the first time i see some hope, and that was your doing."
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Takana blinks, his face turning a little pink before he quickly turns away and goes back to doing the dishes, "we're just lucky that growing up in the human district gave me friends that are useful, that's all." Damn it all, why was he so easily won over by compliments?
"A-anyway we still have time before work, are you thirsty at all? I have coffee I made or I can get you some water."
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Kaiten fights the urge to smirk, there, that got the little d rank to stop being annoyed at him. which would make his job easier. He did not speak falsely, but he was glad he praised the other. " coffee would be nice."
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Takana nods and quickly pours a cup of fresh coffee for kaiten, turning and handing it to the demon, his face still pink
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Kaiten takes it, " much appreciated." he blows on it for a bit before drinking.
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Takana finishes up cleaning before returning to his room, needing to calm down. He wasn't so sure as to why he was feeling so flustered at every remark. Daddy issues? Lack of any real affection since his break up? No sex for even longer? It could be anything. Maybe izanagi was right and he DID need to get laid... not that he would ever admit that in front of the bratty demon...
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The said bratty demon was busy sending extremely lewd pictures to Nikiri.
Kaiten sighs softly and stays on the couch sipping his coffee. hopefully since Takana seems less against him being around he'd be cooperative.
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After a bit of cooling off takana glances at his phone and sighs when he sees the time.
He gets up and grabs his bag, stepping out and knocking on nagi's door, "stop sending dick picks!"
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Izanagi whines, " but i want Nikiri to come fuck meeeeeeeeeee!" he pouts and puts his phone away before making sure he's clothed and grabs his bag.
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Takana snorts, "he will when he's not busy. " he heads for the door
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Izanagi huffs and follows after Takana.
Kaiten follows as well, setting his coffee mug in the sink on the way out.
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Takana heads to work, glancing around. The air felt uneasy and stale and takana couldn't help but purposefully walk a bit slower to keep himself closer to kaiten.
It was more than likely the sudden testing and fear of the inspection that caused this atmosphere but it still made takana nervous
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Kaiten stays close to the boys, clearly alert as he scan the area.
Izanagi stays close as well.
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As soon as takana enters the cafe he visibly relaxes, "I feel like today is probably going to be a slow day..."
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Kaiten nods, " likely not many will be in the mood for enjoyment."
Izanagi heads into the back and gets into his uniform.
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Takana goes to his spot in the kitchen and starts getting everything ready.
Hikari is fine tuning the coffee pot, enjoying that everything feels so gloomy today
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Kaiten sits at a table with a good view of the rest of the cafe and the doors.
Izanagi bounces around getting things ready.
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Hikari, mia, and kaeru finishes getting their tasks done just as the cafe opens
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The manager opens the cafe and welcome the first customers in, fewer than normal these days.
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Mina's ears droop and she sighs, "what in the world is going on lately? "
Hikari shrugs, "with how busy we've been I'll take some slow days. Gives us a chance to do any needed deep cleaning that we couldn't accomplish if we were too busy."
Kaeru hums happily, "hikari thinks like the manager huh! You must really admire her."
Mina nods and giggles, "hikari and manager have known each other for a loooong time!"
Hikari huffs, turning red, "stop talking and keep working."
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Izanagi watches the customers coming in, sighing as he's not seeing any of the guys he's interested in coming.
The manager takes the chances to get some of the newer employees working on deep cleaning, letting the seasoned ones take care of customers. She gets them settled in the cooler and in the kitchen, directing them on how to get things cleaned up.
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Takana sticks to only keeping a fraction of food at the ready, knowing that the normal amount of broth, curry, and rice would easily just sit and would more than likely need to be put in a container and stored for the next day.
He'd rather make a little more if need be than be stuck with older food since he couldn't see tomorrow being any busier.
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Izanagi pays special attention to the customers they do get, trying to make each person feel special.
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The day goes by slowly and soon ends.
Takana is finishing up cleaning
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Izanagi sighs as he sits down, " aw, that hot guy didn;t show up."
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Kaeru blinks and tilts her head, "mm? What hot guy?"
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Izanagi waves his hand, " that one from the other district that keeps coming to talk with Arakan. the one who keeps brushing me off."
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Kaeru blinks before humming, "Shiro? He's a pretty shy guy so im sure he's not brushing you off."
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Izanagi pouts, " i gave him my number. i'd totally do more but he hasn;t come in since!"
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Kaeru shrugs, "well unlike the rest of the demons you met this guy's confidence is shot. Maybe you should ask arakan if he's even expecting to see the guy again any time soon? "
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Izanagi sighs, " ugh... he's so busy though. i wonder if he'd take me seriously if i just took him into the back and gave him a good blowie."
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kaeru's face falls a little before she sighs, "Honestly i think if you DONT do that thing he would take you seriously."
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He crosses his arms, " well the guy hasn't called me despite putting my number into his pocket. what else do you suggest to get his attention?"
-
"Instead of flirting you should just tell him you want to be in a relationship with him and that you're serious." she hums, "otherwise im sure he constantly thinks that what you're doing isnt flirting or he's too thick in the head to get your type of flirting."
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Izanagi sighs, " fine fine. well, that plus a blowie ought to convince him i want him."
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kaeru blushes and sighs, "Lets hope for your sake that shiro has any sort of a sex drive."
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Izanagi snickers, " well if he's a virgin, which he might be seeing as he seems to be utterly clueless, i'll rock his world."
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Kaeru rubs her temples before sighing, "Maybe this conversation is better with Mina. Im a bit more inexperienced with such things..."
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Izanagi sighs, " well regardless he has to actually be here for me to do anything."
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kaeru nods, "again, best bet might be to ask arakan about that."
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Izanagi whines and flops into a chair dramatically.
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She hums, "I mean, he's constantly around you guys right? You're lucky! He's so kind. "
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Izanagi sighs, " he's just guarding Takana because he came from odd circumstances. He's not interested in me at all."
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Kaeru blushes, "we-well I didn't think he'd be interested in you but umm... at least you get to be near him."
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Izanagi blinks, " yeah i guess so. i get some good eye candy at least. Takana is kind of into him though and won;t let me do anything fun. like Arakan left his jacket, and i was gonna sleep with it, and he just about killed me to get it."
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Kaeru blinks, "o-oh? Takana didn't seem like the type to be interested in people."
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Izanagi snorts, " he had a boyfriend before he came here not that long ago. anyway yeah he got friggen feral."
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kaeru shakes her head, "rest in peace to whoever his previous boyfriend was. takana sure is scary sometimes. he just does whatever he wants without thinking first."
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Izanagi nods, " agreed. anyway, i better go see how cleanup is going." he gets up and heads into the kitchen.
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Takana is already done making the kitchen look brand spanking new, the old stove tops looking immaculate, "there. its absolutely perfect."
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Izanagi chuckles, " looks like you were busy. i heard the manager was making some of the employees clean out the cooler."
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Takana glances at izanagi and nods, "Thats a good idea. dont get me wrong it shouldnt be too hard since i made sure to rotate the food when i started but the cooler still has some messes that need to be handled."
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Izanagi nods, " well deep cleaning is important now and then."
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Takana nods, "Its imperative when you're in the food industry."
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Izanagi nods, " so you ready to go home?"
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takana nods, "yes absolutely. I want to take a little nap before i make dinner."
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Izanagi nods, " alright, lemme change quick and we can drag Kaiten home~"
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Takana nods and heads out to the main area by the doors to wait for izanagi and kaiten
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Kaiten gets up to follow when he sees Takana.
Izanagi changes quickly and rushes out, " lets go!"
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Takana nods at izanagi and starts heading home
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They all head back, Kaiten settling onto the couch when they get there.
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Takana gets inside and sighs, feeling exhausted from all of the extra cleaning he was doing. he heads to his room and plops down onto his bed
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Izanagi goes to his room, settling down and texting all his usual hook ups.
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several men respond to izanagi looking for something to fuck, none of them being nikiri
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Izanagi sighs but sets up a meeting with one and heads out.
Kaiten watches him go but shrugs, that one wasn;t his issue, the other was. if the slutty one wanted to go out that was his choice.
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after about a half hour Takana stretches and gets up, feeling more hungry than tired now. he heads out of his room to make dinner, unaware that izanagi left.
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Kaiten glances up and sees Takana, " ah, you are awake. the other one left awhile ago."
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Takana blinks at kaiten before looking towards izanagi's room, his ears drooping, "o-oh..." alone... again... ish. he supposes kaiten is there but... this demon wasnt someone that Takana knew how to talk to yet.
Should he still make food? He didnt know when arakan would be back and the thought of eating alone really just.... ruins his appetite.
"um... thanks for uh letting me know...."
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow, " are you alright? i do not think he'll be gone long, he did not take much with him."
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Takana shrugs, "I've never been good at being alone."
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Kaiten slowly raises an eyebrow, " i know you are not fond of my presence, but that is a little harsh."
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Takana rubs his arm and huffs, "sorry but you're not someone I can have a conversation with. Or even feel easy around. I don't know you and you're only here because this is a job for you."
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Kaiten shrugs, " fair."
Arakan makes his way to the apartment, looking tired. he knocks before opening the door, " im back."
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Takana looks visibly relieved when he sees arakan and he quickly goes over to him, "welcome back! A-are you hungry? Izanagi left apparently but I can still make dinner."
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Arakan nods, " if it's not too much trouble. you can go Kaiten"
Kaiten nods and leaves.
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Takana nods, "go rest on the couch, I'll let you know when dinner is ready." He quickly shuffles to the kitchen, glad to have someone near him
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Arakan goes and sits heavily, sighing softly, " we got a lot of collars checked, so that's good. we have a lot more to go though."
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Takana starts getting dinner ready, "well some progress is better than no progress. Have you found any collars that need replacing?"
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Arakan nods, " yeah, a couple. one was on a kid too, that would have been bad."
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Takana frowns and pauses briefly before sighing, "We-well then its really good that we have this tool. I'll have to find a way to thank Curtis... or just tell him he's lucky I'm being so nice to him."
-
Arakan snorts, " if we make it through this inspection, i'll thank him personally."
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Takana snorts, "Im sure he'll shit himself if you did." Takana finishes making dinner and fixes arakan his plate, making sure he gets a bigger portion before setting it on the table, "foods on." He makes a plate for izanagi, covering it and putting it in the fridge for when the other demon comes back before getting a plate for himself and going to the table to eat.
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" Probably. that in itself would be amusing." he slowly gets up and walks over, " my thanks..." he starts eating slowly.
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Takana nods, "of course. I'm sure you barely had time to get lunch or take breaks so the last I can do is feed you. "
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Arakan chuckles, " you're not wrong... about the fact that i haven't taken any breaks, not that it's the least you can do. im going to shut up now."
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Takana snorts, "you're fine. Just eat and try to relax a little. Well... as much as you can relax. I'm sure you're mentally and physically wiped. "
-
Arakan sighs, " again, not wrong." he soon cleans his plate and sits back, rubbing his temples, " just let me get through this..."
-
Takana looks at arakan and frowns before quickly looking determined, "You will get through this. Everyone will."
-
He chuckles softly, " ah, if only we could will our way through life. your optimism is refreshing though."
Izanagi soon comes back through the door, looking somewhat tired and disheveled. " oh, hey."
-
takana snorts, "I may get myself into shit but i always seem to make it out okay and my friends always called me the ultimate lucky charm. So i will try to use some of that luck here, okay?" he hears the door open and he looks over at izanagi, "Oh, hey. welcome back. there's a plate in the fridge for you, you'll need to nuke it though."
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Izanagi blinks, " oh, thanks! you're the best!" he grabs it and microwaves it, sitting and eagerly eating.
Arakan sighs, " well, we can hope."
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Takana snorts at izanagi, "you better remember that next time you start teasing me." He turns to look at arakan and nods, "of course. Have some faith in me, okay?"
-
Arkan snorts, " i have faith in you, i do not have faith in the humans, and they are regretfully the problem."
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Takana's ears flick and he pulls back a little, "i... I get it." He hums and quickly gets up, "I'm gonna go shower. " He puts his page away before heading to the bathroom
-
Arakan sighs softly, " yeah, alright."
Izanagi finishes his meal and puts the plate into the sink before going to his room, looking satisfied.
-
Takana gets in the shower, his ears back as he huffs, thinking about what arakan said. He didn't want to argue semantics with the demon but it was so infuriating. Both sides just needed to make up already damn it!
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Arakan sighs softly, he wasn;t going to sugarcoat it for him. He knew that Takana would do all he could, but the smaller male simply didn;t understand how the humans acted.
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Takana finishes getting cleaned up and steps out of the shower, getting a towel around his waist before stepping out and going to his room
-
Arakan glances over and sighs, getting the couch set up for sleep.
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Takana closes the door, mainly so he can take the towel off and be naked while he grabs some pajamas, using the towel to instead dry his hair
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Arakan lies down on the couchbed and settles in to sleep for the night.
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In the morning takana is already awake and dressed, pot full of coffee and the stove top already going as he focuses on anything besides his own thoughts.
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Arakan wakes up and groggily goes to the kitchen, hair messy, " mornin."
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Takana glances at arakan, "morning. there's coffee, as always."
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Arakan nods and pours himself a mug, taking it back to the couch and sitting.
-
Takana is tense as he keeps cooking, glancing now and then at the time and frowning. He couldn't believe how fast time seemed to be going. This was their last day to check all of those demons...
-
Arakan gulps down his coffee and gets up, " sorry to skip out on breakfast, but i really need to get to work. there's no time to waste. there's a lot to do still. speaking of which, remind me to check you two when i get home, im not sure at what time they'll call for the inspection but better check tonight to be sure it's not first thing in the morning." he checks his phone, " Kaiten will be here in a few minutes, i wouldn't be surprised if i pass him on the way out. i'd wait but... i can't." he runs a hand through his hair, " down to the wire..." he heads for the door.
-
Takana's has jerks up and he frowns, "without breakfast? Um- wait- i-" Takana doesn't finish his sentence as he quickly grabs the buttered toast that was on arakans plate and he rubs over to the demon, "here, you can at least eat this in the way or right? Something in your stomach is better than nothing! "
-
Arakan blinks, " ah, thanks. it's fine, one day without eating isn't the end of the world. i can catch up on calories tomorrow. thanks though." he takes the toast and takes a bite, " be careful today." he quickly heads out, if he hurried he could still get everyone checked.
Kaiten sees the ice demon run by him as he heads in, knocking gently before stepping into the apartment.
-
Takana watches arakan run off, only snapping out of it when he hears kaiten enter, "um. Morning. "
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Kaiten nods, " morning. you are concerned?"
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Takana nods, "of course. This is serious stuff after all. "
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Kaiten nods, " you need to trust him, he will do all he can to ensure the safety of all of his people. He is strong, he will be alright."
-
takana sighs, "Yeah but there is too much being piled on him at once and the poor man needs a break. And just because he is strong doesnt mean he should go without. A dam is pretty strong too but if you dont check on the dam and fix any cracks or leaks then its only a matter of time before the millions of tons of water it holds back becomes too much."
-
Kaiten nods, " true, but if a dam is weak it's broken down and rebuilt. In order to be a good leader he needs to be able to handle the strongest raging waters, even during floods. I know you're not used to our ways, but he's been raised to handle this sort of pressure. he'll be alright."
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Takana sighs, "Yeah but that doesn't mean he should do this alone. I want him to know that we have his back too. I just wish I knew how I could help him without getting in his way."
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" having people to protect is what gives him strength. he's not alone, he has the entire district standing behind him. i know it's hard to understand." Kaiten sits on the couch.
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Takana sighs, "it IS hard to understand. I was raised very differently and that unfortunately makes me a nuisance."
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Kaiten grunts, " i suppose that's one way to look at it. but your new perspectives have also been helpful. so it's worth the trouble to keep you."
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Takana's ears flatten and he sighs, "sure I guess..."
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Kaiten chuckles, " you'll learn."
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Takana plates up some french toast and frowns, "I mean.... I'll do my best to learn what i can but i dont plan on living here forever. I need to get to my brother safely."
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow, " interesting."
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Takana blinks and looks at kaiten, "what do you mean 'interesting'?"
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" a demon raised here would never consider leaving the safety of a district, safety being relative of course. so to hear that you think being out there is safer than here is interesting." Kaiten rests his chin on his hand.
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takana's ears flick back, "Well, i wasnt raised here. I was raised in the human district and for the most part I was treated as everyone else so.... i may have a particular biased as to where my safety resides."
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" im aware. it's still interesting. so, even if you can't manage to fix things for us you plan to simply leave?"
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takana blinks and huffs, "I.... i am going to fix things here regardless of whether I am here or not."
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" interesting." Kaiten sits back, relaxing.
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Takana's ears flick in annoyance but he huffs and finishes cooking food and plates up enough for the three of them. The original third plate meant for arakan however with him gone takana had planned to feed kaiten.... but now kaiten was pissing him off....
He sets the table and grumbles softly to himself, his ears still showing signs of a sour attitude, "izanagi!! Breakfast!"
He glances at kaiten, "since arakan left after I made enough batter for 3 servings I happen to have extra French toast. Feel free to eat it if you want since it's fresh. Just stop calling everything I do interesting. "
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Kaiten chuckles, " you are certainly easily annoyed if the fact that i am reserving my opinions to consider it further is setting you off." He sits and sniffs at the french toast, looking curious.
Izanagi comes out and dumps syrup on his before stuffing a large chunk into his mouth and humming in appreciation.
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Takana huffs again and sits down, starting to eat
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Kaiten takes a small bite and barely hides his surprise at the good taste, calmly eating the rest.
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Takana calms down a bit with everyone eating and he nods in approval as he keeps eating
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Izanagi soon finishes his and sighs happily, " you make the best food."
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Takana nods, "I hope so considering I make the cafe's food now." he finishes eating and gets up, putting his plate in the sink
-
Izanagi chuckles, " truuuuuue." he puts his in the sink and heads back to his room.
Kaiten finishes his at a leisurely pace before rinsing his own dish off, " appreciated."
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Takana glances at Kaiten before sighing softly, "You're welcome, although its just to keep food from going bad."
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Kaiten keeps an amused smirk from his face, " sure thing."
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Takana sighs and cleans up the kitchen and washing the dishes before heading to his room to get ready
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Izanagi soon comes out with his bag with his spare set of clothes, ready to go.
Kaiten is simply waiting.
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takana comes out ready and stretches before sighing, "alright, lets go." he heads out the door to work
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Kaiten gets up and quietly follows.
Izanagi hurries to keep up, " i bet it's gonna be real quiet today too. people are gonna be scared."
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Takana glances at izanagi and frowns, "ah... ye-yeah. i'll be sure to not prep much just in case."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah... im not gonna lie, im kinda scared too. i mean, inspections are normal, but... they've never done this before. part of me hopes that we're freaking out for no reason and nothing will happen tomorrow."
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takana tenses a bit before glancing at izanagi, not knowing what to say. he didnt say anything to izanagi about this surprise inspection but he supposes that eventually something would spill, "uh...ye-yeah. Im just gonna focus on work today."
-
Izanagi sighs and rubs his arm, " okay..."
-
Takana looks at izanagi and sighs, "hey everything is going to be okay. I have my trust in arakan and I know nikiri is helping out so im trusting them to do their job."
-
Izanagi nods, " i know. they'll keep us safe."
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Takana smiles and nods, "see? They'll keep us safe! It'll be okay. We just have to do our best to support them."
-
Izanagi nods slowly, not looking entirely reassured. " i know they'll do all they can."
-
Takana pauses briefly, frowning a bit before sighing, "I know my words wont mean much. You, and everyone else, have been dealing with something that i only stumbled upon a month ago so in a sense I have no right to really try to comfort you but... I'm also doing my best to help arakan keep everyone safe and I personally promise that i'll keep you safe during this inspection, okay?"
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " you can't promise that. i know everyone will try, but you can;t promise that. you don;t know what it's like, if something happens you won;t be able to stop it."
-
Takana huffs, "Well im gonna TRY." he looks down and and frowns. he just wanted to keep his family from fucking up this area
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Izanagi sighs softly, " just... don;t get yourself into trouble."
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Takana snorts and chuckles softly, "Coming here already kinda did that right?"
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Izanagi huffs softly, " well yeah, but i mean don;t get yourself in trouble at the inspection! that'll get you killed."
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Takana chuckles, "I dont think there's anything I could do that would get me killed. But thanks for worrying about me, even if it might be because I help with rent and I make good food."
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Izanagi blinks and looks wide eyed at him, " they wanted to kill the others in that mans family just because our leader tried to convince them not to kill the man."
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Takana blinks and frowns a bit, "i- right, but my ex is in charge of this one so like, he knows not to have me get killed. its a privilege I plan to exploit for this one. I.... wish i could've done something for that family then but i... I can only do so much."
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Izanagi shakes his head, " you don't understand. he might not get a choice. he might be the head of the guards, but he's not head of the inspection."
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takana shrugs, "I will do what i can to help."
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Izanagi sighs and shakes his head, deciding further argument is pointless.
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Takana gets into the cafe, feeling slightly tired from their argument before deciding he wouldnt let it get to him. he just had to prove to izanagi that he was DEFINTELY going to keep the demon safe. He quickly gets to work.
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Izanagi also gets to work, hurrying to get everything ready.
Kaiten sits and gets comfortable at a table.
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After a few hours Nikiri steps inside and sits at a table, his antlers have grown a little and it is shown by the soft, velvety bumps peaking through his hair. He looks tired and a little stressed but to be fair he was assisting arakan
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Izanagi flounces over and plops into his lap, " good to see you up and about~ what can i get you today?"
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He gives a tired smile before sighing, "well I have been up and about assisting arakan as well as my sisters. This is probably the first time I have rested and even then I feel bad about doing so. A coffee would be great by the way. Leave out the sugar, you're sweet enough for me."
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Izanagi nods, " i know... this is all pretty scary. i'll get that right away for you." he quickly goes and gets the coffee, bringing it back as quickly as possible and setting it in front of the other.
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Nikiri smiles when he gets his coffee and he sips the hot bean tea, "thank you love. I won't be able to stick around for long but I will treasure my time with you. "
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Izanagi nods, " i understand, try to take care of yourself too though?"
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Nikiri nods, "I will, after this is all over. I promise that after this one is done I will stop in again and I will whisk you back to my place and fuck you so much you'll be unable to work the day after."
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Izanagi blinks and blushes, licking his lips, " oh damn, well the sooner this is over the better~"
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Nikiri chuckles, "I figured that would raise your spirits if even a little. Something nice for you to look forward too." he takes his coffee and sips it
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Izanagi nods enthusiastically, " now i gotta survive this! it would be absolutely cruel to have such a treat placed in front of me and never get it!"
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Nikiri smiles at izanagi, "Indeed." he glances around the cafe, making sure it was indeed slow before scooting a bit in his booth to make room, "come sit real quick."
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The cafe was almost empty, and Izanagi blinks before scooting in next to him, " are you okay?"
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Nikiri wraps his arm around izanagi in a side hug and sighs, making sure to keep his voice low, "Takana has a very influential family and the father has only just realized that his son is missing."
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Izanagi blinks, looking up into Nikiri's face, also keeping his voice low, " so... he's looking for Takana?"
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Nikiri nods, "that's what I'm assuming. But they can't really assume he's here so a surprise inspection would make it easier to locate any possible leads. I don't know if takana knows this though. He might assume it's because we are asking for an important celebrity to come here."
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Izanagi blinks and frowns, " oh. that's why they're suddenly doing a surprise inspection. you must be so stressed...."
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Nikiri hums softly, "quite a bit although nowhere near arakans stress so I guess there's that. And I have the help of my sisters making sure every demon sees arakan quietly so as to not rouse suspicion. A damn shame takana can't go back now. From what I hear in the human district that man genuinely wants his son safe. But if takana were to go back then arakan would quickly think the worse thing possible and might start a commotion. So for now we go through with this surprise inspection safely and hopefully appease the panicked."
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Izanagi nods, frowning, " well, i can;t help Arakan with his stress, but i can help you relax a little..." he smirks.
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Nikiri blinks and raises an eyebrow, "oh? And how do you suppose you could do that? We are in public currently."
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Izanagi snorts, " like i've let that stop me before. anyway there's a nice table and there's nobody that can see me if im under the tablecloth~"
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nikiri hums softly, "i.... suppose. i just wish to not get you in trouble."
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Izanagi glances around, " there's almost no customers, they won;t notice im gone. if it was busy that'd be another story, though i'd probably still take the chance." he admits with a grin. " anyway~" he slides down in his seat and under the table, licking his lips as he parts the folds of Nikiri's kimono to find his prize.
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Nikiri hesitantly glances around to make sure no one saw that before looking down at his coffee, his cheeks a little red already
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Izanagi grabs Nikiri's cock and licks the tip, pumping the shaft with his hands to work on getting him erect.
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Nikiri closes his eyes tightly, his face turning even more red as he tries to not make any sounds, his dick quickly hardening
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Izanagi hums happily and sucks Nikiri into his mouth, swallowing him down to the base of his cock and teasing his balls with his free hand.
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Nikiri shudders and looks at the glass window and tries to forget about where he is and what's happening
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Izanagi hums happily and bobs his head enthusiastically on the others cock, rubbing the shaft with his tongue as he applies suction. he wasn;t messing around, he'd get Nikiri to cum as quickly as possible.
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Nikiri gently pushes his cup of coffee out of the way so he can lower himself on to the table so he can hide his face, his whole body shivering as he is forced to not react to his own orgasm. He couldnt even moan as he came which was almost impossible.
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Izanagi swallows everything down and licks his lips as he pulls away, licking Nikiri's member to clean it off before getting Nikiri's clothes back in order.
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Nikiri sighs softly and clears his throat a little, going back to drinking his coffee now that there isnt a good chance of him choking on it
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Izanagi pops back up into the seat next to Nikiri, " feeling any better?"
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Nikiri looks at Izanagi and sighs, "You didnt have to do that silly, but yes I feel better despite my constant fear of Arakan walking through that door."
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Izanagi snickers, " what, think i can;t get you off even if he's here? i'll take that challenge~"
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Nikiri blushes and sighs, "Well I wouldnt. Poor guy is stressed as it is and he would definitely kill me if he found out."
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Izanagi leans against Nikiri, " naw, he wouldn't. it's fine. glad i could help ~"
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Nikiri sighs, "If you say so.... anyway, i should finish this coffee and get out of here. this was just an enforced break by mister ice prince himself."
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Izanagi nods, " alright, i should get back to work." he quickly pecks Nikiri on the cheek and gets up, flouncing off with more pep in his step than before.
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Nikiri sighs and finishes his coffee before double checking his kimono. He gets up and goes to the counter, ordering a black coffee to go, a gift to the ice prince, and paying for the drinks. He leaves with the coffee, making sure to get back to arakan before it gets cold
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Arakan is with a small group of demons, checking each collar before clearing them and moving onto the next, other high class demons gathering the groups in various places for him to go to and check. They were running out of time, but they were through most of the district. they were going to make it through everyone, he hoped.
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Nikiri goes over to him and holds out the coffee, "Here. black. Extra espresso. "
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Arakan looks up from his papers and blinks, uncomprehending for a moment before he sighs and tucks the papers under his arm to take the cup, " thanks..." he blows on the cup to cool it to a drinkable temp, his breath crackling against the steam, and gulps it down.
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Nikiri nods, "as much as im not looking forward to inspection day i will be glad to be done with this."
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Arakan sets the empty cup aside, " agreed. i just wish there was a way to get back at them for such underhanded behavior, but they've got us by the damn balls and they know it and love to exploit it." he growls.
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nikiri nods, "It is...unfortunate that despite all of your efforts the humans in charge are still being absolutely intolerable."
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Arakan nods, " i doubt that will ever change. Takana seems to think things can be more fair, but so long as the humans have a position of power they're bound to abuse it." he shakes his head, " feeling sorry for our situation changes nothing, we have work to do." he gets the papers out and looks them over, " we need to get over to block 3400, that's where the next group ought to be waiting."
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Nikiri nods, "Yes, Summer has already informed me while i was coming back that that group is ready for you. As well as Rin's group. I'm stil waiting to hear back from Luna and Katie though but they have a bit of time yet as we go through the 3400 block."
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Arakan nods, " good." he quickly walks from the building towards their next destination.
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Nikiri follows, meeting up with Summer, "Have you heard from Luna and Katie?"
Summer shakes her head, "No, Katie has quite a bit to help out with since it's a large group and you know how luna gets. You want me to go check on her?"
Nikiri nods, "Please. her group is next up so i'd like to make sure its ready."
Summer nods and gives arakan a quick bow before running off to Luna's location
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Arakan nods to Summer in acknowledgement as they walk, " i think if we keep up the pace we've been at we ought to have everyone checked by about midnight. it's cutting it closer than i like, but at least it gives us a little extra time in case things go badly. i doubt they'll wake us at midnight for inspection, they hardly want to get up in the middle of the night even if it's to fuck us over."
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Nikiri nods and sighs, "I know the other three girls wouldnt have minded helping you out as well with this however they have other matters at hand. Although I suppose they are helping in their own way."
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Arakan waves his hand dismissively, " i appreciate all the aid your family has rendered thus far, it's a miracle we even have the scanner to work with to try and protect our people as it is."
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nikiri blinks before humming, "Ah yes. the scanner. i dont believe you ever informed me on how you retrieved such a imperative tool. I assume Takana?"
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Arakan hums softly, " i know you'll keep your mouth shut, so yes." he reaches the next building and looks over the group before sighing, " alright, line up, lets get this done quickly please."
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Nikiri watches as the demons obey arakan before humming, "That was most gracious of him."
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Arakan makes a negative sounding noise, " he's very optimistic that he can change things." he scans each collar, confirming it works before moving onto the next one.
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nikiri hums, "Well i suppose he was raised by humans so if anyone knows how to deal with them it would be him. he's quiet for a moment before opening his mouth again, "If all goes well maybe i'll give him a reward."
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Arakan sighs, " well, hopefully it goes well. somehow i doubt it though." he raises an eyebrow, " reward from you? like what."
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Nikiri shrugs, "since he's more than likely a breeder demon I wouldn't doubt it if he was feeling pent up and needed... release. I could offer him a literal helping hand with the promise that we both pretend it never happened. Who knows if he might be interested in such a thing but it never hurts to ask considering he must be very uncomfortable right now."
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The temps drop in the room as the implications sink in, before Arakan reins in his temper and they raise again, " is that so. well im glad he has someone to help him there. The fact that it's even a thing disgusts me to no end, to think that the humans were trying to breed us like livestock. despicable. at least we are aware of this now."
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Nikiri does his best to hide his mischievous grin before humming, "well to be fair I have no clue if he honestly does have help yet. I plan to ask him but it is my first time bringing up the offer to him. He may say yes but he might also slap me across the face. He seems to be too proud to admit his body has needs that need to be taken care of before they get out of control."
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Arakan sighs, " Izanagi won;t be pleased to share you. i doubt he has help, since he has been under watch most of the time."
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Nikiri shrugs, "well normally I wouldn't be too pleased about sharing my partner either but he goes out all the time when I'm not available. Besides I know that as soon as a higher rank demon comes along and can handle izanagi I'll certainly be put aside. And someone will have to help takana eventually. You won't, and that other demon that's watching them is straight so the least I could do is offer my services."
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Arakan snorts, " true, though if he got you more consistently he might be more likely to keep with you. Somehow I don't see you two as a good match, he's far too needy." He tenses up, " it would be inappropriate for me to offer such aid to him, even were he interested."
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Nikiri nods, "he does... love a lot. Far more than I can give him. And yes I know you being prince and all makes it much harder for you to do normal things. Sad though. Out of all of us he does seem more interested in you. Ah well. Such is life."
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Arakan eyes Nikiri and raises an eyebrow, " have you seen our interactions? if that's called liking someone i'd hate to see what he does with someone he hates."
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Nikiri shrugs, "From what i heard when the talk about sex comes up thanks to izanagi, takana tends to yell at him but will only get flustered with you. And the whole thing about Takana stealing your coat from izanagi and 'protecting' it. thats honestly hard to believe that that was the only reason why. i think he's probably just unsure on how to express himself around you considering how uncomfortable he is with our whole ranking system.....you do also say things that feel a little too cold."
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Arakan makes a disgruntled grunt, thinking about what Nikiri was saying as he worked, quickly clearing the demons here in this group, " is the next group ready?" he'd have to think on this information, and now was not the time to do so, especially with how tired he was.
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Nikiri blinks and looks away briefly before looking back at Arakan, "yes, Summer checked in with Luna and everything is ready with her group and Katie has just finished getting her group together."
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Arakan nods and checks the last few from this group, " alright. lets get the next ones." he quickly heads to the next location.
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nikiri follows and soon they arrive where everything looks in order.
Summer is with Luna, the more bright and cheerful sister being the complete opposite next to Luna who looks exhausted and nervous.
Summer smiles at nikiri, "Everything's good to go. Luna just got nervous around so many people."
Luna looks at the ground, feeling a little embarrassed, "S-sorry..."
Nikiri shakes his head, "Its fine luna. thank you for helping out. Why dont you head home for the day? I'm sure mother could use more help with the kids."
Luna nods and gives arakan an anxious nod before jumping off and quickly heading home
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Arakan nods, looking tired, " i appreciate you stepping out of your comfort zone for this." he rubs his hand over his face before starting on this group.
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Nikiri waits for a moment before frowning, "Do you need another caffeine run? I can also see what i can do about getting some food. You being in your best shape would be best."
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Arakan sighs, " coffee yes, and i suppose something i can eat quickly. we're not going to get me in my best shape, but getting perked up somewhat may help."
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nikiri nods, "I will be right back then." the dear demon quickly leaves
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Arakan nods and starts scanning since he's here and with them.
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Nikiri heads back to the cafe and goes up to the register and talks to hikari.
The girl blinks but nods, heading into the kitchen and brings takana out who is a little confused at first.
After a few minutes of talking takana lights up a bit before giving nikiri a 'wait here' movement, darting back into the kitchen
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Izanagi blinks when he sees Nikiri back, going over, " hey, did you come back for round two~?
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Nikiri chuckles, "no, arakan just downed his coffee so I figured he'd need more. He's also hungry so I would see what I could get him for food that would be easy on the go. Takana says he knows just the thing so I'm waiting for him."
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Izanagi pouts, " that's not nearly as fun. well you know where i am if you change your mind."
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Nikiri is about to say something when takana comes back out with a to go bag.
Takana hands the bag to nikiri, "here. He should like this."
Nikiri smiles at takana, "thank you. What exactly is it? I don't think your curry or ramen is very... to go safe."
Takana hums, "well it is curry but instead of on rice it's wrapped up in some dough, rolled in panko crumbs and fried. Curry bread! A lot of people will eat this on the go since you can just hold it like you would a burrito. I made sure to make sure to put in as much heat as possible for him. There's like three in there which should be more than enough."
Nikiri nods, "impressive. Thank you." He smiles at izanagi, "I'll come see you when the inspection is over. For your treat, okay?" He goes back to the counter to pick up a large thermos of coffee that hikari prepared and pays, thanking her and leaving
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Izanagi licks his lips, " you'd better~"
Arakan keeps up with his work, reassuring the demons he's checking as they go.
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Nikiri soon goes back to arakans side, "Special delivery~"
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Arakan looks over, " ah, my thanks." he looks at the bag curiously.
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Nikiri nods, "Takana made something called a... ahh....Curry bread! Said you'd like it and it was easy to hold so thats what is apparently in there."
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Arakan blinks before shrugging and grabbing the bag, pulling one out and biting into it. He looks at it in surprise, swallowing, " it's good. ah, we need to keep moving though." he sets the bag aside and quickly eats the one he has, saving the others to eat on the way to the next group.
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nikiri nods, "I also had the girl... oh what was her name... kari? no Hikari! thats it. her. i asked her to make an extra strong cup of coffee to your tastes. she put it in this nice thermos for you if you get thirsty."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " well, since im almost running purely on coffee and will power that'll come in handy." he finishes scanning the last few people here and grabs another bun out of the bag and munches it as he makes his way to the next group.
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Nikiri follows and when they get to the new site his sister Katie, in her high quality over the top kimono, bows to arakan, "good afternoon Arakan. A pleasure to see you today."
The older brother does his best to not make a face. His sister was always like this. She let herself believe being a c rank meant something.
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Arakan flicks his eyes to her, " afternoon." he quickly finishes off the last of the food and gulps down a few swallows of coffee to perk himself up before getting to work.
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She's about to ask arakan something when nikiri gently takes her arm and pulls her away from the already busy demon
Katie makes a soft squeak before huffing and glaring at nikiri, "brother what are you doing? I was about to speak with the prince-"
Nikiri cuts her off, "he's busy. Obviously. There's nothing that you could ask of him that has any higher importance than what he is doing right now."
"Yes there is! I was going to ask about how else I could help him."
"You can help him by going home where you're other sisters are."
Katie huffs, "I don't want to be in that overcrowded mess. I want to do my job of helping ara-"
Nikiri shakes his head, "don't even start with that again. Helping him is not your official job. Going to meetings and being involved with communications is the family job. This was something you were asked of only because your afternoon was free. Go home. Now. I'll have father speak to you about your behavior."
Katie stomps her foot a little as she let's her anger get the best of her, "I don't have a behavior worth speaking about! I just want to be taken seriously for once! So let me keep helping!!"
Rolling his eyes, nikiri crosses his arms, "okay, you know what.." He turns to look at arakan, "what's the next location after this?"
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Arakan glances at his papers, " the 5600 block is up next." he tucks the papers back under his arm and keeps checking the demons, pulling one aside and sending them to get their collar fixed when it comes up as non functioning. " tell them to call me if they have any questions about payment, it will be handled." the demon runs off to take care of it.
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Nikiri nods, "I'm taking Katie home and afterwards I'll meet you there."
Katie's eyes widen, "WHAT?! YOU CANT-"
nikiri picks Katie up with one arm and tosses her over his shoulder before leaving with her
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Arakan glances over and raises an eyebrow before snorting and moving on.
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After a while Nikiri gets to the next group where he said he would be and makes sure everything is in order before waiting patiently for Arakan. He wished Katie didnt have this high and mighty attitude however he is glad that only one of their pack seems to have such a personality so deplorable however one is still one too many with the name Okuya attached...
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Arakan eventually makes his way to the next group and notes Nikiri there, " i see you're back from dealing with your sister. hopefully she wasn;t too much trouble."
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Nikiri sighs, "I apologize for her behavior. Father is having a word with her now so im hoping this is the end of her high and mighty attitude."
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Arakan snorts softly, " could be worse. lets just focus on the task at hand." he gets back to work, and it gets late into the night as they keep going.
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Takana gets home after work and goes straight to his room. He had been thinking about arakan after nikiri left and he couldnt help but worry. he hoped the ice demon was taking care of himself and he also hoped that arakan liked the curry bread. it was always a favorite growing up...
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A little before midnight Arakan slowly makes his way to Takana and Izanagi's apartment, waking both of the boys if they're asleep, " sorry to wake you, i need to check your collars. then we wait." he scans Izanagi's and it chirps and shows a green light, indicating it's functional. He scans Takana's as well, getting the same result. " alright... try to get some sleep. Kaiten, you can go home."
Kaiten gets up and stretches, " yes sir." he heads out.
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Once Takana is done with the collar thing he rushes to the couch and fluffs up the cushions the best he can before looking at arakan, "Get some sleep arakan."
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He nods, " nothing we can do now but wait anyway." he sits down heavily and lays down, looking weary down to his bones.
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Takana watches worriedly, "Is there anything i can get for you before you go to sleep?"
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Arakan shakes his head, " just go to sleep. i'll be alright."
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Takana hesitantly nods and leaves the room, heading to his own bed and laying down. He wished he could do more for arakan.
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Unsurprisingly Arakan is still passed the fuck out when he normally wakes up in the morning, dead to the world.
Izanagi had slept restlessly, and was up early, sitting at the kitchen table.
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Takana gets up at his normal time and hums softly as he leaves his room. He blinks when he sees izanagi up, "you're... up early."
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Izanagi nods, " i couldn;t sleep very well."
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Takana frowns but nods, "I see. I know you said you don't drink coffee but if you need any let me know. I know I'll make some for arakan and i." He gets the coffee pot going
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Izanagi nods, " i think i'll take some. lots of cream and sugar please."
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Takana nods and grabs 3 mugs from the cupboard, "good to know. While I wait I'll make breakfast. Something light today I think. I feel like maybe you won't be able to keep much down."
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Izanagi nods, " im not really hungry, but i'll try to eat something."
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Takana nods, "a light broth maybe? With some toast?"
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Izanagi sighs, " maybe? i'll try to eat it."
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Takana nods and starts to get cooking, "it'll be the best thing to barf up if you can't keep it down."
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Izanagi makes a face, " i guess so."
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takana chuckles and when the coffee beeps takana grabs some cream and sugar from the fridge, making an overly sweet concoction just like izanagi asked for, "Alright here's your sweet cream with a dash of coffee for ya." There was more than just a dash of coffee in the mug clearly but it was an amount that a child would enjoy soooooo close enough. he pushes the mug towards izanagi
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Izanagi takes it and sips at it, sighing softly and not even caring that the other is teasing him.
Arakan groans softly and sits up, hair sticking every which way and the blanket hanging off one of his horns.
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Takana's ears perk up when he hears arakan groan and he looks over, "oh. You don't look great. Not that you've taken care of yourself at all with all of this shit going on." He pours arakan a mug of coffee before going over to him and handing the mug over, "here."
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Arakan takes the mug, " couldn;t help it, wouldn;t have gotten it done otherwise."
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Takana nods, "I know. And I know so many are really appreciative of your efforts. And that's not sarcasm. I really do believe that you've gone above and beyond keeping your people as safe as possible."
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Arakan chuckles a little and lifts a hand to ruffle Takana's hair and ears, " that's the thing you still don't quite get, this isn't above and beyond, this is just how things work. this is how a leader of demons should behave, doing whatever is needed for their people."
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It only happens for a second, but Takana does initially lean into arakans hand, his lips slightly twitching up into a smile.
He quickly corrects this though, very quickly and he pulls back, his ears flatten and his face turns bright red in embarrassment, "a-ah you say that but I'm sure there are other districts where the leaders are not as proactive as you are. A-at any rate drink your damn coffe."
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Arakan smiles, but sighs softly at the response, " yes well, our situation has changed how many of us behave. this is not the kind of environment we were supposed to live in. leaders are SUPPOSED to act this way, but... things have changed with humans in control." he drops hi hand and lifts the mug to his lips.
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Takana sighs, "right. Well. I'm making something on the lighter side for izanagi's sake. I figure once today is over I could make a good dinner to make up for it." He turns and goes back to the stove
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Arakan nods, " the buns were appreciated yesterday, they helped me keep going. a good dinner would be wonderful, if you do make it and im invited." he grins a bit.
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Takana snorts, "as long as you're over you're invited, so make sure you're over." Takana blushes again and clears his throat a little, "I'm glad you enjoyed the buns. Hopefully I can make them more often says they are a travel friendly meal."
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Arakan nods thoughtfully, " careful extending that invitation, i might abuse it. as for the buns, well they're probably a bit spicy for the ordinary folk, but tame them down and im sure many people would enjoy taking those to go instead of having to sit and eat. of course that is extra work though, so it's up to you if you wish to try it."
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Takana snorts, "I only make it that spicy for you. I would never make it that spicy for anyone else unless I wanted them dead."
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Arakan laughs softly, " well i enjoy it, so pack it with all the heat you can."
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Takana turns red again hearing arakan laugh and he damn near melts.
His ears twitch and he holds in a shudder before filling a bowl with soup and handing it over to izanagi.
He fills up another bowl, making sure to add some heat to it and hands that one over to arakan, his face still bright red
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Izanagi takes the bowl quietly, he would enjoy the show far more if it weren't such a stressful day.
Arakan takes his bowl, then frowns as he sees Takana's face so red, " are you alright? you're very flushed. do you have a fever?" he lifts a hand, cooling it and placing it against takana's forehead to try and help cool him off.
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Takana's body freezes for a split second when he feels arakan's hand on his head and he can't help but stumble back, "i-!" His ears immediately flatten and he quickly turns away, "i-im fine! Obviously! You-youre just imagining things! Eat the damn soup already!!" He frantically grabs a bowl and pours some soup into it before binging the bowl up to his mouth and sipping it, taking a few more inches away from the group just to be sure
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Arkan blinks and sighs softly, " alright alright." he'd have to see about getting Takana some time off to rest. He drinks down his soup and frowns as he looks at his phone, " odd, they usually call for us fairly early. are they not going to inspect us today after all?"
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Takana frowns and takes another sip, "well dont jinx it. we certainly dont know what time they want to-"
A loud siren sound goes off from outside, causing takana to flinch
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Izanagi yelps and cowers.
Arakan sighs, " well there it is i suppose. make me eat my words then. alright, i gotta go and play the part of the indignant heir."
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Takana looks at arakan and nods, "good luck." he looks back at izanagi, "Hey, we'll be okay. we got our collars checked, yeah? lets get this over with and then we'll go to work, and you'll flirt inappropriately with nikiri. just like usual."
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Arakan leaves and goes to join his family where they'll meet with the inspection party, looking angry at the situation.
Izanagi nods, " he promised he'd give me a special treat after it... okay, lets go." he gets up and heads out to the street with Takana.
-
nikiri is next to his own family as well.
takana steps out to the street and stands next to izanagi
-
Izanagi looks at the ground, looking pale.
Arakan stands with his parents, glaring at the inspection crew, " this is going too far and you know it. we've always known about inspections ahead of time. "
-
The inspector, holding the little radio looking device in his hand, glances up at arakan before shrugging, "I dont make the inspections. I just lead them." He begins his walk down the street.
Curtis gives a tired sigh before doing his job to follow the inspector, his men following behind him.
The inspector keeps walking down the street, raising an eyebrow when he doesnt see any deactivated collars, "a little quiet..." he mutters softly.
-
Arakan keeps pace with them, his mother and father also following. " of course, we try to ensure our citizens check their collars regularly and get them fixed at the first sign of failure. regardless, this is highly irregular, whoever was in charge of scheduling this inspection should come speak with us if they have concerns about our people."
-
The inspector snorts softly, "Trust me, you dont want to speak with the scheduler of these." As he passes by the crowd of people the device he's holding turns red and starts ringing loudly causing everyone to stop walking.
Curtis frowns and nervously glances at arakan and then back at the inspector.
The Inspector points into the crowd and Takana pales when the man in charge points in their general direction.
Curtis sighs and looks at two of his men and give them a nod
The two guards nod in return before going into the crowd and grabbing izanagi
-
Arakan grits his teeth, " apparently i do if this is going to be a thing now." He pales when the machine goes off. He'd checked everyone?!
Izanagi keeps his eyes down, until he's grabbed anyway. He yelps and looks at them with wide eyed panic.
Arakan grits his teeth and closes his eyes, " He's only an e rank, he's no threat."
-
The guards toss Izanagi into the street as one guard aims his gun at him
The inspector shakes his head, "Too bad, so sorry, these are the rules. we do everything by the book here."
Curtis huffs at the guards, "No need to toss them onto the ground, jesus..." He wasnt happy this was happening on his inspection shift. especially since he'd seen this demon around Takana before so he was sure to get an earful from the pink haired brat afterwards.
-
Izanagi cries out as he's tossed to the ground, tears filling his eyes as he looks up at the men about to kill him.
Arakan looks away, there was nothing he could do. If he fought for Izanagi's life he'd start a war. He clenches his fist and tries to look like he doesn't care. If they knew it bothered him it would only give them power over him.
-
Takana was in a brief state of shock during the whole thing. There's no way Izanagi's collar was bad! they just tested it!
He gasps softly when he realizes what it could be and he sprints out, holding his arms out and blocking the guard with the gun from shooting Izanagi, "WAIT! You're making a mistake!"
Several guards quickly raise their guns and aim them at Takana, waiting for an order to shoot.
Curtis flinches when Takana runs out and he snarls, "What the fuck are you doing?!" there was genuine anger in his tone because if Takana gets shot then all hell would break loose.
Takana shudders, his legs shaking a little, "W-we just got that collar checked yesterday and it came up FINE. How can it be that it came up on the radar!?"
The inspector's eyes narrow. never in his career as inspector has a demon tried such a thing and this pink thing has the audacity to question his precious machine? "And what business would you have scanning his collar the day before a surprise inspection?"
Takana huffs, not backing down and dipping in to his bullshitting talent, "We've been trying to save up for a newer version of his collar since the one he has is incredibly out dated and junky. We finally got the money but as you MUST know the rules are you need to have your old collar scanned first before you qualify for a new one. Unfortunately his came up fine and we weren't allowed to look at new ones."
The inspector raises an eyebrow and scoffs, "So a coincidence then. Either way rules are rul-"
Takana continues, "You didnt let me FINISH. This is the GoodBoy T03 model correct? I'm sure even you can tell what collar this is?" he points to izanagi
The man blinks and looks at Curtis and the other guards.
Curtis blinks and peers around and hums softly, "Y-yeah thats correct.... not too many of those were made so they are pretty unique."
The Inspector looks back at Takana, "Ah. I guess. What is your point?"
"The T03 model was notorious for malfunctioning. It had an old school method for alerting it's wearer of its battery life by its outer clasp popping open against the neck, causing enough of an annoyance that the wearer would actively seek out a new replacement. However the clasp had a defect and would get caught, causing the collar to no longer function yet would still light up as okay on the scanner."
The Inspector narrows his eyes again, "and you think I believe-"
Curtis clears his throat softly, "Um, Sir, Ta-The demon is correct. There is a reason why that collar isnt in production anymore. In fact, I have a scanner on my belt so if i scan him now and it pops up okay then its safe to say that the malfunction has happened."
The inspector scoffs, "IT DOESNT MATTER. SHOWING UP WITH A DEAD COLLAR WILL RESULT IN DEATH-"
Takana snarls, feeling a bit more brave, "IT DOES MATTER!! THE RULEBOOK HAS AN EXEMPTION JUST FOR MALFUNCTIONS AS LONG AS THE ERROR WAS CORRECTED IMMEDIATELY."
Nikiri's eyes widen and he looks at Arakan, hoping the ice demon will know what to do
-
Arakan almost stepping in when Takana ran in, but stops himself. He could not get involved. His jaw almost dropped when he started arguing, and was actually making them listen! He steps forward, looking calm and collected, " though this exemption has never come into play, i believe standard procedure was to pause the inspection, allowing the humans to leave safely. The issue will be remedied, and the humans will be brought back to continue inspection as normal." he stares at the inspector.
-
The Inspector glares at Arakan, "Oh? How very fortunate for you demons to know about this so called exemption and yet I have never heard of such a thing!"
Curtis quietly opens his rulebook and flips through the pages until he gets to the back and he clears his throat again, "Sir, with all due respect, its the first exemption in the back of the book. where the exemptions are listed."
The inspector whips his head around to glare at Curtis, "ARE YOU ON THEIR FUCKING SIDE!? YOU'RE NOT A DEMON SO DONT ACT LIKE ONE."
Curtis stands straight and stiff, frowning, "I am not on a side sir. I am following the rules of the rulebook. All of them. If we do not adhere to the rules with as strict standards that we enforce on the demons then the rules would mean nothing to them as well. You said it yourself sir. Rules are rules."
Takana relaxes slightly and sighs in relief, glad that Curtis is assisting.
The Inspector drops his machine, "This is preposterous!" he shoves the guard that is in front of Takana and yanks his gun from the mans grasp, aiming at Takana and shooting at him.
Curtis is quick and although the Inspector has the chance to fire off one bullet Curtis was able to shove the gun upward into the sky so the bullet thankfully not hitting anyone.
Curtis takes this opportunity to shove the Inspector onto the mans ass, quickly pressing his boot on the guy's chest to pin him down. He finds the safety on the gun and switches it on before handing it to one of his men before glaring at the Inspector, "Firing a weapon that not only doesnt belong to you but also at someone is a federal crime and I'm going to have to arrest you now." He keeps his boot in place as he looks at arakan, "My apologies. Normally you would have 10 minutes to have that collar replaced, however because I have to now process an arrest at the gate I wont be ready for another 10 minutes. If you could please meet me at the main gate in 20 minutes I will double check the new installed collar and report back to the station."
Takana's legs gave out after almost being shot at and he lets himself kneel on the road next to izanagi, shaking. He's never been that close to death before....
-
Arakan looks coldly at the man, " perhaps you should read the book that you claim to do everything by then." When the inspector grabs the gun the temps drop sharply as Arakan prepares to intervene, however Curtis gets there and Arakan stops, letting him handle it to avoid freezing Curtis as well. It was better for the human to handle it anyway if possible, an attack from himself would cause trouble. Arakan looks at Curtis and nods, " very well, we will meet at the main gate in 20 minutes then."
Izanagi is on the ground, pale and shaking, tears welling up in his eyes.
Arakan pulls out his phone and quickly calls the collar technician, giving them the information so the collar can be ready when he gets there. He hangs up and looks at Nikiri, " take care of Takana, i don;t have time to waste." He quickly goes over to Izanagi and shifts to his other form, grabbing the still terrified demon in his mouth before bolting to where the technician would get him a new collar, moving much faster than he could normally.
-
Curtis handcuffs the inspector and sharply looks up at his men, "what are you all standing there for?! BACK TO THE GATE. NOW."
His men jump and quickly retreat back to the gate with Curtis following, dragging the inspector and muttering under his breath.
Nikiri sighs and relaxes. He can se the other demons start to shuffle. They all looked shocked over the events as well. He goes over to Takana and leans down to pick him up, "that was quite the stunt you pulled just now. Death wish much?"
Takana shudders, "i... I said I would keep izanagi safe today. And I am going to keep that promise. No matter what...."
Nikiri hums, "and you made quite a show in front of everyone. All these demons have never seen an E class raise his voice against a C rank demon and yet there you are. Terrorizing the humans and questioning how they treat us. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them start to remember your name and face." He carries takana to the gate to wait for arakan
-
!8 minutes later Arakan, still in his other form, skids to a stop outside of the gate, dropping Izanagi and shifting back. His neck was red and angry from the collar, but he doesn't seem to notice, " thank goodness we got extra time... i need to figure something out so that we can make that in the ten minutes normally allowed. im not sure how though, since the collar installation takes time." he runs his hand through his hair, " fucking humans."
Izanagi stumbles over to takana and hugs him, bawling.
-
Takana quickly opens his arms out to izanagi and hugs him tightly when the other hugs him.
Curtis was waiting patiently for arakan without any guards. He had sent them back to their posts and he had processed the inspector before having him escorted off of the premises.
He was holding a scanner so he could process izanagi, looking relieved when arakan had showed up, "thank you for making it as well. Waiting any longer than the twenty minutes would have made my report flagged and this whole thing would have been repeated. "
He walks over to takana and izanagi, "this will take 5 seconds so pardon me, " he holds the scanner up to izanagi's neck and the light pops up green quickly, "perfect. That takes care of that. " He looks back at arakan, "takana is correct about the T03 collars having that defect. If you could check your people and make sure no one else has such a collar that would be great. If you have any then let me know how many and I will try to get them paid for by the company. After what happened is the least I could do."
Nikiri is next to takana, waiting for izanagi to hug him next
-
Arakan nods, " thank you for stepping in and dealing with him. i could have stopped him but... it would not have ended well i think. i will be checking all of my people for that particular collar i assure you."
Izanagi untangles from Takana after a long hug before jumping into Nikiri's arms, shaking a bit.
-
Curtis nods to arakan, "I wouldn't have let him hurt Takana." Speaking of which, with izanagi now off of his ex Curtis could finally wrap his arms around Takana, hugging him tightly.
Takana's eyes widen briefly and his face flushes pink before he returns the hug. It had been so long since another human held him, and aside from nagi just now it had been a while since he had a hug in general, "haha... what's the matter? Did I give you a fright back there?"
Curtis breaks the hug, gently holding takana out at arms length, gripping the man's shoulders as his caring expression quickly sours, "WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?! JUMPING IN FRONT OF A LOADED GUN?? HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?!YEAH YOU GAVE ME A FUCKING FRIGHT YOU DUMB BASTARD WHAT IF YOU GOT SHOT?? WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU GOT HURT?!"
Takana blinks for a brief moment before grinning slightly, "awww you were worried."
Curtis let's go of Takana and holds up his hands in a frustrated motion, "Ooooh my god why the fuck do I still even care about you! Why?!" He storms to his post and grabs his report before looking at arakan, "you deal with him."
Nikiri holds back any chuckling as he does his best to focus on pampering izanagi with hugs
-
Arakan snorts, " shame you don't view all lives with the same value."
Izaangi whimpers softly, " can... can you just cuddle with me? i don't even want sex, i just don't want to be alone...."
Arakan eyes Curtis before looking at Takana, " oh trust me, there will be some discussion taking place. home. NOW."
-
Nikiri nods, "of course. I can take you right to my place after this okay?"
Takana was about to laugh at Curtis until he hears arakan's comment and his ears flatten, "wha-why am I in trouble?"
-
Izanagi nods, refusing to let go of Nikiri.
Arakan sighs, " this is not something to discuss in front of him." his eyes flick over to Curtis, " it's more complicated than simply right and wrong."
-
Curtis leaves with his report and nikiri hoists izanagi up bridal style and looks at arakan, "don't scare him too much." He leaves with izanagi.
Takana's ears stay flat and he lowers his head a little, suddenly feeling like he was about to be in serious trouble
-
Arakan sighs, " this is for me to handle. you take care of him. he doesn;t need to show up to work for at least a few days." he nods his head at Izanagi. He then starts heading for the apartment, looking back at Takana to make sure he's following.
-
Takana nervously follows, his ears starting to shake the closer they get to the apartment. Arakan wouldn't kill him over this, would he? He didn't want to die, certainly not to someone he thought he could trust....
He needed to think of a way to escape if that was the case. Maybe try to get some water boiling first, throw it at him, and then make a run for it.
-
Arakan steps into the apartment and shuts the door behind them, sighing and sitting on the couch, putting his head into his hands, " i... this is a mess."
-
Takana watches arakan for a moment as he slowly side steps to the kitchen, "a-am I in trouble?"
-
Arakan pinches the bridge of his nose, " not really. what's done is done, there's no reversing it. but... this has just complicated things a lot."
-
Takana's ears perk and he blinks, "So.... im not gonna die? You weren't bringing me back home alone so you can kill me in private?"
-
Arakan shakes his head, " no, but i need to be stern in front of the humans. i... i know you didn;t want anything to happen to Izanagi, but do you have any idea what you've done?"
-
"I...." Takana's ears flatten a little, "um... I kept the Izanagi alive? Its like Curtis said, if the book is law then all of it has to be law. not just what is convenient for the humans."
-
Arakan snorts, " yes, in an ideal world, yes. You kept one demon alive, and stood up to the humans and proved they have been twisting things their way. now there will be more demons questioning how many of the rules we follow are real or not. and the humans will resent that they've been caught, and will undoubtedly lash out at us. I don;t like seeing my people die, but i have to make the hard choice of allowing one to die so avoid the death of an all out war."
-
"I.... I promised Izanagi that i wouldnt let anything happen to him. A-and there are a few times where the humans SHOULD be questioned. I just- I- I'm sorry that i keep making more problems for you....."
-
Arakan sighs, " if they didn't have complete control then yes, i would question it. but while you get to leave, everyone else here has to remain. we will be the ones that will have to deal with this. Hopefully it doesn;t change anything, but i doubt they'll take it lightly. i just hope we can smooth things over before things get too out of hand." he goes to rub the back of his neck and winces.
-
Takana looks down and rubs his arm, "I-.... I just need to get people to realize you guys wont hurt humans and then..." his eyes begins to water a little, "im sorry...."
-
Arakan sighs, " which is a really nice thing you wish to do, but centuries of hate will not change in a few weeks. we need the humans to support us and back us up before you start pissing off the ones that like to shoot us." he gently grabs Takana's arm and pulls him down onto the couch, putting an arm around him.
-
Takana blinks and doesnt fight Arakan pulling him however he is a little stiff at first, since this wasnt something he was used to arakan doing. It doesnt take him long to relax though, thankful to have more contact, "I just hope everything goes well for Isabelle's visit."
-
Arakan sighs, " yeah, me too." the conversation from the previous day with Nikiri comes to mind and he flushes a bit, " ah, so on another note since there's nothing we can do about what happened today, is there anything that's been bothering you?"
-
Takana blinks and looks up at arakan, "bothering me? like....i mean i guess there are things that bother a lot of people so i dont really know what you mean. Do you mean like since i've been here or in general?"
-
Arakan closes his eyes, " well, ah, Nikiri reminded me that you came from a unique situation... and while i do not support humans breeding us like... livestock, you are here regardless. And he mentioned that you likely have some... pent up energy that you've been unable to deal with."
-
Takana's eyes widen and his face flushes a bright red, stuttering as he tries his best to rationalize WHY nikiri would say something so absurd, "i- look. I appreciate you wanting to make sure I'm okay but regardless of why I'm pent up is no one's business but my own. Now I'm going to need to give nikiri a swift kick in the dick for saying such a thing. "
-
Arakan sighs, " it's not your fault you were bred that way. Normally I'd consider it inappropriate to offer, but you have special circumstances."
-
Takana shudders, "it IS an inappropriate offer... I.... I'm not like Izanagi where im just okay with talking about this stuff or acting upon that kind of thing. I'd prefer to at least have someone. go on dates and stuff. Despite how brash and crude i can act sometimes I DO prefer the old fashioned way of these things...."
-
Arakan lifts his hands defensively, " very well. However you now know the offer is there. It wouldn't be right for us to make a pretense of dating simply to relieve your needs."
-
Takana looks up at arakan and smiles, nodding a little, "I'm glad we can both agree on something for once. But um... as embarrassing as it is to say I am okay with hugs. I wont lie, I am very much used to being hugged back home so i'm not used to going for so long without some form of...." takana's blushes a little, feeling embarrassed about talking about something that feels so childish
-
Arakan blinks then puts his arm around Takana to pull him close, " that request i can grant with ease."
-
Takana blinks and he quickly feels his body relaxing. He hums softly and lets himself lean on arakan a little, "um... thank you. I know it seems silly but this means a lot to me..."
-
Arakan yawns, now that the stress from the inspection was over he felt the exhaustion from the last few days hitting him, " it's fine... i don't mind."
-
Takana ends up yawning as well, "god damn yawns are contagious." his body relaxes even more and he grabs the blanket, covering them both with it, "warmth."
-
Arakan stretches his legs out and leans back into the couch, getting comfy, " yeah...might just shut my eyes for a few minutes..."
-
Takana hums and gets comfy on arakan and yawns, "Yeah I'm... fucking tired. " He guns and closes his eyes
-
Arakan snorts, " i think i've gotten about 6 hours of sleep over the past few days. total." He lets his arm slip down further around Takana's waist instead of his shoulders, slowly drifting off.
-
Takana snorts softly, "Yeah you have me beat obviously..." He yawns again before passing out
-
Arakan makes a soft noise of agreement, and then is out, cozily cuddled with Takana.
Izanagi is snuggled as closely into Nikiri as he can, face buried into the other man.
-
Morning comes and nikiri next to the apartment complex and sets Izanagi down, "There we are. All safe and sound~"
-
Izanagi pouts, " do i have to go back already?"
-
Nikiri blinks before humming, "I have things that need to be done darling. I can try to see you more often if it makes you feel better though."
-
Izanagi's eyes fill with tears, " can;t i just go with you? i don;t want to be home alone..."
-
nikiri stammers a bit, rubbing the back of his head, "I-... i mean you'll have takana with you for a little bit before he goes to work...But no, I cant take you with. I wish i could since that would be easier but its either bring you home or leave you at my place... where my father is... and you'd be alone with him which i dont really want to have happen."
-
Izanagi looks down, " okay... good luck with your stuff...."
-
nikiri nods, "I'll stop by when im done, okay? with some lunch as well. how about that?"
-
Izanagi nods, " alright." he turns and heads in, blinking when he sees the two crashed on the couch, " hey, come in here quick."
-
nikiri blinks and steps inside, "everything okay?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah. look at these two." he snickers softly.
-
Nikiri blinks again and walks over to the couch. his eyes widen a little and he instinctively pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the two
-
Izanagi looks over at the click, " you know if he ever finds out he's gonna kill you."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "I'll be fine. this is a rare moment that i wouldnt want to miss for the world." he puts his phone away, "anyway, you just relax until i swing by again okay? I'll see you around noon so dont forget."
-
Izanagi nods, " i won't." he eyes the two on the couch, debating crawling in to join.
-
nikiri sighs, "well i guess i will see you in a few." he turns and leaves the apartment
-
Izanagi nods, " see you then." he waits until Nikiri is gone before carefully crawling onto the couch and snuggling under the blankets with his head on Arakan's lap.
-
After another hour Takana's phone starts to play a soft melody, his alarm letting him know he better wake up for work. he groans softly and shifts as he begins to wake up from it
-
Arakan lifts his hand from takana's waist as the noise wakes him as well, groaning softly as he rubs his face.
-
Takana tries to get up and hesitates briefly when he feels an extra body. he glances down and sees izanagi, frowning a little, "ah... scoot a bit so i can get off the couch please?" when did he come home?
-
Izanagi yawns, " mmmmm don;t wanna."
Arakan's eyes open when he hears the extra voice and realizes the weight on his lap, looking down and raising an eyebrow, " cheeky. well at least he behaved himself."
-
Takana pouts at izanagi, "I need to get up so i can leave for work and i cant without crushing you a little so uh... i tried to warn you." he begins to get himself off the couch, getting positioned to put a good chunk of his weight on nagi
-
Izanagi whines and scoots out of the way, and Arakan takes the chance to also get up, " sorry there."
-
Takana manages to get off the couch and goes to his phone, turning the annoying alarm off. He goes back over to the couch and looks at izanagi, "Morning. How are you doing"
-
Izanagi buries his face into the pillow, " im okay..."
-
Takana hums softly and nods, "Well i know you technically have today off but if i see you at the cafe i'll make sure to make you an extra delicious bowl of ramen, okay?"
-
Izanagi's eyes widen and he lifts his head, " really? Nikiri promised to come back and get me for lunch, so maybe i'll come before the cafe closes so i can have it for dinner."
Arakan chuckles, " there you got him going. Just stay out of trouble and try to rest." he stretches, " i'll need to have Kaiten watch you at the cafe, i've got paperwork to take care of and other shit to do since yesterday went sideways."
-
Takana looks over at arakan and nods before smiling back at izanagi, "Well maybe text him and ask him to take you to the cafe for lunch instead? Make him take you on an actual date."
-
Izanagi blinks, " ...that's a good idea. " he quickly sends a text to Nikiri going lunch at cafe? Takana is gonna make me a special meal!
-
Takana smiles and nods, "Sounds good. I gotta get ready for work." he goes to his room
nikiri blinks and glances at his phone before smiling, sounds good. I can meet you at your place and walk you there or meet you at the cafe?
-
Izanagi texts back, walk me please?
Arakan nods, " i think he'll be alright. you get ready and i'll walk you to work."
-
Takana nods towards arakan on his way to his room before changing clothes. he was just glad that the inspection was over.
Nikiri quickly replies back, of course dear! gotta head into this meeting so i'll let you know when im on my way, okay?
-
Izasnagi smiles, okay!
Arakan waits patiently for Takana to be done.
-
Takana fluffs up his hair and hesitantly touches the ears, frowning slightly before sighing and grabbing his bag, "okay." he leaves his room, "Bye izanagi, have a good day! let me know when you get to the cafe!" he heads out, knowing arakan will be following him
-
Izanagi nods, " i will!"
Arakan follows after, running his fingers through his hair to tame it.
-
Takana walks next to arakan humming softly
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, noting that the other seemed in a much better mood. " i had not intended to sleep the entire night that way, however it seems to have been good for you."
-
Takana while up at arakan, his cheeks a little red, "haha yeah I won't lie. That was probably the first time since coming here that I actually feel rested."
-
Arakan blinks, " well, i will need to consider that then. you've been tense lately, and while if Nikiri is correct this is not the source of the problem, if it helps it's a simple enough solution."
-
Takana blushes and sighs, "well I am a healthy young man. It would be weird if I didn't have needs. But regardless, we've already talked about it last night so nothing more needs to be said."
-
Arakan nods, " i said nothing judgmental about it."
-
Takana whines softly, "I knooowwww but you still brought it up again. We talked. I'd like to think the talk went okay. Now I'd like it to get put in a closet and lock the door."
-
" fair enough. apologies." Arakan glances over at him, " regardless, if you need that again, simply tell me."
-
takana blinks, his face turning a little pink, "A-ah... well i-i guess it's fine if it's you."
-
Arakan looks at him and raises an eyebrow, " it's just cuddling."
-
Takana huffs at arakan, "Uh yeah of course it is. but i still wouldnt want izanagi or nikiri near me while im asleep. I dont fucking trust them!!"
-
Arakan blinks, " well. noted." maybe the other demon did like him then, since he basically just admitted to trusting him. " i am honored."
-
Takana snorts softly, "Well... you uh. you shouldnt be. I'm just a brat who is causing ya more grief."
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Arakan hums softly, " perhaps, but you are also changing things for the better. or trying to anyway. we're making steps in that direction."
-
Takana sighs, "well i just want things to be fair. I just wish...things weren't so stacked against you guys."
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Arakan sighs, " stacked against US. like it or not, you're part of this. if we get anything that evens out the balance even a little it'll be a big help. as things were, i anticipated a war within the next decade if we were lucky to last that long."
-
Takana looks away and sighs, "i... I mean I guess... but I just... I don't feel like it. As you saw I can clearly get away with a lot more than anyone else could thanks to the fact the someone close to me was in charge. "
-
" and you exploit it for the benefit of your own people. fair? no. But nothing about our situation is fair so might as well use what little we get."
-
"Well when you consider their sleazy tactics to one up you guys then I'd say it's fair if I use my own against them..."
-
Arakan nods, " exactly. we had no such tactics we could use against them. as you saw previously, any attempt to negotiate would quickly be shut down with threats of further death. and while i could easy have killed the man, that would only bring their armies here to try and crush us. my hands have always been tied."
-
Takana sighs, "I wish i could do that more often but if it wasnt for curtis i wouldnt have been able to get away with what i did."
-
Arakan sighs, " i'll take what i can get."
-
Takana sighs and gets to the cafe, "well thanks for walking me here. Don't work too hard okay? "
-
Arakan snorts softly, " no promises. there's always much to do, especially with the changes being made. However i will come back in a few hours for a meal, i could use the nutrition."
-
Takana nods, "I look forward to cooking for you." He grins a little before heading inside to start working
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, sitting for a few minutes until Kaiten shows up, then leaving.
-
After a few hours nikiri stops by the apartment, pulling out his phone and texting izanagi, hey I'm outside. Ready for lunch?
-
Izanagi runs to the door and opens it, " yeah!"
-
Nikiri shakes his head and holds out his hand, "glad you're excited. Let's go."
-
Izanagi takes his hand and cuddles up to his side as they walk, " i've been lonely all day."
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nikiri sighs, "I know. and im sorry. but trust me, after yesterday you wouldnt have wanted to wait for me in that meeting. it was filled with humans."
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Izanagi pales and clings tighter to Nikiri's arm, " no... you're right..."
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nikiri gives izanagi's hand a gentle squeeze, "exactly. but thankfully you have yourself a nice new stupid collar instead of that older thing AND you have some time off from work. thats nice, right?"
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Izanagi nods a bit, " yeah i guess so..." he blinks rapidly, trying to keep tears from forming, " why do things have to be like this? why can't more of them be like Takana?"
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nikiri sighs., "I wouldnt be surprised if there were, but might also just not know whats going on here. ignorance is bliss after all. "
-
Izanagi holds onto Nikiri's arm like it's a lifeline, "i didn;t do anything wrong... i hate them. and i hate how they treat us. i hate being afraid. maybe it would have been better to die so i wouldn;t have to be afraid anymore..."
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Nikiri hums, "no you didn't do anything wrong. And don't say that. Things will get better. I'm doing my best to make things better and so are the others."
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Izanagi sniffles, " im sorry...."
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"Its okay. You're okay. You had a terrifying experience. No one would blame you for your feelings. But I care for you and I'm here for you, and evidently so is takana despite it probably getting him into a bit of trouble with arakan."
-
Izanagi nods, " i hope he didn;t get into too much trouble... he shouldn;t have done that, but... am i a bad person for being glad he did?"
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Nikiri smiles, "absolutely not. Takana wanted justice and fairness for you and I know that's what arakan wants for everyone."
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Izanagi sighs softly, " but he could have died. a-and what if this makes the humans mad? they don't like it when they don't get their way. i don;t want to be the reason a war starts..."
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nikiri shakes his head, "Dont fret about that now. lets just have a nice lunch, okay?"
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Izanagi frowns, " okay... thank you." he holds onto Nikiri's arm, nuzzling it.
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Nikiri pushes the cafe doors open when they reach the store and hums, "We should let Takana know we're here."
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Kaiten looks up when they enter and nods to Nikiri before looking back at his phone.
Izanagi nods and lets go of Nikiri to run into the kitchen and peek his head around to look at Takana, " Takana!"
-
Takana looks over and smiles when he sees Izanagi, "hey you made it!! no lie, i was getting kind of anxious."
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Izanagi nods, " the meeting took awhile that Nikiri was in. are you doing okay?"
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Takana grins, "Yeah of course! I wont lie, i may or may not have missed your voice."
-
Izanagi blinks and tilts his head, " you always say im annoying though."
-
"Well yeah when you're teasing me. cant say i dont miss you normally though. It's like... you're such an annoying constant that i can really tell when you're not around so I miss it a little."
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Izanagi pauses to think that over, " ...i think i should be offended but i'll take it." he runs over and hugs Takana.
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takana makes a surprised squeak, pausing and blinking a little before chuckling and giving izanagi a one armed hug, "Alright, alright get out of the kitchen so i can make you and nikiri food. what do you want?"
-
Izanagi blinks and thinks hard, " im not sure, everything you make is super good. maybe the ramen? that has such yummy meat... i almost never get meat that yummy."
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takana nods, "right away!" he starts working on izanagi and nikiri's food.
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Izanagi squeals a bit and lets go before scurrying out to grab Nikiri and pull him to a booth.
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nikiri sits down after being dragged and chuckles, "I take it you're excited?"
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Izanagi curls his legs up on the bench seat and leans into Nikiri, " i don't usually get attention like this. i like it."
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nikiri chuckles, "Well it does appear like you are getting some extra special pampering from everyone."
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Izanagi snuggles into Nikiri's side, " i'll take it. it's really nice... plus i get to hog you to myself mostly."
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nikiri chuckles again and strokes the top of izanagi's head, "Well i am trying to give you my full attention."
It takes some time until the food is done, however when it is Takana asks Mina to help bring it over.
The two go over to the booth, both holding a tray and Takana sets two bowls of beautiful ramen down, double the meat on both that he paid for himself. He takes the plate Mina was holding and sets it down, removing the dome silver lid that was on top revealing large Bao buns that still had steam coming from them.
Mina blinks, seeing the buns for the first time, "oh- what is that?!"
Takana smiles happily "barbeque pork buns. they are amazing to eat with this type of ramen. I dont make them often since the dough can be tedious but they are steamed so the bun is very bouncy and fluffy. perfect for soaking up broth."
Mina's mouth drools a little, "oh that looks so good."
Takana shoves her away a little, "nu-uh this is for izanagi. i can make you some, some other time."
Nikiri perks up a little, "Oh my. this all looks good."
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Izanagi gapes over them, " a-are you sure? for me?" he gulps a bit, grabbing the bowl and pulling it closer. he really did not want to give it up.
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takana snorts, "I am not cruel enough to put this food in front of you just to say no. Dig in. lots of meat in those buns."
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Izanagi grins, " i love lots of meat in my buns." he glances over at Nikiri before digging into his ramen, making questionable noises of pleasure at the flavor.
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Mina turns and leaves
Takana blinks and scowls briefly, "Yeah. Okay. You're feeling better now." He turns and goes back to the kitchen
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Izanagi grabs one of the buns and bites into it, moaning and snuggling into Nikiri as he dunks it into his broth and eats it. everything tasted so damn good!
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Nikiri chuckles softly and starts enjoying his bowl of ramen as well, "it seems you're enjoying yourself now that you have food."
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Izanagi nods, swallowing before talking, " it's so good, it's easy to just focus on that instead of... you know..." he slows a bit, then shakes his head and determinedly digs back into his meal.
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Nikiri pulls away from his food briefly and kisses the top of izanagi's head, "process however you need to, it's fine to feel emotions. And you have your friends to support you."
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Izanagi lets out a shaky sigh, " i don't want to feel emotions. i want to forget it happened."
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nikiri sighs, "i know. im just saying that everyone has their own method of coping and i want to make sure that you are remembering that."
-
Izanagi nods, " i don;t wanna be alone...i can;t help but think about it when im alone." he sniffles, unable to help his eyes watering. he turns and nuzzles his face into Nikiri's side.
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"Hey hey hey, you're fine sweety. Focus on your food okay? You don't want it to get cold, right?"
-
Izanagi nods and pulls away, going back to eating with less vigor.
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Nikiri frowns and sighs, "I apologize.... I had only meant to try to make you feel supported."
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Izanagi nods, swallowing, " im sorry, i guess my head is just all over the place... im scared and i don;t want to be scared."
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Nikiri hums, "that's a normal feeling. But you have quite a few people looking after you it seems. Including a death wishing psychotic pink haired brat."
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Izanagi giggles a bit, " he said he missed me. or rather apparently im annoying and he noticed me not around. regardless."
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nikiri snorts, "im somehow not surprised. his personality sure matches up with his appearance."
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Izanagi grabs one of the buns and holds it to Nikiri's mouth, " it's good, try it."
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nikiri blinks before opening his mouth wide enough for a bite of the bun
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Izanagi pushes it in to let him take a bite and pulls it away, dunking it into his ramen and nibbling on it.
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nikiri hums softly as he chews the bun. he swallows, unable to hide a smile, "I have to say, its been a long time since i had something so wonderful."
-
Izanagi nods, " i think this is one of the best things he's made yet!" he puts another bun in front of Nikiri, so the other could eat it as his leisure.
-
Nikiri perks up a bit and take another bite, humming, "definitely a new favorite for me. "
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Izanagi sighs happily as he bites into his, " i wish it was easier to get meat like this... i could eat this every day."
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nikiri chuckles softly, "well lets hope one day we can. i know soon we should have a friend of takana's visit and i heard she is a very skilled gardener and that she could maybe help us out. it'd be nice to at least grow some of our own produce so that we can focus our spending on other things like meat."
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Izanagi hums, " well im not sure we'll be able to eat stuff like this often even with that, but it'll be nice to get good produce. i hate when lettuce is all slimy."
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Nikiri nods, "agreed. And I know you will, but I just have to preface that when she does arrive I want you on your best behavior. She gets a LOT of media attention so if she has a positive experience it could do wonders for our district."
-
Izanagi sighs, " alright. im not nearly as into chicks anyway." he munches another bun.
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Nikiri snorts softly, "I wasn't talking about your perverse behavior but sure. That too. I know you poke fun at takana at times because you get bored and I'd hope you refrain from doing that if you meet her."
-
Izanagi sighs, " oh right, i promise to behave."
-
nikiri hums and kisses izanagi and the forehead, "Thank you~"
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Izanagi grins and snuggles into him, glowing under the praise as he keeps enjoying his meal, regretfully reaching the end of his ramen eventually.
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Nikiri had finished his food already and was patiently waiting for izanagi to finish, not wanting to make him feel rushed at all
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Izanagi sighs and eats the last bite of meat and munches on the last bun, " i don;t want this to end... can i have something sweet?"
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Nikiri blinks before nodding, "Sure, i dont mind."
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Izanagi smiles up at him and untangles himself from Nikiri before going to the kitchen and peeking his head around to look at Takana, " hey... can i haz dessert?"
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Takana blinks and looks over, "Sure. anything you had in mind?"
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Izanagi blinks, " um, i dunno. they don;t have a lot usually here, surprise me? i want something sweet."
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Takana nods and grins, "okay. well i guess i'll surprise you then."
-
Izanagi makes an excited little squeal and bounces back to his seat to snuggle back up with Nikiri.
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nikiri watches izanagi curiously, "You seem excited."
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Izanagi nods, " shame i have to nearly die for this kind of treatment but im gonna enjoy it while i can." He snuggles into the deers side, sighing softly.
-
After a little bit takana comes out, not trusting Mina with this one, with two plates of what look like a slice of cake each. one for nikiri and one for izanagi and he sets them both in front of the two, "Here ya go. Something I had to quickly come up with but as long as it tastes good, right?"
-
Izanagi gapes a bit at it, " it;s so pretty... i can eat that?" he looks at Takana wide eyed.
-
Takana chuckles softly, "I'd be a little upset if you didnt. Its just blueberry and lemon."
Nikiri whistles softly, "I won't lie. it looks absolutely delicate and divine."
Takana blinks and blushes, "ah well its... a simple decoration on top. not that fancy but thank you."
-
Izanagi picks up his fork and hesitates, " i feel bad, it's so pretty." he chews his lip for a moment before he closes his eyes to use his fork and cut a bit off. he then sticks it in his mouth and sighs as the flavors hit his tongue.
-
Nikiri chuckles, "Be careful Takana. if the manager finds out you can make adorable and tasty desserts she will NEVER let you go."
Takana snorts softly, "I doubt that. Its just a mousse cake. nothing that amazing."
-
Izanagi swallows after a bit, " forget the manager, im gonna chain him to the kitchen and never let him go...."
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takana shakes his head, "nice joke, aint happening. anyway, gotta get back to the kitchen." he turns and leaves
nikiri hums and starts taking bites of his cake slice
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Izanagi cuts his into tiny bits, taking tiny bites and savoring each one.
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Nikiri is quick to eat his. it was the best tasting dessert he ever had so he couldnt really help it
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Izanagi notes this and pulls his plate close, munching his cake and eyeing Nikiri warily.
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nikiri notices this and chuckles, shaking his head, "i am a gentleman izanagi. i would not lower myself to steal your precious cake so dont worry."
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Izanagi makes a grumble as he finishes off his cake and then snuggles back into Nikiri, overly stuffed and feeling pretty damn good.
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nikiri glances at his cell phone and hums softly, "Are you feeling better, nagi?"
-
He sighs softly, " for now..."
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"well thats something at least. And afterwards you can always spend another day with me."
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Izanagi nods, " right now i kinda want to just map off this food..."
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nikiri nods, "yes that is probably an ideal way to spend the rest of the day. would you like to nap at my place?"
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Izanagi tilts his head back to look up at Nikiri, " could i? i don;t wanna be alone."
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Nikiri nods, "yes of course. As you know I certainly have enough siblings to keep you occupied."
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Izanagi chuckles, " they're not as much fun as you are~"
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nikiri rolls his eyes, "no but at least they can get you what you need in case i get pulled away briefly."
-
Izanagi nods, " alright."
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nikiri hums, "Rita has been collecting quite a number of outfits and costumes as of late and you two are quite similar in shape so if i get pulled away for a few minutes you could always play nice and see if she'll play dress up with ya."
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Izanagi gasps a little and looks up at Nikiri, " oh my god that would be the best!"
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"well im glad that seems to excite you. let me know when you are ready to head out then."
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Izanagi debates for a moment before untangling himself from Nikiri, " we can go. lemme go say bye to takana." he heads to the kitchen, " im gonna go okay?"
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Takana looks over at izanagi and nods, "Sounds good. everything taste good?"
-
Izanagi nods, " it was amazing! hands down the best meal i've ever had in my entire life easily."
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takana cant help but smile, "well good! im glad! you run out of here and enjoy the rest of your day, okay?"
-
Izanagi nods and runs out to Nikiri, " lets go!"
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Nikiri had just finished talking to hikari when izanagi comes out. He smiles and takes izanagi's hand, "let's go then!"
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Izanagi smiles and squeezes Nikiri's hand, " yeah!" he leans against Nikiri as they walk.
-
It's quite a bit of a walk back to nikiri's family's house, being granted a larger home means being a bit further out.
Nikiri opens the door, blinking when his legs are immediately tackled by one of the younger sisters. He looks down at phae, "well hello there Phae. I have a guest and I'd like to come in please."
Phae looks up at nikiri and pouts, "I wanna plaaaay."
"Well you are normally with seraphi so-"
"She's with mama again cuz her antlers fell off again!"
"Elyza then."
"She's taking her afternoon nap cuz she's a baaaaby!"
Nikiri sighs, "the twins-"
"With dad on a meeting!"
"Robin then."
"It's Thursday! You know Robin gets her medicine on thursdays!"
Nikiri looks a little worn out just from this conversation already, "ah yes.... it's thursday.... how silly of me. Look, Phaedra. You have so many toys so just play in your room for a little bit, alright? I don't have time to play with you today."
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Izanagi blinks at this conversation. " sorry Phae, " Nikiri is mine for today~"
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Phae looks up at izanagi and her eyes water, sniffling softly, "buh.... but I'm...so lonely.... I don't like being alone...."
Nikiri looks guilty and picks phae up, "I'll call mother and see when she is coming home, okay? But then you need to leave us be."
-
Izanagi sighs, " i suppose i can understand that..." she was a kid after all, even if he really wanted to enjoy his time with Nikiri.
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Nikiri glances at izanagi apologetically, "let's just get to my room. I'll contact mom and figure it out from there." He heads for his room with phae, making sure izanagi is following him
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Izanagi follows after, " it's alright, we can still spend time together, just maybe not what i had in mind. of course im so full we'd have to wait anyway... but still."
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Nikiri hums, "if anything you can spend the night again. Then we'll have all night to play." He gets to his room and sets phae down, "now just give me a quick second here."
The deer demon pivots away from the other two as he concentrates, mother. I came home to phae upset about seraphim and being bored. Is Sera alright?
Oh...nikiri. my apologies for not informing you earlier. I'll be home in a couple of hours. Sera tripped going up the stairs and her antlers snapped off again. It didn't go nearly as far down as before but it is healthier still to have them filed and treated just to make sure.
I see...are you okay mother? I know you are still tending to your own-
I'm fine hunny. I'm fine. Physically fine. Just... tired is all.
Okay... if you're sure. If anything happens and you need me though just let me know.
Of course. For now just make sure phae and elyza are well. I would appreciate it so much.
Will do
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" oh that'd be lovely, i was too upset to want to do much last night but if it's tonight~" he plops onto the bed to sit, looking around.
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Phae blinks and looks at izanagi, "mommy said bedtime was 9pm "
Nikiri looks over, "mother will be home in a couple of hours, hopefully sooner. What are you getting on about with a bedtime? "
Phae looks at nikiri, "you can't play all night! Mommy said we have a 9 pm bedtime!"
Nikiri hums, "ah yes well that's just because you're young and you need all the beauty rest you can get. "
Phae snorts, "if THAT'S the case then you're bedtime should be forever! "
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Izanagi snorts, " hey now, i happen to think Nikiri is plenty beautiful~"
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Phae sticks her tongue out, "noooo! He's a BOY. "
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Izanagi chuckles, " boys can be beautiful. If we're so ugly then why do you want to be around us?"
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Phae puffs out her chest with such confidence, "you can't catch ugly! Besides you look like a girl to me."
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Izanagi laughs softly, " well im not a girl, im a boy."
-
phae's mouth drops a little and she gives a soft gasp, "What?! no!! you're too pretty to be a boy!!"
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Izanagi grins, " well then apparently boys can be pretty too, because i am absolutely a boy."
-
phae huffs and shakes her head, "now that is just terrible. what is the world coming to?"
nikiri snorts softly, "calm down there phae. you're starting to sound like father."
-
Izanagi snorts, " although if i do say so myself, i can look absolutely stunning in girl clothes."
-
phae wrinkles up her nose and sticks out her tongue, "Boys are gross..."
nikiri chuckles, "You wanted to hang out with these boys."
Phae sighs, "Im not used to being alone..."
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Izanagi nods, " being alone can be scary and isn;t much fun, but sometimes we gotta deal with it."
-
phae huffs, "well i shouldnt have to. im only seven!"
-
" there's a lot of things we shouldn't have to do and we gotta anyway. you think your sister wants her antlers to break off? she's gotta deal with that. life isn't fair." Izanagi sighs.
-
phae's eyes start to water a little and she quickly looks down.
nikiri jumps a little and he panics, quickly scooping phae up, "hey, hey, hey dont start crying now. you're fine."
-
Izanagi bites his lip, looking away. right, being the translators they got to live a sheltered life without worrying about things as much. yeah some of their health wasn;t the best, but they could go through the inspections without fear. they were too important.
-
phae hugs her brother tightly and sighs, "i just want momma and seraphi back home."
Nikiri sighs and bounces her a little, "I know. Shouldnt be too long now right? they'll be home real soon."
Robin soon enters the house and looks around curiously, "m-mother? I'm home!"
Nikiri perks up and goes over to his bedroom door and peaks out into the hallway, "Robin that you?"
Robin blinks and goes over to nikiri and nervously picks at the hem of her sweater, "Yeah where's mother?"
"Seraphi injured herself again so mother is gone. she should be back soon but until then phae and Elyza have been home alone it seems. I only just got home but i brought a friend."
Robin frowns and sighs, "Jeez again? at this rate she would be better off to just keep her antlers filed down..." she shakes her head and looks up at nikiri, "Do you need me to take phae?"
Nikiri nods, "Yes please. I would appreciate it a lot."
She nods and takes phae, "Okay but you owe me one later."
nikiri nods and watches as robin leaves with phae
-
Izanagi waits patiently until Robin leaves with Phae before getting up and hugging Nikiri from behind, " now you're all mine~"
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Nikiri blinks and looks back at izanagi, "uh yeah... sorry about phae. and all of that... i wasnt expecting her to be home alone."
-
" it happens. regardless we're alone now." he nuzzles Nikiri's back.
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nikiri nods, "Yes, we are. anything you care to do as long as we're alone now?"
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" well, im still so full i might barf if we do what i really want to, so for now lets cuddle."
-
nikiri nods, "I can do that." he smiles and pulls izanagi onto his bed
-
Izanagi gladly climbs into the bed with him, quickly undoing Nikiri's kimono so he can snuggle into the others bare chest, wrapping it around himself.
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nikiri blinks before chuckling, "okay, bare chest i guess." he pulls his covers over them both
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Izanagi sighs happily, wrapped into Nikiri's kimono and the blankets. " yes~... this is perfect."
-
Nikiri hums, "I'm glad you think so."
Mina slides into the kitchen, pouting, "I saw that cake you gave to izanagi."
Takana looks over at her, "Uh yeah? what about it?"
Mina puffs out her cheeks a little, "I want a slice!!! It looked A-MAZE-ING. Gimmie a slice!"
Takana raises an eyebrow, "Its just a mousse cake."
Mina whines, "Yeah but it looked so much fresher and prettier than what we serve! I wanna try it!"
-
The manager walks into the kitchen and gently whaps a newspaper over Minas head, " no harassing the cook. we have customers at table 7 that need their drink orders taken."
Izanagi sighs softly, " if only this could last forever...."
-
Mina squeaks when she's whapped and she quickly looks at the manager before nodding, "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am! harass the cook for me then since he's also a baker apparently!" she winks before running off to tend to table 7
Takana sighs softly before looking up at the manager, "um... wo-would you... like a taste? its blueberry and lemon in a gradient."
Nikiri hums, "Im sure it will when you find a better partner."
-
She shakes her head with a smile at Mina runs off before looking at Takana, " certainly." she takes a fork and takes a small bite from one of the pieces, placing it in her mouth and letting it sit on her tongue for a minute before swallowing and nodding. " that is indeed very delicious. i know you made it for Izanagi, but is it difficult to make? if it's not too much trouble i have no doubt the customers will love it. plus perhaps a curl of lemon peel on the top for garnish to spruce it up and they'll simply go crazy over it."
Izanagi sighs softly, " yeah...if i can find someone."
-
Takana chuckles, "it is insanely easy to make. he requested it on a whim so that'll tell you how fast i whipped it together. and yeah I can definitely make it for the cafe. I know a friend of mine is visiting soon and she was gonna show arakan how to best form a garden out of the limited space we have so maybe if its possible we can start growing our own fruits so I can use different flavors eventually and it'll be dirt cheap to make."
-
She hums softly, " interesting idea. well, see to it then. if Mina behaves, she can have the rest of that slice. though that's up to your digression." she winks. " i'll take a look and see what space we may be able to use for gardening."
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Takana nods, "Sounds good." he chuckles and gets back to work.
-
A few days later Arakan wakes up on the couch, looking at his phone and quickly getting up, " fuck it's today."
Izanagi has reluctantly been convinced to stay in his own bedroom finally.
-
Takana is already as cleaned up and as ready as he is going to get. he was insanely nervous but excited to see isabelle. he comes out of his room, brushing his hair and looking at his phone, responding to isabelle's text of being ready when they are.
-
Arakan quickly runs his hand through his hair to tame it somewhat, though wild is typically how his hair looks regardless. When you had horns nobody really paid attention to the hair. Arkan looks at his phone, " Indigo is waiting near the gate for us. Mother would have been there but she had a patient to attend to, we'll take Isabella to see her later."
-
Takana nods, "im ready when you are."
Isabelle is on her side of the gate, surrounded by body guards and a decent crowed of paparazzi taking constant pictures of her. The rich girl does her best to not look nervous
-
Arakan nods and heads out, striding confidently to the gate.
Indigo already waits near the gates, standing in fairly nice clothing for what can be gotten in the demon district. the metallic feathers in his hair look dull and somewhat tarnished, but otherwise he's perfectly groomed.
-
Takana follows behind arakan.
Isabelle looks up when she sees Takana on the other side and she smiles excitedly. She turns to her guards and after a brief conversation the big buff guys in suits step back from her and give her space
-
Arakan steps up to the gates and looks hard at the guards, " We're here, she will be kept safe. you can let her in."
-
The guards give a slightly defeated look since they already saw the paperwork and had an earful from the human district's own 'princess' so they open the gates without too much of a fuss.
Isabelle slowly approaches Arakan, "He-hello. I um.. im Isabelle. It is nice to meet you." she holds out her hand for a handshake
-
Arakan grabs her hand gently, shaking it, " greetings. I am Arakan, heir to this district. I will be with you for as much of the tour as possible. However there are things that may pull me away, so Indigo here will be assigned to escort you and keep you safe." he waves a hand at Indigo.
Indigo steps forward and bows at the waist, " a pleasure to meet you my lady."
-
Isabelle blink when Indigo bows, "um. Hello. Nice to meet you Indigo." she does her best to not sound unimpressed. She looks back at Arakan, "Then it might be best for us to start work on the most important tasks then."
Takana watches as the paparazzi's crowd the gate and fence to take pictures, frowning a little, "Um. we should get going. those guys get vicious with pictures sometimes."
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Arakan nods, " very well. There are a few large roof areas that we've prepared for gardening. Though if you prefer we can take a tour of what goods and services we would be able to offer humans should they begin coming here." he starts walking, making sure to keep his pace easy.
Indigo notes her expression, standing straight. " i must apologize for my shabby appearance my lady. My species is normally far more impressive, however the inability to afford metals and minerals to supplement our diets here makes for a poor appearance. And while my species lacks in offensive capabilities, i assure you i am more than capable of neutralizing any threat to you with ease, with perhaps the exception of our ruling family."
Arakan grunts, " you sell yourself short. even i have little desire to have to face that voice of yours. it's not a pleasant experience."
-
Takana and Isabelle walk next to each other.
Isabelle glances at Indigo, "Apologies that you caught something in my expression. I tried to hide it well, however your appearance is not what is on my mind." She looks at Arakan, "Lets work on the goods and services first if that's alright with you Arakan."
Takana glances back at Indigo and sighs, falling back a little so he's walking next to the demon, keeping himself as quiet as possible, "Ex-nay on the 'my lady' shtick. Her name is Isabelle."
-
Indigo raises an eyebrow, keeping his voice low, " i will keep that in mind. i meant only respect."
Arakan nods and heads to the area where the shops are mostly located. " the majority of our shops are here. there isn't much as demons don;t get much in the way of leisure money, but it's what we have. the most successful is probably the cafe owned by my family, where Takana works."
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Isabelle perks up a bit at the mention of the cafe, "Takana works there?" she looks at takana, "What do you do there?"
Takana shrugs, "I make food sometimes."
Her face brightens up immensely, "Ohhh I do wish i could have your cooking again. Please tell me you make your fudge."
Takana shakes his head, "no, chocolate isnt... a common thing here. hard to get ya know?"
Isabelle's face falls a little, "n-no chocolate? I can hardly imagine a world without it...." she ponders briefly before looking at arakan, "I will give the malls a fair once over and then afterwards I would love to check out your cafe."
Takana goes back to Indigo, "I know but every snobby asshole talks to her like that and it kinda upsets her. You can easily respect her by just using her name."
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Arakan nods confirmation at the mention of no chocolate, " regretfully it is a valuable luxury good, one we are often unable to obtain. when we are capable of getting it, it's very expensive. and likely much lower quality than what you are used to. fresh fruit and vegetables are also difficult to get, which is why we ask your aid in helping set up gardens. we are able to get things that have good shelf lives, and ample protein, however it's not the sort you humans typically eat. we make do." he guides her to one of the shops, where a Naga is coiled behind the counter. " there's no point in showing you our grocery stores, there is no way we can possibly compete. however there are things we can produce that humans cannot. for example, our mistress of the shop here modifies teas. Naga are capable of producing many different compounds in their venom that affect humans and demons alike. from ones that relax, to ones that act like caffeine without the side effects, to ones that even increase libido."
The Naga lets her slitted eyes slide over to Isabella, " it's a pleasure to meet you. may i offer you a sample?" she slithers from behind the counter, her long snakelike body following.
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isabelle listens to arakan, her cheeks turning to a light pink at the libido mention. She politely clears her throat before smiling at the Naga, "A pleasure to meet you as well. I would love a sample if thats alright."
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The Naga nods and turns to her shelves, debating for a moment before selecting a packet and adding it to a mug of boiling water, " this one will sharpen your mind and clear away the fog that often plagues our thoughts. not a great seller here for our kind, as clarity often brings despair in this environment, but perhaps one that will appeal to humans." she holds the cup out.
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Isabelle blinks and hesitantly takes the cup, "Thank you." She gently blows on it before taking a small sip, "oh thats really good. I have always loved tea." She takes another sip before pausing a little and her eyes begin to water.
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The Naga smiles, " don't fret, clarity of mind can often be overwhelming." she grabs a few tissues and holds them out, " you may sit if you need to my dear."
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Isabelle pulls the tea away so that she can take some tissues, "thank you. i-... apparently I have some thinking to do when i get home later."
Takana frowns, "Oh? Did you finally realize what an ass Makoto is to you?"
Isabelle wipes her eyes a little before sighing softly, "He... has his own issues and I will discuss it with him later. you dont need to worry about it Takana."
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The Naga sighs, " well, i never said mental clarity was easy. would you like something to help calm your emotions?"
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Isabelle shakes her head, "no, thank you though. Not as a sample. I would actually like to buy your tea please."
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She blinks and smiles, " very well. what kind would you like? there are many more besides what i've said, simply tell me what effects you would like. i can also alter the flavors. We get poor quality leaves, but it's amazing what a few alterations in the chemical compounds will do to trick the tongue."
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Isabelle hums, "I quite enjoyed the flavor already and I wouldnt mind something for stress and then maybe if you could make something to help with falling asleep?"
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She nods and goes to her shelves where her product is already made, taking a handful of two different ones, " easily done. how many of each would you like? just one to try, or perhaps a few since we've already proven at least the mental clarity does what i claim?"
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isabelle hums, "A few of each would be great."
Takana watches curiously, knowing for isabelle that money isnt an issue
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She tucks the packets into a bag. " I gave you a half dozen of each, that will be thirty dollars if you please."
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isabelle nods and opens up her purse and pulls out a twenty and a ten dollar bill, crisp, handing it to her, "Here you are."
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The Naga takes the money and tucks it into a cash box before handing her the bag. " they're labeled with the type and directions. enjoy." she stops and thinks for a moment, " would you consider taking samples to give out to friends? if humans have a reason to want to come to the district it would be beneficial. especially fi that reason is to purchase my product." she grins.
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Isabelle hesitates for a second, half wondering if she did have friends, however she did know people that would take the tea, "Sure, I would love to give your samples out." she smiles as she takes the bag she bought
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The Naga quickly grabs a small bag of packets, " the destress ones i think should be good samplers. if people are relaxed and happy they'll want more of that feeling." she tucks it into the bag. " if it helps bring humans to the district, it'll return that loss a hundred times over. my thanks."
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Isabelle nods and takes the bag, "Of course. I will do my best for your shop."
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The naga bows.
Arakan nods, " there are other such things that demons can offer that humans are simply not capable of. Caladrius birds produce tears that when consumed, force those who consume them to only speak truth for the next hour, more or less. Alicanto like Indigo here." Arakan gestures to Indigo who bows, " can sense minerals and metals, and can consume them and refine them to their purest forms within their feathers. Siren scales can detect toxins, and change color when in contact with harmful liquids. we've begun grinding them into a powder that's made into nail polish, and humans can use that to detect if their drink has been tampered with."
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Isabelle bows to the naga before looking at arakan, "The nail polish is very smart. Admittedly im not sure how many people should know about the tears. feel like those around me could abuse such a thing."
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Arakan sighs, " well, we are not permitted to sell it outright, only the company that supplies us with our collars purchases the tears, and at an insulting price. there are black markets... but such things are risky at best."
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both takana and isabelle tense a little, although it is isabelle who immediately goes back to her relaxed posture, "I see. I wasnt aware of such things. Lets continue shall we?"
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Arakan shrugs, " there are a great many things most humans seem unaware of. moving on. We can visit more shops if you feel the need to see other specific items, otherwise we can either head to the garden area or the cafe."
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Isabelle nods, "are there more interesting shops? If not we can always take care of the gardens since they will benefit everyone."
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Arakan looks at her thoughtfully, " since you were not bothered by the Naga, perhaps a Spidren will not bother you either. He is fantastic at crafting clothing and anything else from his silk."
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Isabelle nods, "if I was afraid of snakes and spiders I wouldn't be a gardener."
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Arakan nods, " very well, we will visit Karim's shop." he leads the way to a building that's clearly been patched up as well as it can be, with gorgeous elegant suits and dresses adorning the display windows.
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Isaballe sees the dresses and hums, "Ah. Fashionable clothes i see."
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Arakan nods, " yes, he is... eccentric." he opens the door and steps into the shop. Most of the clothing and items are around the edges, with most of the area in the middle being open. an open double door leads out the back and a bell rings as they go into the shop.
"One moment!" A voice echos from the double doors, and after a minute Karim comes through that double door, making it obvious why such a large opening is needed. He's removing some very stained rubber gloves and hangs them outside before coming in. " Ah, the ice prince himself, and guests. Welcome to my shop." he looks at Takana and Isabelle, " well now, if it isn't the pink haired upstart from the inspection. And a human? I had heard something about one coming to the district... but i don;t usually put much stock in rumors." he looks her over a little more carefully, stepping closer on delicate clawed feet. " at least someone dresses well, i must commend your sense of style. How may i help you?"
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Takana blinks and frowns, " 'upstart'?"
Isabelle looks up at Karim and smiles, "Good Morning. My name is Isabelle and i am here to try to help stimulate this districts economy by enticing other humans to spend their money here. I am not asking for free items though, i will be paying for anything that i like."
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Karim glances at Takana, " yes, standing up to the humans was foolish. bold, but foolish. commendable, but... not very bright." he looks at Isabelle, " hm... well i want to show off my items in the best possible way. if you can convince any humans to come, any investment into you will be well worth it." he glances around the shop, moving away from them as he looks things over. After a few minutes he pulls out a scarf with multiple shades of blue fading into each other, mottled along the length with a subtle shimmer. " this looks like it will match your outfit quite well. consider it a gift to encourage the promotion of my shop." he holds it out to Isabelle. " all the items here are made by myself, woven from my silk, dyed with what ingredients i can obtain."
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Isabelle blinks and takes the scarf, "Oh my. its quite lovely. Are you sure you want to give it to me as a gift?"
Takana huffs and looks away, muttering some nonsense about keeping a promise
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He nods, " yes, it's a sample of my work, and it's it's lovely, then all the more likely to catch someone elses eye who may want one as well. poor quality items are bad for promoting. not that i'd consider anything of mine poor quality. Regardless, it's yours. and it looks like it will look good on you, so all the better. Spidren silk is not only smooth and soft, but extremely durable and strong. you could use that to lift a car with no tears or fraying."
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Isabelle gives Karim a kind smile, "Thank you very much." she wraps the scarf around her neck, "Now, if you could please show me around your store, i would love to make some purchases."
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He nods and moves over to some of the womens outfits, " i have a variety of premade outfits, dresses, gowns, suits, as well as regular more casual clothing. shirts pants and skirts. they do tend towards being larger, but that's because it's far easier for me to alter it to be smaller than it is to make it larger, and to fit it to your frame for a perfect fit will only take me a few minutes. i can make custom clothing as well, though that does take me longer especially if i don't have the color of silk you want already dyed. i can have most things made within a few days though."
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Isabelle nods as she listens intently, that is until she spots an adorable pink outfit that she pulls off the rack, her neck damn near snapping as she looks at Takana.
Takana blinks and shivers, "that look. I hate that look on your face."
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Karim raises an eyebrow and glances at the two, " yes, it's a cute outfit. you may try it on if you wish?"
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Isabelle holds it up to Takana, making sure to still treat it gently, "Takana, i think this would look adorable on you. please consider we-"
"-I will not." takana musters this response with as much malice as he can
"wha- but you used to wear cute things all the time, and sing! you were so amazing at singing i thought you'd end up an idol!"
Takana scoffs, "girls are idols. I am a man thank you very much. I do manly things. I do not dress up."
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Karim's eyes narrow, " pardon, but are you implying that fashion is a female only industry."
Arakan stays the hell back and out of this. he'd step in if need be, but only if it got out of hand.
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Takana looks at karim, "No, idols are not fashion. Idols sing and model and dance and only try their best to enchant those who will listen to them so they can spend their hard earned money. That has nothing to do with the fashion industry."
Isabelle places her hand on her cheek as she starts to daydream, "it was only a few years ago but you got so caught up in singing and dancing and it was so cute."
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Karim snorts softly, " very well."
Arakan looks away, hiding his amusement at the sassy Takana who gave him so much trouble getting some back.
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Takana crosses his arms and looks away, his face bright red, "Im not wearing it."
Isabelle stares at Takana for a few minutes before huffing. she looks at Karim, "I do know his measurements so if you can make this outfit fit those measurements I'll buy this."
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Karim nods, " with ease. if you give me them and give me ten minutes i can have it done."
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Isabelle nods and pulls out her phone and quickly goes through her notes before finding the file containing takana's measurements, showing karim, "here, you can borrow this if need be while i look through more clothes for myself." she holds out her phone and the outfit
takana damn near chokes a bit from shock, jaw dropped, "WHY d you still have my measurements!?"
Isabelle hums, "I never deleted the file. I even forgot it was on there for a while until now."
Takana whips his head to look at Arakan, "please tell me you're not going to just allow this to happen?!"
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Karim takes the phone and the outfit, " please enjoy looking through my wares." he moves to the back of the shop where his tools are and quickly gets to work.
Arakan glances at Takana and raises an eyebrow, " and risk displeasing the most important human that may come here? not a chance. you are not being harmed, therefore there is no reason for me to intervene."
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Isabelle looks at Takana, bringing her hands together and up to her chest, "please Takana? Just this one time? It's been so long since I felt like i was having fun. You and yori are the only two nice people in that whole household."
Takana's ears go back and he looks to the side, groaning softly, "just.... this once.... Just dont make me sing and dance though."
Isabelle smiles and nods, "of course i wouldnt! This is hardly a stage for it anyway." she hugs Takana, "Thank you so much!" she pauses briefly, looking a bit more serious, "I am glad to see you by the way. I know today is all about me helping this district and your friends but I had been terrified by your disappearance. I thought of the worse constantly, especially when i went to stop by your apartment only to find your things packed up..."
Takana blinks and hums softly, "Yeah yori told me you saved some of my stuff... Do you know how much? Yori cant bring over boxes through the gate so he could only bring a limited amount."
Isabelle pulls away from the hug and brings a hand up to her chin as she thinks, "most of your notebooks and folders. some of your bedding...your consoles and games.... Your mother's cookbook i found in the trash for some odd reason but i grabbed that too. i wasnt surprised by the thought of the Misses to go through your things and throw it away since i knew you wouldnt have tossed something so important to you. Although I can only assume it was someone in that family." she did her best to keep things vague enough as instructed by yori
Takana's eyes light up, "Mom's cookbook!?" then he scowls, "it was... in the trash? Christ... at least it wasnt burned. And thank you. I'm sure you're.... hiding my stuff to keep it safe?"
Isabelle nods, "Yes my art room. It's the only door in the house that is locked so it should stay safe in there."
Takana nods and sighs happily, "I wont lie. everything i make at the cafe comes from that cookbook but it is very limited since i cant remember all of the recipes. If i had that book in my hands I know I could really pump out some amazing dishes."
Isabelle drools a little, "Your mother made the best stuffed peppers. It was spicy, but the filled to the bring with meat and cheese and they were so easy to eat since you could just pick up the pepper so you didnt have to focus too much on getting cutlery cleaned~"
Takana chuckles, "Right. the peppers. She said your peppers were always the best to use with the dish."
Isabelle giggles, "well when I found out how tasty her food was I wanted to contribute as much as possible so i started to garden and ended up realizing i was very good at it and every year I had taught myself to do something even better for the plants to grow tastier. Even now I keep my gardens going because they make me think of your mom."
Takana nods, "I'm sure if she was here now she would love to hear that. Now, go shopping. You're starting to make me hungry."
Isabelle giggles again and nods, "Yes of course! sorry, got a little sidetracked. i just really do miss you." She goes back to the clothing rack and keeps looking through some things
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Arakan listens to exchange, frowning a little. It sounded like for the most part Takana had had things fairly good there, and his mother had been used as a sort of maid perhaps, a servant for sure as well as being bred for their project. At the mention of spicy stuffed peppers he blinks, usually peppers had to be cut up to save the edible parts, but if they were fresh... he could see how they could be stuffed. it was a delicious sounding item, and he swallows a few times to get rid of the saliva that pools at the thought of something like that. He looks out the window, trying to seem uninterested.
Karim soon comes back over, the outfit looking gorgeous in his hands, " this has been fitted to the measurements i was given." he holds her phone out to her in one of his four hands, still on the screen where the measurements are, " and your phone."
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Isabelle looks at Karim and smiles, bowing a little, "thank you very much!" She takes her phone, "also, there's this blue dress here, it is very beautiful. You wouldn't mind if I tried it, would you?"
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Karim turns and takes the dress down, " of course you may. anything in the store, you are welcome to try on. we have changing rooms right there. of course it's more to see how the color suits you as it will be fitted to you if you decide to purchase it, but regardless." he waves a hand at the small sectioned off area for privacy.
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Isabelle nods and takes takana's hand
takana blinks, "why did you grab my hand?"
Isabelle smiles, "You agreed to wear the outfit so i might as well have you do that now. juuust to make sure."
Takana sighs and lets himself be dragged to the fitting rooms
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Karim watches them go, " please leave my fitting rooms in the same clean state you find them in."
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while the others cant see anything, there IS quite a bit of giggling from isabelle and after a few minutes the curtains open to show a very dressed up, and annoyed Takana
isabelle smiles and excitedly claps her hands, "See? You look so good!! You always pulled off these outfits so much better than anyone i know~"
Takana even had his hair tied in twin ponytails, eye twitching a little, "...thanks..."
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Arakan glances over and then quickly looks away, barely managing to hide his amusement.
Karim doesn't bother, grinning, " well well, the pink haired one pulls off a dress quite nicely. As for you... that blue dress looks absolutely stunning on you. If only we were able to obtain some finer products, i've seen how gemstones glitter on clothing, and i could make something truly magnificent." he sighs softly. " i will have to try and trade for some shells, abalone at least does provide some lovely accents. regardless, you wear that extremely well. would you like me to fit it to you?"
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isabelle looks at karim and nods, "A fitting would be great, and I do have a lot of jewels I could have brought over if that helps you?"
Takana's ears flatten and he hisses softly
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Kairm freezes for a moment hearing that, then shakes his head, "i couldn;t possibly take such a thing from you. however if you wish to have a custom outfit made with such materials as you bring, that i can do. as for the fitting... stand still." he grabs his tools and carefully starts altering the dress right on her, fingers and tools flying as he trims it down and stiches it to hug her body perfectly, being done in a few minutes. " there we are, now go take a look at it. it's far easier to alter it on the body than it is to go off written measurements."
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isabelle hums and walks over to a mirror to look, turning a little to the side so she can see how it looks, "This really is a stunning dress. I dont think my own designer has been able to make something this nice. Consider it purchased."
Takana whines and pouts at isabelle, "Can i put my normal clothes back on now?"
She looks at Takana and smiles, "Oh, yes. absolutely you can. Thank you for humoring me Takana. I really do appreciate it."
Takana nods and goes back to the dressing room.
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Karim smirks and puffs up a bit at the compliment, " that is high praise coming from someone such as yourself. Although i cannot give my skill all the credit, my silk is a fantastic template to work with, and with the difficulty in obtaining conventional dyes and decorations, i have had to get creative. That has lead to some interesting discoveries, and account for some of the sheen in the colors."
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Takana comes back out looking normal again and holding the outfit, "What do you want me to put this."
Isabelle hums, "Hold on to that. I am also buying that." she looks back at Karim, "if i can bring some jewels back over would you be able to incorporate them into this dress? If so I can leave the dress here for now."
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Karim looks at it thoughtfully before nodding, " that is absolutely something I can do." He hums, " since you are purchasing two, I can cut a bit of a deal how does 150 sound? Since I make my own material, I have less cost going into it and I can charge less."
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Isabelle looks at karim, "I appreciate the offer, however I insist on paying full price. Money is not a concern for me and I am here to help your economy in both ways, regardless if its to physically purchase your items myself or to show them off and have people interested."
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He raises an eyebrow, " very well, 200 for both then. any business you can bring will be very useful."
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Isabelle nods and reaches into her purse, pulling out two hundred dollars and handing it over to Karim, "Here you are. Thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse me, best not to go to the cafe in this dress just in case." she heads to the fitting rooms to go change back into normal clothes
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He takes the money, eyes widening a bit before he tucks it into a pocket, " well, you wanted to leave the dress here so i could alter it when you brought the materials anyway."
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after a few minutes isabelle steps out back in her normal clothes. She gently hands the dress back to karim, "Here you are."
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He takes the dress and carefully sets it aside. " i will forward to your next visit then."
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Isabelle nods, "Of course, I will stay in contact." she holds out a card with her phone number on it for karim to take as well
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Karim takes the card and tucks it into a pocket, " and you may wish to think about what you want done with the gems on the dress, unless you wish to give me artistic freedom."
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isabelle smiles softly, "considering how amazing your skills are I am very confident in your own judgement for how the jewels should look on the dress."
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Karim blinks and nods, " very well. you are welcome to stay in my shop as long as you like."
Arakan clears his throat, " when you are finished here, we should either get food or start on the gardens."
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Isabelle looks at arakan and nods before looking at Karim, "I do apologize but we are on a bit of a tight schedule. Next time I come out I will make sure to have a much more thorough review of your store." She looks at arakan, "where would you like to focus our time to next?"
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Karim nods, " of course."
Arakan looks at her, " depends, are you hungry? we'll have a good bit of work ahead i presume with gardening, so making sure you're fueled up may be the best option."
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she looks at arakan and nods, "it is difficult to do hard work when you are lacking of sustenance. The cafe then?"
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Arakan nods, " sounds like a good idea to me." he starts leading the way to the cafe.
Izanagi is flouncing around as usual in his short and frilly maid outfit.
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Isabelle glances around as she walks next to arakan, curious about the district since it is her first time here.
Takana happily follows behind them, humming happily
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Arakan keeps to the nicer areas of the district, though even here the buildings are obviously worn and neglected. faded peeling paint and exposed brick are a common sight. broken windows are boarded over instead of fixed. soon they reach the cafe, done up more cheerfully than most places though the wear can be seen under bright adornments. " and here we are, one of the few places for rest and relaxation here. regretfully not as many of our people can enjoy it as i'd like, but i try to keep it as accessible as possible." he opens the door and stands aside to let her through, a gesture fairly common for humans, but one that has a lot of demons staring as their heir shows this level of respect to a anyone, let alone a human.
Izanagi glances over and blinks, " oh Takana and that human girl, you're here. we've got an open table by the window." he waves to a table he's just cleared.
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Isabelle steps into the cafe and nods at arakan, "thank you for inviting me here." She had to show her own amount of respect towards arakan. It was critical to make sure she gave equal respect with so many eyes on her, "it is a lovely place. "
She sees izanagi and blinks in confusion. She's about to ask if that table is an okay spot to sit however Takana quickly takes her hand and begins bringing her over.
Takana doesn't hesitate and drag isabelle to the table, "thanks izanagi! Guess what? Isabelle was able to save my mother's cookbook! All the foods that you love are technically my mothers so with that cookbook I'll be able to make more delicious foods for the restaurant! Especially if we get the gardens going! Fresh produce that come from here! It'll be higher quality and cheap!"
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Izanagi blinks and his eyes go a bit wide, " food that's even better? how is that even possible?!" he sets a few menus down on the table.
Arakan sits, " order whatever you please, it will be covered. you are here as my guest after all. In the meantime, iced coffee, black."
Izanagi nods, " of course." he scurries off to tell Hikari before going back over to the table.
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Isabelle looks up at arakan, "are you sure? I'd prefer to spend money if I can. But if you insist. Does your establishment practice tipping at all? If so I can at least tip your workers."
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Arakan waves a hand, " you've spent a good deal, and there will be time for that another time. it's more important you have a good experience and are nourished for the work you plan to do. your good word bringing in humans will do more than you alone can, as well as if growing our own produce works out. we don't have a tipping economy, if one can't afford to pay their workers, then their business isn't viable. i would not stop you if you wished to however."
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Isabelle nods, "you're too kind, and I appreciate it very much. I wish more businesses paid their workers well instead of having them rely on tippers and I on ask because there are some parts of the world where tipping is considered offensive as it implies that the business can't afford to pay is workers so I didn't want to potentially offend without realizing. "
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Arakan sighs, " im not so proud as to refuse my employees an extra tip for good work. im one of the few people who has decent access to income, so if i can't pay my employees, then how can i expect anyone else to?"
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"In almost every aspect of your life you have the responsibility to go above and beyond for the sake of your people." She looks him in the eyes for a minute, really studying him before looking down at her menu, "I really do hope our plan works. It's clear to me as to why Takana is so insistent on us working together."
Takana turns a little red before looking away, "don't say anything else isabelle, it's embarrassing. A-anyways, arakan do you want any curry or ramen? I can make it myself as long as I'm here."
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He glances at her and holds her eyes for a long minute, not wavering or changing expression. When she looks down he also looks away, " humans don't understand the way we do things, it's my responsibility to protect and provide for my people. all demon communities are supposed to run this way, but a lot has changed. This is the only way i can see that prevents an uprising." He glances over at Takana, " Curry."
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Takana gets up, "I'll make you both curry." he heads to the kitchen to start cooking
Isabelle nods, "You are absolutely right. Humans dont understand. And unless something directly affects them, they dont care to understand. Thats why we must make them understand but not in the way they would expect you to. Kill them with kindness is a saying that I lean towards. Show them through example that what they are told and taught has always been a lie. I have some friends that already dont trust the government for their own reasons so if i can have them be some of the humans that start to shop here then they'll more than likely be more receptive to the idea that demons are not their enemy. They'll take it as another thing the government has lied about and hopefully that will be the snowball effect needed. But that can come later. right now its just a fun shopping day with some gardening 101." she closes her menu and hands it to izanagi, "sorry for looking this over for so long. I tend to be pretty indecisive sometimes but I do enjoy both tea and coffee so maybe if i could just have whatever is the barista's specialty? Or anything she really likes to make." she smiles at izanagi. Anything amazing she could taste at the cafe is something she can tell others in order for the place to get more traction.
Mina is hanging out by the counter, waiting for some drinks. she glances nervously over at izanagi's table before looking at Hikari, keeping her voice low, "This is so weird. Having a human here? what do you think she wants?"
Hikari glares at Mina, obviously having an issue with a human in her cafe, "Maybe she'll find someone else's parents to kill."
Mina gasps softly, "Really?? Why is she even here?? ??"
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Izanagi shakes his head, " take whatever time you need. i'll see what she suggests." he bounces over to Hikari, " she wants whatever tea or coffee you suggest as the best."
Arakan sighs, " the tricky thing is we'll need to have a heavy guard on the areas humans are permitted in if they do start coming here. Many have lost family or friends to the humans, your kind are not popular. Many accept it as the way things are and keep their heads down, but do not be surprised if some see all of you as the enemy."
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Hikari glares at izanagi and hisses softly, "How about i suggest she leave? how about that?"
Mina frowns, "as much as i prefer that as well im sure arakan and the manager would be very upset if you were rude to his guest......even if it is a scary human."
Isabelle nods, "Thats only natural. Even if our plan is somewhat successful and there is more of a.... mix in cultures there will always be those who think the other is the enemy. It will most certainly be the worst at the start since there is still so much hurt that hasnt had the time to heal. Takana has.... briefly mentioned some of the things that happen here on a regular basis and I was.... disturbed to say the least. The war may have ended and we humans had our time to heal, you and your people... didnt have the chance to heal. Your war is still going. And humans dont deserve the kindness of you opening your doors to them first."
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Izanagi frowns, " If you want to oppose Arakan in his will to have her here and be treated well, be my guest, but im not getting in the middle of that."
Arakan nods, " Well unless something changes, there will be death, and a great deal of it. i won't stand back and watch my people be slaughtered. I've already had to do far too much of that already... It has to end, one way or another. This is the peaceful path, it's worth trying."
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Hikari deflates a little, grumbling, "Fine. then i'll poison her tea. she'll still have a 'good' time until she goes home."
Mina's tail tucks between her legs a little, "Aww but aint she apparently takana's friend or something? And she is kinda pretty. Plus if she dies while being here then that'll be a big problem on our hands, right?"
Isabelle nods, "I would prefer avoiding a war as well."
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Izanagi's eyes widen, " Hikari, you know i can;t let you do that. do i need to go tell Arakan what you're saying?"
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hikari hesitates a little before sighing, "I- I wont... hurt her. but only out of respect for arakan. But im not about to play nice with her if she tries to talk to me. She is a monster and no one can convince me otherwise." she starts preparing the coffee
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Izanagi hesitates, then nods, " alright... i won;t tell him. please don;t make me regret it."
Arakan sips his coffee, " war would solve nothing and bring a great deal of death. even if we won, which we might have a chance this time, one thing the humans don;t realize is putting us in these districts has brought us together and forced us to cooperate, where we preferred smaller communities before. Anyway, even if we win, most demons will want to force humans into the districts as was done to us, or kill them off. neither will really work, our society isn;t built like yours, things would go south quickly. well, we'd survive, but there wouldn;t be civilization as you know it now."
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Hikari pouts, "As much as I would rather kill her, doing it here would not be good for manager either..." she continues making the best damn latte of her life.
Isabelle nods, "I would appreciate avoiding a war as well. Even if the humans win somehow I would prefer to not go through such a thing. I do wish I had a bit more pull but unfortunately all i am good for is money and knowledge. Thankfully, that is what you need at the moment. I hope i can be of more use further down the line."
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Arakan snorts, " your influence is more valuable than your money, that's what we need right now. though the knowledge will help as well." He frowns and looks over to the drink station, it was taking an oddly long time for her drink...
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Hikari finishes the drink and places the cup on izanagi's tray, "Here. take this to her."
Isabelle gives a soft smile and nods, "I do hope my knowledge helps. I'll certainly enjoy feeling more useful here then back home."
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Arakan nods, " well, so far it seems to be useful. we'll see how it goes."
Izanagi nods and carries the drink over and carefully sets it in front of Isabella, " sorry for the wait, enjoy!"
Arakan looks hard at Izanagi for a long moment, trying to determine if something was off, before dismissing it.
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Isabelle smiles at izanagi, "Thank you very much." she looks down at her cup and she cant help but giggle, "its been a long time since I had art on my cup. its so cute. Your barista must be very talented to be able to make this."
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Izanagi bows to her, " she is indeed talented at her job. please don't hesitate to ask me if you want anything." he turns and flounces over to another customer that just came in.
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Isabelle brings the cup to her lips and starts taking small sips, being careful not to drink too quickly since its still hot, "mm its quite delicious."
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Arakan nods, " i've done my best to find people who are skilled to work here. there should be at least one place in the district where people can come to relax. Not to mention while it brings income to my family to use to help the rest of the district, that flow of income helps us keep an eye on how certain demons are doing. some are not as comfortable speaking with us as they should be, but if they suddenly stop showing up here i know to pay them a visit and see what happened." he takes a drink.
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Isabelle nods and glances back over at izanagi. then she sees Mina. And Kaeru, "um... and your servers are required to... wear such outfits? even though they may be a man?"
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Arakan sighs, " not required, but encouraged. it was the managers idea, having it be a maid cafe would bring some levity to the place. of course the outfits can be altered to be more modest if needed, and if anyone dares lay a hand on anyone i would remove that hand. well, usually anyway, Izanagi enjoys the outfits, and we can hardly keep him from encouraging hands on him, so that's a different situation." he notes her struggling with her hot drink and reaches over, placing a finger on the side and lower the temp by several degrees to a more manageable temp."
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Isabelle giggles softly, "Well at least you have takana as the chef. He gets nervous of new people and unfortunately his flight or fight response is stuck on fight only." she blinks when Arakan cools her drink, "oh. did you just cool my drink?"
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Arakan chuckles softly, " he did wear the uniform the first few days before we decided he was better in the kitchen." he nods, " it was too hot wasn't it?"
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Isabelle nods, "just a little. but then again I like my drinks to be a little bit cooler than what anyone else seems to like."
Takana comes over, setting two plates of curry down in front of them, "There you guys go. Arakan, so spicy it could kill a human, Isabelle, no spice at all."
Isabelle happily smiles down at her curry, "oh thank you Takana! it feels like forever ago that i got to have this last."
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Arakan chuckles, " lets hope you did not mix the two then." he takes a bite and nods towards Takana. " well our hot drinks are made freshly so they tend to be extremely hot to start with, many demons enjoy that anyway. regardless it was a simple enough fix for you, so i did so."
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Takana nods at arakan, "enjoy you two. im gonna give the other chef a quick break as long as we're here." he heads back to the kitchen
Isabelle nods to takana before looking at arakan, "You still didnt have to. it is a kind gesture. thank you."
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Arakan fixes his eyes onto Isabelle, watching her carefully, " you are the first lifeline we have been tossed that i know of, keeping you happy and safe is my top priority right now, even if it means bending my pride. so while you are here, your wish is my command. though i do warn you, my patience has its limits."
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Isabelle blinks and shakes her head, "I appreciate you keeping me happy and safe, however, I live with a very prideful and ignorant man so I am very used to watching what i do and say so I hope i dont have to bend your pride too much aside from my very presence. I also hope I havent had too many of these 'wishes'. I try not to be that kind of guest. But, food is here, so the sooner i eat and get the some energy back the sooner I can check out these rooftops for gardening and help you guys out."
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Arakan shakes his head, " no, so far you've been surprisingly easy to deal with. usually when i have to be around humans it's far more aggravating, this has been pleasant in comparison." he digs into his meal.
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Isabelle gives a soft smile, genuinely happy that she hasnt been an annoyance before digging into her food. After the first bite isabelle is beaming, sparkles could damn near be floating around her cute smile as she enjoys Takana's cooking. It has been far too long for her to go without eating something he made.
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Arakan sees this and chuckles, " so his cooking is out of the ordinary for the human tastes as well then i presume? we are too lucky to have gotten a chance to eat so well then since he's been here."
Indigo stays off to the side, carefully watching outside to watch for any threats.
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Isabelle swallows and hums happily, "I'm probably bias towards his cooking. Whenever I was down he always showed up with food and we go for a picnic, somewhere. anywhere that wasnt the house. If it weren't for him and his younger brother I probably wouldn't be around."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " Humans have suicidal issues? that's a surprise. Most of our deaths here are suicide, this place gets to be too much for many."
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Isabelle blinks, "Um no most humans have depression or anxiety. or some other form of mental illness. And from what humans are told in schools, demons dont... have the capacity to have mental health issues, however being here now and hearing things from takana its clear to me that the schools are lacking in information."
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Arakan snorts, " of course they would say so. Though frankly before the war suicide among demons was nearly unheard of. Very uncommon. It's mainly the environment here that causes it I presume. Humiliation, feeling trapped, hopelessness, knowing your life is so worthless one small mistake can have it ended, and even those sworn to protect them cannot do a damned thing about it." He grits his teeth, eyes going cold.
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Isabelle pales as she watches arakan speak, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable, "my.... apologies..."
She didn't know what to say in all honesty. What even could she say?
"I didn't know...and there's so much I still don't know, however my ignorance was not malicious in any way. If it was I wouldn't be here, hoping to help where I am useful. I will always try to be useful." Her eyes are glued to her plate, her shoulders tense, almost as if she is bracing for something, waiting.
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Arakan's eyes soften, seeing her again instead of letting his rage take control, " you did nothing. i lost my temper, and it was not directed towards you. the feeling of humiliation and being helpless as i watch those im supposed to protect suffer... it does not sit well with me. It's very much a sore spot, but you had no way of knowing that. apologies for my behavior." he sighs softly and lifts his drink to his lips.
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isabelle relaxes only a little, "no need to apologize, i didn't have to say what i said so if anything it is a learning opportunity that i deserved."
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" nonsense. you simply told me what propaganda the humans are told, which makes some things make sense. As i said, i lost my temper. Im not as...desensitized as our current leader is." he sighs softly.
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isabelle looks up at arakan and nervously sips her coffee, "um...yes. it is propaganda. and humans believe it because they havent been exposed to anything that would contradict that. perhaps that too will change after some time as humans spend time in this district to purchase goods."
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Arakan nods, looking out the window, " we can hope. If humans are permitted in here. If this is the information they are being fed... i doubt those feeding them it will be pleased if their work begins to be reversed. I will need to think on this information and decide how best to prepare for potential retaliation."
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Isabelle nods, "those who can afford to spin the narrative to best tip the scales in their favor will do so without hesitation." She goes back to eating her curry
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Arakan nods absently, finishing his curry and pulling his phone out to send this information to Nikiri.
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Isabelle finishes her meal and clears her throat a little, "now that we'll have some energy we can get started on the harder item on our to do list. "
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Arakan glances up, snapped out of his thoughts, " hm? oh, yes, of course. Indigo, let Takana know we're getting ready to move on."
Indigo nods and gets up, heading to the kitchen and poking his head in, " Takana? Arakan says we'll be moving onto our next task soon."
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Takana looks over and nods, "sounds good." he plates another order for izanagi to take to a customer before looking at the chef, "breaks over for ya since i gotta go." takana takes his apron off and exits the kitchen
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Indigo waits for him and walks back to the table.
Arakan Finishes texting Nikiri to update him before putting his phone into his pocket and getting up, " alright, lets go."
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Isabelle nods and gets up, smiling at Takana, "Thank you for cooking. I always love it when you make food."
Takana chuckles, "I miss you buying the ingredients so I can cook."
They both head out of the cafe
Hikari watches Isabelle leave, huffing softly, "good. im glad she finally left."
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Izanagi looks over at her with a frown, " If she does what Arakan hopes she will, life might improve for all of us..."
Arakan walks ahead, heading to one of the few areas with soil. He stops when they reach the small patch of barren land. " this is what we have, though i recall Takana mentioning we could grow things on rooftops? our soil is... not very good."
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Isabelle looks at the land, walking onto it and kneeling down, "I see..." she runs her fingers across the soil, letting the dry and cracked sand escape through her fingers, "yes... this ground has no nutrition in it, its clearly dry to the bone and has gravel mixed it in. It probably used to be a spot where people parked a car many years ago. You'd need a machine to come through and dig six feet down to get rid of this poor soil and replace it with better dirt. That's pretty expensive for such a small area though." She stands up and frowns, turning to look at arakan, "plus getting a machine out here to do the job is another problem since the gates are smaller than the machine and someone would have to drive it with experience, so a human more than likely. And there aren't too many who would do the job." She walks back over to arakan, "the cheaper alternative is the roof tops. You could always have this area turn into a garden once things get better for your district but for now a rooftop is best. Something flat and won't collapse. And we can always have standing gardens too. They are off the ground, sometime the legs have wheels to roll around so you could have them out in the streets, sidewalks, indoors, alleyways, anything you could think of. The downside is that you would be limited depending on how deep the garden bed is. Tomatoes are great in those with some marigolds, and you could plant so many spices and mints! If you show me some good roofs I can sketch out a few layout plans for you to pick from."
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Arakan frowns, " how are we going to get the soil for the plants? we can't take this and use it."
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Isabelle nods, "I can get some. It will take a few days to even get garden beds going so everyday I can obtain a few bags of soil and bring it over. "
Takana blinks and frowns, "I wish I could go with you and help you carry all of that... it sounds heavy."
Isabelle shrugs, "I just need to get it to my vehicle and up to the gate. After it's pass through if you guys don't mind doing a little heavy work I should be fine. My greenhouse is also overflowing so i think for some plants and herbs that I already have I might bring some over to replant instead of the seeds. Seeds take a while since they may need to germinate and the seedlings could die if the weather isn't right but a fully grown plant that's just donating a part of it should show faster results. " She looks at arakan, "if some demons are interested I can show them how to collect and store seeds from your harvests so that you can keep producing plenty of plants. Having a few people here whose job it is to keep the gardens going would be very beneficial."
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Arakan nods, running a hand through his hair, " alright. yeah, heavy lifting once it's through the gates is no problem." he looks at the gravel soil they'd been looking at thoughtfully, " pity we couldn;t get enough dirt to replace this here, digging it out is possible without human aid. Regardless, i will see if i can gather some people willing to learn how to take care of the gardens. Anyway, we have a building nearby with a fairly stable roof that will suffice to start." he starts walking that way. " it's an apartment complex, so plenty of space up there." He unlocks the door and heads up the stairs to the rooftop.
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Isabelle follows arakan with takana behind her, "I'm not sure how much soil you need for replacing that spot, it would depend on the contanimets in the soil so getting someone out to test the dirt is a good start. If it's just overly dry and lacks nutrients then we can have it tilled about a foot deep and have fertilizer and fresh dirt mixed in. If it has something dangerous like lead or arsenic then we'd need to go much deeper so the roots don't absorb that and make you guys sick."
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Arakan hums softly as he ponders this, " i'll put feelers out to see if there are any demons that can detect such things, or possibly even help purify it. if it were simply a case of just removing what is there i could do that easily myself with some time and effort." they reach the roof and he glances around, checking to see if there were any weak spots before deeming it stable. " alright, we have this to start with."
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Isabelle nods and looks around briefly before pulling a tape measurer out and holding it to takana, "Hold this."
Takana blinks and hesitantly holds the tape measurer and watches as Isabelle takes the end piece of it and runs over to the other side.
She stops and calls out to Takana, "WHAT DOES IT SAY!"
Takana looks at the tape measure, "55 FEET."
She nods and starts running to another side of the roof, "HOW ABOUT NOW?"
"UHHHHHH LIKE 73 FEET AND 3 INCHES."
She nods again and heads back over, taking the tape from him, "Perfect thank you." she pulls out her sketchbook and pencil and notes those measurements down, "Another thing to ask is if you intend to bee keep as well. Bees will show up to pollinate your plants and with it being so high up they'd have a bit more safety from predators than if they were down below. It certainly doesnt have to happen this year if you want to wait to make sure you have the time to tend to them but having healthy bees to make honey is never a bad thing. I only ask because if you wish to bee keep then I can keep an open area marked off to ensure you have the space for it."
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Arakan blinks, " ah, i suppose that is probably something we could do. i can't say we have any idea how to however."
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isabelle nods, "I have a few locations away from my city where i have my own bees. they are a lot of work but extremely worth it. high quality local honey could be a great addition to your cafe as well. Again, a few volunteer demons to handle the bees would be necessary and I can provide the knowledge, equipment, and even some bees to start. My bees are very sweet and kind. We may have to get a queen separately so we'll have to make sure to introduce her carefully. ah but this is all for the future if you wish to go that route."
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Arakan lets a breath out his nose, " well i don;t know how high of quality it'll be with them having this trashy area to work with, but if nothing else it'll be nice for my people. honey is expensive as hell, at least anything with any actual honey in it and not just flavored sugar. it might not be good enough for the humans but it'll be a step up for us anyway. mark the spaces, we'll worry about actually putting them in later. we need to make sure we can actually grow some crops for them to survive off first."
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isabelle nods and continues sketching out a rough draft of what the garden should look like, "i'll try to get this over with quickly."
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Arakan waves a hand, " no rush." he paces the rooftop, testing for any weak spots that should be reinforced before building on top of it. This was going to be more complicated than he thought, but it was important too. they'd figure it out, hopefully.
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Isabelle finishes a design and stands up, "okay, so this is a first rough draft to see what you think." She goes over to arakan and holds our her sketchpad to look at, "around the perimeter a 4 foot tall wired fence should be installed for one, safety, and two, plants that like to vine are able to use the fence to grow upwards. That extra layer will help keep the plants safe from windy days. The taller, heavier plots we can have follow the edging as well since they'll need the extra support. The bee hives we can put over on that other side, and I think in the center a pathway with some arches would be great for more vines and in the colder season we can put some green house tarps over them and bring the plants inside, that way you can keep getting produce year round. They will probably not taste as great versus them being in season, but it's better than nothing." She nervously rubs her hands, "um, if you have any preference ls or ideas of how you would rather the layout go then please let me know and I can sketch something else."
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Arakan gently takes the sketchpad and looks it over, following the parts she describes and explains. " your knowledge is far greater than mine in this field, i'll check to make sure the supports with hold the arches in the center, but otherwise i don;t see anything that would be problematic. we'll probably want to make the arches a bit larger than what humans would, to ensure citizens with larger height needs can be accommodated. most of them anyway, there are some like spidrens that are just too big for most places." he hands the sketchbook back. " i'll see who i can find with some construction skill to see about putting the planter boxes together."
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isabelle takes her sketchbook back and nods, "I will see about gathering materials. Um... i can get a hold of takana now but would it be easier if we had each other's number?"
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" ah, yes. that likely is a good idea, just in case." he lists off his number for her.
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she puts the number in and lists off her number to him
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He puts her number in and sends a text just to double check. " Well, I think that covers everything we had planned."
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Isabelle nods, "it does. Thank you for allowing my entry into your district."
Takana's lowers a little, "does this mean you are leaving?"
Isabelle looks at Takana and nods, "I am only here with permission to help you guys. The sooner I head back the better. I'm sure there will be a crowd of people with cameras waiting and I'd hate to take longer than necessary and give them more time to come up with weird rumors."
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Arakan nods, glancing at Takana, " she may return, and plans to from what i've understood. she cannot stay forever, and the humans are likely starting to panic already. probably think we've eaten her, or something equally disgusting." he heads off the roof, guiding everyone back towards the gate.
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Takana sighs softly before following arakan alongside Isabelle.
Isabelle looks at takana as they walk, smiling softly, "Maybe next time i come by i can bring some of your things? yori mentioned bringing your laptop to you but im sure you might miss some of your other things."
Takana nods, "Yeah my clothes would be nice. I had really expensive clothes that i want back."
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Arakan keeps leading the way, Indigo following behind them to cover their rear. When they reach the gate Arakan stands to the side, eyeing the guards warily.
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The guards are tense, waiting all day to make sure someone as famous and loved as isabelle makes it back over.
They do see her and they do look immensely relieved.
On the humans side of the gate are also two really buff men in black suits, black sunglasses, and tiny heaphone devices for communication. They stand next to a black limousine, keeping a crowd of fifty paparazzi at bay so that when isabelle passes through the gate she isn't immediately swarmed.
Isabelle gets to the booth where the guards are stationed and signs the return paperwork.
As one guard starts opening the gate to let her through the other keeps his eyes on the demons.
Isabelle looks at Arakan and smiles, "thank you very much for allowing me passage into your district. It has been incredibly insightful and I got to learn a lot about issues that I would have never known about from my position. I'm also glad that I got to see takana again."
She looks at takana, "Maybe soon you, yori and I could all see each other together?"
Takana nods, "I would like that a lot. And I know yori would as well."
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Indigo watches into the demon district, making sure no others try to sabotage Isabelles departure.
Arakan nods to Isabelle, " anytime you wish to come back, i will ensure your safe passage. Hopefully the others of your kind will listen to what the truth is." he looks at the guards coldly.
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Isabelle nods to arakan, "in due time, I feel like those who are empathetic will be a good start. It may take some time, and it might get ugly. Changes this big rarely get away without heavy opposition but in the end change DOES happen. The younger generation outnumber the older, more bigoted generation after all."
One bodyguard takes off his sunglasses and looks over at Isabelle, "Miss Belle, it is time to go. Your husband wants you home."
Isabelle looks over at the bodyguard and nods, "I'll be right there." She looks back at the boys and gives them a little goodbye before passing through the gate over to her bodyguards.
The tall men quickly block off the paparazzi, shielding Isabelle from the loud questions and flashing lights as she gets into the vehicle.
Takana's ears move back in annoyance and he squint, "God those fucking cameras are way too bright. Fucking paparazzi pests."
One girl hangs behind the crowd of people, holding her own camera but it's not aimed at Isabelle's vehicle but instead directly at arakan and the other two boys, eyeing the demons closely
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Arakan nods, " well, we are ready to fight for change if need be, it just might not be the sort of fight my people were gearing up for. regardless, i am confident i will be able to direct them as needed. travel safely." He scans the crowd, not shying away from the flashing lights until he notices the girl watching them. He studies her for a moment before subtly moving himself between Takana and her, blocking the smaller male from view to keep him out of any direct backlash. He turns his head away and looks at Indigo, " Go home, we're done here for today."
Indigo turns and bows a bit with a flourish, " of course." he straightens up and heads deeper into the district and out of sight of the gate.
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Takana blinks when arakan covers for him, looking up at the man, "oh. Thanks for the shielding. I never could get used to all of the lights." He figured arakan was just responding to his previous comment about the paparazzi since he had not seen the mysterious girl.
The car drives off and the gates are closed off once more. The group of people stop taking pictures and begin making phone calls, more than likely to their bosses before they begin to leave the area.
As the sea of people meander back into the city the redhead is nowhere to be seen in the crowd, seemingly vanished without a trace
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Arakan nods, " yeah..." he narrows his eyes when he the girl is suddenly gone. " lets get you home."
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Takana nods, "um yeah okay. Hey, you okay? I know having a human around you all day was probably annoying for you but isabelle was doing her best in sure."
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Arakan glances back at him, " Isabelle is fine. there was just a strange human i saw... and today in general was... high tension. not because she was upsetting, but just because this is a new thing and there were many ways it could have gone very wrong."
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Takana blinks, "a... strange human? Ah I guess with all of the flashing lights I didn't see them." He starts walking, then pausing and looking back at arakan, "thank goodness you're with me. I have no idea where to go to get home."
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Arakan nods, " there was a lot going on to be fair." he snorts softly, " it's a good thing you plan to leave, you seem hopeless when it comes to learning your way around." he starts heading back to Izanagi's apartment.
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Takana shrugs, "I am what is referred to as, directionally challenged. But I mean, I got good looks, I can cook and bake, AND I'm pretty good at singing. I can have everything. Can't hog all of the talent ya know~" he gives a dry chuckle. Most of that was a joke.
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Arakan snorts softly in amusement, " directionally challenged and incredibly humble i see."
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Takana chuckles softly, "you know it. Ah but in all seriousness I suppose an actual skill that I have is that I am good with technology. I am actually okay with that one since I did go to college for it."
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" you have had the unique opportunity to explore your talent in many fields. i only hope that it's something others will eventually be able to share eventually. your talents will be missed when you leave." he gently pats Takana on the head.
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Takana blushes a little at the contact, "well hopefully.... even after I am welcomed back home I can still come over and make sure I'm not that missed."
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Arakan frowns, " i hope you do not have your heart set on being welcomed back. they may have tolerated you while you were obedient, but things are different... regardless, know you have a safe haven here. i know you feel out of place, you belong with your own kind though." he ruffles takanas hair a bit before dropping his hand.
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Takana sighs, "I know for sure at least two people who would be upset with me being around but I don't need their permission to exist there. I have yori and isabelle and as mad as I still am at Curtis I know he would be happy to have me back around."
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Arakan sighs softly, " well if things don;t go the way you hope they do you're welcome back here." he stops at Takana and Izanagi's apartment, " do you want to stay here or go back to the cafe for the rest of the day? i can get Kaiten to come keep an eye on you either way, i should take care of some things."
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Takana is quiet for a little while before responding, "there isn't too long in the day left so I think I'll head inside. Maybe do some cleaning."
His ears shift back a little before speaking up again, "would only my talents be missed if I were to leave?"
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" alright." Arakan hesitates as he considers the others question, " no. there are several people i can think of who would miss you even if you had no talent."
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"Izanagi doesn't count since he likes me being here for the rent being halved." He forces out a little smile, trying to make it sound more like a joke, "I'm used to it though. Thanks for walking me here." He heads inside
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Arakan calls after him, " i know Izanagi sleeps around a great deal, but last i checked that doesn;t make him count as 'Several'." he pulls out his cell phone and texts Kaiten.
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Takana heard arakan as he gets inside and begins to get some laundry done.
After a few minutes Takana's eyes widen and he turns bright red when his brain processes exactly what arakan said
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Arakan shakes his head and waits outside while Kaiten comes. When the Chimera arrives he nods to him before leaving to go get things taken care of.
Kaiten heads up to the apartment, letting himself in.
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Takana is still bright red as he busies himself with cleaning, letting time tick by
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Kaiten notes the others flushed face, " are you ill? you are very red."
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Takana squeaks softly when Kaiten speaks up. His ears twitch as he looks over at the demon, "i- no. no im not ill. "
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Kaiten raises an eyebrow, " alright. if you say so." he leans back on the couch, getting comfortable.
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takana goes back to cleaning, looking at the carpet and frowns a little. he wished he could get his hands on a vacuum. They had mentioned a dump, and no not the entire district, and while arakan didnt seem too enthused about the location, takana still wanted to see what could be in there. maybe he could get enough parts to start making a vacuum.
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Izanagi soon makes his way home, coming in and sighing as he sits at the kitchen table, " work is way less fun without you."
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takana blinks and looks at izanagi, "how so? im in the back in the kitchen all day so you barely talk to me. or... is it that my food brings in boys for you to flirt with?"
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Izanagi grins, " i mean it is fun to pester you when i come to get stuff, but yeah your food brings in sooooo many cuties."
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Takana snorts, "right. Well luckily for you it'll be business as usual tomorrow. "
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Izanagi grins, " yay me!"
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A few days go by and Makoto sits in his office early morning, sipping his coffee.
He had a meeting to look forward to on a project that he gave to their lead scientists. He found it interesting that despite Takana's refusal to take over the company the boy sure did create plenty of blueprints and ideas involving the company's product.
The boy also scrapped the projects but they seemed flawless so of course makoto was going to use them as his own.
This would revolutionize the collars they already made and if everything worked out well it would be the final nail in the coffin, figuratively and literally, to secure his position of power as the new ceo of the kuroshiba company after his stepfather dies.
The old bastard HAD to acknowledge how well he was doing and that him being the ceo is better for everyone involved.
He grinned, sipped some more coffee before picking up the newspaper. Everything was going perfectly and once he had this company his poor mother would be free from the old man and would never have to lift a finger again.
Makoto's eyes scanned over the news before his eyes linger on a picture of his wife entering a limo by the demon district gates.
He frowns and sighs, "honestly, what is she thinking these days. I feel like I hardly know her anymore." He takes another sip before something catches his eye and he chokes on his coffee, spitting and coughing a little before bringing the paper closer.
In the background of the picture he can see the districts damned cold hearted demon bastard and right next to said bastard was a very, VERY familiar pink haired brat.
He stared for a good five minutes, shocked and confused before he tosses the paper on his desk and grabs his phone, dialing his mother.
The last thing they needed was the chance of the old man seeing the paper and his missing son.
-
Kahana lays back as a facial soothes her skin, cucumbers over her eyes as she relaxes. When she hears her phone she gropes for it for a moment before answering it and lifting it to her ear, " Kahana Kuroshiba."
-
Makoto takes a deep breath and sighs when he hears his mother on the line, "mother? Are you sitting because I have unfortunate news."
-
Kahana frowns and takes the slices off her eyes, sitting up, " Makoto? What's the matter? yes im sitting, what could possibly be so bad though?"
-
"Remember when we allowed isabelle her little fun a few days ago? Figured that calming any rumors of another war and hopefully also gaining a bit more trust out of those monsters before the microchip debut was worth letting her go into the district? Well I was just reading the paper today and there is a picture of her going into her limo afterwards and in the background you can clearly see Takana. Not only is that damn bastard alive but he is also standing awfully close to the districts ice prince as well. The old man isn't up yet, is he? If he gets Takana back in his life then that will put a major kink in my plans."
-
" What?! That little brat... there? He's still asleep thankfully, i'll have to think of something to keep him from watching the news. oh this is awful." she takes a deep breath to calm herself, " i'll destroy that part of the newspaper. thankfully he mostly reads the business section and sports so he probably won't notice. if i keep him occupied today i can keep him from watching the news. if we play this right the debut can still go off without a hitch."
-
Makoto sighs softly, "Still asleep... okay good... i have a meeting today with the scientists involved with the microchip so i can see how far they are and hopefully see if i can push the project to go faster. So then i have another issue. the fact that Isabelle must have clearly known that Takana has been in the demon district which would explain why she even asked to go there. What on earth do i even do about this? This feels like a direct betrayal."
-
Kahana hums softly, " promise bonuses to try and speed it up, get them to work overtime. that should speed things up. As for Isabelle... that is worrisome. perhaps if i take her and my dear husband on a vacation to keep them out of the way for awhile? I think i'll call some of the news stations and pull some strings to get them to stop showing that clip."
-
Makoto nods, "that's a good idea. Keep them both away until we can smooth this whole thing over. Personally I wouldn't mind if the demons knew takana wasn't one of them. Those freaks would kill him in a heartbeat and we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. But if the news broke out over it then our plan would also be fucked over."
-
Kahana sighs, " a tempting proposal, but as you said it could cause trouble. best wait for that little information slip until after the plan is completed. then we can have the monsters deal with that little bundle of trouble for us. I'll start planning a cruise, perhaps i'll take Yori with as well, he's been behaving oddly lately. Can you manage things without me while i keep them out of the way?"
-
"Of course my lovely mother. I don't know what I would do without you helping me. "
-
Kanaha snorts softly, " there's no need to lay it on that thickly my dearest. alright, i'll get to work on the press and setting up this cruise. you focus on incentivizing those workers to get that thing done faster. call me if anything comes up."
-
"Yes of course mother. Thank you again. I mean it. He hangs up the phone, his face grimacing as he glances at the newspaper article again.
"My own fucking wife betray me." He emphasizes the word 'fucking' by chucking his phone against the wall, the smart device immediately shattering on impact.
He takes a minute, two even, to breathe in and out before opening his desk drawer and pulling out another identical phone.
Walking over to the remains of his old device he pulls out the sim card and micro sd chip, putting them in the new phone and turning it on.
He'll have someone clean this mess up while he is in his meeting.
Speaking of which, he checks to make sure his phone is functioning as it should before leaving his office.
Takana happily heads to work, chatting with izanagi as they walk.
-
Kahana sighs as she hangs up, calling up some of the news stations and laying on a sickly sweet tone and offering absurd amounts of money for them to take the clips down to avoid any social backlash for her poor daughter in law Isabelle. Once that's dealt with she quickly starts arranging a cruise for herself her husband Yori and Isabelle, getting everything set so they'd leave in a few days.
Izanagi chatters happily back.
Kaiten trails behind, keeping an eye on the two.
-
Shiro sends arakan a text that simply says, 'the 3rd spy came back to our district.'
Takana enters the cafe and goes to the back to get his apron on and to start getting food prepped
-
Arakan glances at the text and sighs, pocketing his phone before he gets back to work, directing those with a tiny amount of carpentry skill to build planters on the roof.
Izanagi changes into his uniform and starts getting the cafe ready to open.
-
Nikiri happily enters the cafe and waits for izanagi to serve him.
Mina and kaeru finish up getting plates ready and doing any last minute prepping.
Hikari checks the coffee machines and nods in approval as everything is at perfect temp
-
Izanagi bounces over when he sees Nikiri, " Hey~"
The manager opens the cafe after checking that everything is ready, letting the general public in.
-
Nikiri wraps his arm around izanagi's waist and hums softly, "I have missed you. Sorry I was away for a bit. Had some business to attend to."
His antlers starting coming back in, no longer being nubs however the bit of antler growing is still covered in a soft velvet.
-
Izanagi gladly lets himself be pulled closer, " i know, im glad you're back though." he peers at the fuzzy antlers.
-
Nikiri notices izanagi gaze and smiles, "you have never seen me with velvet have you? You can touch them if you want. They are a little less sensitive but I can still feel them being touched."
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " no, they look so fuzzy." he reaches up and gently rubs the fuzz, " that's so weird..."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "enjoy it while you can, once my antlers fully grow back I'll have to hide for a few days again to wait for the velvet to shed. It can look a little bloody so I prefer to stay home until it's done."
-
Izanagi reaches up and rubs the antlers, " Fuzzy~ i don't mind if you look all scary."
-
Nikiri snorts, "maybe not you but I'm sure everyone else doesn't want to deal with my blood getting every where."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " yeah probably not."
-
"So, you gonna just keep feeling me up or do I get some coffee too~"
-
Izanagi grins, " well, i could get you your coffee and then i could show you what feeling you up really looks like~"
-
Nikiri chuckles, "I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."
-
Izanagi pouts, " that's no fun. so, what would you like to drink?"
-
"Ah a coffee is fine. No cream, regular sugar. Hikari knows how sweet I like it."
-
Izanagi nods and climbs off Nikiri, heading to Hikari and putting the order in before tending to a few other tables.
Kaiten sighs at the table where he keeps an eye on the two males.
-
Nikiri glances at kaiten, frowning a little before looking out the window. He'd be lying if he said kaiten taking over as babysitter didn't hurt a little.
Sure he wasn't technically c class and yeah, kaiten was stronger than him but it did put a damper on his mood in a way he wasn't used to. He almost didn't want to smile, but a nikiri without a grin plastered on his face would only cause questions and worry to be thrown his way and he lacked the energy to deal with that.
The small mousy maid gently pushed the serving tray into the main kuroshiba bedroom where head of household, Mr. Kuroshiba was.
The man stood in front of the bedroom window, looking out, his arms folded politely behind his back however the air around him was anything but friendly, "touhou. I suppose you wouldn't know where my precious child is.... would you?"
The maid flinches a little when he hears Corrin say his name. He hesitantly shakes his head 'no'
Which is true. He had no idea where the missing son went to. A shame really. He liked the pink one.
Corrin snarls softly and turns around, glaring at touhou, "from the look of fear in your eyes I can tell you're telling the truth. I don't know what's more irritating, no one knowing where my child is or you knowing and just not telling me. At least if you knew I could wring the information out of you. "
Touhou flinches again and quickly shakes his head in a panic.
"Hmmpf. I suppose you still take your past punishment seriously. I'm glad removing your ability to speak has kept you in line. I was afraid your punishment would have been more of a inconvenience but it seems it was worth it." He sighs and looks backs out the window, "leave. Tormenting you is no fun at the moment."
Touhoe quickly leaves the bedroom, pale and shaking.
-
Kaiten yawns, leaning back.
Izanagi soon brings Nikiri his coffee.
Kahana soon comes into the room, " ah, i see you're awake my love. I had such a lovely idea this morning, things have been so stressful i set up a cruise for us. Isabelle has been lonely with dear Makoto so busy, and Yori's been so upset lately too... why don't the four of us go? i have it all arranged, a week of relaxation and family. I wish Makoto could come with but things are simply too busy at work, but we can make it up to him another time." she sits on the bed smiling sweetly at her husband.
-
before Kahana entered the room Corrin had perched himself on his over sized chair, munching on the breakfast that touhoe brought in before. he sips his coffee and sighs softly, "as nice as the thought sounds I cant see myself leaving knowing that my precious child is missing out there. I am sure that if yori went missing you would understand."
-
Kahana hesitates, " of course my dearest. this isn't good for your heart though, we can continue the search once we get back. i know you're worried, but being here making yourself sick isn't going to find him any faster. Makoto will keep an eye out for him, if he shows up we'll know immediately."
-
Corrin sighs, his gaze going back to the window, "he's never done something like this before... even when there were days that we fought he always made the effort to call me every so often." He looks over at Kahana, "but you also are correct about the affect on my health... and at the very least I'll have yori at my side... you promise it'll only be for a week? And if we hear of any news you won't stop me taking the first helicopter out?"
-
Kahana nods, " of course my love! this will be wonderful for your health, i know your doctor has been telling you to take things easy. And won't it be fun to spend time with Yori for once? he's always off doing his own thing, it'll be lovely to pin him down for some quality family time. i promise, the cruise is set for one week, then we'll be back home. and i'll be in touch with Makoto, if he hears anything i'll make sure there's transport arranged for you straight away. The ship sets sail in two days, you should start packing. I'll tell Yori and Isabelle." she places a kiss onto his cheek.
-
Corrin grunts softly, "tell touhou to pack for me. I'm not in the mood to pack."
Touhou wipes down the railings and banister of the main hall, glancing at the direction of the front doors.
If he just ran out those doors, and kept running until he made it to a demon territory would he be safe? It certainly wouldn't be his home district so he might get in trouble but as long as it wasn't the 7th district he has a decent chance at living.
He looks back to the hallway nervously. The closest occupied room was the youngest kuroshiba so he might have a chance at escaping even if the teen did spot him.
-
Kahana nods and walks to the hallway, looking around until she spots the demon, snapping her fingers at him, " You. Our family will be going on a vacation, you'll be packing our things. Pack up clothing and supplies for Yori and Corrin for a week long cruise. well what are you waiting for, move!"
-
Touhou flinches and quickly nods, running off to yori's room first to pack clothing since his room is the closest AND the less frightening choice
-
Yori looks up, slightly startled as the demon darts into the room. " oh, hey. what's up?"
-
Touhou sees yori and shudders a little, glancing back at the door.
He couldn't talk but... he wasn't corrin so as long as the older man didn't find out he could write then...
Touhou sighs softly, pulling out a piece of pen and paper from one of his pockets, writing and handing it to yori, 'orders from your mother that I am to pack your things for a vacation.'
-
Yori blinks, taking the paper and frowning, " aw man. i really don't want to go with... ugh, though if dad agrees i guess i don't get much of a choice..." he sighs and hands it back.
Kahana sends a text to Isabelle, pack your things, you're coming with on a week long cruise. this is not a request, this is an order from the head of the family. be ready in two days.
-
Touhou nods and takes the paper back before pulling out yori's suitcase and begins packing.
Isabelle glances at her phone and her eyes widen before responding, what do you mean not a request? What if i had plans this week? With all due respect isnt this a little short notice?
-
Kahana huffs, exactly what i said, this is not a request. Makoto has also agreed, you will be coming with. two days is plenty of time to cancel your plans and get packed.
Yori flops back on his bed with a sigh.
-
Isabelle frowns and huffs. She goes to yori's number and texts him, are you being forced to go on a cruise as well or am I just being punished today?
A thought enters touhou's head as he's folding laundry and packing. If everyone in this house are going to a cruise, does that mean he would have the house to himself?
The thought almost made him smile
-
Yori hears his phone and grabs it, blinking. you're going too? well at least it's not just gonna be mom and dad then.
Kahana hums softly as she walks around the bedroom she shares with her husband, packing her suitcase. She holds up an elegant two piece swimsuit, " what do you think of this one for the trip dear?"
-
Corrin looks over at her, "the outfit doesn't make you lovely, you make the outfit lovely."
Isabelle groans, the fact that both Kahana and makoto said this was an order, not a request makes me think I pissed them off somehow. Maybe I should talk to makoto and see what on earth is going on here...
Touhou goes over to yori and holds up several of yori's trunks in the universal 'pick' motion
-
" you're too sweet." she places it into her suitcase, gradually packing the rest of the things she needs for clothes on the trip.
Yori looks over and points to one, " that one i guess is less kiddish. i need to get some ones that mom didn;t pick out one of these days." i dunno. good luck talking to him. i just know moms been weird lately, and dads been clingy so maybe thats why.
-
Isabelle sighs, well Mr. Kuroshiba does believe he lost his child. I'm going to have to let takana know that we both won't be able to talk to him for a bit.
Touhou looks at the trunks and shrugs before packing the one that yori chose. Soon he gets everything packed to perfection, nodding in satisfaction at his own work
-
Yori sighs, still, what a pain. it'll be nice to see you on the trip at least. see you in a few days. he looks over and smiles at Touhou, " thanks, you're the best."
-
Touhou blinks, not used to being thanked. He gives a hesitant nod and closes up the suitcase and carries it out of the room so it is out of the young masters way. He'd put it in the main hall. thats where they normally put luggage's right before a trip.
He sighs softly before heading to the master bedroom, knocking on the door.
Corrin hears the timid knocking, holding back the smirk on his face, "Come in Touhou."
The mouse maid opens the door and steps inside, starting to pack for Corrin.
Corrin glances at his wife before looking back at touhou, "what am i going to do next week without you touhou. you've been integral to my health these past few weeks."
Touhou ignores the comment, focusing on getting the job done and getting out of the room
-
Kahana looks over at her husband, " well, we could always take it with. the cruise staff are there to serve us but i suppose it would be nice to have someone who knows us so well to serve us."
-
Touhou's eyes widen and he pales, hesitating with packing before he continues, shaking a little.
Corrin nods, "no one will be home and surely makoto will be too busy to enjoy our good maids company. I will gladly enjoy your cruise if we can bring it with."
-
" of course we can bring with your little toy if it makes you happy my love. that's hardly going to be an issue." she looks at Touhou, " be certain you pack your own things as well, i don't to deal with any issues if you forget something!"
-
Corrin smiles at Kahana, "thank you my sweet songbird. I do love you so much"
Touhou does his best not to gag, quickly finishing up on packing corrins luggage.
He turns and looks at Kahana, nodding to her demands respectfully before leaving the bedroom.
He walks down the hall towards his quarters, tears running down his face.
What did he ever do to deserve this kind of treatment?!
-
Kahana smiles sweetly at her husband, " you're such a flatterer. you know i only want you to be happy." she places a peck onto his cheek.
Arakan soon comes to the cafe, looking tired. He spots Nikiri and raises an eyebrow before sitting across from him, " here to flirt with the staff?"
-
Nikiri smiles at arakan and hums, "only izanagi. Although to be fair, trying to flirt with him while also trying to keep him from taking it too far is very difficult. After all, I don't want to get him in trouble."
-
Arakan nods, " he's troublesome." he glances at the others antlers, " how are you healing up?"
-
Nikiri blinks and looks at arakan, "oh? just fine~ im still getting used to small antlers but once they are grown out more I'll be happy to decorate them again." he smiles, "i appreciate your concern though."
-
Arakan nods, " and your stomach wound?" he leans back.
Izanagi brings Nikiri his coffee and an iced coffee for Arakan the way he likes it.
-
Nikiri shrugs, "completely healed. Just a tiny scar. The stomach wound was nothing in comparison to my antlers, after all they are attached to my head. Any lower and I would have already been dead by the time you showed up."
He takes his coffee and gives nagi a quick wink before taking a sip
-
Arakan nods, " thankfully he seemed more interested in toying with you than actually killing you."
-
Nikiri stares at arakan briefly before sighing, "unfortunately that did seem to be the case."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " well it saved your life. anyway, figured i'd check in. it's good to know you're back to full strength." he takes a drink of his coffee. " soon as im done here i need to get back."
-
Nikiri nods, "Well it is always good to see that you're still alive considering all of the work you put yourself through."
-
Arakan nods, " well if i were not, my father would have to step back up and deal with things instead of letting me handle almost everything these days, which i doubt anyone would like."
-
Nikiri snorts softly, "if sector 2 found out then they would be the only ones to throw a party for it. Those high class weirdos like your father."
-
Arakan shakes his head, " probably because he's disassociated himself so much. regardless, despite the fact that i've had to do more to get all this going, i think it will be beneficial in the long run. if we are able to do even a fraction of what that woman claims we can... life will improve greatly here."
-
Nikiri nods, "yes. Isabelle. I have heard about her but have never had the opportunity to speak with her in person. What do you make of her so far?"
-
Arakan swirls his coffee a little, " she is open minded, despite everything she's been told about us, she trusts what i've told her thus far about our conditions. she's eager to change things here, and willing to work hard. she also seems... afraid of men in power, perhaps those who she has been around most have been cruel to her. regardless, while i can't exactly say i trust her after a single visit, she seems as if she will be a great asset."
-
Nikiri hums, "do you think the reason why she trusts you is because of her family ties with takana? He somehow has an easy time getting humans to do what he wants. It could just be the bonds he has made with them over the years, it could also be that he has some sort of passive ability that he isn't even aware of that makes him more lucky or charms others into agreeing with any demands he has. "
Nikiri knew what he was saying was mostly bullshit, but he did enjoy getting arakan riled up about anything
-
Arakan hums softly, " the first is possible, the second... also possible but considerably more troublesome. if the humans find out they're being manipulated, even unintentionally they will be extremely upset. remember, that's why there aren't many incubi around anymore, their ability to muddle the mind of the humans and make them fall prey to their lust made the humans angry."
-
Nikiri leans back and sips his coffee, "true. I guess I just can't get over how incredibly lucky he has been since being here. He found a way to come to this district instead of one that would have killed him quickly, he found a job within a day or so of moving in with izanagi, he didn't get killed by you despite his attitude towards you in the beginning, and he didn't get himself killed by the humans during our last inspection. It's like trouble is always after him and yet he's always a step or two ahead."
-
Arakan snorts, " him being killed by me was not luck, you stepping in and stopped me. as for the rest... he has indeed been fortunate."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "well... I suppose he wouldn't have been killed immediately in sector 2. He is cute enough for those disney loving weirdos." He finishes his coffee and hums, "hopefully things can finally quiet down a bit."
-
Arakan nods, " possibly. he was clueless when he got here though..." he finishes his own off, " we can hope, but i won't be holding my breath. things are getting stirred up, and that i doubt will make those who would be happy to see us quietly forgotten, very pleased."
-
nikiri chuckles softly, "So you dont deny his cute appearance."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow at him, " he's got cotton candy pink hair and could pass as female with the right outfit, as you said, district two loves that sort of thing."
-
nikiri hums softly, "You didnt deny it though. Look, its clear to me that he has some frustration going on that he wont admit to because of pride, and you could use a good lay every now and then. Why dont you do him a favor, as well as yourself, and wine and dine him a little. you'll both feel refreshed, and i can even take izanagi somewhere away from the apartment or something."
-
Arakan stands up abruptly, " mind your place. I refuse to simply use him because you think i need to." his tone is icey, and he looks at Nikiri hard for such a suggestion.
-
nikiri snorts softly, "wine and dine isnt the same as a one night stand you know. Nobody thinks about dating anymore? he clearly likes you and not because of your status. Do you not realize how rare that is? Izanagi may say he likes me but the moment a better demon comes along im out of the picture. if you dont jump on the opportunity for that kind of a relationship then I will."
-
Arakan growls softly, " it's not that simple. i need to be concerned about how it would be seen should it be found out. i should already have a mate seeing as i've taken over this district in all but official title. not to even mention he plans to leave as soon as he is able..."
-
nikiri sighs softly, "Thats a shame that he plans on leaving. maybe for now then i'll just have my fun. at the very least i'll get to see a side of him that im sure not many get to."
-
Arakan snarls a little, " just because im not going to try and get into his pants does not mean you are permitted to."
-
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, "I didn't know you had jurisdiction on relationships. Figured as long as takana consented it would be fine."
-
Arakan snorts, " very well, be my guest. his reaction to you asking to get into his pants is something i need to see." he waves a hand in the direction of the kitchen.
-
Nikiri wasn't ready for arakan to call such a bluff and for the first time he has his jaw dropped, "w-well I mean, not right now. He's busy! So very busy! I couldn't, wouldn't, even think to bother him while at work."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " oh, but what time like the present? come on, lets go see it. after all im sure he'll be thrilled."
-
Nikiri glances at his phone and quickly stands up, "Oh look at the time! im late for a meeting. with one of my sisters sooo i gotta go~ nice chatting with you!!"
-
Arakan shakes his head, " go ahead and flee. you're lucky i put up with your insolence."
-
nikiri sticks his tongue out playfully, "you put up with it because we are friends, thats why~" he heads out, not wanting arakan to call his bluffs for today
ironically, the cafe slows down a little now that it is no longer the lunch rush and Takana peaks around the corner of the kitchen doorway and blinks when he sees arakan. He goes back into the kitchen and gets a glass of water, sipping it
-
Arakan watches him leave and shakes his head, glancing over in time to see Takana vanish into the kitchen. he debates for a moment before heading that way, leaning on the doorframe and looking in, " keeping up with the higher demands with the cafe alright?"
-
Takana looks up at arakan and sets his cup down, nodding, "Yeah. Thankfully despite it being busy its not as busy as it was when I first brought in the ramen or curry. It's more steady, and less hectic." He smiles softly, "it's good to see you during the day instead of when you're just guarding the apartment. Has your day been a bit better?"
-
Arakan nods, " it has slowed down since then thankfully. glad to hear it hasn't been overwhelming." he blinks, " it's been busy, been trying to get things arranged so Isabelle can focus on what will be most beneficial for us. the things we're unable to do for ourselves until we have more supplies and information anyway. the planting boxes are less than pretty, but the roof has been reinforced and boxes have been built. skills like that will improve the more it's done and as more of them are places around the district i suspect. It's been a great deal to oversee and organize on top of the typical duties i have, but i hope it will be worth it."
-
Takana nods, "the ability to have fresh produce and not have to spend so much on imported goods will improve quality of daily life im sure. And I'm really happy that you got to meet Isabelle. I know letting a human in probably wasnt something you ever thought you'd allow willingly but she is very kind and... in her eyes demons aren't the real monsters. She's met real monsters." He stretches and sighs, "wish I could see her more often... and yori. He's my brother and Isabelle always reminded me of my mom..."
-
Arakan looks at him and nods, " yes, fresh produce will help things greatly. not only will it decrease costs drastically, but the quality of what we get will be edible instead of mostly...not. i will admit, giving a human a tour around was not something i ever thought would happen. the humans i have met before her are... cruel at best. She may come to visit whenever she pleases, i may not be able to escort her personally but Indigo is more than capable of defending her and himself should something go awry, or at least be able to buy time for me to get there."
-
Takana hums softly, "Not sure how often she will be able to visit. i have her phone number so i can at least check in on her but she will always have to ask her husband if she can come over or not and to be honest im not even sure why he said yes this time around."
-
Arakan snorts, " sounds like her mate is an asshole. women do not belong to their men."
-
Takana chuckles, "Yeah well yori and I have both agreed that Isabelle's husband is an asshole."
-
" then why does she stay with him? is that a human thing where females just... get claimed by a male and have to stay with them?" he blinks
-
"Apparently, according to her, he wasn't always like that. Before they married they were actually sweethearts and he did anything for her." Takana looks away awkwardly, rubbing his arm, "but then everyone discovered that she couldn't physically have kids and both her and he changed. It was honestly a shock to everyone and she was so upset over the news since she had been trying so hard to fulfill her dream of having a big family and being a stay at home mom. Having all this free time made her look for other hobbies to keep herself busy and not think about the fact that her real dreams were crushed. And her husband invested all of his time into a company so... they have started to not get along. Yori and I keep trying to tell Isabelle that she could do so much better but she doesn't think so. She said no one would want a wife who couldn't have kids."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " that's bullshit, even those partners unable to naturally have children or afford to have them the other way choose their mates for who they are, not what they can give them. Of course we don't usually offer the other option to humans, even those high in power don't know we can make that happen. My parents thought they'd need aid conceiving, and likely will if they decide to have another child due to how different they are. i was an oddity." he shrugs. " anyway, if she finds a mate that isn;t a dick to her, i would give permission to allow her to get the treatment."
-
Takana sighs, "that's nice of you to offer but I'm not sure if she would ever leave her husband. They are both constantly in the public eye so neither of them would want to do something to cause tabloids to go nuts. "
-
Arakan shrugs, " well in have zero desire to allow such a disgusting man to get what he wants. i doubt he would change how he treats her even if she were able to give him the children he wanted now."
-
takana shrugs, "I mean, even if you did offer, she would probably politely turn it down. with their current life right now even she knows involving a child would only do more harm then good. for both the child and whatever is left of their marriage."
-
Arakan nods, " a good choice. perhaps she will eventually ditch him and then we can repay her with what she desires."
-
Takana sighs, "Yeah trust me, yori and I had been gently trying to coax her into the idea of a divorce. She is that type of person though who can see good in everyone. I hope she can have a kid one day. She loves kids."
-
Arakan hums, " maybe i should bring her to the community center next time, im sure the women would love to get a break from the kids. and the kids always enjoy someone new to play with."
-
Takana blinks, "sure. I'm sure Isabelle would love that."
-
" i'll make note of that for next time. Well, i'd love to keep chatting but there's more to get done. At least Nikiri left, he was spouting some nonesense about asking you out until i called his bluff and he made himself scarce." he snorts softly.
-
Takana blinks before chuckling softly, "oh jeeze. Do I even want to know? Well if you see him before I do tell him I'm not interested. "
-
Arakan rolls his eyes, " i did, he's... strangely persistent. he seems to think you desire a relationship here, though you plan to leave."
-
Takana blinks and sighs, "well.... I wouldn't lie and say that it hasn't been lonely.... I also don't know when I will be able to leave." He hums softly, his ears going back, "I miss feeling wanted like that."
-
Arakan tilts his head, looking at Takana for a long few moments as he considers things. "...hey, i should have some time tonight if you wanted to have dinner with me."
-
Takana's ears flick as he glances over at the demon, "you don't have to make time for me just because I'm sad. I appreciate it a lot, I do, but you've already done so much for me."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " and if i said i wanted a break and would enjoy your company?"
-
Takana blinks and blushes a little, "you'd enjoy my company? " He thinks about it before nodding, "okay, as long as you're serious about it. I would enjoy that as well."
-
" you challenge me and have knowledge i could not imagine before. you're an interesting person, and i do find your company enjoyable if occasionally aggravating. But that's mostly because im used to people deferring to me, being opposed is uncommon."
-
takana blinks before smiling and laughing softly, "Thats the nicest way anyone has ever called me an asshole."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " you said it not me. alright, well i can pick you up from your apartment tonight? We can have dinner at my place."
-
takana smiles and nods, "I'd like that a lot. Try not to work too hard until then, okay?"
-
Arakan chuckles, " no promises, normal crap along with all the drama from the surprise inspection and demons hounding me about letting a human into the district? im up to my ears in shit to deal with. but i'll be there when i can." he runs a hand through his hair and waves a bit before heading out of the cafe.
Izanagi inches closer to the kitchen, " soooooo what was that all about? i saw you and mr ice prince chatting it up for quite awhile."
-
Takana waves goodbye to arakan, quickly lowering his hand and looking busy when izanagi pops in, "oh uh hey. We weren't talking about anything much.... um... you may want to take a serving of food home or see if nikiri is free for a few hours tonight. I will be having dinner with arakan. It's nothing serious so don't even start. It's probably just a thank you meal or something since Isabelle is going to try to help you guys out with food and economy stuff. "
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " oh my god, you guys are totally gonna bone! you gotta tell me EVERYTHING. also can i have some ramen to take home?"
-
Takana turns deep red and glares at izanagi, "We're NOT gonna bone!! Its JUST dinner! And- i mean- yeah I can make you up some ramen before our shift ends but just dont assume im gonna fuck him! He's not like that! He's an actual gentleman."
-
Izanagi snickers, " he NEVER asks people out. seriously, he doesn't want to show favor to anyone so he's super careful. i've tried sooooo many times to get into his pants. you guys are TOTALLY gonna bone."
-
Takana's ears flatten, "SHUSH or im making your ramen super spicy!!"
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " alright fine, you're not gonna bone. you still totally need to give me all the details of your non-boning afterwards." he flounces off.
-
takana huffs softly before going back to work, hoping that being busy will take his mind off of the fact that izanagi thought sex was going to happen
-
Izanagi goes back to work, stuck between excited for takana and sad that Nikiri left.
-
work goes by with no other crazy incident and takana wraps up the evening with a container of ramen for izanagi.
he felt a little nervous about his dinner with arakan. is this a date? is it just a meal between friends? what if he tried to initiate something and arakan got mad at him.... this was getting to be too much
-
Izanagi finishes cleaning up and comes into the back to grab his ramen and head home with Takana, " are you excited~?"
-
Takana hands izanagi the food, looking at the ground as they walk, "I won't lie, I am nervous. But not because of the whole sex thing because we aren't going to have sex. It's just dinner at his place. And he's just being nice because I went and opened my big mouth about being lonely here."
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " what's the point if you guys don't have sex? He's been protecting you for ages now, and you think he has no interest?"
-
Takana's ears flatten a bit and he sighs, "I don't want to assume that just because he's nice to me he wants to bone me. I don't think that highly of myself."
-
Izanagi groans, " you're so boooooring. seriously, both of you need to get laid."
-
Takana huffs, his face turning bright red, "if he actually says he wants a relationship and he likes me then maybe I'd consider giving him a.... " He turns even more red, "what am I saying?! To you of all people?! Even if I did anything I wouldn't tell you!"
-
Izanagi grins, " oooo what, you gonna give him a blowie? you know i want all the lewd details. on a serious note, that's gonna be a tricky thing for him. future leader of the district yeah? if he gets into a serious relationship, it'll be expected to be one that'll be likely to end up being with someone who will stay by his side to lead. you plan to lead, so even if you guys do hook up, it's temporary. after all, he has never, and can never leave the district. not under the current rules anyway. He's stuck here."
-
"Exactly what I have been trying to say. This is a dinner between friends clearly and no fucking will happen since I do have to leave eventually. I don't know when but I can't stay here. You know that better than anyone."
((I have no idea if kaiten is walking them home or if not since arakan planned on stopping by the apartment anyway))
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " uuuuugh just because you're not dating doesn't mean you can't fuck."
((Kaiten is following behind, ignoring them mostly.))
-
Takana sighs softly, "maybe you can do that but i... I can't. "
-
" pruuuuuuuude. Izanagi grins and shoves Takana playfully.
-
takana gives a startled yelp when he's shoved. He snorts softly, "You ass." He grins and shoves izanagi back
-
Izanagi yelps and laughs, running into the apartment building ahead of takana.
Kaiten shakes his head
-
"Hey! Get back here!" He chases after izanagi with full intention of catching and tickling the demon
-
Izanagi squeals and runs into his room, locking his door.
Kaiten follows them up and settles into the apartment.
-
takana makes it to the door just in time for it to 'click' and lock. "ahh you're no fun!" he chuckles before going to the bathroom. He and arakan weren't going to have sex but he should still shower and keep clean since he was going to arakan's house.
He hops into the shower and starts getting cleaned up
-
" says the prude!" Izanagi snickers from the other side of the door.
Another hour later Arakan shows up, knocking briefly before entering the apartment. He glances on Kaiten, " keep an eye on Izanagi."
-
Takana is out of the shower by then, freshened up and wearing some decent clothes that he was able to bring over from his place when he first came over.
He even fluffed up his ears a little.
He nervously sat in his room until he had heard arakans voice, stepping out and smiling at arakan, "hey, I'm ready to go anytime."
-
Arakan looks over and smiles, " good, sorry to make you wait." a fresh looking but not bleeding cut is on his cheek. " shall we?"
-
Takana's eyes land on the cut and he turns a little pale however he just hesitantly nods, "um yeah let's head out."
Don't ask in front of others... ask once you're in private.
-
Arakan nods and heads out of the apartment, walking towards his own home.
-
Takana follows closely behind arakan, looking around, anywhere but his face.
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow as they walk, " if you've changed your mind I will not hold you obligated to dine with me."
-
Takana glances at arakan and sighs, "I want to. I just.... you have a cut on your face. Are you okay?"
-
Arakan blinks then chuckles, " I'm fine. There was some... Particularly insistent dissent against my way of running things right now. My leadership was brought into question, and I had to show I still had the strength to lead. Your concern is refreshing though." He reaches over to ruffle Takanas hair.
-
Takana flattens his ears when arakan ruffles his hair, not out of anger, just keeping them out of the way of the ruffling, "that only happened though because you let a human in... i... I do hope that everything Isabelle has planned for us goes well enough to also satiate those who question you. In glad you won but I also don't like that anyone got close enough to even get a scratch in."
-
Arakan smiles, " they would have questioned my leadership at some point anyway, it's just kind of how things go as a new leader is taking over. i'll get injured now and then until im accepted totally. im still coming into my own strength and changing things can be hard for some."
-
Takana sighs, "I guess... I just wish your face didn't get scratched. But I'm glad that seems to be the only injury."
-
Arakan shrugs, " i got cut a few other places, nothing serious though. it's been awhile since i've faced anyone so i think they haven't realized i've still been growing into my strength. he was utterly outclassed."
-
Takana hums softly, "well I guess it's a good thing I wasn't there to watch. I probably would have been a distraction. Although I am a little disappointed I couldn't watch you kick the utter shit out of someone."
-
Arakan laughs softly, " yes, you probably would have distracted me, though i don't doubt i would have still won. perhaps next time. i have no doubt there will be more that disagree with working with humans." he opens the door and stands aside for him once they reach his place. " i've had meat nixed from your part of the meal since i noticed you're not fond of organ meats. hopefully it's at least tolerable."
-
Takana rubs the back of his head and chuckles, "Yeah sorry, the liver and all that kinda weird me out. I would have still dealt with it since I know it won't kill me but it's not something I grew up on. I'm sure whatever it is I'll be fine with." He enters arakans home, blushing slightly when he hears arakan laugh
-
" well you won't have to, it's a stew type meal. lentils and some vegetables. nothing too fancy." he leads the way and gestures to the table before going to another room, grabbing a couple bowls of the already made food and bringing it back out, setting one down for him and sitting with his own.
-
Takana's ears perk up a bit as he sits down, "ooo lentils are good." He smiles when arakan sits down, "thank you."
-
Arakan nods, " well at the very least they're fairly cheap and we can get them dried in good amounts, so good non meat protein." he digs into his portion, hungry after the fight earlier.
-
Takana hums and happily starts eating. It wasn't the best flavored but somehow he enjoyed this so much more then what he normally makes. It was probably because he was enjoying it with good company
-
Arakan soon polishes his meal off and smiles, " i know there's not a whole lot to do here, especially not compared to what you were used to, but want to come up to the roof with me? there's a pretty good view, we can even see over the wall. i tried my hand at making an old recipe earlier my father remembered from when he was young we can snack on up there."
-
Takana finishes eating as well and looks up at arakan curiously, "oh? Yeah of course I'll go up on the roof."
-
Arakan nods and grabs a container, leading the way up several sets of stairs until they're up on the roof. Most of what can be seen is just the district, but a sliver of water in the distance is visible. He sits on a bench and leans back, patting the seat next to him.
-
Takana follows curiously, sitting next to arakan, "do you come up here often?"
-
Arakan nods, " yeah. to think, to just relax, enjoy the fresh...ish air. wonder what the rest of the world is like." he opens the container. " the real stuff was a kind of coal roasted cracker soaked in honey with some charred goat cheese on top, but my father was little and doesn't remember what the crackers were made from and we don;t have real honey, and of course the cheese we can get is pretty lame, so this is the closest i can get. it's still pretty good though."
-
Takana's ears perk up a little, "oh? It certainly already sounds good." He does his best to peer over at the snacks
-
Arakan holds out the container, " go ahead, i made them mostly for you to try."
-
Takana's head snaps up to look at arakan, extremely touched that anyone would make him anything, "oh wow. You didn't have to do that." He takes one, biting into it and chewing. He can't help but smile as he swallows, "they're good! I like them."
-
Arakan shrugs, " well, i make it for myself when i want to have a taste of how things used to be, and they're really one of the only things i know how to make, even though apparently they're not right according to my father. but they'll do." he leans back and munches on one, staring out at the ocean.
-
Takana hums softly and takes another, munching on it as he also leans back, for the first time feeling relaxed, "well uh... if everything goes well with the gardens then maybe in a few years you'll be able to get your own honey and get your snack that much closer to the original."
-
Arakan nods, " that would be nice. to be able to taste the same things my ancestors made and tasted."
-
Takana nods, but doesn't say anything. He doesn't really know what to say. He doesn't want to make any promises that he can't keep, but he wished he could ensure that arakans district, most demon districts, were treated with more respect.
He's quiet for a while, as he stares out towards the ocean. He had a better view in his bathroom at his old apartment, but he wasn't going to say that in front of arakan.
"I can see why you come up here. It is very quiet."
-
Arakan nods, " yeah, peaceful. good place to get away from things."
-
Takana snorts softly, "I'm sure you had to come up here a lot more after I showed up."
-
Arakan shrugs, " i've always come up here a lot. gave me a place to be able to feel without anyone judging me for it. growing up with a lot of expectations on me and watching so much happening that i was supposed to be able to protect my people from and being helpless... it's very frustrating."
-
Takana's ears flatten as he listens to arakan, looking up at him, "I'm... sorry to hear that. It sounds very frustrating."
-
Arakan nods, " it is. moreso when i was younger and didn't fully understand why we had to put up with all this. anyway you don;t need to hear all this crap, this is supposed to be a nice evening."
-
Takana gently holds arakans hand, still looking at him, "it's alright. I'm thankful that you're telling me all of this. I want to know more about you after all."
-
Arakan blinks and looks at Takana and their hands, " ah, well... not a whole lot beyond that. my life isn't all that exciting, mostly politics. you're the one that's seen more of the world than i can imagine." he squeezes Takanas hand a bit.
-
"I don't mind. Even if it's as something as simple as your favorite color, season, food." He blushes and clears his throat a little, "I don't mind telling you about me, or at least what might be interesting to you."
-
Arakan chuckles, " i like winter, i like most thingy spicy, though i have to say your ramen is to die for. Favorite color? probably blue, or silver. And what about you? what wonders have you seen in the outside world?" his tone is somewhat teasing, though a slight wistfulness to it betrays his own longing for more than just this small world of his.
-
Takana's ears twitch curiously as he listens to arakan. When it's Takana's turn he blinks, "I like purple. And Fall! Isabelle's vinyard has some beautiful trees that in fall their leaves turn colors and it looks like a sunset. I don't like foods that are too sweet but I don't have too much of a preference when it comes to other foods. And i..my old apartment had a balcony that over looked the ocean so in the summer I used to leave my windows open so that my place always smelled like the beach. If I had my old phone I would show you the pictures I took but.... they're gone unfortunately."
-
Arakan looks out at the sliver of ocean visible, " once in a great while when the wind comes this way i think i get a hint of the oceans scent. just the barest hint of salt on the air. i bet it's a lot stronger there. lots of trees changing color and looking like a sunset... sounds interesting. i can see some of the colors from up here in the fall, but it's just splashes of color among the rest. well, perhaps it's for the best those pictures are gone, not like i'd ever get to see it in person anyway. just a silly dream."
-
Takana frowns and gently squeezes arakans hand, "I'm sorry. I wish you could see it for yourself. I would like to promise that but I can't guarantee such a thing. I know I could get videos of it but would you really want to see something that you could never get?"
-
Arakan chuckles softly, though this time there's no mirth in it, " you have done some great things for this district, but allowing a demon of my rank out of this place? that i doubt will ever happen. you're right, i would probably want to see it more if i saw such a thing, best to not tempt myself." he leans his head back and closes his eyes.
-
Takana frowns and sighs, "I won't promise such a thing but I will probably also look into ways to get around that rule. Don't get your hopes up though." He's quiet for a bit before his ears go back a little, "one time in college I went to a bar with a few friends and there was this one guy who was being a real jerk to some girls who were obviously uncomfortable. I told him that I could beat the shit out of him but we had to take it outside and he agreed. I let him go out first and as he turned around to face me I closed the door to the bar and locked it before finding the owner to tell him. Guy couldn't get back in all night."
-
Arakan blinks and looks at him, laughing softly, " that's an e rank for you, finding a way to overcome the odds. good for you, protecting those girls. still amazes me how much they let you do though, i would have thought they wouldn;t permit you outside. bet you had to hide these." he lifts a hand and gently touches one of the ears.
-
Takana blushes, the feeling of arakan touching his ears left a weird tingling feeling down his spine, the little tips of his ears trembled just slightly under the stimulation, "ah well if it was cold I'd wear a beanie but in the hotter months I had a headband made the same color as my hair and it hid my ears incredibly well. And... I've always been someone who would jump at the first chance they got to help someone. That's just who I am."
-
Arakan nods, " i saw that, when you threw yourself in front of a gun to save Izanagi." he murmurs softly, lowering his hand to cup Takana's cheek gently.
-
His face heats up and he turns even more red, "i...." his brain is fried as he stares up at arakan. He licks his lips and shudders softly
-
Had he been thinking clearly he would have stopped himself but that little pink tongue flicking out to wet his lips cast all thoughts out of his head, and the ice demon lowers his head and places his lips to Takanas.
-
Takana practically melts, tilting his head and deepening the kiss
-
Arakan groans softly, pressing his lips hard against Takanas as he devours the others mouth, cold breath coming out in short pants.
-
While they keep kissing, takana's hand slowly and gently caresses arakans thigh, trailing up to his groin
-
Arakan tenses a bit, groaning when his already hardening member is touched. He pulls away a bit, looking somewhat flustered, " ah... i um... i have not..."
-
Takana feels him tense and had pulled his hand away, looking at arakan curiously, "Oh. Um. Do you... want to? I can wait if you prefer that but... if you want to...with me then I can take the lead if you want."
-
Arakan lets out a long breath, he shouldn't, he knew he shouldn't. Getting into any sort of physical relationship could compromise his standing. but damn it, he did want it. " lead away." He grabs Takanas head and pulls his lips down to devour them again, and damn the consequences.
-
Takana shudders when they kiss again, swiftly and skillfully swings one leg over so that he is now sitting on arakans lap. Never breaking the kiss
-
Arakan makes a surprised noise into the kiss at the swift movement. He gently rubs the base of one of Takanas ears with his thumb, a very obvious bulge in his pants under the smaller male.
-
Most touching and groping takana was fine with, used to even, however these ears were new, this jolt of electricity running down his spine was very new, and he couldn't help but gasp softly from the feeling, "ahh~♡" he gently grinds himself against arakan, enjoying feeling the bulge from the other man
-
Arakan gasps softly, he jerked off of course, but this was worlds different, even though the other was just grinding himself against him.
-
with them no longer kissing takana takes this opportunity to slip off of the seat in front of arakan, kissing the demon's groin through the fabric briefly before he starts to unbutton the offending jeans
-
Arakan blinks and watches Takana, growling softly in surprise when he feels the touches. Once his pants are opened his dick springs free from it's confines, standing proudly. He reaches down and rubs Takanas ear again, " you don't have to you know."
-
Takana's eyes flutter when his ears are rubbed again, leaning into the touch, "I've wanted to do this since izanagi told me to just fuck you so that I'd stop acting like a dick. Tried my best to ignore his comments so that he wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing that I did want this but I honestly couldn't keep denying the fact that I really do like you. You're mature, smart, passionate, honest, and you work harder than anyone I've ever met to ensure that your people are safe. All of those traits are extremely attractive to me and it helps that you're beautiful as well. Makes me want to wring out every last drop of cum you have regardless of whether I use my mouth or my ass."
That last sentence he moves away from arakans touch so that he can nuzzle arakan's large cock, almost purring softly before he licks the shaft all the way up to the head, giving the tip a small kiss and slowly bringing arakans dick into his mouth.
-
Arakan listens and studies him carefully, shuddering slightly at the end as the dirty talk starts and the smaller males tongue teases his member, causing it to twitch. " fuck... you make it very, very difficult to restrain myself, you know that right?"
-
"Mmmmff~" his mouth is full of cock yet he still is able to make himself look very pleased hearing arakan's comment.
He slowly drags his tongue and mouth as deep as he can before pulling back up to the tip and letting arakan's dick free.
His face was flushed and he looks up at arakan as he delivers another teasing kiss to the tip, "I don't recall asking that of you~"
((That little speech before was a way for him to say, 'I'm not doing this just because you're in higher power like izanagi would. I'm doing this because I want love.'))
-
Arakan growls his arousal softly, gripping Takanas chin, " don't tempt me to fuck that sassy mouth of yours until it's too full to give me lip." he bends down and pulls Takana up enough to kiss him hard for a few moments before pulling away again.
-
When arakan pulls away from the kiss takana shudders visibly and he swallows hard, "sounds like you're tempting me with a good time."
He grins and licks his lips before taking arakan back into his mouth, sucking gently
-
Arakan lets out a long cold breath, shuddering as the other takes him into his mouth again. The ice demon roughly runs his hand through Takanas hair before using that hand to hold his head in place and slowly and gently starting to thrust up into that mouth.
-
Takana does his best to relax his throat so that he can get more of arakan into his throat.
He looks up at arakan, making eye contact with the demon.
He can't help himself to reach down his pants and unbutton them, letting his own dick out, stroking himself slowly
-
Arakan licks his lips, eyes locked on Takana as he slowly thrusts into Takanas mouth, pushing in deeply before pulling almost all the way out, and pushing back in again.
-
Takana feels arakan's dick in his throat and it takes everything in him to not gag, the ice demon's pubes just barely tickling his nose.
As his own pants slip a little lower the sound of something small falling out of his back pocket can be heard, the source of the sound is from a couple of packets of lube with a silver heart post-it note stuck to them.
Takana doesnt notice this sound since he is a little preoccupied
-
Arakan notices the sound, he might be very invested in what was going on but he didn't get this far by being oblivious. He also notes Takanas struggle, and pulls out. " If you're uncomfortable, simply tap my thigh next time." He reaches past Takanas and raises an eyebrow at the note and the packets. " Presumptuous little imp..."
-
Takana blinks, "i- i was fine. its just been a while."
when arakan reaches past him he follows the demons gaze, his eyes widening, "oh god damn it izanagi. i guess that'll teach me to pick out an outfit before i take a shower...."
-
Arakan hums softly, " typical of him." he looks at takana worriedly, " i know i am not small, i don;t wish to harm you."
-
takana smiles softly, leaning back a little to show off his dick that is rock hard, "Does it look like I was being harmed?"
-
Arakan snorts, " well either you can be aroused while in pain, or you are a masochist." his own dick throbs uncomfortably to remind him that he's still very hard and not being satisfied.
-
takana chuckles, "a lil bit of both maybe." he glances back at the lube packets and blushes, clearing his throat a little, "Well uh... as much as i want to strangle izanagi right now we will need these....here, give me one of those." he holds out his hands to take one of the packets
-
Arakan hands one over, " true, as insufferable as he is, these will come in handy as i don;t particularly feel like heading inside yet."
-
takana kicks off his shoes, socks, pants and underwear before getting back on his knees in front of arakan's dick. He takes the lube and rips open the top, letting it pour onto his hand and stroking arakan's dick with that same hand, coating the member in lube.
with his lubed hand jacking arakan off he gets his mouth busy by sucking and licking the tip
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow when Takana all but strips, feeling the chill wind as winter approaches. It wouldn't bother him, but... He lifts a hand, sweeping it upward and a wall of ice bursts up from the roof, curving around them and blocking the wind. With that dealt with he could focus on what the other male was doing, which was feeling fucking amazing. " fuck... you're going to drive me insane Takana."
-
takana pulls his mouth away briefly, "well i know once we get your dick in me I will have a similar feeling so i have to make it amazing~" he drags his tongue against the very top of the dick, "do me a favor and put some of that lube in the other packet onto my hand?" he holds out his free hand, kinda showing off how well he can balance his weight on just his knees
-
Arakan lifts the packet to his mouth and uses his teeth to tear it before squeezing some into Takanas hand, " i don't doubt it. take your time, i don't want you getting hurt."
-
Takana snorts softly, "not wanting to hurt myself is exactly why I'm even entertaining izanagi's lube."
He reaches behind himself, gently inserting a couple of fingers inside himself before going back to sucking arakans dick
-
Arakan tilts his head back and runs a hand through his hair, " fuck... knowing him it's probably got something in it, so i guess we'll find out exactly what that is."
-
Takana pulls off again, "more than likely but with you involved he wouldn't give me anything dangerous. "
-
Arakan nods, " dangerous no, he wouldn't hurt you. but he knows it won't effect me much, so at least one of us will retain their senses."
-
"Well as long as I'm conscious enough for one round that'll be fine~ "
-
Arakan chuckles and leans over to nibble gently on Takanas ears, blowing his cold breath onto them.
-
Takana's whole body stiffens suddenly when arakan messes with his ears some more, his face flushes deep red and his eyes are wide.
He wasnt expecting the feeling of electricity running through his whole body as intensely as he just did. He glances down underneath him to the small puddle of pre-cum between his legs.
This was going to be a long night.
-
Arakan glances down when Takana does, chuckling softly, " and i thought i was enjoying this, well if you want it that much come and take it."
-
"Um...no one has touched my ears during.... these activities so I guess they are sensitive. Wasn't expecting such a strong reaction to ear touching.."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " that's odd, I suppose humans wouldn't know that. For demons with mammal like ears like yours, they have a large amount of blood vessels for temperature control and a lot of nerves for sending sounds and vibrations, so they do tend to be a good spot for sex play. Me on the other hand, my horns have almost no feeling, so they can work well as handles but not something that would turn me on."
-
Takana looks up at arakan, then at his horns, "s'pose I'm going to have to test your horns out when I ride you then."
He feels himself being adequately loosened, pulling his finger out of himself, "okay, I should be good enough to not die, just don't move until I tell you too."
Takana gets back onto arakan's lap, gently pressing the tip of the demons cock against his ass carefully
-
Arakan frowns a little, " if you think you are in danger tell me directly so i can get you to my mother for healing." he holds onto the others waist, taking some of his weight and making sure the other doesn't try and go too quickly. He feels the tip of his cock pressing against that pucker, focusing to keep from pushing upward into that temptation.
-
Takana gives a soft, almost breathless chuckle, "I think I would rather die. Being caught naked with such an embarrassing reason would be just humiliating." He smiles, hiding his worry the best he can before slowly lowering himself.
The head went in easy, along with the first few inches before the pressure in his lower abdomen caused him to pause, "that was a joke by the way. Just hoping to lighten the mood. I don't want to actually die."
-
Arakan snorts, " you're far too valuable for me to allow you to die so you can save face. so i guess you'd just better be careful." he sucks in his breath as he feels himself sinking into the other.
-
Takana groans softly as he slowly gets himself fully seated, "oh gods im trying...fuck... " it had been a while since he had sex but at least he was experienced enough to know how to relax with so much dick in him
-
Arakan groans, " fucking hell you feel amazing..." he digs his nails into his own palms, resisting the urge to pull Takana down onto him.
-
Takana shudders and once arakan is fully inside of him he looks up at arakan, nuzzling the man's neck, "it's all in. I deserve a kiss for that effort."
-
Arakan chuckles, " well, i suppose i can reward you for all the work you put in." he leans in and kisses Takana, tilting his head as much as his horns will permit and devouring the others mouth.
-
Takana gives a muffled moan as he kisses back, his body relaxing even more. He loved getting kissed.
He could feel the uncomfortable pain calm down and soon be replaced with pressure, an overwhelming feeling of being stuffed.
With the pain gone, while he was still kissing arakan, he starts moving his hips carefully; straddling from side to side as he gets used to the feeling of the demons dick inside of him
-
Arakan pulls away long enough to lick his lips, nibbling Takanas neck.
-
Takana wraps his arms around arakan's shoulders, trying desperately to keep himself upright as he starts bouncing himself up and down, his insides tightening around arakan's dick every time his prostate is stimulated, "ah~ ahh~ fu-ah~! fuck~!"
Any sound coming out of Takana is just an incoherent mix of moans and swears
-
Arakan grabs Takanas hips and uses that hold to lift him and pull him down, thrusting up into the other each time he's pulling him down, " nnnn fuck...."
-
Takana's ears droop, and his vision gets fuzzy as arakan pretty much takes the lead and takana doesnt have to concentrate on setting a pace and can now let the immense heat and pleasure he's feeling cloud up his thinking.
It doesnt take him long to climax either, his whole body going rigid briefly, squeezing almost painfully tight around arakan's dick and cum getting on both arakan and takana.
The heat and need for sex doesnt go away though, instead it seems to feel like its getting hotter for takana, his dick still hard and ready to go
-
Arakan is unable to hold back when he feels Takana tighten around him, groaning as he spills his load into the other, flooding him with a rush of cold. It seeme3d to do nothing for the heat Takana was feeling though and Arakan doesn;t need any encouragement to continue pumping into the smaller male, crushing his lips into takanas once more and diving into his mouth with his tongue.
-
Takana let's arakan dominate his mouth for a little bit before pulling away and looking up at arakan, "arms... tired. Don't wanna hold on anymore."
-
Arakan lifts the other off him, setting him onto the bench. Arakan hoists Takanas legs up and hooks them over his shoulders and lines himself up with the others entrance before slowly starting to push back in.
-
When arakan pulls out of takana cum slips out of his now loose hole, dribbling down his thighs.
He shudders when arakan enters him again, this time it goes in a lot easier and takana can't help but give a soft moan as he's filled again, "gods I wish this feeling never went away."
-
Arakan chuckles breathlessly, " all good things must come to an end. but not yet." he starts thrusting into the other, able to thrust deeper with this new position.
-
Takana gasps when he's hit deeper, instinctively he reaches out and grips arakan with one hand, while his other hand covers his mouth as he does his best to hold back his loud moaning
-
Arakan keeps his pace steady with long even thrusts into the other, " it's only us up here, you don't have to hold back."
-
He hesitantly pulls his hand away, "nng!! But i-ah~ Im- fuck- so loud." He whines softly, his hips grinding into arakan's thrusts.
-
" we're high up, the sound won't carry." he grunts softly with each thrust, the soft slap of skin against skin rhythmic in the air. he starts to speed his pace a little, feeling the heat building.
-
Takana shudders and moans loudly when arakan speeds up. The one hand that is still holding onto arakan tightens it's grip as he gets close to having another orgasm
-
The ice demon dips his head towards his chest, movements growing more erratic as he gets closer to his own orgasm. He shifts his grip so he can hold Takana with just one hand and reaches in front to start jacking off Takana in time with his thrusts.
-
Takana gasps in surprise when arakan starts jacking him off and his doesn't take him long before he clenches around arakan tightly, cum spilling on his abdomen
-
Arakan cums inside again after feeling the tight muscles milking him dry. He scoops Takana up and takes him inside out of the cold to his room, to continue there. After several hours he cleans them both up, exhausted. He sleeps until his alarm wakes him up and he gets dressed and heads off to get some work done, making sure to inform the manager of the cafe that Takana would not be coming in today. He leaves a note next to Takana explaining where he's gone.
-
It's almost noon when takana's eyes slowly open. Not because he's fully awake, but because he's hungry and the light is coming in through a nearby window.
He slowly lifts his head up from the pillow and frowns as he tries to remember his night.
He... knows they fucked at least twice on the roof, and then three more times in this room but he passed out after that.
Damn his back hurts.
-
Arakans mother knocks gently on the door, opening it a bit with an armful of clothes, " ah, you're awake. good. here you are, your clothes have been cleaned. Your job has been informed you're not going in, just take it easy for today." she sets the clothes on the bed, looking amused.
-
Takana's head whips around to look at arakan's mother, his eyes widen, "-u-um" his throat hurt and it caused him to turn his head and cough into his arm in an attempt to clear his throat.
He was so nervous and embarrassed. This lady knows he isn't a demon and she obviously knows that her son fucked a human, "um s-sorry. Um tha-thank you for the clothes ma'am."
-
" you're welcome. Arakan would have liked to stay but duty calls. You can stay here if you like, or you can be brought back to your apartment. Now it's rather late so I'm going to guess you're hungry? I'll bring something up. If you are in pain, let me know and I will provide something to help."
-
Takana's face turns red and he nods, "i.. yeah I am hungry and... um... i-i guess I just have the usual.... um... aftermath pain but uh I can deal with that."
-
She hums softly, " i'll see what i can dig up." she heads out. a little while later she comes back with a tray of simple food, and a cup of medicinal smelling tea. " here you are. food and something to help with said aftermath. pain soothing and muscle relaxing. it'll work on any sore muscles you have as well."
-
While she had stepped out takana got himself dressed, his face still red. No amount of clothes on him will make him feel less exposed as he did in front of arakans mother.
He takes the tray from her and nods, "o-okay um thank you very much."
Why is she being so nice to him? Her son fucked him. A human for crying out loud.
-
She raises an eyebrow, " you seem confused. did you think i would be upset that you and Arakan had sex?"
-
"I- we-well...." His ears go back and he looks away, "I mean, you know what I am so.... yes? Or at the very least I thought I'd be getting a lecture or something. I don't know."
-
She snorts softly, " while i think it was a little foolhardy, you could have easily been seriously hurt by him, im not upset in the slightest. He took my caution in selecting sexual partners that would not be his mate too literally, and a young high ranking male like himself needs sexual release now and then. it's good for him to have finally gotten some of that tension loose. He will be able to handle his duties all the better for it. As for you... well you do have some unique benefits to have some bonds to our family. we shall see how this can benefit us." she chuckles, " i was fully aware of his attachment to you, if i wished to prevent the two of you from having any such interactions, i would have acted. My species of demon is not ranked for our physical strength, but for our cunning. there's little i miss."
-
The words 'not be his mate's hits him and he frowns, "um... what do you mean by, partners that would not be his mate?"
She didn't think that takana was only interested in sex, did she?
-
She raises an eyebrow, " well, to be his mate, you would need to commit fully to him. to stand by his side for the best interests of the district, even if that means opposing your own race. And as he cannot leave, your place would also need to be here. it is not a commitment to be taken lightly. And as a human, he would face heavy disapproval once it is discovered, as it is highly doubtful it will stay secret forever. He will have to fight to keep his position, and to silence the opposition against such a thing. do you truly think you are capable of fulfilling all these requirements?"
-
Takana's ears dart back and he looks down. He's quiet for a while as he seriously thinks about the situation, "I do love him.... and I have already been trying my best to help the district any way that I can... but if he's going to constantly be in fights because of me i.. I don't want that either..." He looks up at her, his ears drooping a little, "I guess I just want what's best for him and the people living here so... I understand what you mean now..."
He has some serious thinking to do...
-
" well thankfully he's inherited both his father's strength and my cunning, I am not worried should he have to fight for his place. Also keep in mind he will require an heir. There's ways to attain that, but it is something you must also consider. This is not something to rush into, take time to think. A lifetime should not be decided on one passionate night. Regardless, eat and rest. I will check in later." She leaves the room
-
Takana watches her leave before slowly sitting down.
She reminded him a lot of his own mother...
He sighs softly and begins sipping the tea first, curious to see what it was going to do for him.
Bitter. Yet it worked with the other flavors somehow. Not bad honestly.
Takana finished eating quickly and was already dreading going back home. Izanagi was definitely going to tease him about this...
-
After awhile she comes back in, noting the empty plate and cup, " how are you feeling? that tea ought to have soothed your aches. Is there anything you need?"
-
"It worked very well, thank you. And I don't think I need anything. I was actually thinking of heading home so I can charge up my phone. I haven't talked to my brother in a few days so I kind of want to see how he's doing."
-
She waves a hand, " i can arrange for a vehicle to take you home. we'll need to locate you an escort, as Kaiten is with Izanagi as normal. Indigo should suffice... regardless, Arakan will check on you as soon as he can im certain."
-
Takana nods, "I'm sure he will as well. I appreciate the ride home."
-
Sh pulls out a phone and makes a few calls before hanging up, " a vehicle and Indigo will be here shortly to escort you home. Do see that that girl of yours comes again soon, i like the changes i've been seeing."
-
"Isabelle will come back over as soon as she can. She texted me yesterday... something about a cruise that she didn't want to go to? I wouldn't put it past my step mother to suddenly decide to have a family vacation if no one is spending enough time doing whatever she wants them to do."
-
She taps her chin thoughtfully, " hm...sudden and undesired. just as things begin to change, how unfortunate. or perhaps not simply fortune, i will have to look into this. it has the feel of an ill wind." She looks at him and frowns a little, " it was Nikiri who set you up with those ears yes? i will contact him, this is perhaps your best opportunity to speak with him without interference." she sends him a quick text without waiting.
-
Takana blinks and frowns a little, "um yeah nikiri did help get me these ears, whydo you ask? "
Nikiri sees his phone light up with a text and he opens it up,
my goodness what a pleasant surprise getting a text from you~♡ how may I be of service?
-
" just... something i've noticed." Takana will be being escorted home shortly by Indigo, if you have time, there seems to be something strange going on with those ears you gave him. take a look if you would. Indigo can be sent outside while you are there if you feel it needed.
-
nikiri blinks as he reads the text, frowning, be right there
He gets up and quickly heads to the house. It doesnt take him long, he is fast after all.
He knocks on the door politely
-
She opens the door and lets him in, " Nikiri, your speed is apprecaited. i've never seen things like these before, so im not entirely sure what im seeing with it."
-
Nikiri nods, "of course."
Takana comes down and looks at them both, "that was fast."
Nikiri looks at Takana, "well I am the one who gave the ears to you so I am responsible." He smiles at arakans mother, giving a nod to her before going over to takana and touching the ears, "do you have the ring with you?"
Takana blinks and nods. He pulls out his apartment key ring which also has the ring on it and after some finagling he manages to get the ring free, "do you want me to remove the ears?"
Nikiri nods, "Yeah why don't you do that for me since we have some time. Have you been taking them off regularly?"
Takana snorts softly and puts the ring on, "between work, arakan and then kaiten when have I had time to do that?"
Nikiri looks at the mother, "but you can definitely tell something is off with the ears? I wish I could see what you're seeing."
-
She nods, " indeed. it appears... more natural. i see where it connects, but it is less distinct than it was before. if i could give you my sight for this i would, though i've never seen this before so i doubt you would be able to decipher any more than i can."
-
Takana finds the band, the ears twitching as the ring shuts them down only when he gets his fingers around the band and pulls it doesn't immediately come off and he can't help but yelp in pain
Nikiri quickly looks at Takana and frowns, "oh gods don't tell me they're stuck."
Takana feels his stomach drop and he tugs again, hissing softly as he tries to ignore the pain
Nikiri pulls out his phone, "I am going to have to give my friend a call. When I went to his place for the ears he had a few humans show me their ears and none of them attached themselves this badly. One girl even kept hers on 24/7 but she could still easily take them."
-
She frowns, " well, i thought it seemed bad, but i didn't imagine it was that bad. i'll inform indigo he won;t be meeting here, deal with this quickly."
-
Nikiri's phone beeps and he takes a look at it before putting his phone away, "alright you, you're coming with me."
He picks takana up and throws him over his shoulder.
Takana gives another yelp and puts his hands on Nikiri's back for support, "wha-what do you mean?"
Nikiri sighs, "my friend wants to see you asap and since they choose the hidden life I have to take you to them. They don't leave their home."
Takana whines and looks at arakan's mother, "i-its not that bad! I can just keep the ears! I actually really like them!! I don't want to go to some weirdos place!"
-
She looks at him and raises an eyebrow, " if you cannot handle this, then you certainly would not be able to handle the duties required. i will go with." her collar crackles as her form shifts to a silvery blue phoenix, about double the size of a swan. She lifts her wings and flaps them, her collar crackling around her neck the entire time as she prepares to follow Nikiri.
-
Nikiri looks over curiously, "um... well i cant stop you if you wish to come with but we are going through the sewers sooo.... well maybe you'll want to fly in there. keep your legs out of the water."
Takana shrieks, "THE SEWERS?!"
-
She nods her head, some ice forming around her neck between it and the collar to minimize the damage. she leaps into the air to follow Nikiri.
-
Nikiri rushes off into the streets, taking backroads and staying mostly in the shadows as he traverses further away from the districts center.
It doesnt take him long to reach the very edge of the districts territory, trash in abundance as the surrounding corner looks very much abandoned for good reasons. it stinks.
Takana gags softly and covers his nose with his hands.
Nikiri uses one foot to push the sewer man hole cover open, "Alright here we go, uh ladies first?" he looks over at the blue phoenix, "I will need to close this up once we go in of course."
-
She follows easily, not exactly subtle. She looks at the sewer hole looks disdainfully before fluttering and jumping in, hovering above anything nasty.
-
nikiri hops down and closes up the lid before heading through, now walking since running would cause unwanted splashing.
They walk for a while, the gross flooring slowly gets cleaner and cleaner until a few left turns gets you to a giant metal door.
Nikiri pulls out his phone and texts, waiting briefly before a soft male voice comes through the door, "nikiri? did you bring the human?"
"Yeah I did. Takana is here. also um... Arakan's mother is here as well. I hope that is okay. I couldnt exactly tell her no."
there is a long silence before the voice speaks up again, "She.... wont speak of whats going on down here.... right?"
"Well she kept Takana's secret safe so im sure as long as she doesnt see you doing anything harmful she would have zero reason to speak up."
the voice quickly sounds offended, "Ha-harmful?! I would never!" the door opens to show a short, 5' 1", person that looks almost like a kid.
Arakan's mother will know this person to be Helios Avante', the 3rd prince of the 2nd district.
-
She alights once the floor is clear, shifting back to her normal form with only some burn marks on her neck. " young man, i could not have gotten nearly this far in life if i wasn't able to be discreet if needed. there are things about me my husband is not even aware of."
-
Helios looks at her and nods, "I understand, thank you for keeping this a secret." He moves so they can go inside the industrial lab. "please come in, it smells much better inside. I have tea and snacks if anyone's still hungry after their walk over."
Nikiri steps inside, "you always have tea and food Helios. when do you not."
Helios stands up straight, "the day i die, how's that for an answer."
takana grumbles, "can i be put down now?"
-
" i will be alright, thank you." she follows in, carrying herself elegantly despite in essence being in a sewer. " although i do have to admit, i was unaware you were here. that is not an easy feat to manage." she eyes him.
-
Helios looks at her, "well technically we're not in your district anymore."
Nikiri sets Takana down, "here you are, one human, coming right up."
Helios goes back to his seat amongst several computer screens showing different angles of the sewers. He pushes a few buttons and one of the sewer paths they took closes up with an iron gate, made to look impassable, "To be fair i would have rather met you in better circumstances but my work has never failed me before so i am unsure as to why it would now." once everything seemed clear on the screens he hops off and goes over to Takana, "I'll have to ask you to sit or kneel please."
Takana watches this child walk up to him, his ears moving back, "kid how old are you?"
Helios's expression falls briefly, "The name is Helios and I am 38. I am no kid."
Takana's eyes widen, "What the fuck."
"And no swearing. there is no time or place for such vulgar language." He turns to look at nikiri and arakan's mother, "Please, the both of you, have a seat and relax. This might take a minute."
Nikiri chuckles, "Dont have to tell me twice." he goes over to a fancy looking loveseat and lies down, an equally soft couch next to the loveseat
-
Arakans mother glances at Helios before she waves a hand at Takana, "I did not say you were in my district. And not all demons age the same my dear. im older than i look as well. Do not judge by human standards." she takes a seat, smoothing her outfit carefully.
-
Takana sighs and sits down, his ears twitching in annoyance
Helios grabs a needle, "Im going to take two dna samples from you okay? One from your ears so that will hurt for sure and then one from your actual body to compare."
Takana grumbles softly as he lets helios work on him, wincing and yelping with certain dna samples being taken
Nikiri stretches and yawns, "So mister prince, whats new up top?"
Helios keeps working, "well nothing too serious. we recently had our inspection and all went well, thankfully."
-
She hums softly, " well thankfully nobody died at least at ours, though i can't say it went smoothly. That surprise inspection would have been brutality had we not gotten a tip on it."
-
Helios sighs, "I am sorry to hear your district is still having issues with such things." He puts the samples into his computer and watches the screen closely, "interesting...."
Takana looks over, "I don't like that you said interesting."
Helios looks at takana and frowns, "its... weird. Your DNA partially matches with the ears which is... odd. For now.... I can try to remove the ears and grab you a different pair. One that, while can do the same thing, shouldn't match up with your DNA at all."
Nikiri hums, "can you get them off? We tried earlier but it didn't go well."
Helios nods, "Yeah I can. Give me a moment." He goes into a different room
-
" I did say they seemed as if they were more connected to him than before. Now the question is, is it due to that specific pair, or will it happen again?. That would suggest our little human here, is perhaps not entirely human."
-
Helios looks at arakans mother, "I can't say for sure. It's highly unlikely given his family surename. You think those people would honestly have an interracial kid? Regardless, I have his DNA stored and I'll keep an eye on the other humans with ears and check them out. For now."
The white haired demon grabs a glove and massages takana's scalp.
Takana's eyes widen briefly before his whole body relaxes, a small smile on his face, his ears go limp.
As soon as Takana had fully relaxed Helios' glove glows briefly amd he grabs the headband, ripping it off in one yank.
Takana gives a sudden shriek when the ears are ripped off. He falls onto his back and grabs his head in pain, "fuckfuckfuckfuck!"
Helios puts the now bloody ears away to be looked over, "language please. You'll stop bleeding soon."
-
She shakes her head, " no, not likely. But it's not impossible. Look at his hair after all. How many humans do you see with naturally pink hair? Red, blonde, black, brown, and some in between. But pink? Regardless we'll see I suppose."
-
Takana blushes and looks down at the mention of his pink hair again, "I get it from my mom and she's been gone for years. She got sick and died."
Helios looks at Takana, his expression softens, "I can see a great deal of pain that you are still coming to terms with. I'm sorry, your mother must of meant everything to you."
Takana sighs softly, "it's fine. I just wish pink wasn't so abnormal that it kept getting commented on."
Helios hums, "you could always dye your hair I suppose." He grabs a new set of ears and a replacement ring.
Takana huffs softly, "no way. That's too much effort and it's not like I hate the way I look. Like I said it comes from my mom and it helps me still remember her."
Helios goes back over to Takana, "you have a very kind heart. A little spicy, but I can see you have a strong need to help those around you."
Takana blinks, "what are you, a therapist?"
Helios shakes his head, "no, now hold still."
He shoves the ears back on Takana and the ears quickly go from white to pink, matching his hair, "there we are. Here is your new ring for this. I am going to have to insist that you take your ears off for a few hours everyday until we can truly figure out what is happening."
Takana takes the ring and in seconds he already has full control of the ears, "somehow having these on feels so much better than not having a pair on. Also how do you expect me to take them off when I have round the clock body guards?"
Nikiri hums, "it certainly was easier when I was watching you but as long as arakan thinks there is a danger in his district he'll have you watched by anyone that's better than me."
-
She looks at Nikiri, " now now, don't be so harsh on him. He'd never admit it, but he felt as if he was to blame when you nearly got killed. After all, you are very important to this district, and while you have gained a great deal of strength, you lack the raw power and immunities of a standard C rank. He is not trying to slight you by removing the duty of guarding Takanas, but instead trying to protect you as well. He has to consider a great deal here, and you are one of his best advisors, being near his age and not watching him every moment for a sign of weakness. He values you too much to put you in the position where you need to risk you life to protect your charge."
-
Nikiri sighs, "it's not like there isn't an army of siblings to replace me if I fail. Hell he may even enjoy Luna's quiet and serious demeanor."
Takana looks at the mother, "there isnt... any way to convince arakan that it's safe now, is there? Maybe if he knows that it's safe nikiri could come back as our guard."
-
She crosses her arms, " you have no idea how often he's relied on your advice do you? your siblings defer to him, as they should. you walk a fine line between challenging him and obeying him, which is needed if he's to get true advice and support. The problem is, i don't think it is safe. but we could convince him that there is a not a guard needed in the building itself, just a high ranking demon in the area. Then Nikiri can visit Izanagi, and therefore you, as he pleases."
-
Takana blinks and nods, "okay... yeah if they stay outside the building then I could feel more comfortable with taking my ears off."
Nikiri looks at her, "I feel like I am only able to walk that line because we grew up so close. Childhood friends and whatnot. But if you say he actually relies on my advice instead of putting up with my shenanigans I have no reason to doubt you."
Takana looks at Helios, "sooooo what is this place?"
Helios glances at Takana as he cleaned up, "my little home away from home. Technically you're in the second district but you'll need to go 15 feet up for the collars to regain a signal since down here this deep their signal gets dropped. It doesn't stop the function that keeps a demons form and power from coming out but it does mean that you can't be tracked by on of the humans satellite."
Takana frowns, "won't the satellite inform the human that a signal has been lost?"
Helios shakes his head, "the collars get pinned intermittently so they don't have an alert for not a lost signal. The alarm that is most common is for a collar that is designated for one district, found in a different area without proper papers in that time frame. So as long as you three go back the way you came and pop back out in your district, the collars will get pinned and see that you have technically stayed in the district."
Takana's eyes widen, "how the hell did you find this out?"
Helios smiles, "trial and error! My district gets away with a bit more than the others so I can actually test this stuff and play cute when questioned. Any relevant information that might seem helpful about the collars I send to nikiri to inform his family and other districts should they see fit. Although I haven't found much... I can only do so much to keep humans from thinking something terrible is happening."
Nikiri hums softly, "to be fair helios, any info you give me doesn't go to some of those other districts. There are demons that honestly should have collars on. But there are just shitty people in every race."
-
She smiles, " it's a difficult game he must play. He cannot seem too reliant on you without seeming weak, and he must make sure it is clear who is the dominant of you two. but yes, he does depend on you a great deal. please do not use this information against him. It's not easy for a leader of demons to get advice from others, i know my own husband struggles with allowing me to advise him. We can work on things, just let me speak with him. i've had a great deal of experience in wording things in a way that is off handed enough that they can take the time to consider it and make their own choice without it being a direct challenge to what they are currently doing. politics my dear."
she sighs softly, " the untracked demons are honestly some of the biggest problems around, but at the same time, they're one of the few ways we have of getting reliable information. not to mention breaking smuggling rings and such for certain demon species. Its a tricky thing to deal with under our current restrictions."
-
Helios looks at her and nods, "trust me I know this all too well. I wish I could send more information back and forth but honestly nothing much happens in my district." He glances at the time and frowns, "I'll have to leave soon. And so will you guys. Head out the same way you came and I'll make sure to lock up behind you."
-
" very well. i will speak with Arakan, he may be difficult due to the... recent events, and may be more protective than normal, but i will work on him. try not to jump in front of any more guns for a bit and that will help." she looks at Takana with amusement in her eyes.
-
Takana blushes and chuckles, "it's not something I did on purpose. It was instinct but I will try my best to think before I literally leap."
Nikiri snorts, "alright let's go." He heads for the door
-
She changes back to her phoenix form with the sewer in mind and walks out of the area, waiting for Nikiri to lead the way out.
-
Takana gets up and follows nikiri
Nikiri leads them back out of the sewer, closing it once the others are out, "alright, back to the house?"
-
She chirps a confirmation and flies along, waiting for Nikiri to open the exit.
-
Nikiri picks up takana, earning another yelp from him, "alright, let's head back then."
He speeds back to the house, going fast so it doesn't take long at all.
-
Once she gets back home she shifts back, smoothing her clothes to look impeccable. " I'll get the vehicle and indigo here. Thank you again for being so quick to check that out."
-
Nikiri sets down takana and nods to her, "well I do feel responsible since this was my idea and I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you so of course I'm going to be quick when a request from you comes up."
Takana doesn't even move when he's set down, his face has a defeated expression after being moved around like luggage
-
" regardless it's appreciated. i don't heal simply to earn favors."
Soon Indigo walks in and bows, " im here to escort Takana back home whenever he's ready to go."
-
Takana looks at arakan's mother, "um. Thank you very much for the hospitality." He goes over to indigo, "Yeah I'm ready. "
-
She nods, " anytime my dear. i have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other."
Indigo leads the way to the vehicle and gets in the drivers seat after getting Takana settled, driving to the apartment and parking next to it. " someone will come retrieve the vehicle shortly, i will be on guard duty today. i must ask that if i tell you to cover your ears, that you do it quickly. i cannot be held responsible for what may happen if you do not."
-
Takana looks at indigo, one eyebrow raised, "ummm... what?"
-
" if you recall I am an alicanto. We are mostly known for our ability to located and digest minerals. This however does not do anything to protect us. Should you be in danger, I will temporarily disable our foe with my voice. For a demand of equal rank, it will cause some nausea and make them dizzy, for higher rank I will only be able to disorient them, which will simply buy us time. For you, you will feel intensely I'll, and possibly black out."
-
Takana pales a little, "ah. Well, hopefully that won't be needed."
-
" ideally. the effect is stronger and harder to block out if im directing it at you, but obviously i will not be. since i will not be directing it at you, covering your ears should be enough to reduce the effects drastically. regardless, it is a emergency measure only, which is why you'll never hear an alicanto sing." he gives takana a small smile before making himself comfortable in the apartment. " there were no higher ranked demons available on such short notice so i will have to suffice."
-
Takana watches indigo before giving a hesitant nod, "alright well I'm going to go to my room but if you need anything let me know." He turns and heads to his room
-
Indigo nods, " certainly. please be swift to inform me if something happens."
-
"Of course." He steps into his room and closes the door. He puts on the ring and grabs his ears, pulling them off.
He looks at the ears and frowns a little, turning them over as he really examines them. They just look like everyday costume ears so it was wild to think that there was a demon smart enough to create them, and not only that but it was starting to feel...right to wear them.
He sighs and shakes his head, setting the ears next to his pillow and lying down to rest. Once izanagi got home all takana would hear from him would be questions about the date so a little relaxation is going to be needed before dealing with that.
-
Indigo stays in the living room, reading a tattered book he'd brought with.
Izanagi comes in after his shift, noting Indigo and runs to Takana's room, " Takana! omg i knew you two would bang i need DETAILS."
Kaiten sits at the table, eyeing the rambunctious Izanagi.
Indigo gets up, " well, with you here now i can take my leave. good luck." he heads out.
-
Takana jolts awake when he hears izanagi and he quickly puts his ears back on before getting up, "oh my god you crass little gremlin."
He opens his door and glares at izanagi, his ears flat, "we didn't bang for the love of god."
He grabs izanagi's arm and pulls him into his room before closing the door.
His head whips around to look at the demon, practically hissing as he whispers, "I don't want the whole fucking planet to know that arakan and I shared the night together so keep your voice down."
-
Izanagi squeaks as he's dragged into the room and grins, " Well Kaiten already knows you weren't his charge today, im betting he can guess. seriously though, how big was he? i bet he was huge. how did it feel, i need details!" he whines at the end.
-
Takana huffs, "keep your voice down! And I don't care what you think kaiten knows, arakans mother told ME to limit who knows otherwise it'll be an issue for arakan! So if you want me to tell you jack then you need to keep your voice shut as well."
-
Izanagi sighs and drops his volume, " okay fine." he whispers. " so, how big was he? come on, you're killing me here!"
-
Takana sighs and crosses his arms a little, his face turning bright red, "he um... he is very big...huge even. His mother couldn't even believe I was able to walk..."
-
Izanagi grins, still keeping his voice low, " i knew it, higher rank demons are always big. so how was it? what happened? i gotta know."
-
Takana clears his throat and takes a deep breath, "so... he fed me. Brought me to the roof of his house and we had a nice evening watching the sunset and just talking. We both... admitted some things and.... I mean it was a beautiful view, how could we not be in the mood? I couldn't help but... um... I uh... I initiated I think. I touched his thigh first, figured if he said no I could quickly let go but he didn't stop me so I um..
I started giving him a blowjob."
Takana's face throughout telling the story his face gets more and more red
-
The incubus demon grins, " no wonder he was in such a good mood. the girls were kinda creeped out, he was so nice and he actually sat and savored his coffee instead of chugging it and running off to get things done. so was it just the blowie or did you find my gifts?" he winks.
-
Takana huffs, "I mean yeah we found them of course. I'm still upset about that. How could you sneak into my room like that!"
-
Izanagi pouts, " come on it's not like i stuck a vibrator in your pocket. if you hated them that much give them back, i can always use them." he holds out his hand.
-
Takana's eyes widen, "ah! U-um well i...." He looks down, "just because I didn't like how you gave them to me doesn't me they weren't useful..."
-
Izanagi blinks and grins, " oh~? and do you reeeeeally think that if i had held them out to you as you left you would have taken them? then what, you and Arakan would have had to stop your fun to go fetch some lube, since i doubt he keeps it handy on the rooftop~"
-
Takana growls, "enooough. I get it already. While I AM a bit miffed I admit that it did let... arakan and I continue and it was necessary. Do you want to hear more of what happened or not? Because if you tease me about the lube I won't tell you how we used it."
-
Izanagi whines pitifully, " nooooooo you gotta tell me i need details or i'll DIE."
-
Takana nods, approvingly, "well I am his first partner so I had to kinda lead the first bit. I am pretty sure the lube you gave me wasn't normal lube just because of how well it worked with uh..." takana clears his throat a little in embarrassment, "keeping me aroused and the friction down to a minimum. So I was able to ride him for a while and until arakan got more comfortable with taking over."
Takana keeps telling izanagi how his night went. How they moved to the bedroom and kept going, and how he couldn't even remember when it ended.
-
Izanagi hangs onto every word, and by the end he flops onto Takana's bed and hugs the pillow, " well yeah it wasn;t normal stuff, you a human and a B ranks soon to be A rank demon? had to break out the good stuff." he sighs, " damn i wish it had been me..."
-
Takana chuckles softly and sits on the edge of his bed, "you're like a highschool girl." He's quiet for a bit as he thinks about his day. He wished he could tell izanagi the rest of his day but Helios seemed pretty adamant about keeping himself and his lab hidden.
"Has that shiro guy ever text you at all? I'm sure you gave him your number."
-
Izanagi pouts, " ugh, i DID. He has not. I swear im going to drag him into the stock room and suck him off next time he's in, then maybe he'll text me."
-
Takana snorts softly, "well he seems like a real gentleman. Maybe if you see him again you should make sure you have his number and initiate conversation. "
-
Izanagi blinks, " how am i supposed to talk to him if his dick is in my mouth?"
-
Takana huffs, "well for one thing you don't put his dick in your mouth. But I mean like, you text HIM instead of him texting you. I'm sure he already knows you're desperate."
-
Izanagi sighs, " if he ever comes back into the shop i'll try and get his number. but if he's not interested when i haven't given him a good time i doubt he's gonna go for it."
-
Takana shrugs, "you also have no idea what his home life is or what's going through his head. What would you do if he hates sex in general? "
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow slowly, " well obviously if he hates sex in general it ain't gonna work for us. he's hot, but there's no person in the world hot enough to justify never having sex again."
-
Takana nods, "right which is why you should talk or text him before you go putting his dick in your mouth."
-
Izanagi sighs, " well like i said, he has my number and i don;t have a way of contacting him, so unless he comes back into the shop there's not a whole lot i can do."
-
Takana frowns and pats izanagi on the back, "sorry to hear that." He hums softly, "I know arakan has his number. Could always see if we can get it from him."
-
Izanagi nods, " alright... if he does come back in im not letting him leave until i have his number!"
-
Takana smiles, "that's the spirit. Now, are you hungry? Cuz I sure am. I think we have ingredients for some ramen if you want some."
-
Izanagi sits up quickly, " um, heck yeah im hungry! i had some food before i left just in case you stayed at Arakans but i'll take fresh stuff made by you anyday!"
-
Takana chuckles and gets up, "good to know." He double checks that his ears are on before opening his door and heading to the kitchen
-
Kaiten who's looking at his phone glance up, sees Takana, and goes back to his phone. " Arakan says he'll be about another hour."
Izanagi follows Takana out, " Ramen Ramen~"
-
Takana looks at kaiten and nods, "okay, thanks for letting me know."
He goes through the kitchen, gathering the ingredients and doing math in his head. They had plenty for a ramen feast but he should still probably get a grocery run in soon for other foods.
He glances at kaiten, "are you hungry at all? I'm about to make ramen so if you want any you should let me know."
-
Kaiten looks up again, raising an eyebrow. " i admit it's tempting, but there is no need. i am here on guard and nothing more, you don;t need to feed me."
-
Takana shrugs, "I mean, who said you can't guard and eat? And yeah I don't NEED to feed you but I'd feel bad if I ate in front of you without making sure you weren't hungry or something. So, I'm making a big batch of ramen with the intentions of sharing. Would you like a bowl?"
-
Kaiten hesitates, staying quiet for a minute before giving into the temptation, " yes, i would like some."
-
Takana nods and smiles, "good!" He grabs the large pot he bought when he first came here and, well, almost everything in the kitchen he bought since nagi isn't a cook.
He gets the stock going and while it's on the stove he starts making the noodles. They'll cook faster if fresh and fresh always tastes better
-
Izanagi sits at the table, wanting to hover but knowing food got done faster when he wasn't in the way.
Kaiten goes back to his phone, feeling a bit guilty that he's eating on the job but come on, this was the new food everyone in the district was going crazy for.
-
Takana hums happily as he cooks and after a while he grabs 4 bowls, knowing one will be for arakan when he gets here.
He fills two with broth, lays down a pile of fresh noodles in each bowl along with some soft boiled eggs, the best for ramen, along with other add ins before setting each bowl in front of izanagi and kaiten, giving both boys a fork, "eat up! It's hot so don't burn your tongue "
-
Izanagi takes a bite and pants with his mouth open, burning his tongue instantly.
Kaiten shakes his head, blowing on his.
-
Takana shakes his head and frowns at izanagi, "really? After I JUST said it was hot."
-
Izanagi slurps some of the noodles in and sighs, " worth it~!"
After a while longer a knock is heard and the door opens, revealing a tired looking Arakan.
-
Takana goes to the door, frowning when he sees arakan's state, "you look tired... um are you hungry? I made a big batch of ramen so please join us."
-
Arakan blinks, " ah, yeah it's been a long day." he wasn't going to mention the lack of sleep, since it was well worth it. " if you're offering, i'll gladly partake. i ended up skipping lunch." he sits.
Kaiten nods respectfully to him and continues eating.
Izanagi is eating as quickly as he can without completely destroying his mouth.
-
Takana nods and smiles, "good. I waited in case you were hungry."
He goes to the kitchen and gets another bowl ready, grabbing the red pepper flakes for extra spice and setting them on the table, "eat up. "
-
" thank you." Arakan takes the flakes and generously adds them to his bowl, digging in.
-
Takana gets his own bowl and sits down at the last spot at the table and finally starts eating, enjoying the rich broth
-
Kaiten finishes his off shortly and nods to Takana, " appreciated." before he stands and bows to Arakan, heading for the door.
Izanagi drinks the last of his broth with a contented sigh and leans back in his chair. " so good..."
-
Takana looks at Kaiten mid slurp and waves goodbye before he finishes his bowl. With Kaiten gone takana scoots his chair a smidge closer to Arakan.
~~District 7~~
Bakemono changes back from a familiar thin girl with orange hair back to their dark skinned male form in front of Koshi, “My lord. I have returned from the 4th district with news on the pink one.”
Koshi perks up in his seat and hums in delight, “oh? Please tell me something good. I have been bored all day and some good news would be great. What is his rank? He must be something special to get one on one attention from the worlds coldest dick.”
Bake frowns and shakes their head, “No my lord. The pink one is just an every day E rank. A rock would be more fitting as your future partner than the pink one.”
“what? Are you sure? What about his time with arakan?”
“He was given a collar and made to work but other than that arakan has spent no time with him. At this moment arakan has spent more time dealing with the aftermath of you sending men to his place.”
Koshi leans back in his seat and scoffs, “brilliant…. What a shame. Anything else to report?”
Bake shakes his head, “No my lord. All is quiet.”
Koshi sighs and waves his hand dismissively, “Fine, be off with you.”
Bakemono nods and bows before quickly turning and heading out of the room, walking down the cold and empty hallway. He wanted to get as far away from koshi as possible, however he is only able to make it 7 or 8 rooms away before he turns the corner and bumps into shiro, “Oh- oh… its just you. Out of my way scu-“
“Why did you lie to Koshi?” Shiro’s voice is stern, not out of angry but out of the need to show dominance. Truthfully Shiro is thankful for the lie as it may give arakan’s district a break but if there is info that Bake knows that he isn’t telling then Shiro must know.
“Lie? Why would I lie to my lord?”
“I don’t know why you would lie to him. that’s why im asking. I saw your pictures you took. Takana and arakan have a very deep relat-“
Bake snarls and grabs Shiro’s throat, “YOU DARE TO GO THROUGH MY THINGS!? You shouldn’t even BE alive and yet you come to ME with a death wish?!”
Shiro doesn’t break eye contact, although he is in pain, he will have a bruise, “And what do you plan to do? You know my mother’s rule. If I am to die it must be by my brother’s hands and if you tell him to kill me he will want to know why. My parents will demand the truth. I wont tell anyone if you tell me what you know.”
Bakemono snarls and after a few minutes of considering his options he huffs and releases Shiro, “The pink one is actually the son of the kuroshiba corporation which should make him human however… the ceo is my uncle so… the pink- Takana is technically my cousin and I would rather Koshi not fuck with my family.”
It takes shiro a moment to fully comprehend just what bakemono is saying, his eyes slowly widening, “there’s…. You… that can happen? A half human half demon? How?”
Bake sighs and leans against the wall, crossing his arms, “Well it probably has everything to do with the fact that he is technically a shapeshifter. A changeling to be precise but his father also being a type of shapeshifter helps ensure the human mother didn’t have to deal with any birthing difficulties.”
Shiro nods hesitantly, “okay… a lot of information here….”
“Yeah so keep your mouth fucking shut. Especially when you go back to give your little reports to arakan. No one knows except for me and my uncle so you cant tell ANYONE.”
Shiro looks down, “You knew?”
“of COURSE I knew. So if you even think of telling anyone what I know I will be sure to tell everyone how you’re betraying your own family by giving the enemy secrets.”
Shiro looks up at Bakemono and nods, “Deal.” He was curious why bake didn’t rat him out immediately but that could be a question for another day.
Both demons separate, heading in opposite directions as they go about their day.
-
Utterly unaware what was happening in the other district Arakan suppresses smiles as he notes the other scooting closer. " go to your room Izanagi."
Izanagi blinks, then grins and gets up, " yes sir~" and scurries off.
Arakan waits until he hears the door before putting an arm around Takana, " how are you feeling?"
-
Takana leans against arakan and smiles, "I'm feeling just fine, thank you. I appreciate how well I was taken care of."
-
Arakan frowns, " im sorry i was unable to be there when you woke. i didn't want to wake you, and i had put off the things i needed to get done as long as i could..."
-
Takana hums softly, "don't worry about it. I know you're busy. I'm just glad I got to spend time with you. I had a wonderful night last night. "
-
" yeah? i enjoyed it as well." he nuzzles the other on the top of the head.
-
Takana blushes and hums happily, almost a purr sound, "Hopefully we got a lot out of our system so next time we wont go for as long."
-
Arakan's face goes a bit red, " well, i think a decent portion of that may have been Izanagi's little 'gift'. so long as we use a regular sort, i think there will be fewer side effects."
-
"Yeah true. which is a shame since i kinda liked it. Then again i'm sure i just feel that way since i got to use it with you." He's quiet for a little bit before looking up at arakan, "how was your day? i know you look tired but hopefully it wasnt to bad?"
-
Arakan chuckles, " im sure we can find something that has a similar effect but doesn;t last as long. My day was fine, just a bit tired between not getting a ton of sleep and whatnot. i'll be alright."
-
"well I'll let you get plenty of rest tonight. i dont think i'll get like that again for a while. I mean... i guess i should even ask if you planned to spend the night or if you are going home."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " i was planning to stay. Kaiten has already gone home, and he needs to rest now and then as well. So i'll either be sleeping here, or in a nearby apartment if you'd rather have your privacy."
-
takana shakes his head, "no i would prefer it if you slept here. um... you and i can share my bed so you dont have to sleep on the couch. I always liked having someone to hold when i slept."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " you sure? my body temp tends to run cooler than most, especially when im not consciously regulating it. not to mention Izanagi will probably be a little shit."
-
takana nods, "I seemed fine with it last night right?"
-
Arakan snorts softly, " by time you were settled down enough to sleep i think you appreciated the cool down. not to mention i think even had i dumped you on the floor you would have been sound asleep. saying you got worn out is an understatement."
-
Takana cant hold back the laughter, his face turning a slight shade of pink, "really? thats kinda embarrassing but i guess that makes sense. well i have extra blankets so worse case scenario we can be on the same bed but curled up in our own separate blankets."
-
Arakan chuckles, " very well, you've convinced me." he picks up his bowl and finishes it off before setting it back down and sighing happily.
-
takana grins, "I am very good at doing that, arent i?" He goes to his room quickly and fluffs up the bed and grabs a few blankets he had hidden and throws them on the blanket, getting the bed super comfy.
-
" indeed you are." He follows Takana in and waits until the bed is ready before climbing in, " well im not sure about you, but im ready for tonights rest."
-
Takana gets into pajamas and cuddles in next to arakan, "agreed. Thank you for humoring me and spending the night in my bed with me."
-
He yawns, " comfier than the couch, so can;t say im unhappy with the arrangement." he wraps an arm around the smaller male and pulls him close. " if you get too cold just shove me."
-
Takana blushes and wraps his arms around arakans, "okay. Goodnight. "
-
" goodnight..." Arakan soon falls asleep, his body temp dropping to be cool to the touch.
-
its a little cold for takana at first, and there's a brief moment of him thinking that he was definitely going to be cold in the middle of the night, but he wanted to cuddle with arakan and he grabbed a lot of blankets hoping that instead of sweating like he normally would, he would instead get cooled down with arakan and it would even things out. He buries his face into his pillow and sighs softly before drifting off to sleep
-
When morning rolls around Arakan slowly wakes, a little groggy and confused. He soon realizes he's in bed with Takana though, and snorts at the little cocoon snuggled with him.
-
Takana was very stubborn and clung to Arakan, refusing to give in to the temperature drop. thankfully the blankets did help but he could have used a few more maybe in order for it to completely even out.
He gave a soft snore as he slept hard, probably the most comfortable he ever slept
-
arakan leans over and gently places a peck onto the others forehead before trying to untangle himself from the clingy male.
-
takana makes a soft hum sounds as he stretches, "hmmmm?" he lets go of arakan and drowsily looks up at him, "mmmornin'"
-
Arakan chuckles, " good morning. sorry to wake you, i tried to get up without doing so but you were clinging so tightly to me.
-
He smiles and sits up, "Yeah sorry. I am a bit of a cuddle bug. Hope that's okay. "
-
" you're fine, it didn't bother me one bit. i slept soundly." he gets up, " i do need to get up and use the restroom though." he chuckles and heads for the bathroom.
-
Takana watches arakan leave and he sighs happily. He really did enjoy being with arakan like this.
He thinks about what arakans mother told him about the future and he looks down and frowns, lost in thought
-
Arakan soon comes back in after freshening up, sitting on the bed, " did you sleep well?"
-
Takana snaps put of his thoughts when arakan comes back, "hm? Oh yeah it was alright. A tiny bit of a chill but I think a few more blankets will help with that~" He chuckles softly, "how did you sleep?"
-
Arakan frowns, " i told you that you could just shove me if you got cold. we'll have to see about finding something that can insulate between you and i. perhaps Karim may be able to make something, spidren silk is extremely versatile." he hums softly, " i slept just fine, i don;t think i woke at all."
-
Takana smiles warmly as he listens to arakan, "it's really sweet of you to worry that much about me. It's fine really. I think a couple of more blankets would do the trick nicely. And I'm glad you slept well, you need rest in order to do your job. "
Takana scoots closer to arakan and leans on him, "thank you for spending the night with me though. I don't think I slept that well in a long time."
-
Arakan flushes a bit, " well it's my fault you were cold so of course im worried." when the other scoots closer and leans against him he puts an arm around him without really thinking about it, " im glad you slept well, im sure you needed it."
-
Takana hums softly, "well I am the one to insist on you sleeping with me despite your warnings of how cold it'll get so it's not entirely your fault. I tend to toss and turn a lot if I don't have something to hold on to so yeah it has been a while since I've slept that hard. It's nice. "
-
Arakan gently places a peck onto his forehead, " we should probably go join the world and make sure izanagi hasn;t gotten himself into trouble hm?"
-
Takana chuckles and gets up, "Yeah probably should." He gets out of his pajamas and puts on some clothes, "ready and somewhat willing!" He looks at arakan and smiles
-
Arakan changes as well into new clothes, not hesitating to strip down in front of Takana. He heads out of the room once they're both dressed, " good enough."
Izanagi is peeking out of his room with a shit eating grin.
-
Takana pops out of his room as well. His eyes land on izanagi and he scowls, "what?"
-
Izanagi yelps and quickly shuts his door.
Arakan shakes his head and sits on the couch, checking his phone.
-
Takana heads to the kitchen and starts working on breakfast. The only thing they have ingredients for was pancakes... they have plenty for pancakes but there wouldn't be anything to go with the pancakes aside from syrup.
He opens one of the cupboards where there is a crudely drawn map taped to the inside door.
It was poorly drawn for sure but takana was still proud of it.
His ears twitched as he stared intently on the map
-
Arakan types on his phone, sighing softly.
Izanagi ventures from his room and peers over Takana's shoulder, " what's the scribbles?"
-
Takana blinks and looks at izanagi, "they're not scribbles. It's a map I made. To the store."
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " what's that supposed to be, take a right at the worm?"
-
Takana closes the door quickly and hisses softly, "quit making fun of me!"
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " yeesh" He scoots back and sits at the table, " i was just curious."
-
Takana huffs, "and I just told you it was a map to the grocery store. There's nothing else to be curious about."
-
Izanagi wrinkles his nose, " okay okay. is it that hard to find for you?"
-
Takana sighs, "I don't think you understand just how terrible my sense of direction is. I can get lost in a paper bag. "
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " well we better not put you in a paper bag then. I'll admit, these roads are fairly confusing. the signs are not in good shape where they're still even there at all, i suppose it's a lot more difficult when you don;t grow up here."
-
Takana looks back at arakan and smiles, "I'm glad I don't fit in a paper bag. And yeah this place is a lot harder to navigate especially when I'm already terrible at it. I was never trusted to go somewhere growing up because it was expected that I would get lost."
-
Arakan sighs, " it's not how i would have made this district, but we didn;t get any input. some walls were built around this area that was already here, we were shoved in, and called it good. we've made do."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah and I'm not sure if that's something we can even change now since everyone here is used to it and have kind of grown with the streets in mind."
-
Arakan nods, " not that we have the equipment to build buildings like this, these were human buildings." he shrugs. " it would be nice to have more open space though, let some of the demons be able to stretch their legs more."
-
Takana frowns and starts making pancakes, "maybe some day that will happen... I don't think anytime soon though. "
-
Arakan nods, " oh i know. that's about as likely as me ever leaving this district. it would be a nice thing though, to watch kids be able to romp in either form, to be able to be ourselves."
-
Takana glances at arakan as he whisks the dry ingredients together, "do all demons have more than one form?"
-
Arakan stretches his legs out, " no, some species like spidrens and naga are unable to change shape. And Izanagi cannot either. the lowest ranked demons often are stuck in one shape, and those who are halfway between one and another that is their form. it's those like me who can change, who have a beast-like shape, and then a separate human like shape."
-
Takana hums softly, "I see." He continues to make pancakes, the sound of the batter sizzling as he plops some in a hot pan
-
He chuckles softly, " though seeing you turn into a cat would be pretty cute."
-
Takana freezes, his ears quickly shifting back, "thank goodness THAT will never happen."
His face was bright red
-
Arakan chuckles softly, deciding it would be wise to not make any more comments on the subject from there.
Izanagi has his hnd voer his face to keep himself from laughing.
-
Takana grumbles softly as he tries to focus on making pancakes, "not a word out of either of you if it's just going to be those kind of comments."
And here he was about to ask for an escort to the store. Maybe he should just go by himself to clear his head. He had a map after all
-
Arakan holds a hand up, " sorry. no more about it, i promise. anything else you were curious about?"
-
Takana calms down when arakan apologizes and he looks at him, "not that I can think of at the moment. At least about demons anyway. Although... if we have time I wouldn't mind a taking a trip to the store today."
-
Arakan nods and then blinks, " certainly, we should have plenty of time this morning before the cafe opens up. or after if you prefer."
-
"Mmm..... let's go with before. Just because I don't want to be tires and waiting for my bed and then remember that I still have an errand to make."
He gets a few stacks of pancakes on a couple of plates and sets them on the table with butter and syrup and forks, "eat up. "
-
Izanagi takes his plate, " thank you!" and digs in happily.
Arakan gets up and walks over to the table, also sitting and eating.
-
Takana nods, "you're welcome." He gets a few more pancakes cooked and tosses them on a plate before sitting and eating as well.
-
Arakan nods to Takana, opting not to talk while eating.
Izanagi smears butter onto a pancake and drizzles syrup on it before rolling it up and putting it in his mouth, taking bites off the roll.
-
Takana happily eats his stack of pancakes. He also thinks about how great these pancakes will be once they have fresh fruit to go with it.
If only Isabelle and yori weren't stuck on a cruise he'd see if either of them could sneak over some good produce
-
Izanagi finishes his and puts his plate in the sink, " that was awesome thanks have fun on your shopping trip make sure and do some things i'd do!" and scurries off to his room and shuts the door before takana can retaliate.
Arakan stops with his fork partway to his mouth, blinking, then shakes his head and continues eating.
-
takana also pauses in eating, he makes a soft grunt and grumble sound before going back to chewing. he swallows and sighs, "he needs an actual boyfriend. badly."
-
Arakan snorts softly, " probably. i doubt it'd stop him though."
-
Takana grins, "It might keep him out of the house more."
-
Arakan chuckles, " good luck getting him to leave his room with his lover."
-
takana snorts. "Or at his lovers bedroom. either way if it keeps him busy and stop making comments than i'll be happy."
-
" fair i suppose. though hook him up with a few guys in an alley and i bet he'd be just as happy." he shakes his head and finishes his pancakes, " thank you."
-
Takana nods and smiles, "You're welcome." he grabs his bag and looks at arakan, "i wont lie, i have been daydreaming of fresh strawberries with my pancakes so i cant wait for the gardens to be made."
-
Arakan chuckles, " well those don;t last long so they might be lower on the priority list. personally i think first i'd like to see things like potatoes, onions, and carrots grown. since those can last a lot longer. but perhaps we can justify a few treats."
-
takana pouts, "Pick them and then freeze them! you gotta have some fruit! especially if we're putting in a greenhouse."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i have to think about what will produce the most for the effort put into them, and what will benefit my district most. Like i said, perhaps we can allow a small amount, but for now im more concerned that my people get affordable filling staples than treats."
-
takana sighs, "I suppose....." he pouts, "i love strawberries.... maybe when yori and isabelle come back from the cruise they can stop by with a pint of fruit...."
-
Arakan sighs and smiles a bit before kissing Takana's forehead, " i'll tell you what, i'll set a little of the dirt aside for you so you can grow some here okay? i can;t give you too much, but you'll be able to have a plant or two. right now i think there will be less opposition once demons start having full bellies. then we'll have more support and be able to get more to help with tending the plants and growing. but baby steps. fill as many hungry stomachs as possible, and that'll speak for itself."
-
Takana blushes and nods, "you're.... you're right. I guess I'm just getting excited about the idea of fresh produce that I'm not thinking of the bigger picture. At least you can freeze carrots and corn and other veggies and they'll last longer too."
-
Arakan smiles, " i know, things won;t be like you're used to how it was before you came here, might never get to be that good, but i have to focus on the most practical things first. i was raised to see the bigger picture, and it's in my bloodlines. you've never had to worry about an entire community. anyway, you wanted to go to the store? hopefully we can find some of what you'd like."
-
Takana nods, "I just need some basic stuff. I'm not going to try to get anything fancy."
-
" should have a good chance to get it then." he gets up, placing his dishes into the sink.
-
Takana gets his shoes on and waits for arakan, knowing that arakan will insist on takana waiting
-
Arakan notices him waiting and heads out of the apartment, leading the way to the store. He scans around as they walk, looking relaxed but alert for threats.
-
Takana walls next to him, hesitantly glancing up at arakan, "um... so... if we're in public... can we hold hands or is that a... a no? "
-
Arakan starts a bit, looking at Takana, " i... as much as i would like to, im not certain it's a good idea. it ties up my hand in the case of me needing to fight, and beyond that... it would place certain implications and expectations on both you and i. im sorry."
-
Takana's face falls a little before he gives a weak smile, forcing out a small chuckle, "i-i see. Well I guess that sounds less hurtful."
-
Arakan sighs, running a hand through his hair. " if things weren;t so damned complicated i would. but if people see it, they will expect that you are my mate. i am... not sure you would enjoy that role. it would mean you would not be able to leave, the humans would no longer trust you to leave the district, nor would it be wise for me to allow you out of my reach. there are many responsibilities you would be expected to assume, and you would also need to learn to behave in certain ways. If i was not the heir to the district... it would be less complicated."
-
Takana looks down, "y-you don't have to go into details. I get it. I just... I'm used to it. Can we please drop it?"
-
Arakan grits his teeth at the 'im used to it' the implication that he was treating Takana no better than that damned human guard was not a thought he liked. But..." I suppose I deserve that. Very well." He picks up his pace slightly, taking them directly to the store and heading in.
-
Takana's ears lower when arakan picks up his pace and he cant help but shrink in himself a little. He didnt mean to upset arakan, "Im... sorry. I shouldnt have asked."
-
" no, you were within your rights. It merely rankles to know that to keep you safe I am reduced to being compared to that murder. We're here to get your shopping though."
-
Takana looks at arakan, frowning, "I haven't compared you to anyone much less a murderer."
-
He looks at Takana with an eyebrow raised, " you said you were used to it. The one who I know hid you from their partner is Curtis is that not correct? I may not have another partner but I am hiding us."
-
"Curtis isn't a murderer! He would have told me such a thing!"
-
Arakan snorts, " well I suppose in his mind if they are not human, it is not murder. You have not been here for long, I have. He would have killed Izanagi in a heartbeat had you not stepped in."
-
Takana huffs, "Curtis wasn't the one aiming the gun. Sure you could argue that he's sometimes the leader of these inspections who have the okay but he was just doing his job. A job he almost got fired for when he stopped the inspector from firing the gun after he had also argued for our behalf. He's not perfect, far from it but he's not a murderer."
-
Arakan snorts, " only after you jumped in. had you not stepped in, he would not have blinked as Izanagi was murdered. it's his JOB to oversee and order murders. i at least take responsibility for the lives i must take."
-
Takana huffs, "it's his job to ensure his men are safe and the humans are safe and that rules are being followed. Kind of like you in the sense that if he shows weakness where he shouldn't then he'll be in trouble and deal with his men challenging him."
-
Arakans eyes narrow and he steps closer, " i'll tell you the difference between him and i. I kill those who are trying to hurt those i protect, who abuse their strength to harm others. HE orders people killed who are not resisting, and are begging for their lives as they've done nothing wrong. THAT is the difference between him and i. i would never tear a father from his family as they beg for mercy, their only sin being that they protected the child first instead of the husband."
-
Takana flinches a little and he huffs, "he wasn't even in charge on that inspection. But fine. Demons are holier-than-thou." He turns around and starts walking away
-
Arakan growls softly and follows after him. Did Takana really view him in the same light as he did that guard? someone who'd take an innocent person and slaughter them on a whim? it was disturbing to him to think of. Is that how humans viewed demons despite that even before they lived in districts they rarely ever killed humans? He frowns, watching Takana from a bit of a distance.
-
Takana sets his basket down before stepping out of the store, heading towards the main gate
-
Arakan frowns, glancing at the basket before following still at a distance.
-
When takana gets to the gate he snarls, "OIIII! CURTIS!"
All of the guards jump a little, startled by takana's sudden shouting.
Curtis steps to the side and huffs, "Takana what the hell are you doing? You can't just shout like that. You'd be causing issues if I wasn't working today. "
Takana huffs, "shut it. I need to talk to you. Now! "
Curtis already looks exhausted knowing that he'll be getting yelled at for something, "okay? Then talk."
"Can we talk without this gate between us? It's kind of a sensitive topic. "
Curtis shakes his head, "I'm not crossing the gate. Arakan would kill me if I stepped into his territory without approval first."
Takana huffs, "then let me over. "
"Why don't you just go home? You know Corrin has been worried sick right? The whole company has been turned upside down since he's discovered your disappearance."
Takana blinks, "what? Really? "
Curtis crosses his arms, "Yeah. Everything's been crazy lately."
Takana frowns before shaking his head, "I'll process that later, at any point I need to know about your job. You told me you were the head guard and your job was to protect your men. "
"Um yeah? That's the basic of it. But I already told you that so why are-"
"If I wasn't at the last inspection and had jumped in the way would izanagi have died? "
Curtis pales a little, "why are you asking me that? You know I had no say in the matter. I know jack shit about the collars so I couldn't tell it was a dud until you said something. "
"The other inspections that you've been a part of. Have demons died in those that you oversaw?"
"Only if their collars were faulty..."
"And you still sleep at night?! How many? How many have died under your watch? "
Curtis flinches, "i- I don't know. I don't even keep track. I usually drink after an inspection so I don't have to think about it. Why are you even asking me these things? You've never cared before so why now? "
"Because I didn't know that we were killing demons! Schools taught us something completely different and humans don't get the opportunity to be exposed to what's going on here! We're all just being ignorant to the actual horrors and I'm tired of being lied to!"
-
Arakan was going to hurry ahead to stop him when he heard Takana yelling for the bastard. Good, let him hear the truth hopefully. He moves off to the side, out of immediate sight and edges close enough to listen. He had missed the first part, but nodded when the other was questioned on the killings. He growls when the other claims to drink afterwards, how dare the bastard use alcohol to escape the things he does. At least when he had to kill demons that were an active threat to his people he took responsibility and accepted his role in their deaths. He steps out and towards the gate at the end, " i can tell you how many have died to human hands in inspections. we keep track, there's a whole book on who it was, what the reason was, and when it happened. And those who had families, i see to the care of them. I'd offer to come let you see the widows and their children, but im not sure you'd make it back out. they in particular seem to have a intense dislike for those who guard the gates and the inspection teams."
-
Takana was about to say something else but he stopped himself when arakan spoke up. He huffs seeing the demon and looks away, upset that he was followed but at the same time he knew that arakan would have chased after him.
Curtis looks at arakan and his eyes narrow, "bringing someone like me to those broken families would be the stupidest thing you could do. It's clear you two have had an argument that I am in the middle of somehow and honestly I would rather not." He looks at takana, "and you have GOT to stop just coming to the gate shouting like that. If someone worse than me is in charge then you're going to regret it. I can only do so much to keep you safe especially when you're pissing off my supervisor."
-
Arakan snorts, " hence why i am not going to do it. He compared me to you, i dislike being compared to a murderer. it went from there. I was here to step in if things went south, though i agree he needs to be more careful.
-
Curtis huffs at arakan, "it's not like I go out of my way to ensure as many demons die as possible. Yes it happens and I'm sorry that it does but there's a reason why during inspection they send out two leading guards. To ensure that if one guard is going soft for no reason then the other can snitch on him. If I try to give every dead collar wearer a break then I'll be fired and replaced. Hell you guys could have James as your new chief. That guy I wouldn't want near ANYONE. Human or demon. He's literal shit and I know I'm not great either but trust me, if a guard named James is ever your lead inspector then I'd probably actually pray for this district."
Takana's ears twitch, "just because you feel pressured by work doesn't excuse the lives that were taken under your watch... and to be honest with you these are the things you should be telling us. And if this James is shit then in comparison I'd say you're piss and while one could argue that dealing with piss is better than shit you'll still have plenty of people asking themselves why they are even dealing with piss and shit to begin with."
-
Arakan rolls his eyes, " yeah, tell yourself you're the better of two evils as a kid gets shot. even if he is worse, that doesn't make you innocent. And i would hope the humans know better than to send someone in who would be even worse, because i assure you that nothing i can do would keep my people from restarting the war if that happened. tensions are already high as it is, you people have no idea just how pissed off everyone is, and how ready my father is to just give up trying to hold them back." he sighs, " unlike you, i can't just drink away my problems. At least have the balls to face the results of your actions face on."
-
Curtis throws his hands in the air, "there's literally nothing I can do about that! About any of this! At least having this pink doofus fighting for you means you have connections but I'm just another replaceable pawn. But sure, stay pissed off at me. You're right. I DO get to drink my problems away. Like right now. Takana, you should just seriously think of going home. Half of the mansion has been worried sick about you." He turns and heads back to his station so he can clock out.
Takana huffs and moves away from arakan, his ears flat. Now look at what arakan did. Maybe he SHOULD go home
-
Arakan growls as the man heads in, " must be nice to be able to just leave!" he runs his hand through his hair, pacing back and forth a bit as he growls, " damned coward."
-
Takana stands there, his anger quickly rising and it takes everything in him not to scream, instead choosing to speak more monotone and defeated, "he wasn't a great guy. He admitted that. He never defended himself with the fact that demon blood was on his hands, nor would he ever deserve a defense. But he was the only one, the ONLY guard, that you had that would listen to you. He even gave us a heads up with the surprise inspection as soon as he found out so that you had enough time to help your people, something that would have landed him in prison for life. Does that make his past actions forgiven? Of course not. We all know it never will. But he was still the only guard we had."
Takana turns around and heads back to the store, planning on still getting his shopping done for izanagi's sake, hoping arakan will stay away from him
-
Arakan looks at Takana leaving and sighs, running a hand through his hair before growling and walking closer, " Curtis! If you can still hear me i need a moment to speak with you!"
-
Curtis pauses briefly when he hears arakan and he gives a soft sigh before stepping back out and going over to the gate, "better hurry before the shift change. Don't want the next head guard seeing me talk with you."
-
Arakan nods, " yeah. i... i should not be so harsh on you. you have been far better than the rest of the guards. and for the things you have done to help, i am grateful. you've been complicit in many deaths, but you also prevented many. so take that as it is."
-
Curtis blinks before frowning softly, "i.. will continue to do what I can to help with what I can and... for what it's worth.... 28. I... may not have known their names but I do remember and it does effect me and... I am sorry. You have every right to call me a murderer and hate me just please don't let takana get between this. He means well but you can never predict how he'll react to anything."
-
Arakan blinks at hearing the number and nods, " things are changing quickly, hopefully for the better in the long run. it's... not easy to change my own feelings so swiftly, there are many, many years of my experiences that fight against it. Speaking of him, i'd better catch up before he gets himself into trouble." he turns, starting to go.
-
Curtis watches him leave, sighing softly before going back to his station and packing up.
Takana is grumbling loudly, putting things in his retrieved cart, his ears twitching incessantly
-
Arakan heads back to the store, seeing Takana and going over, " hey. i um, i spoke to Curtis after you left."
-
Takana pauses a little as he hears arakan, sighing softly, "...okay?" He had to keep his cool. He was in public still...
-
Arakan sighs softly, " I more or less apologized. He is not the sole person who I have watched murder my people my entire life. It's not easy for me to make that distinction."
-
Takana blinks, his ears stop twitching and he looks at arakan, "...What? Really?"
-
Arakan nods, " yes... he has indeed been useful and undoubtedly saved lives during the last inspection. not to mention he did help stop Izanagis execution when you stepped in and buy me time to get the collar fixed."
-
takana gives a soft nod before looking down and sighing, "Im sorry...i didnt mean to start this whole thing. If its easier for everyone i can leave."
-
" not happening. you may have started it, but you have also pushed it in a good direction. i may not like bending my pride, but i also have no desire to lose our best ally."
-
Takana looks up at arakan, "so... you're not mad at me?"
-
He shakes his head, " no, i am not mad at you."
-
Takana visibly relaxes, and he slumps on his cart a little, "oh thank god... well then let's get this shopping done before izanagi starts getting ideas in his head as to why we have been taking so long."
-
Arakan reaches up and ruffles Takana hair, " I'm sure it's far too late for that. He'd have found a way to make a supply room meetup or such."
-
Takana blushes when his hair is ruffled, "Yeah you're probably right." Takana straightens up, "I have mostly everything, just a couple of more items and then I'll be done."
-
He nods, " lead the way. lets get the shopping done and get back."
-
Takana picks up a couple of more items that look not terrible before checking out and paying.
He hands arakan a couple of the bags, "here hold these for me please." He's also holding his own so it's not like he's putting all of the work on arakan
-
Arakan takes them and then while ignoring any protests, takes any bags Takana still has.
-
Takana squeaks when his bags are taken, looking up at arakan, "what are you doing?! That's a lot of shit to carry!"
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i think you underestimate just how much stronger i am than you. it's not just abilities, it's physical strength as well. this is nothing." he keeps walking, unbothered.
-
Takana hiss softly and keeps following on arakans heels, "but I feel bad! I would like to contribute too!"
-
" you bought it and made breakfast. Least I can do is carry some bags." He glances over with a grin.
-
Takana blushes and pouts a little, "okkaaaay fine but it won't stop me from feeling bad."
-
Arakan glances back before hanging him the lightest bag back. " Fine. Here. Better?"
-
Takana blinks, takes the bag and internally debates with himself before nodding, "it'll be good for now. "
-
Arakan ruffles his hair again, getting to the apartment and setting the bags on the table.
Izanagi is at the couch, sitting upsidedown so his head is dangling near the floor and his feet are on the back. he's got his uniform on and the skirt is obeying gravity which is getting close to being exposing.
-
Takana steps into the apartment and freezes when he sees izanagi, "what.... are you doing?"
-
Izanagi looks over, still upsidedown. " I'm bored."
-
Takana snorts softly, "good thing we have work soon. you'll be less bored when you're working." he begins to put the food away."
-
izanagi nods, " maybe Nikiri will show up! might be able to drag him into the back room for a bit~" he grins.
Arakan sighs, " you do know you're saying that in front of your employer right?"
-
Takana sighs and looks at izanagi, "and I am not sure he'd appreciate you doing that. I'm sure he'd rather choose a bedroom."
-
Izanagi pouts, " he's too busy for that. if i could get him to a bedroom i would."
-
Takana blinks and raises an eyebrow before looking at arakan, "are you giving nikiri work elsewhere? Why would he be so busy?"
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " his family is in charge of communications. i trust them to manage their work."
-
Takana blinks, "oh. Didn't know that. Interesting." He looks at the time and looks at izanagi, "well let's get to work."
-
Arakan nods, " it's his familys specialty, and the reason they're considered as high of rank as they are. they're really the only reason we have communication between districts, the humans don't particularly like the idea of us being able to trade information. We mostly tell the humans that we send them to the other districts for their talent in linguistics." He heads for the door.
Izanagi slides off the couch onto the floor, adjusts his skirt and follows.
-
Takana hums and nods, following arakan, "so that would explain why he has so many siblings."
-
Arakan sighs, " yes, that is indeed part of why he has so many siblings. his father wishes to take advantage of the mix that produced such an effect."
-
Takana snorts, "congrats for him I guess... he's at least had that amount of sex. "
-
Arakan grimaces, " we have discouraged him from being so enthusiastic in his procreation. his wife is not holding up under the strain well, which is part of why Nikiri is busy. he has his mother and many siblings to take care of."
-
Takana frowns, "oh... that's unfortunate. Despite his cheeky personality he seems to be a very kind brother."
-
Arakan nods, " he's a good man. he takes good care of his family. And even if i want to strangle him now and then, he has a good head on his shoulders and isn;t afraid to call me out when needed. He's reliable."
-
"Oh? How long have you known him? You talk about him like you've known him for a long time."
-
Arakan glances over, " because i have. we grew up together. im only three years his senior, and while his family didn;t have the prestige it does now, his father was renowned for his linguistic ability. My father used him often when language was a barrier, and his mother was somewhat frail even then so she ended up with my mother often, and therefore us children ended up spending time together."
-
Takana gasps softly, "childhood friends! You have a childhood friend! Oh now I can't stop thinking about you as a child. So tiny~"
-
Arakan blushes a bit and snorts, " yes, we were. My mother would be the one to talk to about me as a child."
-
Takana grabs the handle of his shoulder bag and squeezes it, "ooohhhhh my god I want baby pictures. I HAVE to talk to her now."
-
Arakan snorts, " I can arrange to drop you off tomorrow before work if you like. I think I'll be too busy to relive my most embarrassing childhood memories thank you."
-
Takana smiles at arakan, "if I had pictures of me as a baby I'd show you those. It's natural to want to see friends baby pictures."
He'd rather say couples, partners, boyfriends but.... they're in public now and god forbid he says anything about them being together.
-
Arakan chuckles, " well now that's not fair, you'll get to see mine and i don't get to see yours? ah well i suppose." he opens the door to the shop and stands aside to let them in.
Izanagi heads in and drops his stuff off in the back before getting to work.
-
Takana heads inside a well and goes to the kitchen to get the food ready for today
-
Kaiten arrives shortly after and takes a seat at a table, allowing Arakan to leave and get to work himself.
-
Takana hums happily as he works on the orders. He felt amazing at the moment. Curtis and arakan were working out their issues and he had sex. Damn good sex. Although.... he still wished he could be more affectionate in public...
-
Izanagi keeps his eyes on the doors as often as possible, looking for any of the guys he could happily harass. He makes sure to take good care of customers in the meantime though.
Yori sighs as he kicks his feet in a pool on deck, this was so boring, why did he have to be on this dumb cruise? And mom was making him and dad spend a bunch of time together and it always felt so weird. he didn't dislike his dad, they just never spent much time together.
Kahana is in a lounge chair nearby, trying to get a little bit of a tan.
-
Isabelle is also on a lounge chair, although she is sitting upright with an umbrella over her, casting a shadow to protect her from the sun.
She is also pretty close to yori, looking bored.
Corrin is sitting next to his wife, enjoying the sun as well
Touhou is still in his maid outfit, to corrins insistence, next to the older male trying not to look miserable in the heat.
-
Yori sighs and looks over at Touhou, " um, could you get me some lemonade with ice or something? it's hot out."
Kahana looks over at her husband, " isn't this nice sweetheart? you're spending time with Yori, we're out here relaxing and enjoying the sun."
-
Corrin nods, "it's exceptional, thank you dear."
Touhou looks at yori, trying to hide a 'yeah no shit' look before nodding and leaving only briefly to flag down some lemonade for yori, coming back quickly and holding it out for the young master.
-
Yori takes it, " thanks!" he leans in a bit closer and whispers, " you look like you could use one too, i could say this one i don;t like and have you get another? and then you could have this one on the way. i don;t know how else to get you one."
She gets up and leans over to peck him on the cheek, " how about we try and find something fun for you and Yori to do tonight while Iseabelle and i get some massages hm? i know you two don;t spend enough time together."
-
Touhou blinks and stares at yori blankly as his brain processes what yori just said to him before his eyes widen slightly and he hesitantly points to himself.
Was this child really being nice to him?? He never really had any strong opinions on yori before, the boy growing up wasn't rude by any means but it's not like they ever had a real conversation before.
Corrin smiles, "of course dear. I haven't been the greatest father so I wouldn't mind getting to know my son a bit more."
-
Yori smiles and nods a little. He lifts the drinks to his mouth and acts like his taking a sip before he wrinkles his nose, " ew. um, this is too sour for me. maybe can you get me one with a little more sugar in it please?" He whispers again, " i know you won't get long but maybe you can hide it. at least you can take a few drinks. im sorry to make you have to go back and forth though, i hope it's worth it."
-
Touhou hesitantly nods, taking the glass again before turning and going back to the refreshment area, chugging the drink once he's out of corrins sight.
This child may just be as kind as Takana. If that was the case then at least touhou knew he was somewhat safe around the child.
He happily drank a few more glasses of water, feeling a lot better and less dizzy before grabbing another lemonade, enjoying the appearance of this one a lot more than the first one he grabbed and going back to yori and handing it to him.
-
Yori looks up, smiling when he sees the demon looking a lot better and with some color back in his face. He takes the drink and sips it, " this is much better, thank you!" he'd have to keep an eye on the poor maid, it seemed like his dad wasn;t really making sure he could take care of himself. He takes a long drink from the glass, kicking his feet happily.
-
Touhou nods and stands back at their place next to Corrin
Isabelle looks at yori and smiles, "I'm glad that it's at least decent weather. It would be awful if we had storms."
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Yori nods, " yeah no kidding. it'd be awful if the water was tossing the boat around, i've been sick in storms before and it's not fun.
Kahana hums a bit, " i think there's some little game tables in one of the rec rooms, foosball or ping pong or some such. that might be fun for you two, if you don;t get too riled up sweetie. otherwise i know they have a large screen they show movies on."
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Corrin hums happily, "a movie you say. its been quite some time since i've watched a movie!"
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Kahana smiles, " well i think that will be splendid father son bonding time. I'll have a list of the options brought over in awhile. I know it was hard for you to spend much time with him while you were busy making sure he had everything he ever needed."
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Corrin nods, "Yes he certainly grew up without needing a single thing. I would have purchased an entire kids toy store if he asked for it."
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Kahana laughs softly, " i swear sometimes his room looked like you had. you're a good dad, he's just in a difficult phase honey."
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Corrin sighs, "You're always right dear. He's a child that i created so i just want him to have everything."
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Kahana gently kisses him on the cheek, " i know sweetie. and im sure he'll appreciate it when he gets older and understands."
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Corrin nods, "Yes. when he gets older, so much will become clear for him."
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She nods, " im glad you're not upset at him. teenagers can be so difficult."
Yori gets up and dives into the pool to cool off.
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corrin shakes his head, "I could never be mad at my own blood. There's not many of us left you know. Not enough kuroshiba's in this world."
-
Kahana chuckles softly, " well i know Makoto isn;t technically your blood, but i know he tries very hard to be a worthwhile son to you as well. I would offer to have more children with you but having Yori was already so hard on me, and i think we're both a little old to be raising a baby again."
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corrin tsks softly, "he's... fine. he works very hard im sure. no, no im fine with yori being our last child."
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Kahana puts her hand on his arm gently, " he's the reason we can go on this trip, and that you can rest without worrying about the company. he's working so hard to make sure you can gain your health back my love."
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Corrin sighs, "While i appreciate the dedication to the job I agreed to this cruise for you and yori. I would have been just fine staying home and continuing my search for Takana. I just hope he's alright..."
-
Kahana presses her lips together, " of course. im glad you did come with, this is just what the doctor ordered. Im sure Takana is fine, though he's a selfish boy for causing his poor father so much stress when you already have heart problems..."
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"You talk as though takana had left on his own instead of being kidnapped. Even if he and I didn't have the best relationship I am not blind to the sibling love he had with yori. I still remember how he quit going to his debate club after class because he felt bad that yori didn't have anyone to hang out with him. Takana would never have left on his own accord and leave yori alone like this."
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Kahana scoffs softly, " come now dear, do you really think if he'd been kidnapped that his captors would have allowed him to take his personal effects? not to mention the only reason i can think of to kidnap the son of a wealthy businessman is to ransom him for money, which they'd likely do as soon as possible instead of holding onto him for so long. I know he cares for Yori but it simply makes no sense that he was taken against his will, his apartment was tidily packed up. That hardly seems like the scene of a crime."
-
Isabelle doesn't dare look at Kahana or corrin as they banter over takana.
Corrin gives her a hard look, "and that is a reason why I, as his father, shouldn't worry about if he's okay or not? If yori suddenly went missing wouldn't you be just as scared for him?"
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Kahana waves a hand, " of course you can be worried, but that isn't going to make him come back any sooner. I'll bet anything he's just going through some rebellious phase and ran off. he'll be just fine and he'll come back when he's ready. And of course i would worry for Yori, he's my baby boy."
Yori sinks so most of his face is under the water, he did not like this conversation. He looks at Touhou to see how they're doing.
-
"And takana is MY baby boy as well. Why do you have such a poor relationship with my son? I know he is my exes son but that wouldn't give you the right to treat him so poorly." Corrin raises his voice, clearly becoming agitated
If you just look at touhou's face all you see would be a deadpan and bored expression.
However with yori being in the pool he'd be able to see touhou's legs first which are trembling terribly.
The little mouse maid would love to run since hearing corrin raise his voice is ptsd however running would give him an even greater punishment.
-
Kahana looks at her husband, " oh you know he never liked me much, since i stole you away and all. im not treating him poorly, im sorry that upset you my love. all children go through rebellious phases, it's part of growing up."
Yori gets out of the pool, " Touhou come with me and help me get dried off, i wanna go get something to eat and i don't wanna be wet."
Kahana waves a hand dismissively at her son.
-
Corrin huffs, "yes but you then retaliating against him is not at all motherly of you."
Touhou blinks at yori's request and looks at corrin.
Corrin waves his hand at touhou, "go with my child. Be useful and keep him safe."
Touhou gives a hesitant nod before going over to yori
-
Kahana blinks, " retaliating? i mean he and i have never had the best relationship but im not sure what you mean. i just don't see how this could have been a kidnapping situation, there was no sign of a struggle, his things were packed up, everything was cleaned and emptied. and there's been no demands, why take him if not to get something?"
Yori nods and grabs Touhou's hand and hurries away from his parents. He heads into an air conditioned room for changing clothes and rinsing off. " sorry to drag you off so suddenly, i don;t really need help. it just looked like you were upset. lemme rinse the chlorine off and you can sit down and rest for a bit for now okay?" he heads into the shower to get cleaned off.
-
Corrin huffs, "I just can't believe that he would just... leave. I would wager my own life's worth on it. He's always been.... such a kind child."
Touhou looks relieved to be in an ac room, distracting him a little until he hears yori say that he looked upset.
He blinks and watches yori go to the showers.
He frowns a little, pulling out his notepad and pen, taking this opportunity to write a question for the youngest master once he's done getting showered off
-
She blinks and then smiles, hugging her husband, " oh sweetie, i know he is. sometimes people do crazy things, completely out of character for them. it's so hard to know what happened. but until he contacts us, or we get some sort of letter or something, we'll have no idea what the truth is. im sorry i upset you, it's just stressful having the unknown hanging over my head too honey."
Yori washes up and comes out, one towel around his waist and another he's using to vigorously dry his hair.
-
Corrin sighs and looks depressed, "I'm...sorry too. I just... I miss him so much."
Touhou holds out his note for yori to read when he's ready, 'out of curiosity.... why are you being kind to me? You dont have anything to gain from it.
-
Kahana kisses his cheek, " i know sweetie. we'll find out what happened. for now, just try and relax and enjoy our vacation okay? Makoto will let us know if any information comes up."
Yori blinks and reads it, then looks at Touhou, " of course i don't. i just... well i learned some things recently and figured out you guys kinda have the rough end of the deal, and you used to kinda scare me before being what you are and all, but im not so scared anymore and i can see you REALLY have a rough deal. my dads not the easiest to deal with, and you kinda just get yelled at and bossed around all the time. i can related with that last bit anyway, but i bet it worse for you. and it's not fair to make you wear so many layers when it's hot and you're clearly uncomfortable while we're relaxing and comfy."
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Touhou blinks, he scared yori? He supposes a human being scared of demons is normal but.... he was tiny... and always in a maid outfit. There was nothing threatening about him at all.
Touhou snorts softly and shakes his head, smiling a little, ' me? Scary? That's funny. Well, thank you for the kindness. I won't lie, your father has been worse since Takana's disappearance but I'm hoping for your brother to return safely. He was always kind to me so I do miss him.
-
Yori rubs the back of his neck, " yeah I guess it is pretty ridiculous. But I'm glad I can help a little bit. I'm sorry dad has been so awful, but... I think Takana is better off where he is for now."
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Touhou blinks, 'do you know where takana is? Is he safe? You don't have to tell me where he is if you don't want to but if I just know he's okay then that's good enough for me.'
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Yori ducks his head, " it's not that I don't want to, I told him I wouldn't tell anybody. I know you don't talk but just in case... But yeah, he's okay."
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Touhou sighs in relief and wipes their face a little, ' thats... so good to hear. Thank you for at least letting me know he's okay. I'd feel terrible if anything happened to him.'
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Yori nods, " well im glad i could put your mind at ease anyway. im sorry i can't tell you more. how are you feeling?" he grabs his clothes and pulls them on.
-
'Much better, thank you. My first name is Nazrim. Feel free to call my name as long as your father isn't around.'
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Yori blinks, "Nazrim? Okay, I'll remember that." He finishes getting dressed and sighs, " I suppose we better get back before mom comes looking for me. I'm sorry you have to go back out in the heat. Oh, but I said I wanted something to eat, maybe I can take you with."
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Touhou's stomach makes a soft grumble sound causing the little demon to quickly look down, his face turning a little red in embarrassment
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Yori blinks and laughs, " okay, food it is. i bet they don't give you many chances to eat huh? lets go get some food." h grabs Touhou's hand and pulls him along to the dining hall.
-
Touhou let's himself be dragged by yori, his tail that he normally keeps tucked between his legs uncurls itself as he begins to relax around yori
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Yori laughs as he runs through the hall, getting to the dining hall before letting go. He starts grabbing some of the food at the buffet and looking at Touhou, " you can grab whatever you want too, i won't tell."
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Touhou watches yori carefully as he slowly grabs a plate, making sure yori isn't going to take his word back on the offer of food.
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Yori smiles, grabbing a pastry and putting it on Touhou's plate, " try this, they're really good." He grabs a few things for himself, humming softly.
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Touhou's eyes water and he starts putting other foods on his plate. He was so thankful, he wished he could thank Yori vocally
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Yori happily rambles on about different foods, insisting Touhou's try one occasionally. Eventually his plate is full and he heads to a drink station, getting a soda before picking a private booth in a back corner. " This is gonna be great, it's always so awkward eating with mom and dad. She always fusses at what I take."
-
Touhou sits down across from yori, thankful for the privacy from the rest of the crowd.
It's been so long since he's seen a full plate for HIM. He could cry!
He starts eating what's on his plate, enjoying the flavors
-
Yori smiles at him as he eats, " pretty good huh? One nice thing about cruises they have really good food. I feel bad leaving Isabelle out but I can get away with eating an extra meal."
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Touhou nods as he eats, pausing when yori mentions isabelle. he chews slowly before going back to his notepad, 'i havent had much interaction with isabelle. is she nice as well?'
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Yori nods enthusiastically, " she's the nicest! I know she'd be super nice to you too, she's nice to everyone. Honestly i think she's way too good for Makoto, i know he's my brother and all but she's just the sweetest person, she's kind to everyone even if they don't deserve it."
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Touhou gives a hesitant nod of understanding as he eats, purposefully taking small bites in an attempt to keep his mouth as closed as possible, 'i suppose my question may have been silly since i know takana always praised her kindness... i can just never be too sure.'
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Yori shakes his head, " i guess it makes sense that you're hesitant about people. im sorry things are so hard for you..."
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Touhou hums softly, thank you. I apologize for never making an effort in getting to know you and letting you be more comfortable around me...i feel like maybe we both could have used each other's kindness.
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Yori chuckles a bit, " it's okay, im not sure it woulda worked. mom had me pretty freaked out. But im glad i can help now."
-
Touhou gives a hesitant nod before going back to eating
-
Yori soon finishes off his plate and gets up, " im gonna grab some more, you want some more too?"
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Touhou quickly gets up, nodding furiously. more?! he can have more!? he hasnt eaten so well since Alina was alive!!
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Yori laughs a little, " well come on then." He heads back to grab a new plate and load it with more of his favorites.
-
Touhou follows yori and grabs another plate, filling it with more food. Some repeats that he really like before and then a few new items to try
-
Yori waits until Touhou is done filling his plate, and brings his own full again plate to the table with another drink, " this is so nice. no parents being gushy with each other, no Makoto making snide remarks, no mom fussing at me..."
-
Touhou follows closely behind yori with a new drink as well, sitting down at the table.
He listens to yori talk, giving a hesitant nod, 'I am also enjoying myself, its been a while since I had a break from Mr. Kuroshiba. I am unsure how I can properly thank you for treating me like an equal.'
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " shouldn't have to thank me for trying to not be shitty."
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Touhou shrugs, 'it's still appreciated so I would like to return the kindness.'
-
Yori lets a long breath out, " uh, well i guess just... be my friend? without Takana around it's been lonely. He's busy with his own stuff and i can't bug Isabelle all the time, and mom's been really clingy and Makoto never wants me around and when he does he just kind of yells at me or tells me how spoiled and what a disappointment i am so..."
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touhou blinks and frowns, ' you're not spoiled at all though nor are you a disappointment.'
-
Yori sighs softly, " well im definitely spoiled, how else could i get away with so much? if i want something pretty much i just have to say so and i'll get it. And im a disappointment to mom and Makoto. Mom tells me all the time i need to pick better friends to hang with, i need to find a girl with a good family to marry and have kids. And Makoto always says i need to figure my shit out, go to college and make something of myself..." He sighs, looking down at his plate and poking at his food.
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touhou's eyes narrow and he slowly grabs his notebook, flips to a new fresh page and begins to furiously write down for a good minute or so before pushing the notebook towards yori, 'you have privilege's that do allow you to have things in your life that most wouldnt but that doesnt mean your spoiled necessarily. And whether it means anything coming from me or not I absolutely dont think you are a disappointment. I had the opportunity to watch you grow from a baby so I have seen the friends you have made, I know the report cards you got, I know the rules that you follow and the manners that you were raised with. You dont throw a tantrum when you dont get your way, you dont smoke, drink, or do drugs. And you have clearly shown me that you have critical thinking skills that have allowed you to be opened minded and kind like Takana is. Your mother is overbearing at best and Makoto didnt fall far from the tree. HE is the one who is a spoiled, narcissistic, tantrum having disappointment. He knows that the moment you or Takana tell Corrin that you want the company he'll just give it to you instead of working for it because you are his children by blood and its that kind of resentment that Makoto has where it makes him say cruel, terrible things to you that are not true. Dont listen to him. I know that if Takana was here he would agree with me and maybe might beat up makoto. depending if your mother was nearby or not.'
Touhou rubs his wrist. been a while since he had to write so much so fast
-
Yori blinks, taking his time to read it and his face flushing as he pushes it back, "i guess so. thanks."
-
Touhou leans back in his seat and his tail comes up to his plate and wraps around a buttered bun, he uses his own tail instead of his hands to bring it up to his mouth and taking a bite. He'll need to burn that page later so that neither parent sees it. he isnt sure about corrin but he knows that if kahana saw what he wrote then he would surely get in trouble
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Yori pokes at his food some more, taking a few more bites, " i suppose we should probably go back soon, otherwise moms gonna start freaking out."
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'well no need to rush. She forced you out here to have a fun vacation so why not HAVE a fun vacation and do some stuff away from them?
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Yori chuckles, " yeah but she also wants me to hang out with dad. And if I'm gone too long she'll probably start to freak. She's kinda over protective."
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Touhou sighs and nods, he understood very well what Kahana was like.
He quickly finishes up eating before scooting out of the booth, just as i am friends with takana, i would be more than happy to be your friend
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Yori blinks, " really? You don't have to, I mean I'll still try and be nice and all but I know I'm probably a pain to deal with." He quickly cleans his plate off and hops out of the booth.
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Touhou shrugs, youve never been outright cruel to me, and now you're being kind to me now that you know you dont need to fear me. In a world where mean people are everywhere why would i not want to be friends with someone who is decent?
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Yoi nods, " alright, i'd like that. Nice to make friends with you then Nazrim." he holds out a hand to shake.
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Touhou smiles when he hears his name. It had been so long since heard his first name.
He nods happily and shakes yori's hand.
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Yori shakes it in return and heads back to the poolside where his family is.
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Touhou gives an internal sigh as he shrinks his tail back between his legs and follows yori back outside.
-
Kahana is starting to look around, concerned.
Yori rounds the corner and sese his mother looking, waving to shyly.
Kahana sees him and relaxes, laying back down in her seat, " oh good, Yori is back."
-
corrin hums, "He's fine my dear. he has the maid with him and he is technically an adult."
Touhou is behind yori, trying not to look miserable from being back out in the heat. at least he got a break thanks to yori
-
Kahana looks over at her husband, " oh i know sweetie, i just worry. he might be an adult, but he'll always be my baby. i can;t help it, he's matured so much more slowly than Makoto did."
Yori sits in the shade, takings his shoes off and putting his feet in the water.
-
corrin hums, "if you ask me Makoto matured far too quickly. but every person on this planet i different. Just look at me. I have lived a good life but i spent half of it doing whatever childish thing i wanted. I have an amazing wife, amazing kids, and enough money that can solve any problem i have. Just because the boy hasnt matured doesnt mean he wont get anywhere in life, what truly matters is he is happy and has a healthy support system."
Isabelle smiles softly to herself when she hears Corrin stick up for Yori
Touhou took his spot next to Corrin as normal, looking straight ahead and emotionless. While Corrin is cruel to almost anyone, and is especially terrible to him, touhou is thankful that it seems Corrin has genuine love for Yori and Takana. That love is probably the main reason why both kids have never had to see the real side of their father
-
Kahana chuckles softly, " true, he definitely had things far harder growing up than Yori did, it wasn't easy as a single mother when he was little. It's made him very responsible though. We'll just have to wait and let him figure things out at his own pace, though i do wish he'd settle down with a nice girl and give me some grandbabies."
-
corrin nods, "yes yes i know. you have been so desperate for little ones to run around the mansion."
-
She sighs softly, " it would be lovely though. I know you'd enjoy it as well, the only way to solve the lack of Kuroshibas is for the family to grow after all. Anyway, it's getting a bit too warm for me, I think I'd like to head in and maybe get that massage. Why don't you go see a movie with Yori dear?"
-
Corrin nods, "of course I will, you have a good time."
He sits up in his chair more and stretches.
-
Kahana kisses him on the cheek after she gets up, " Isabelle dear? lets go have some girl time pampering hm?" She looks expectantly at the other woman.
Yori watches his mother going, he hadn;t spent one on one time with his dad in a long time and admittedly he was nervous.
-
Isabelle sighs softly before getting up from her spot and following Kahana, fully knowing that saying no wasn't an option with this woman.
Corrin looks at yori, "well my boy, what movie do you want to see hm? I'll do my best to stay awake but admittedly I do fall asleep when I'm cozy in a dark theater."
-
Kahana leads the way to the massage parlor and sets them both up with full treatments, getting comfy as she's pampered.
Yori rubs the back of his neck, " um, most of the movies they're offering look pretty good, im good with whatever."
-
Corrin shakes his head, "I'm not knowledgeable in movies or what's cool with the kids so I would rather leave it up to you kiddo."
-
Yori sighs and looks at the list, then barely contains a grin, " alright, lets watch deadpool."
-
Corrin nods and looks at touhou with a very hard expression, "....if you have your room key then you should go back to your room."
Touhou flinches and nods, holding it out for corrin to see.
Corrin nods, "good. Let's go yori. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to grab any snack you want."
-
Yori looks worriedly at Touhou and nods, " uh, yeah sure. popcorn is always nice." he hesitantly heads for the theatre.
-
Corrin let's yori walk ahead, giving him time to glare back at touhou, a warning to behave, before following his son to the theater, "popcorn, candy, soda and all in large sizes. If your mother isn't here then she can't tell me to watch my cholesterol."
Touhou shudders before going back to the room. He probably had an hour or so....so maybe he had time to take a shower. Get the weird feeling of sweat off of his skin.
The little mouse goes to the bathroom and takes off his uniform and steps into the shower
-
Yori looks back, " you know if she finds out she's gonna have a cow right? she's been so worried about your health. Besides, didn't you say you were gonna sleep through it anyway?"
-
"At my age the funnest things you can do in life is eat and sleep. And if you're lucky you figure out how to do both. Now, can I trust you to not tell your ma about what we eat in our vacation?"
-
Yori shakes his head a little in amusement, " only if you promise not to go overboard. im not sure it'll be much of a vacation if you have a heart attack."
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Corrin laughs heartily, "I don't plan on having any health concerns while on vacation. Unless of course I cam fake one to get us off this boat. As kind of an offer this was from your mother I would really prefer to be home... she cares so much of my health and yet what would really help with my health is getting your brother back to me..."
-
Yori feels a pang of guilt at that, he'd have to talk to Takana, maybe he could say he moved to the next town and keep in touch of something to set dads mind at ease. " i don't think it'd be very nice to send mom into a panic to get off the boat. I bet Takana is okay. he's smart, and resourceful."
-
Corrin nods, "I know he's smart. He's a technical genius. Both you and him are very unique though so I can't help but think the worse..." He sighs and shakes his head, "I'm sorry. I feel like I failed at being a father." He goes to the snack bar and grabs popcorn and candy
-
Yori blinks, unique? Him? Hardly. " Well I know he's unique, I'm sure he's okay though. Takana always seems to do fine no matter what happens. You haven't failed." The temptation to say Takana was okay was very strong, but he promised. " Extra butter on mine! Can I have a box of Reese's pieces? Oh and mountain dew."
-
Corrin chuckles and ruffles the top of yori's head, "you can get whatever you want kiddo." He gets extra butter on yori's popcorn and gets himself several boxes of reese's pieces along with a large mountain dew for yori, "anything else? Oooh! They have carnival style donut holes and nachos as well!"
-
Yori ducks his head a bit as his hair is ruffled, " dad you're messing up my hair." he quickly finger combs it back into a somewhat contained state, " both of those sound really good, we probably shouldn;t go too overboard though."
-
Corrin grabs the donuts, "nonsense! When else will we get to have this experience!"
-
Yori snorts, " the experience that you want over as soon as possible?" he takes a bunch of the stuff, popping a handful of fresh popcorn into his mouth and chewing contentedly.
-
corrin shrugs, "We're here. whether we want to be or not isnt really up to us so we might as well make the most of it. Got everything you need? I think I do so lets go find some seats!"
-
Yori nods, swallowing the popcorn before talking, "yeah I'm good." He follows to the seating area and looks around, using an elbow to point out a pair of seats, " those are in a pretty good spot."
-
Corrin nods and goes to the seats, sitting down. His arms were full of goodies, more so than what yori had
-
Yori eyes the stuff his dad has, " you know moms gonna kill you if she finds out. im not going to tell her, but im just saying."
-
corrin shrugs, "She wants us to have a good time so I am going to have a good time. I'll remember this moment and will have zero regrets."
-
Yori shrugs and sits, grabbing a handful of reeces pieces and popcorn and munching them at the same time. " this movie is supposed to be awesome. i haven;t seen it yet but it's supposed to be ridiculously funny and have tons of gore and stuff."
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Corrin munches in his snacks, "gore you say! I remember my days of enjoying gore. It's been a while though. "
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Yori nods, "it's supposed to be kind of a comedy that pushes a bunch of boundaries. It's rated r for a good reason." He munches his own goodies. " Oh! It's starting. Shhh." He wiggles into his seat to get comfy, eyes glued on the screen as he eats his treats.
-
Corrin looks at yori and smiles, admiring his son and enjoying seeing him happy before looking back at the screen
-
Yori watches the movie, laughing at certain parts and wincing away from some of the gory parts, " oh ew!"
-
Corrin watches the movie, munching on snacks and overall staying quiet. The things he enjoyed as a teen were certainly worse than this.
On one hand he was glad that his son didn't know his past but on the other hand it was a shame that they couldn't have something like that to bond over.
The father side wanted him safe however his other side wanted his son to be stronger and much more cruel.
He stays quiet throughout the movie
-
Yori of course had no idea what was going through hsi fathers head and just enjoyed the movie, and when it was over all of his goodies were consumed and he gets up, stretching, " i know it's kind of not a typical movie, but i thought it was good. he does the dumbest stuff, just so friggen random!" he laughs.
-
Corrin finished most of his snacks, still working on his cotton candy, "I'll admit it was interesting enough that I stayed awake for it..although now I could really use a long nap." He gets up and yawns loudly
-
Yori chuckles, " you'll have plenty of time to sleep, you should make sure and finish that before mom sees. there's a second movie too, but the first is a classic."
-
Corrin keeps snacking on the cotton candy, "oh its just sugar. If I can't have a little sugar on this trip then what's the point~"
-
Yori shrugs and reaches over, yanking a tuft of spun sugar off the side and stuffing it in his mouth with a grin.
-
Corrin blinks before chuckling softly, "I suppose it will get consumed faster if we both take chunks." He takes another chunk out and eats it
-
Yori laughs, " yeah, you're not wrong. i haven;t had cotton candy in forever, i forgot how good it was. kinda makes my teeth hurt with how sweet it is though." he takes another chunk and eats it more slowly.
-
"Just make sure you brush your teeth afterwards and you should be alright. Drink plenty of water too." He finishes up the cotton candy, tossing his trash in a receptacle before looking at yori, "anything you want to do next?"
-
Yori nods, " i know i know, mom is always fussing at me to make sure i take care of my teeth." he thinks for a minute, " i heard they have this wind tunnel thing that simulates skydiving. that sounds cool."
-
"Skydiving?! I will have to watch you play that. I'm way too old for that." He laughs and ruffles yori's hair some more
-
Yori only makes a token noise of protest while his hair is ruffled. " mom would freak if she knew i was going to do it, she always worries that everything is too dangerous. this isn;t even real skydiving. lets go!"
-
"What happens on this cruise stays on this cruise! Lead the way yori!"
-
Yori laughs and heads to the wind tunnel. Later that night he finally gets to his room to settle down for the night and pulls out his phone, biting his lip before he sends a text to Takana, hey, just wanted you to know that dad really misses you and is worried about you. you should think about sending a letter or something, let him know you're alive and okay.
-
Takana sees the text that night and his ears droop. oh... did his dad... really miss him?
he misses me? he never seemed to show up when i needed him before but now he misses me. cool.
-
Yori huffs, don;t be a dick. dad wanted to give us everything we could ever want, so he worked a lot. he feels like he's failed at being a dad since you went missing. he's really worried.
-
takana's ears flick back, dont be a dick?? its true though. thanks to the cruise you probably have spent more time with him than i have in my entire life
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Yori sighs, eah, though most of the time he talked about how he just wanted to find you safe and sound. i know he wasn;t around much but he still cares.
-
Takana sighs softly, I'll... think of something. I don't really know what to say though....
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Yori sighs, im not sure either, but letting him know you're okay and not being held hostage might be a start. that's what he thinks, that you got kidnapped.
-
Takana snorts well then maybe I should tell him the truth. ...ugh no that would cause trouble I'm sure...
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Yori scratches his head, probably not tell him the truth, he and mom are already fighting. but yeah, he's super worried, so think about it? i miss you.
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Takana relaxes a little, frowning, I miss you too yori... everyday I wish I could see you.
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Yori smiles, soon as i get back from this cruise i promise i'll try to get out there and see you. okay?
-
I would love that! You and Isabelle should come out so I can see you guys!. Anyway, I should let you sleep. Have fun and the big boat!
-
Yori smiles, yeah! Goodnight. he sets his phone down and looks around, seeing Touhou setting up the couch. " Hey Touhou, you can share my bed you know, it's plenty big. That couch has got to suck."
-
Touhou blinks and looks at yori. He looks back at the over stuffed couch and drops the thin sheet that was going to be his blanket before going over to yori's bed.
It was a big bed, plenty to share, and yori already showed kindness before so touhou believed this wasn't a trick.
He cautiously gets on the bed and snuggles in, sticking to the edge so as to not take up anymore space than necessary.
-
Yori smiles and settles in, getting comfy on his side with plenty of space between them before falling asleep.
Izanagi gets ready for bed, and Kaiten is relaxed up on the roof as Arakan was busy that night.
-
Takana sighs softly and gets ready for bed. he makes sure his bedroom door is locked before removing his ears and goes to bed
touhou curls up, his tail wrapping around himself loosely before he falls asleep
~okay lol that can be enough of the cruise
-
Izanagi settles into bed and falls asleep.
~i mean i really doubt you want to keep going with it lol
-
Once it's early morning takana yawns and gets out of bed. He puts his ears back on, feeling them twitch as they reconnect. He stretches and gets some clothes on before going to the kitchen and working on cleaning it before making breakfast
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Izanagi soon comes out of his room when the smell of cooking food fills the air, " mmmmm, i hope you're sharing. so, how does it feel to finally have our watch outside of the apartment? whatcha gonna do if Arakan comes at night? i know you'll share your bed with him instead of kicking him out."
-
Takana blushes, "I don't want to start hearing your teasing so early. Yes I'll feed you but no questions about arakan."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " okay, but it was less of teasing and more of a legit question. wasn;t there some problems with the ears?"
-
Takana huffs, "arakan is polite to let me know beforehand if he's spending the night. And if he chooses to do so then I'll leave the ears on."
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Izanagi shrugs, " okay. just be careful." he plops himself down at the table.
-
Takana sighs, "believe me I am trying.... I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up anyway. I don't want to think about it but I got a text from my little brother that our dad apparently has been worried to death about where I am and if I'm okay. Yori says I should send him a letter to just let him know I'm okay but like.... I don't really want to."
-
Izanagi blinks, " do you not like your father?"
-
Takana's ears move back and he plates up a pile of french toast and sets it in front of izanagi, "i... don't know. We never had a great relationship but it wasn't terrible either. I got everything I wanted but he always kept to his work. I barely have any memories of him. Just mainly of my mother and our maid. I guess I'm also afraid that if he knows I'm okay would he double down on his search efforts and start causing issues for the district. If he does that then I'll HAVE to go back. I don't want to cause everyone here issues."
-
Izanagi makes a happy noise as French toast is placed before him. " Thanks! Yeah that sounds like a conundrum. I dunno what to tell you, Nikiri might have some better insight." He stuffs a piece of French toast in his mouth and chews happily.
-
Takana sighs and sits down with his own stack of French toast, "I don't want to keep bothering him. He already had to help me with my ears and he is busy with his family an awful lot."
-
" true. arakans mom knows about you. i don;t think arakan would be a good person to talk to about this. you really think if your dad finds out you're okay he's gonna look harder for you? you'd think the longer you're gone without contact the more freaked out he'll get."
-
Takana pauses as he's about to take a bit of his food. His ears droop and he gives another depressed sigh before setting his fork down, "i... don't know....I never knew him that well to begin with." He pushes his plate away a little so that he can lower his head onto the table
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " so...you have no idea how he'll act because you barely know the guy?"
-
Takana nods, "that's why I don't really believe yori when he says that my dad is worried about me, but yori would never lie to me. My life was mostly my mother and our maid, and then dad remarried and I had to grow up quickly and fend for myself because his new wife never liked me. "
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " so you think it's false, but yori wouldn't lie so it can't be false? I'm confused."
-
Takana groans, "I'm confused too...."
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Izanagi eyes Takana's stack of french toast, his own demolished. "well im not confused about breakfast. if you don;t eat that i will."
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Takana lifts his head a little and stares at hisbfrenchtoast before pushing his plate over to izanagi
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Izanagi blinks, he'd more intended it to try and get Takana to think about something else. He shrugs though and stabs the topmost slice and munches it, " these are really good, you should eat something."
-
Takana shrugs and gets up, and goes to the coffee pot, "I'm not really hungry anyway. I'll just have some coffee."
-
Izanagi shrugs again, " your loss." he grabs the plate and eats the rest of the french toast.
-
Takana pours a cup of coffee and sips it, "I can make French toast anytime, it's fine."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah i guess so. so what do you wanna do before work?"
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Takana pauses mid sip and stares at izanagi as he thinks, "do you want my honest answer?"
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Izanagi blinks, then grins, " sorry but Arakan isn;t here, so that's not really a viable activity."
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The fact that izanagi knew is what annoyed him right then and there, "if I texted him right now I bet he'd show up. He's busy I'm sure so I won't but he's one text away from having a good time. "
-
Izanagi is speechless for a moment before he busts out laughing, " oh em gee I did not think you the prude actually was thinking that! You've got it baaaaad for him. You know, I know I'm not him, but I could always give you a quick blowie if you want."
-
Takana snorts softly, "I'm not a whore who will seek out anyone. I like one person and I fuck that person. No exceptions."
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Izanagi shrugs, " i could put a couple ice cubes in my mouth while i do it if that makes you feel better."
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Takana turns bright red and his ears flatten, "heck no! Jesus when was the last time you got laid?"
-
Izanagi groans, " too long ago. but i was just offering for you since the ice prince seems to be standing you up at the station to bone town."
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Takana huffs, "he isn't standing me up. Like I said, if I texted him right now, he'd probably come right over but he is busy so of course I won't bother him. Why don't you go find someone to fuck before work and I'll take a nap."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " it was a metaphor, but whatever. i'll see if any guys are free~" he grabs his crappy phone and starts texting.
-
Takana sets his coffee down and huffs before heading to his room and closing the door.
He lays on his bed and glares at the ceiling briefly before his face turns slightly red and he hesitantly puts his hand down his pants
-
Izanagi heads out to meet up for a quick fuck and is gone for a couple hours. He comes back a little before work and showers, looking happily mussed.
-
Takana's quiet time didn't go as planned. He tried to jerk off but he could still remember how arakans dick felt so just a hand wasn't enough. So he tried taking some lube and fingering himself but if anything it just got him more frustrated. Embarrassed and cranky he took a cold shower(basically a normal shower for this district) and had gone back to bed to try to actually sleep, not waking up until he heard the front door open.
Izanagi must have come home.
-
Izanagi hums as he comes out of the shower and gets dressed, knocking on Takana's door, " better get ready to go or we're gonna be late!"
-
Takana groans softly, "I'm up I'm up." He gets ready and leaves his room, huffing
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Izanagi grins at Takana, " wow you look cranky."
-
Takana snarls, "I am...best not to bug me today."
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Izanagi tilts his head, " the offer from earlier still stands."
-
Takana rolls his eyes, "thanks but no thanks. You're not arakan so I doubt I'd get aroused."
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Izanagi grins, " a blindfold and ice cubes in my mouth, i betcha i could manage."
-
Takana shakes his head, "absolutely not. "
-
" your loss." he shrugs and heads for the door, humming.
Kaiten is waiting near the outer apartment door for them.
-
Takana gives a half hearted growl and heads out the door to work
-
Kaiten raises an eye at the clearly grumpy Takana but keeps his mouth shut, following them to the cafe.
Izanagi flounces in and starts getting things ready to open.
-
The girls are already in, taking care of the store and getting it ready.
Takana goes in the kitchen to start prep
Hikari had already finished cleaning the coffee machine nozzles and is sipping some coffee
-
Kaiten settles in one of the chairs to wait while they work.
Izanagi sidles over to Hikari, " watch out, Takana is cranky today."
-
Hikari glances at izanagi and gives a long sip from her coffee, "...is there a day when he isnt?"
Mina bounces over to izanagi and smiles, "naaaagi~♡ say I was wondering if I could borrow one of your outfits for a date I have coming up."
-
" way moreso than most." Izanagi looks at Mina and blinks, raising an eyebrow, " i would, but all my stuff is made for me, there's no way you'd fit into them."
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Mina pouts, "awwww don't tell me it's my chest! They're not that biiiig"
Hikari raises an eyebrow at Mina, "your chest could have its own rank Mina. They're big."
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Izanagi snorts, " lets compare for a second." he grabs his own chest, " zero titties" He gestures to her chest, " giant tittes. my clothes will physically not fit."
-
Mina puffs out her cheeks a little and sighs, "but your clothes are so cute.... I wish I didn't have boobs."
Hikari snorts softly, "same honestly."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " sorry, i can;t help that you have boobs. but im not going to let you wreak my clothes by trying to stuff them into them."
-
Mina whines softly, "not faaaaiiir... I need something nice to wear but I already spent my allowance!"
Hikari huffs, "your parents still give you an allowance DESPITE the fact that you are earning a paycheck?"
Mina blinks, "of course!"
Kaeru, who has been quietly listening to them, speaks up, "maybe you shouldn't spend all of your money all of the time."
-
Izanagi frowns, " well it sounds like you need to spend your money more wisely then. i gotta pay my bills, so i only have a little money for cute outfits."
-
Mina whines, "but you have a roommate now. You should have more money!"
Hikari rolls her eyes, "at least you guys just have rent for an apartment. I'm in charge of my house."
Kaeru sighs, "at least you have a house...."
-
Izanagi crosses his arms, " yeah, im saving some money. but that's my money. and regardless you physically cannot fit into my clothes. so maybe don;t blow all your money."
-
Mina pouts, "so mean!"
Hikari sighs and chugs down the hot coffee before cleaning the cup, "store opens in five minutes. Stop having conversations and get working."
Kaeru chirps quietly, "eep! Hikari is done with us. Bye!" She hops away and works on finishing up her sweeping
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " yeah yeah." he finishes getting the tables set up, then works on bundling silverware until they open.
The manager soon opens the shop and the first customers of the day come in.
-
Mina quickly tends to some customers, laying it on thiccc since she wants a good tip for an outfit
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " jeez, at least when i offer to blow customers i do it for fun and not just for money."
-
Hikari ignores her employees idle chat as she makes some coffee orders
Takana has everything ready for the day and as long as he has a quick minute he pulls out his phone and sends Isabelle a text before getting back to work
-
A few days later Yori finally get home from the cruise eagerly texting Takana that he's back and asking if he can come see him.
-
Takana gets the text and his ears perk up excitedly.
yes!! Omg i miss you and isabelle sooo much holy shit!
-
Yori grins im getting ready. is there anything you want me to bring? lemme see if isabelle wants to come with too. He quickly texts the question to isabelle.
-
Isabelle hears her phone and looks at it before smiling, oh i would love come over! Takana even messaged me before to bring over something the next time i came over. I just gotta grab my dufflebag and head to my freezer
Takana quickly sends a message to arakan, hey araaaakan~♡? Can i please have yori and isabelle over? Please~♡♡♡
-
Arakan lifts a hand to quiet the demon he's talking to and checks his phone, raising an eyebrow. " one moment." it's short notice but you may. It will be good to get Isabelle back here to see the planters we've built. He pockets the phone again, " continue please."
-
Takana smiles when he sees the response and looks over at izanagi, "hey, yori and isabelle are coming over. arakan said it was okay."
-
Izanagi looks up, " okay. Isabelle was cool. Yori i don't mind, though he's too uke for me."
-
Takana's face falls a little, "I don't want you anywhere near him if you start bringing up sex stuff. Also, hopefully Isabelle will be able to come over with the items I asked her for. If she can then we can have a real treat day."
Isabelle fills both of her dufflebags full before zipping them up. She tries to lift them both and squeaks as she almost stumbles. She pouts a little and picks one up just fine and hums softly before texting yori, yori? Can i ask that you come over to my house first and help me? I can't lift up both of my bags at once. I can drive us to the gate myself
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " he's not a little kid, sheesh."
Yori blinks,yeah, lemme grab my board and i'll be right over. he snags his skateboard from the closet where he hides it from his mom and checks the hall before bolting off, fake ears tucked into his belt. He soon arrives at Isabelles place and knocks.
-
Takana huffs, "no, but he is my little brother so I am very protective of him. And as far as I know he isn't gay. So don't please."
Isabelle happily opens the door, "thank you yori! I'm not sure why takana asked for this but I'm sure he has a good reason." She heads back to where the deep freezer and dufflebags are, "I can lift one up but not both of them so I need a little more muscle."
-
Izanagi flaps a hand, " like i said, he's not my type. you're not really either but for your cooking i'll gladly take a hit for the team." he grins.
Yori blinks, " wow, what is all this?" he goes to grab a bag and grunts, " holy cow what's in these? bricks?"
-
Takana snorts, "speaking of cooking, if you want any of the food I'm making tonight with the meat Isabelle is bringing you'll behave today "
Isabelle lifts one bag up, grunting softly, "beef of different kinds. I'm not sure why but he asked me to grab any kind of meat that I could grab at the store. I got a lot of weird looks when I went through the register but takana said he had good reasons."
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " i'll behave!"
Yori blinks, " this is a LOT of meat." He staggers a bit as he hauls a bag to the vehicle.
-
Isabelle nods and hauls her bag to the trunk, dropping it in, "it sure is. From my understanding they can't get actual meat over there. Well... the good stuff anyway. So I can understand wanting something small every now and again but this much is incredible..."
She goes to the driver side and hops in
-
Yori shrugs, " well im sure Takana has a good reason for it."
Arakan finishes his meeting as quickly as possible and heads over to Takana's apartment, knocking at the door.
-
Takana opens the door and smiles when he sees arakan, "thank you so much for letting them come over. I know it is short notice but they just came back from their cruise so we all really miss each other. Plus I asked for Isabelle to bring something over that I'm sure will be a nice treat for all of us."
Isabelle nods and begins driving, "exactly. Takana usually has a reason for everything regardless whether it's a good reason or not."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed. do you know when she'll be arriving? we should meet her at the gate."
Yori nods, " this is gonna be so good to see him, i've been missing him like crazy!"
-
Takana nods, "hopefully she'll be at the gate soon. Let's go~"
Isabelle parks the car near the gate, in a designated lot and steps out, "okay, here we go." She opens the trunk
-
Yori hops out and bites his lip, " i gotta put these ears on, they think im a demon like Takana." he quickly gets the ears put on, covering them with a hat so the guards don;t see them. " this is more complicated than last time." he grabs one of the bags.
Izanagi rushes out the door to go with.
Arakan heads out and leads the way to the gate, Indigo joining them on the way as he'd gotten the message from Arakan.
-
Takana eagerly follows arakan
Isabelle nods to yori and grabs her bag and closes the trunk, going to the main gate and talking to the guard about continuing her business with arakan.
The guard at the main gate gives them their entry and exit ticket before glancing at the dufflebags, frowning, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to check those to make sure you're not bringing anything that isn't allowed."
Isabelle looks at him, startled a little, "excuse me? Um no sorry you can't do that. We just came back from a cruise so I haven't had time to get my garden books out of my bags so I have my clothes mixed in with my books."
"Doesn't matter, it's protocol. Please hand over the bags."
Isabelle huffs. Guess she's going to have to be a little mean about this, "I'm sorry? Did you not just hear me?" She speaks louder to get the other guards attention, "Are you actually telling me that you want to rifle through my bras and panties?"
The guard flinches before he turns bright red and holds his hands up defensively, "miss, please that's not what i-"
The other guards look over, their eyes widening before one comes over, "Dave what are you doing? That's Isabelle kuroshiba. What if her husband finds out you touched her clothes! He would probably fire you, or worse! "
Dave shudders and backs up from Isabelle, "i- I'm sorry, please forgive me."
Isabelle huffs, "you all have better things to do than harass those who come in and out of this gate. Should be ashamed of yourselves."
She takes the tickets and hands one to yori, "this country is going to the dogs I swear."
-
Yori watcehs with wide eyes, taking the ticket and gladly going through the gate, " takana!"
Arakan watches the two entering, standing a ways back to avoid making the guards more nervous than they would be already.
-
Takana smiles and runs over to yori and hugging him tightly, "yori!! Holy shit I have missed you!!"
Isabelle calmly walks over to them and smiles, "good to see everyone is still well."
-
Arakan walks over and takes Isabelle's bag, " welcome back."
Yori hugs Takana tightly back, " me too, the cruise wasn;t too awful but mom was so clingy."
-
Isabelle blinks when arakan takes the bag, "oh! Thank you very much." She looks at takana, "so, why did you want all of this?"
Takana smiles at Isabelle, still hugging his brother, "I made a promise I intend to keep!"
Isabelle blinks, "a promise.... about meat...."
Takana chuckles, "you'll see. Arakan let's go back home. Some of this stuff has to go in the freezer."
-
Arakan looks over at Takana and raises an eyebrow before shrugging, " i do not pretend to know what he's thinking." he snags the other bag from Yori and slings it onto his back effortlessly.
Indigo walks to Isabelle and bows, " a pleasure to see you once more. i can hardly hope to protect you better than Arakan, however i will be keeping a close eye out in case trouble shows up and i am needed."
Yori grins, " i dunno what you're planning but if it involves a bunch of meat im liking it."
-
Takana looks at ypri, "well we'll have some tonight for dinner but the rest I want to make something nice for a shelter I saw with arakan a while back. A lot of mouths to feed and the meat will be good protein for them."
Isabelle gives indigo a hesitant nod, "um well thank you I guess."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i'll be damned, you actually remembered that. yeah, the kids are going to love that. they don;t get meat often."
Yori blinks, " a shelter? like, a homeless shelter?"
Indigo nods and steps back to follow the group.
-
Takana looks at ypri and nods, "Yeah kind of. It's mostly filled with mothers and children who have suffered after one of the monthly inspections if I remember correctly." Takana looks at arakan and nods, "of course! I do my best to keep my promises!"
Isabelle's face softens and she nods at takana, "that is very kind of you. I figured you had a good reason for wanting all of this meat."
-
Arakan nods, " yes, it's nearly always the adult male in the family that suffers, they are far more likely to be extra careful of their wife and kids, but overlook themselves. there have been cases where it was otherwise, but usually a close relative will take the kids since the fathers often are not as good at raising them, and of course if a child is killed the family grieves but their financial stability is not effected. is it the ones that are widows with children who need the most aid."
Yori stares at Arakan with wide eyes, looking at Takana, "...what?"
-
Takana winces a little, giving arakan a quick glance before looking at yori, "y-yeah unfortunately that's the truth. Saw it myself. I was hoping to tell you a bit more gently but yeah."
-
Yori blinks, looking down as he walks, " oh..."
Arakan shrugs, " it's life here." He walks into the apartment and sets the two bags of meat onto the table.
-
Takana wraps his arm around yori's shoulders as they walk, "I'm glad you guys were able to come over. I really have missed you guys."
Isabelle steps inside the apartment and curiously looks around from where she's standing
-
Izanagi rushes over to the bags and rummages through curiously, " ooo, this stuff looks good. i've never seen big hunks of meat like this before. well, not like, for cooking anyway." he sniggers softly.
Yori sits on the couch.
Arakan takes at seat at the table.
-
Takana gives izanagi a look, "well some of it is for us. The rest of it is for the shelter families. Maybe if we can get another haul of meat over in the future we can make some meals out of it for the rest of the people here."
Isabelle hums, "we should wait on that until Curtis is working so that I am not questioned about my bags."
Takana nods, "that or maybe see if Curtis knows someone who is equally trust worthy to pass through the gates with. I feel bad that we do so many things when he's working that could get him in trouble."
-
Izanagi pouts, " what if i don't wanna share?"
Arakan sighs, " regretfully i don't know of many who would be pleased about decent supplies coming in. though you may be able to bribe those that deliver our supplies in to allow you to stash the things you wish to smuggle in with our normal deliveries. there are other ways we can smuggle things in without bribery, but it is more dangerous for my people."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah I don't want to endanger your people... I also don't want to accidentally get Curtis fired and we lose our only decent guard. "
-
" indeed. regretfully bribery is usually the best way, money makes things happen. and we have little of that to spare so we can rarely use it to gain a voice. If higher than e ranks were permitted out of the district i could make some progress by sending Indigo and his family out mineral hunting, but they're too strong for the humans to trust."
Indigo chuckles, " yeah... i wish we could be let out to go gem hunting. not gonna lie, sitting here smelling that jewelry is torture."
-
Isabelle blinks and looks down at her necklace, "this old thing?"
She pulls her hair up briefly and removes the necklace, "my apologies. I keep forgetting that you can smell such things."
She goes over to indigo and holds it out to him, "here, as thanks for watching over my visits."
-
Indigo blinks, " i can;t possibly take that! it is not your fault my kind are able to smell gems." he waves his hands frantically.
-
Isabelle shrugs, "to me it's just a necklace. A simple accessory to my overall appearance. For you however these gems are so much more than that. I can always get a new necklace." She is still holding it out to indigo
Takana snorts softly as he pits away most of the meat aside from what he's gonna use to make dinner, "I'd just take it indigo. Otherwise she may get offended."
-
Indigo makes a noise of protest, looking between Isabelle and Takana before giving up and taking it, " your generosity is truly boundless. This will be an incredible treat for my entire family. though i'll admit i can't wait myself." he breaks a small length of the chain off and pops it into his mouth, chewing with an obviously very contented look on his face.
-
Isabelle nods, "good. I'm glad it will be of use to you."
She looks at arakan, "how are things coming along with the gardening? Anything I can assist with?"
Takana starts cooking, counting the people in the room briefly as he cooks.
-
indigo pockets the rest of the necklace with a brief wistful look at it.
Arakan looks at her, having been watching the exchange amusedly. " we have planters made that i believe will suffice ready for soil. we can stop and take a look later if you wish and we have time."
-
Isabelle nods, "sounds good. The sooner we get started the better, especially if we can have the sprouts ready for a greenhouse over the winter that we can then plant come spring."
-
Arakan crosses his arms as he thinks, " glass is not easy to get, im not sure we have any buildings that can be used for a greenhouse."
-
Isabelle shakes her head, "we don't need glass for now. Polycarbonate plastic should be fine since winter is coming since it can retain heat better."
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Arakan slowly raises an eyebrow, " ...and i am supposed to be able to get that?"
-
Isabelle shakes her head, "of course not. I would bring it. It's foldable and will be easier to bring over."
-
Arakan blinks, " very well then. i will see what i can find for a suitable building."
-
Isabelle nods, "I can also send you some pictures of other simple greenhouses just so you can get some ideas as to what materials you can use"
-
Arakan nods, " please. Some idea of the size and shape of the building I need to requisition would be appreciated."
-
Isabelle smiles and nods, "sounds good! Thank you for being patient while we were away. It was a very unexpected trip."
Soon the room fills with delicious smells as Takana keeps cooking
-
Arakan nods, " getting angry would not have done anything anyway, though the timing was suspiciously inconvenient. Regardless, whatever we can progress on is valuable."
-
Isabelle nods, "I wouldn't have gone if I could help it however my hands were tied. I was quite upset if I am to be honest."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed. well nothing that can be done about the situation that has already passed, we must focus on what is now and what lies ahead if we wish to get these plans to succeed."
-
Isabelle nods, "absolutely. Couldn't agree more."
Takana sets plates of steak, mash potatoes with steamed vegetables that Isabelle was also able to bring over. There is a plate for everyone, including indigo because we'll, he is here. "Foods on!"
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Indigo perks up, " well, i did not expect to get fed as i am on duty, but i do have to say that smells utterly amazing."
Izanagi makes a happy squeak and grabs his steak, biting into it and trying to tear a chunk off with his teeth.
Yori grins, " awesome!" and cuts a chunk of meat off before eating it happily.
Arakan eyes Izanagi and shakes his head before looking over the slice of meat, " interesting...this is the muscle of the animal correct? i don't believe i've seen a piece this large before."
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Isabelle sits down at an empty spot politely and grabs a fork and knife that's at every plate, "thank you takana."
"You're welcome." Takana quickly says to Isabelle before looking at arakan, "Yeah, they are all t bone steaks. There's a bone in the center with one side being a bit leaner and a smaller side having a more fatty meat. With all of us here I thought it'd be a nice treat to have something good. All of the roasts and ground meat I can turn into huge meals that can last longer for the kids at the shelter."
Takana looks at indigo, "well if you're with me on duty I'd rather you be fed than not. If you get hungry watching someone all day and something DOES happen I'd rather the person saving me have plenty of energy with food."
He sits down at his spot and also begins to eat.
All of the steaks are a perfect medium rare and are tender.
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Arakan hums and cuts a piece off, putting it in his mouth and trying to not look impressed as he chews.
Indigo chuckles, " at the risk of talking myself out of the best meal i've ever seen in my life, any demon worth their salt can go a few days without meals and still be at peak fighting form if need be." He spears one of the steamed veggies and looks at it, " this looks great, i don;t see any discoloration and it's still so firm. produce around here usually can;t really be eaten plain like this." he pops it into his mouth and chews contentedly.
Yori looks at his plate, " they're just vegetables... you can have mine if you want."
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Isabelle smiles at yori, "vegetables are good for you yori. And I brought these from my garden so you know they're good."
Takana chuckles at indigo, "that may be true but I also have no way of knowing when your last meal was. I'd rather not assume that you don't need a meal."
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Indigo nods, " well, i'll be better fed today than i've been in a long time. minerals and otherwise! maybe i'll actually get a little color in my hair again." He reaches up and touches one of the metallic feathers in his hair, dull and lifeless. It breaks off at the slight touch and falls as Indigo looks at it ruefully. " regardless, it's appreciated." he tucks into the meal without any more reservations.
Yori sticks his tongue out, " well yeah i know... they're still not my favorite though, and if he likes them so much then they should go to someone who enjoys them so much! im being generous." he grins at the inspiration.
Izanagi is far too busy eating everything looking close to being catatonically blissful to worry about everyone else.
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Isabelle giggles at yori before her eyes land of indigo. She frowns briefly before going back to eating, "I'll be sure to send more produce from my garden, along with the seeds my plants make. "
Takana sees the feather and he pauses briefly before looking at Isabelle, pretending he didn't see anything, "to be fair a cut of your plants to be transferred to the gardens here would ensure we have a healthy crop here rather than trying to grow from a seed our first year."
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Indigo sighs and tosses the feather into the trash, " nothing salvageable from that."
Arakan looks at Takana, " i presume cuttings will be stronger and take less time to grow? that would be very useful as we gain skill in this task."
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Takana looks at arakan and nods, "Yeah, Isabelle has her own room and greenhouse for her plants so they'll keep growing in the winter and when it's spring and she transfers them back outside she can take some healthy off shoots and repot then and bring them here for us to plant." He looks at Isabelle, "you can do that right?"
Isabelle pauses eating before nodding, "yes, I do that all the time. The only real chore is going to be getting the plants past the gates."
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Arakan nods, " well as i said, you may be able to work something out with our delivery men. i've heard them bitching quite often about how they don't get paid enough to ' haul around half rotten food to these savages' so i believe with a little added incentive they could likely be convinced to hide things in their loads they bring in. often some of the smells of off produce and meats tend to keep the guards from looking too closely, which could be used to our advantage. I hate to ask more of you, but they will not take anything from us in here. they're too afraid and wary of us. there are things i can do to compensate you in return however."
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Isabelle hums softly, "I am more than happy in helping your district out. I know the amount of work I put in will never offset the past but sometimes it's about a new start which I'm hoping to give you guys. The only thing I ever want is to know that the people in my life that I love are safe and so far it seems takana is very healthy and happy so consider me paid. As for the delivery men I can handle their compensation easily. I have more funds than I know what to do with so that will be easily done."
Takana blushes as he eats, "yes I am quite content with my current situation." He does want to confirm he's happy, just not so much that he gets izanagi in a teasing mood. Although....
Takana looks at izanagi and he can't help but grin. The demon does seem utterly occupied with the steak
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Arakan nods slowly, " indeed that's a noble mission. however i cannot simply take advantage of your generosity. my kind are proud, and don't take handouts easily. i will consider the best ways to compensate you." As Isabelle comments on taking care of Takana and Takana confirms this he's unable to stop his eyes from flicking over to the smaller male before regaining his composure. he takes a bite of his meal to cover the slight slip.
Izanagi is 100% not paying attention.
Indigo clears his throat slightly, " it is not much, but my family and i are able to refine impure metals without wastage that is caused by the chemical refining humans do. it's hardly worth the effort you are going through for our sakes, but you'd not only be helping us, but we would be able to give you our feathers which would be the purest forms of the metals you gave us. even mixed metals will be turned into different feathers. we can take small gemstones or flawed and broken pieces and refine them into raw larger gems as well. this could easily be very profitable to you."
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Isabelle looks at indigo and hums softly, "admittedly I have wealth and I am unsure as to how to sell... gems. And other such items. A lot of jewelry I have I am given for free as advertisement in magazines and at events I'm expected to go to and most of the time it is in bad taste to wear them again if they are out of season, whatever that means. So I have a lot of jewelry that was picked for me and I have never worn again. I'm more than happy to give them to you since it'll help clear up room in my closets but I have to say that I wouldn't not need anything in return....." she thinks for a minute, humming softly, "I'll talk to some people I know and see if they have any contacts in the business that may have a need for such things."
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Indigo nods, " and if i may suggest such a thing... Karim may be able to repurpose such jewelry and outfits. It's worth asking anyway. what he cannot use from the jewelry i can recycle. It may be speaking out of my station to suggest, but he would be able to keep you in new and stylish outfits constantly if that would help you."
Arakan studies the Alicanto for a moment, " not a bad idea. you're expected to stay on top of those things, having a personal designer would be a way be can somewhat pay you back. it's worth you considering anyway, i have no doubt he'd agree as you'd also be giving him free advertising essentially."
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Isabelle nods, "well he is already working on a piece for me so as long as that tur s out well, which I'm sure it will, I can discuss that with him."
Takana finishes eating and leans back in the chair, absolutely stuffed with steak and potatoes and steamed fresh veggies, "imma go into a food coma..."
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Arakan chuckles, " well last i checked all he needed was the gems you wanted added onto it and im sure he'll whip up something stunning. after all he's made excellent things for my mother despite the lack of supplies. Time will tell." he looks over at Takana and raises an eyebrow, " i suppose i could leave Indigo here to keep an eye on you while i escort Isabelle to see the planters." his own plate was cleared.
Yori finishes his food, having eaten the meat and potatoes and avoided the vegetables.
Indigo is still delicately eating his in small and polite bites.
Izanagi is looking at the steak bone debating how rude it'd be to chew on it.
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Takana perks up when arakan talks to him, "um.. yeah actually if that's alright? I could have some time to hang out with my brother and leave izanagi to... whatever he's thinking about while staring at his steak bone...."
Isabelle nods, "that should be fine. It'll just be a quick peak and honestly Takana you're not too much of a plant person. You might get bored. "
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Izanagi snaps out of it, " hm?"
Arakan nods, looking at Indigo briefly, " i am entrusting these three to your watch. do not disappoint me." he stands.
Indigo blanches somewhat and stands, bowing at the waist, " of course."
Arakan nods and looks to Isabelle, " when you're ready."
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Isabelle stands up and gently presses any creases out of her dress before looking at arakan, "ready."
Takana snorts at izanagi, "I've seen you stare at anything so intently before. You alright?"
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Izanagi chuckles, " sorry, it was so good. And I'm so full, I feel kinda dazed."
Arakan nods and heads out of the apartment, keeping his pace slow enough for Isabelle to easily keep up.
Once Arakan is gone Indigo sits back down, " ah, nothing like being reminded of your mortality in the face of failure." He chuckles s bit and slowly finishes off his meal, clearly savoring every bit.
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Takana smiles, "well hopefully Isabelle can pay off your delivery drivers and get meat and produce here along with other necessities." He looks at indigo, "thankfully for you it's been pretty quiet and I don't plan on heading out anytime soon."
Isabelle made the smart decision to wear flats instead of heels, unlike last time, so she can keep up a bit easier with arakan. She keeps quiet, almost in a mode that she puts herself in when she is nervous
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Izanagi nods, " that would be nice... not gonna count on it though." he grabs the bone and heads to his room, starting to chew on it for the flavor.
Yori blinks, " he's kinda weird."
Indigo takes his plate to the sink, " i appreciate you not making my job harder than it needs to be."
Arakan glances back at her after a bit of silence and raises an eyebrow, " you're nervous. I will not allow you to be harmed."
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Takana nods and looks at yori, "Yeah he's weird. Not bad but definitely weird."
He looks over at indigo, "I honestly do try to not make things difficult despite my constant actions."
Isabelle gives a soft squeak before looking at the ground, "I understand." She did her best to relax, despite still being nervous. Arakan was a man with a tense air around him so she couldn't help but be nervous
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Yori nods, " very weird."
Indigo chuckles, " i have heard you tend to get yourself into some interesting situations."
Arakan sighs softly, heading up to the roof of the building and stepping aside to let her look at the planters.
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Takana hums, "I'm sure you've seen the stunts I have pulled since being here. Although I promised arakan I wouldn't jump in front of a gun anymore."
Isabelle goes over to the planters and looks at them, "these are crudely put together but I'm sure it's just what you had on you. Thankfully planters aren't terribly complicated. If you plan to make more I would suggest adding another 6 inches of height or if it's easier material wise you could just add another plank worth of height on some of your existing planters so that they can be deeper for carrots. If it's hard to find more planks then I can always add it to the list of things to smuggle over."
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Indigo nods, " much appreciated, my abilities will do nothing against bullets so i'd have to hope i could get myself in front of you in time. that's not something i'd prefer to do."
Arakan nods, " i'll see what we can find. you're already going to be trying to get a lot of things here, im sure we can figure something out. the wood doesn;t need to be in perfect condition, so im sure we can find some things to scrap."
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Takana looks at yori, "so what's new for you? Did ya have fun at the cruise?"
Isabelle nods, "yes the wood is going to get damaged anyway over time so no need to use anything that could serve a better purpose."
Nikiri sits at home with his mother Imogen and his father Orym.
His mother rests in a lounge style loveseat while nikiri pours her some tea and they both listen to Orym's bombastic personality exaggerate a story.
Orym is only halfway through his tale when he suddenly stops talking and whips his head towards one of their large windows upon hearing a message from one of his daughters.
Nikiri and Imogen are also staring, their complexions grow pale before nikiri sets the tea down and looks at his parents, "you two contact arakans parents while I call him."
Imogen and Orym quickly pull out their phones while nikiri leaves the room and calls arakan.
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Yori nods, " yeah... i mean i didn;t wanna go, but dad and i watched deadpool and then i tried out the skydiving tunnel and we did a whole bunch of other really fun stuff. dad really tried hard to be there and spend a bunch of time with me, which was kinda weird at first but then it was really nice."
Arakan nods, " indeed." he hears his phone and pulls it out to see who it is, frowning, " excuse me, i need to see if this is important or not." he answers it, " what do you want?"
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Nikiri's voice sounds a little strained over the phone, trying to keep himself calm, "Rin just contacted the family. There was an incident in the 5th district while she was in a meeting and now the whole district went into an enforced lock down because the demon that caused the whole thing escaped."
Takana checks out a little when yori starts talking about their father, "ah. Cool. Skydiving."
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Arakans eyes narrow, " that's not far from here, fuck. is my father aware?" he glances over at Isabelle and waves for her to follow him and heads down from the rooftop, scanning around him as he's on high alert.
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"Mother and father got her message as well so they went to inform your parents. Arakan i- Rin's message cut out after and we haven't been able to reconnect our link... I don't know what to do."
Isabelle glances over and sees arakan. She blinks and sets down a planter before following him in confusion
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Arakans eyes widen, " there's nothing we can do at the moment. I hope she's alright, but we need to focus on here and now. Keep trying to contact her, if you are able to get contact again i want details, as much as she can get on what happened and the demon itself. Father will undoubtedly set the district into lockdown until we know more about the situation."
As he says that Ryokans voice comes over the speaker, " All demons C rank and lower are to return to their homes or to the closest safehouse immediately and with haste. B rank demons are to report to their defensive stations and remain on standby until further notice. This is not a drill."
Arakan looks at the speakers with some annoyance, " and there it is. He could have tried to not cause panic but at least we're in defensive mode." He keeps checking on Isabelle, making sure she's keeping up as he hurries back to the apartment.
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Takana hears the speaker and frowns, looking around, "that...was new. Wonder what that is all about..."
Isabelle blinks as she listens to the speaker and she becomes even more tense. She was afraid to ask though.
Nikiri shudders a little, and gives a soft exhale as he tries to focus on not having a panic attack, "ri-right. Understood... I'll let you go so you can focus as well but if she responds with new information we'll let you know immediately."
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Indigo pales when he hears the speaker, " well that's not good." he gets up and looks out the window.
Arakan nods, " good." he hangs up and looks at Isabelle, " im getting you back to Takanas apartment and you're staying there. I wish i had someone higher rank than Indigo to keep an eye on you all but he should be able to buy time at least. I need to go speak with my parents once you're there and safe."
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Isabelle blinks, "um... I take it everything is not alright?"
Takana gets up and rubs the back of his head, "any idea as to why we're going into lockdown?"
To the west into the horizon a plume of dark smoke rises in several places where the 5th district is locayed
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Izanagi peers out of his room.
Indigo shakes his head, " no more than you do. We only go into lockdown if there's something serious going on though. Since he assigned b ranks to defensive stations it could be a rogue demon."
Arakan notes the smoke and presses his lips together tightly, " yeah, you could say that." he gets to the apartment building and hurries up to the floor Takana and Izanagi are on, gently ushering Isabelle into the apartment. " you will stay here until further notice. all of you. i will not risk any of you getting killed under my watch."
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Takana's eyes widen, "a rogue demon?" He hears the front door open and looks over, feeling slightly relieved when he sees arakan and isabelle, "oh good you two are safe."
Isabelle goes over to yori and takana, looking a little scared, "killed?"
Takana holds isabelle's hand, "hey its okay, arakan would never let anything happen to us."
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Arakan nods, " you're safer here than outside the district anyway. I need to go speak with my father, and if I can I'll be back. I will do all I can to ensure your safety."
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Takana nods at arakan, "stay safe yourself, okay?"
Orym is with Ryokan since it would be faster to relay any info to the higher rank demon in person rather than over the phone.
Imogen waits patiently, tending to her little kids the best she can with nikiri.
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Arakan nods before hurrying out, running once he reaches the ground floor.
Indigo looks out the window, " must be serious if he's running, though i already suspected that."
Soon he arrives and goes in to where his father and mother are, " is there any new news?"
Ryokan shakes his head.
" i saw smoke, to the west."
" towards the 5th district...that does not bode well." Ryokan muses.
Arakan nods, " permission to head to the western wall to see if the human there know anything,"
Ryokan looks at him sharply before nodding once, " go, and return quickly."
Arakan nods and heads out, once again running once he's out on the streets.
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The wall that keeps the 5th district contained is being heavily surveyed by dozens of swat guards along with several tanks on the human side of course.
They even have several helicopters overhead.
Everything and everyone look ready to attack in case the demon that caused this mayhem shows himself.
No human dares to enter the district. As frustrating as it is to watch them stand there it could be for the best for now.
No need to have a trigger happy human shoot at innocent demons when they have yet to know what this culprit even looks like.
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Arakan sees this and prepares to defend himself in case they shoot from being startled, " Hey, do any of you know what the hell is going on?"
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Some of the men look over at arakan, talk quietly amongst themselves, and call over a burley and angry looking macho man.
The guy looks at arakan and sneers, "go home you freak. This has nothing to do with your district."
These guards are not Curtis and since they are in charge of a rougher district it means they are also a lot more cruel
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Arakan rolls his eyes, " considering if the threat is b rank or higher you're all hardly more than a meat shield that will slow it down ever so slightly, you may wish to tell m, who can actually possibly take care of the threat before you all get turned into a meat slurry."
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The guy grabs his ak-47 off his back and takes the safety off, "I said GO. HOME."
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Arakan scoffs, " dumbasses. like that'd do anything to me." He shakes his head and turns around, heading for the gatepost that Curtis mans. He stops a bit back and bellows, " Curtis!"
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Curtis, being on high alert after getting called in on his day off, had noticed arakan coming and was fast at coming down to the gate, "arakan! The tracker says Isabelle and yori are inside your district. Are they okay? And takana??"
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Arakan nods, " they're fine, we're on high alert. can you tell me what's going on? we got very little information, and the jackasses at the west gate think they can handle things." he scoffs.
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"A meeting took place at the capital with a bunch of guards, the leader and one of the deer girls about switching out the guards they currently have for new ones since there had been a lot of complaints from the citizens. From what I was told the meeting was almost over when there was a sudden explosion that took out half of the building. The guards that were inside haven't reported to HQ and now chunks of the district are on fire. The assholes you spoke to were probably the same ones who were about to level the entire district just in case but... they can't do that according to the rules. They have to wait first. District 5 has at least 1 hour to respond to the guards and let them know that whatever is going on is under control but if they don't then that whole area is going to get demolished with everyone inside in order to try to contain whatever is going on."
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Arakan growls, " fuck. We haven't been able to get contact with the deer girl." He knew there was no point actually telling him her name. He looks at Curtis for a long moment, " I'm almost tempted to just try and go over there myself, those guards can't do shit to me."
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Curtis sighs, "no they can't do anything to you but... they have been known to retaliate on to those who can't defend themselves. A big part of the reason why there was a meeting about change over."
He's quiet for a minute as he studies arakan, huffing softly, "they'd never let a demon in. They'd rather play target practice with one than let them through. But if a human that they didn't like volunteered to go in they wouldn't say no. I used to work for district 5 so I know where the capital is."
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Arakan nods, " all my vulnerable people are safely hidden. I could just go." He narrows his eyes, " you can't go, you'll be turned into mincemeat." He looks Curtis over, " but if they trust you...got any spare uniforms?"
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Curtis snorts, "they'd make a request to be in charge of this district and terrorize your people daily, that's what I mean by retaliate." He listens to arakan and his eyes widen, "wha- spare uniforms? You can't be serious! If takana found out I helped you get into trouble I'd be killed by him!"
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Arakan snorts, " he will settle down when he realizes how many lives this would save. You can't possibly hope to survive if it's a rogue demon, but I can deal with it."
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"Your collar would set off an alarm the minute you go through any gate." Curtis is quiet again briefly before grumbling, "if I am to trust you then... that means if I take off your collar and you pass through in order to pretend to be human then I need to know that you will put it back on once you're back in this district."
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Arakan is quiet for a long moment, " of course. I will not risk my people by refusing to come back." His voice is quiet, " this is the only way to save those people and you know it, and I'd rather take whatever it is on outside of my district."
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Curtis gives a hesitant nod, "okay. Just... as selfish as it is to say this I need you to understand that if anyone found out I took your collar off I wouldn't just lose my job. I would probably be tried for the death penalty." He goes to his guard shack and looks around nervously before grabbing his removal tool and going back over to arakan.
He opens the gate and steps inside.
Trust. This is all about trust.
He reaches around arakans neck with the tool and after a brief pause there is a soft beep and Curtis has to catch the collar as the heavy thing pops open and almost falls
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" and if this is found out they would take their revenge on my people, we both have a considerable amount to lose." He closes his eyes as Curtis goes to take the collar off, and lifts his hand to feel his neck where the air is cool on it for the first time in his life.
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Curtis steps aside, leaving the gate open for arakan to pass, "the guard shack has a full uniform that looks relatively your size. Wear the hat too. Gotta hide your horns."
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Arakan steps in, " I'm aware." He swiftly strips down and puts the uniform on, putting the hat on that badly hides his horns. " Hopefully they'll be too busy to look too close."
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Curtis nods, "agreed. And just in case let me do the talking. I'm sure you tried to talk to them before coming to me so I don't want to risk anyone recognizing your voice if it can be helped."
He switches out his own AK on his back for the guard shacks fire extinguisher since he knows there's no real point. He figures an extinguisher will be more useful anyway.
"Ready to go?"
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Arakan nods, " good plan. of course im not sure they could really hear me with their heads so far up their asses but still." he tugs the hat down to cover his face as much as possible and follows behind, " never thought i'd see the day where i would be following a human..."
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Curtis sighs, "never thought I'd let a demon out without their collar on..."
They get to the 5th district gate and approaches the same burley guy, "Charles. Let me pass through."
Charlie looks at Curtis, "oh look it's that demon loving bastard. What you gonna actually go in and help them too? It's bad enough you informed our superiors of the hour long wait rule. Why don't you fuck off already."
Curtis huffs, "what, dont feel like having a win, win solution being dropped in your lap? The risk of me dying is high going in there and that's something you've always wanted and if I see that it's a doomed situation and report back to you then you can blow this place up sooner than later."
Charlie looks at Curtis for a long minute before glancing up at arakan, "you just that willing to die huh? And what about this tall weirdo? He wants to die to?"
Curtis sighs, "he doesn't want to die but he does want to help. He recently transferred from district 2, you know how those guards are."
Adam snorts, "oh I know them kind. Alright fine. You two weirdos can go in and get yourselves killed. Just makes my job easier." He opens the main gate.
Curtis glances at arakan and nods before heading inside
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Arakan touches the brim of his hat as a nod to the others and follows Curtis in, keeping his head down. He lets out a breath once they're past, " well, we're in anyway."
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Curtis sighs in relief when they get far away from the gate.
You can smell the sulfur and soot in the air. There are a few buildings that are actually partially melted as if the metal supports and rebar frames got so hot that they melted.
Curtis shudders at the sight and the intense heat in the air, "my god. What happened?" He rubs his arm nervously before looking at arakan, "you're faster than me so I hate to ask but mind carrying me while I tell you where to go? We don't have much time and I'd rather not be in here when the hour is up. "
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Arakan looks around with eyes narrowed, " looks like a heat based demon went apeshit. yeah i hear ya, this is an emergency only sort of thing, so don;t go getting ideas that this is a regular thing." He leans forward as he shifts to his other shape, shoving his head between Curtis's legs to get him onto his neck before running towards the worst of the smoke and damage.
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Curtis' eyes widen and he let's out a bunch of expletives when he's jerked up and onto arakan, "THIS IS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE?! JESUS CHRIST! AH FUCK-" he clings onto arakan the best he can, "fuck fuck fuck the hell is this form suppose to be?? Uh shit um go down this street about a few hundred yards and then there should be a broken bench with penis' drawn on it, take that left."
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Arakan rolls his eyes and considers shaking the loud man off of him but resists. He growls, his voice low and raspy in this form, " My parents were an ice phoenix and a hellhound, what did you expect an ice fairy? Be glad i have no desire to kill you." He bounds to the bench, turning and following the left street.
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As soon as they turn the corner a building with a rounded dome like roof a few miles ahead comes into view and Curtis pales when he sees a chunk of the building missing its outer wall, "there! That building. That's where the meetings are normally held. Unfortunately right where that huge opening is a few floors up is where I think they sit."
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Arakan lifts his head enough to look at it, then speeds up, " hold on tightly. very tightly." he continues to pick up speed until he gets close and jumps, getting most of the height and slamming into the side of the building. Metal screeches as he digs his claws into it and climbs vertically until he reaches the opening to peer in.
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curtis clings as tightly as he can screaming when arakan jumps
inside the building the stench of blood over took everything almost more than the incredible heat from everything being on fire. it was going to be too hot for curtis unless something was done to keep him cool
In the meeting room the wall that held the door was completely gone, the large table that sat in the middle was tossed to the side and half melted, chairs strewn around.
In the corner of the room was a large semi transparent bubble with Joker inside holding it up.
Behind him in the safety of the bubble were the humans that were there for the meeting and two unconscious people, a splash of silver peaking from behind joker would mean that one of the unconscious people was probably Rin
Out of the barrier and on the other side of the room was a tall figure who was on fire, the culprit it would seem. He cackled and leaned against the wall, "You really are just waiting for me ta get bored arent ya? Aint gonna happen kid. Either I kill the rest of ya and leave or we all wait here for them humans to crush all of us. Either way the other districts will only know the death of all these demons thanks to the humans and maybe another war will break out~ wouldnt that be fun"
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Arakan already radiated cold, though the slight cold burn from where Curtis was in contact with him was probably not high up on the things he was focusing on. Arakan considers the situation for a moment before the wind picks up as he summons the cold, snowflakes and a harsh wind attacking the flames. He roars, climbing up over the edge into the area, frost spreading on the ground where his feet touch.
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Once they are on the ground curtis jumps off and keeps his distance the best he can, not wanting to be in the way of anything arakan wanted to do
both Ra and Joker flinch hearing Arakan and look over
Ra's eyes widen when he sees Arakan, "Wha- what the hell!? The hell are you doing here?"
Joker looks relieved for a split second, glad to more than likely have help. He was too young to already be dealing with a life or death battle. With Ra finally distracted he is able to stop channeling power into the Seven of Wands, his defense card and grab his deck, quickly shuffling the deck, placing it down and pulling from the top, "ah, the Emperor, and its upright."
Authority, Structure, Control. The card then begins to ice over slightly, just enough to show Joker that its for Arakan.
Joker nods and lets the card disappear, its power going to Arakan. It would only be for the battle before the effects would wear off.
-
Arakan feels a surge of power and lets his mouth hang open in a savage grin, launching himself at Ra with claws outstretched and mouth open, ice spikes bursting from the ground ahead of him and aiming directly for Ra.
-
Ra snarls, "Oh no you dont!" he holds out his hands and blasts arakan with all of his powerful flames
-
The ice burst up between them, absorbing the heat. Arakan bursts through the ice and slams into Ra, trying to bite down deep into the demons chest. the sky darkening as Arakan summons a storm, snow flurries flying and dousing fire all around them and around the district.
-
Ra screams when he's bit but it only lasts a second, a sharp fang quickly piercing into his heart and instantly killing him
Joker flinches seeing the carnage and he hesitantly drops his barrier. He sniffles and wipes his face, shaking. He had been doing his best to protect those in the room for almost an hour and he was terrified and exhausted.
Curtis goes over to Joker, "Hey you alright? Is everyone okay?"
Joker sniffles, "i- I dont know. I- I think the humans.... and Rin are okay but... m-my brother.... he... He got hit first t-to buy us some time and i- my cards wouldnt... they wouldnt pull up The Star for healing... they pulled up the Death card but... we were already changing... we already took over for my parents i dont understand."
Curtis, not knowing tarot, has no clue what the hell Joker is talking about, "Um.... o-okay?"
-
Arakan drops the corpse and walks over, sniffing Rin and the others, the elder brother was either dead or very close to it. " we have to go before they call the timer, i wish i could help but i am no healer. If anyone asks, i was not here, understand?" He looks at Rin for a long moment before deciding she would live, grabbing Curtis again. " we must hurry back."
-
Joker looks at Arakan and nods, "t-thank you. I- I am so sorry.... I can get the humans awake after you leave and make sure they contact HQ."
Curtis lets himself be grabbed, "What a mess..."
-
Arakan sighs softly, " good. If you need advice, contact us through Rin. You are going to have to lead, show no weakness." He leaps down from the building and runs until they're near the gate, staying out of sight as he dumps Curtis roughly and shifts back, brushing himself off and wiping any blood from his mouth. The storm abates since the fires are out and his boost of power fades. " Well, that went about as well as can be expected."
-
Curtis sighs, "well i lived so it went better than i thought it would. Straighten your hat a little." he heads to the gate.
Most of the men have left including the tanks and helicopters. The call to HQ must have gone through already
Charles is by the main gate looking pissed and disappointed
-
Arakan adjusts his hat and keeps his head down, covering his face as he follows behind Curtis.
-
Curtis grabs some cool soot on the ground and rubs it on his face to make it look like he didnt just get in and out that easily before going up to charles, "hey so we went in and it looks like they had everything handled before we even got there. Did you get anything from HQ?"
Charles growls softly, "Yeah yeah we got confirmation that the guys in there were fine and we're going to be escorted out. Must have been one hell of a fight though for that bastard leader to be dead. Heard the freak was only leader for a month. Must have been weak. no wonder they got attacked."
Curtis bites his tongue, wishing he could beat the crap out of Charles before sighing, "Man what a waste of resources." He steps out of the district and looks at Charles, "You want me to come back for the translator when they come back or do you think you can handle it?"
Charles snorts softly, "Yeah why dont you come get her. I'm already way past my shift."
Curtis holds back the urge to shout that it was technically his day off but he just gives a nod. He has no clue how well Rin will be so he would feel better escorting her back into the 4th district, "Sounds good. I'll have my radio on."
-
Arakan walks into his own district and relaxes a little, heading for Curtis's usual gate to get his collar back on.
-
Curtis sighs and goes over to arakan, "Well, i sure as shit feel like i need a smoke now." he gently puts arakans collar back on, making sure its... as comfortable as it can be, "Thank you. For your help back there. Ah shit i shouldnt say help, i really didnt do anything. You did everything."
-
Arakan snorts, " what you did was something only you could do, even if i did all the fighting." he reaches up to finger the collar for a moment before dropping his hand. " i'd better go tell my father they can lift the lockdown and make sure Takana isn't freaking out."
-
Curtis nods, "I have no clue what condition Rin will be when she comes out but im sure she'll be able to send a message for someone to inform your parents as well."
-
Arakan nods, " as long as she's alive we can heal most other things with time. you did a brave thing today." he heads back home, telling his father that the situation has been handled and that Rin is alive, His mother scolding him for being so reckless. He then heads back to Takana's apartment and knocks before entering at the speakers announce the end of the lockdown and that shops and businesses will be closed for the remainder of the day.
-
Takana visibly relaxes when he sees that arakan is okay, "How could you do something so reckless! I wanna yell at you so bad but I cant do it in front of everyone so im gonna have to drag you to my room and yell at you." he takes arakan's hand, "Please let me yell at you in my room."
Rin does manage to contact her family and nikiri quickly leaves to wait for her at the gate.
Her kimono is ruined although that can be replaced. A little over half of her face is scarred from ravaging burns and she cant open her right eye from the wounds. There are probably more wounds on her body but just cant be seen thanks to the clothing.
She is shaking, possibly from shock and pain and Nikiri gently leads her back to arakan's mother in hopes of getting her fixed up or at the very least no longer in pain
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " oh? has our little gatekeeper tattled on me?" he lets himself be pulled into the room.
Yori blinks, " wait, what happened?"
Indigo shrugs, " i am no more in the loop than you are."
-
Takana closes the door behind them so they have privacy, his face bright red, "in all honesty? No one said anything. I figured you did something but I have no idea what. But I don't want to yell at you obviously. I was worried, and you're back so I want to kiss you but I know it has to be... private. So kiss me already."
-
Arakan blinks and chuckles, " well I'm going to do it before I tell you what I did because then you really will yell at me." He pulls Takana close and kisses him deeply.
-
Takana wraps his arms around arakan and kisses back, letting arakan slip his tongue in
-
Arakan pushes him against the wall, growling a little as he lets his tongue explore the others mouth, dominating him.
-
Takana gives a muffled gasp, his grip on arakan tightening. He can't help but grind himself a little against arakan. Something in him want him to do it and he wasn't exactly thinking correctly
-
arakan inhales deeply when Takana grinds against him and he very reluctantly pulls away, " Takana, you have guests in the other room."
-
Takana blinks, his head clearing a little, "ah... ahhh fuck.... sorry..." He blushes and clears his throat and straightens his clothes out a bit before opening the door, "Don't do anything like that again!" He huffs and goes over to Isabelle and yori, "see? Everything is fine. Just to be clear, that doesn't happen usually."
Isabelle slowly raises an eyebrow and glances over at yori
-
Yori blinks, then shrugs and looks at his phone.
Arakan straightens his clothes and walks out, " right, apologies for scaring you."
-
Isabelle hums softly and looks at arakan, keeping her mouth shut.
Takana nods and clears his throat, "right. Good. Anyway. Do you guys have time for a movie? I can get something up and running."
-
Arakan sighs, " i should probably check to make sure things are settling down and be there to reassure people. You are allowed to leave now though, the matter has been handled and it's safe for you two to go if you wish." he looks at Isabelle and Yori.
-
Takana nods, "sounds good. Make sure you come back in case I need to yell at you some more."
-
Arakan nods solemnly, " of course." and heads out to take care of his people.
Indigo raises an eyebrow as he looks at Takana, " that was... interesting."
-
Takana glances at indigo, "he doesn't like it when I yell at him in front of others. You know. Ranks and all I guess. I just can't get used to them."
-
Indigo chuckles, " mhm. right. Anyway, were you planning to stay or did you two wish to be escorted to the gate?" he looks at Isabelle.
-
Isabelle looks at indigo and then at yori, "what do you think? A movie or home?"
-
Yori looks at Isabelle, " i don't wanna leave yet even if that was kinda freaky having everything be in lockdown."
-
Takana waves his hand defensively, "like I said that normally doesn't happen! It's actually pretty quiet around here!"
Isabelle hums, "I guess we'll stay then." She smiles at takana.
-
Yori bounces to the couch and plops onto it, " yay!"
Indigo chuckles softly at the childish sight, " very well. i will stay here and watch over you for as long as is needed."
-
Takana hums, "oh cool you gonna watch the movie with us? Turning Red just came out and it looks really good."
-
Indigo blinks, " i have not heard of this movie, but i will be happy to watch the film."
-
Takana grabs his laptop and gets the movie ready, using his little screen projector invention to place the movie on a blank wall, "nagi! We're watching a movie! Join us or dont!"
-
Izanagi hurries out and plops onto the floor in front of the couch.
Indigo peers at the projector, " interesting."
-
Takana hums, "thanks! Made it myself out of an old phone." He gets the movie up and running before settling in
-
Indigo chuckles, " i see why Arakan keeps you close, you are very resourceful."
-
Takana nods, "I try to be."
He enjoys the movie with his friends and family
-
Towards the end of the movie Arakan arrives back, sitting at the table to keep from interrupting the end of the movie.
Yori looks over at Takana once it's done, " i wish we could do this more often, i really miss you."
-
Takana's ears lower a little, "I know. I miss you too.... I miss everyone but the adults." He chuckles softly
-
Yori nods, " i hear ya. i still think you should let dad know you're okay though, he's been so worried."
-
Takana tsks softly and looks away, "I really don't want to though. If me being gone is making him a better dad then you should enjoy in it. Get to know dad in every way that I couldn't. "
-
Yori droops, " he just wanted us to be able to have all of the things we wanted. that meant he had to work. he can;t make it up to you if you don't give him the chance."
-
"I didn't want things though. I had just lost my mom and was being raised by touhou. And even he stopped talking after mom was gone. It was so lonely. I would have rather had my dad than the things he replaced himself with."
There was definite resentment for his father in his tone.
"The only thing he ever did that made a meaningful impact in my life was having you."
Isabelle blinks and frowns. She had no idea takana had such a quiet and lonely time before Corrin remarried and had yori.
-
Yori sighs, " but he had lost your mom too, he probably was grieving himself. even if he di remarry i bet he still had feelings for her. so because he fucked up you're never gonna give him a chance ever again?"
-
Takana grinds his teeth angrily, trying to contain the rage he felt for his dad.
He didn't want to lash out at anyone that wasn't his dad, and he especially didn't want to lash out at yori.
"Yori. I'm not going to have this conversation right now."
-
Yori looks down, " ... fine. I want to go home." he gets up, " i can get home myself if you want to stay longer Isabelle."
-
Isabelle hesitantly gets up, "oh um. We've uh... we have been here for a while so I should... probably go too..."
Takana takes the little projector device off of his laptop and closes it aggressively before getting up, "Yeah. It was nice seeing you two."
He ignores the three demons in the room, quickly going to his room and closing the door. God he wants to slam the door so bad but he won't. Slamming the door solves nothing
-
Arakan looks over where Takana vanished and sighs, " indigo, stay here. i'll take these two to the gate." he gets up and heads for the gate.
Yori follows.
-
Isabelle follows behind arakan, glancing at yori every now and then
Takana crawls under his blanket and huffs angrily
-
Arakan stops at the gate, " be safe."
Yori keeps his eyes down, not talking.
-
Isabelle passes through the gate and turns to arakan, bowing politely, "thank you arakan, and my apologies for... the atmosphere of the apartment. I honestly have never seen them like this before..."
-
Arakan shrugs, " there seem to be some unresolved issues. i'll talk with him later. you're welcome to come by whenever, just let me know so i can clear my schedule."
-
Isabelle nods and waves goodbye before going to her car and unlocking it so her and yori can go home.
-
Yori climbs in and looks at his phone.
Arakan heads back to the apartment, " thank you Indigo, you may leave."
Indigo bows and heads home.
Arakan goes to Takana's room and knocks, " it's me."
-
Takana curls tighter in his ball under the blankets, "congrats. It's you." He says bluntly.
The familiar angry sass that he threw in arakans face the first time they met was there.
-
Arakan snorts, " may i come in?"
-
Takana is quiet for a moment before grumbling softly, "I can't stop you from coming in." His back hurt and he felt tense which didn't make him feel any better.
-
Arakan shrugs, it wasn;t exactly an invitation but it'd do. He opens the door and shuts it behind him, going over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. he reaches over and gently rubs the part of the lump he figures is Takana's back.
-
Takana sniffles and scoots closer to arakan, "I'm sorry....I just... just because yori is finally getting some attention doesn't automatically mean our dad is a good guy. Being a nice guy when it is convenient doesn't make you a good person, it makes you an opportunist..."
-
Arakan notes the scooting bundle and holds back a laugh, unwrapping the front where takana's head is and leaning down to place a kiss onto his head, " he craves approval from the male role model in his life. this is normal."
-
Takana huffs, "I WAS the male role model! I stopped going to my after school clubs and practices to make sure yori wasn't alone like I was! I took him to the parks, and school supply shopping, and helped him with his homework! I made his school lunches and showed up to whatever school event he had."
He hugs arakan, wanting more affection, "and I don't care if dad is finally paying attention to yori. I'm thankful for it because yori deserves it but I have already exhausted all of my feelings for him. I shouldn't have had to make an appointment through his damn secretary to see him. WHICH got canceled the day of. I'm done giving him chances and I don't owe him a stupid letter letting him know I'm okay. I hope me being gone worries him to his actual grave."
-
Arakan nods, " you may have been the stand in father, but there is always a craving to gain the approval of the real father. He has some things to work out." he gently pulls Takana into his lap where he can cuddle him more.
-
Takana settles on arakans lap and practically clings to him, "I just wish yori understood that I cut dad out the minute I moved out."
-
Arakan hums, " have you told him that? That in specific, that you are no contact with him." He idly runs his hand through Takanas hair.
-
Takana hesitates before sighing and shaking his head, "no.... I should have told him... I just figured that if I did he'd ask his mom or our dad why and I'd get yelled at again. I thought... dad knew where I was and didn't say anything so it was a truce of some sort." Takana begins to relax a little, nuzzling against arakan.
-
" well if he doesn;t know then he can't help but want to fix what he thinks can be repaired." he chuckles at the smaller male nuzzling into him.
-
Takana sighs, already knowing that was going to be arakans answer, "yeah... yeah I know..."
He's quiet before pulling away a little so he can look up at arakan, "how on earth are you able to calm me down so fast."
-
Arakan grins, " im a chill dude." he leans over and pecks Takana on the lips. " feeling better?"
-
Takana smiles when he's kissed and he chuckles softly, "yeah... I feel a lot better. Thank you."
-
Arakan lays back with him, " good."
-
Takana scoots as close to arakan as possible, nuzzling against him some more.
He doesn't know why he needs to but he just feels like he should
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " are you enjoying yourself?"
-
Takana hums happily, "yeah~♡ I don't know why but being able to do this makes me feel relaxed."
-
Arakan ruffles his hair, " well after you got yourself in a tizzy I suppose relaxed is good."
-
Takana purs softly, "mmmm? Tizzy? I suppose I did get upset when I didn't need to..."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed you did." he leans down and catches Takana's lips with his own.
-
Takana is eager to deepen the kiss. He's been waiting so patiently for this.
-
Arakan chuckles softly into it as he's pulled closer, happy to oblige the smaller male under him.
Izanagi ever so stealthily slides a few regular packets of lube under the door.
-
Takana's ears twitch, hearing the sound of something being shoved under the door and he growls softly.
He pulls away from the kiss and looks over at the door and huffs, "we gotta get our own lube so he leaves us alone."
-
Arakan glances over at the dorr at sighs, " somehow I doubt that'd stop him. At least he just shoved the lube under, could be a lot worse."
-
Takana rubs his face against arakan, "unfortunately you're right."
-
Arakan snorts softly in amusement as Takana grinds his face against the ice demon again, " are you attempting to wipe your skin off onto me or something? is that a new thing?"
-
takana stops briefly before humming, "not sure. but i suppose you cant fuck me if i do this."
-
Arakan flushes a little at the bold words, " well, is that what you want me to do?"
-
Takana nods and licks his lips, "from you? I don't think I could ever say no."
-
Arakan chuckles, " well I give you permission to tell me no if you want to." He leans far over to reach for the packets that were by the door, just barely snagging them and setting them next to them on the bed. He then looks back at the smaller male and leans down to nibble on his neck.
-
Takana happily tilts his head to give arakan more access to his neck. The demon could give him hickeys all over and takana wouldn't mind. Much.
"Well as long as I have some semblance of privacy I don't think you'll hear a no coming from me."
-
Arakan chuckles a bit, " i'll keep that in mind." he pulls Takana into his lap, running his hands up and down Takana's thighs as he kisses the other tenderly.
-
Takana shivers when he feels arakans hands on him and he kisses back, almost desperately.
He didn't care how needy he was being in this moment since it gave him what he wanted. Love, affection, the sense of belonging.
He wraps his arms around arakan, grinding ever so gently against arakan.
-
Arakan inhales deeply through his nose when Takana grinds against him, squeezing his thigh gently. He then lifts his hand up and glides it up Takana's stomach and under his shirt, up to rest on Taka's chest, brushing his fingers lightly over the smaller males nipple.
-
Takana's whole body visibly shivers and he can't help but give a soft, throaty moan.
He breaks the kiss and tucks his face into the crook of arakans neck, giving him soft kisses, not the kind that would mark the demon since that would not be good.
-
Arakan groans softly, his pants getting uncomfortable. He reaches down to free himself and sighs with relief once he does. He then notes with Takana going for his neck there was an adorable little cat ear right at the perfect height and grins before he lightly chomps onto it.
-
Takana's whole body suddenly goes rigid and a loud creaky gasp escapes his throat before whining. His ears trembled and takana shifts awkwardly in his own pants, "y-you can't just do that so suddenly!"
His face was flushed in embarrassment. He didn't want to admit that he just had an orgasm just from his ear being bit
-
Arakan blinks, pulling away a bit and looking at him, " i think you enjoyed it, perhaps a little too much."
-
Takana lowers his head quickly, the top of his head pressed against arakan as he does his best to hide his face, "don't look at me! Oh god this is so embarrassing..."
-
Arakan kisses the top of his head tenderly, " we are doing something to experience pleasure, you found what i did pleasurable, i see no problem with what happened."
-
Takana relaxes a little and he sighs softly, "I guess..." He clears his throat before looking up at arakan, "I'm still not used to my ears being touched."
-
Arakan nods, " apologies, it's something im not used to thinking about. i've had my horns most of my life, in some form anyway. they're as much a part of me as my hands are, though less useful. obviously here we accept every part of everyone, no matter what shape or they come in. Your ears are just part of you."
-
Takana snorts softly and smiles, "no need to apologize. It does feel good, just catches me by surprise since it is a new snesation."
-
Arakan chuckles, " well you probably should enjoy it while it's so fresh and exciting." he tips Takana's head back and pecks him on the lips.
-
Takana can't help but feel excited at the thought, "mmm well... I can't argue with that logic. Let's just make sure I get my pants and underwear off first. I don't want to mess them up anymore than I already have."
-
Arakan grins, " you'd rather mess up the bedsheets?"
-
takana nods, "Well of course. I am pretty sure I already messed up yours previously. might as well return the favor."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " yeah... you're not wrong. but it's alright."
-
Takana purs softly, kissing arakan on the lips, "Better make sure that you mess up my sheets just as much as i messed up yours~"
-
arakan swallows hard, " with the way we're going i don't think that'll take long."
-
~morning~
Takana slowly wakes up, enjoying the feeling of being the little spoon. He loved snuggling.
He feels something brush against his face and he gently wipes his nose, annoyed when he feels the same softness hit his face almost immediately and he can't help but give a half hearted growl before opening his eyes.
A pink ball of fluff was mere inches away from his face.
"....what...?"
Takana notices the pink fluff continues, it's not just a ball. It continues down and as takana lifts the blanket he sees it tucks between his legs and-
His eyes widen and he grabs the pink fur, winces slightly as he quickly feels that... somewhere.
It was a tail.
He had a fucking tail.
He covers his mouth, wanting to scream but not wanting to wake arakan.
Takana crawls out from the demons grasp and quickly puts his pants on, tucking the tail in before leaving his room and going to izanagi's room.
"Oi. Wake up." He gently shakes izanagi
-
Izanagi was crashed against the wall where he'd been listening to them the previous night, startling awake, " i wasn't doing anything!" he looks like a deer caught in headlights.
-
Takana's eyes slowly narrow and he huffs, "not the time to yell at you. I have an ACTUAL problem right now."
-
Izanagi blinks and tilts his head, " didn;t sound like you guys had a problem."
-
Takana snarls and unceremoniously pulls down his pants revealing his dick and... well... the pink fluffy tail that was currently twitching angrily
-
Izanagi's eyes instantly go to Takana's dick, " well hello there~"
-
Takana pauses very briefly as his brain computes what izanagi is interested in before his face turns bright red and instinctively his tail tucks between his legs and upwards, covering his junk, "no you idiot! This! THIIISSS!"
Takana grabs onto the end of his tail since it's at eye level and shakes it a little.
-
Izanagi blinks and refocuses onto the pink fluff, " it's... a tail?"
-
The tail flicks again, rapidly and angrily.
Takana huffs and let's go of his tail, letting it curl around his leg before pulling his pants back up to hide it, "Yeah no shit. It's a very real tail. I can feel it and everything."
-
Izanagi blinks, " im guessing it's new then, i've never seen you pantsless before soo...yeah. never heard of tails randomly growing when someone didn;t have them before. ask Nikiri maybe? is it because of the ears?"
-
Takana groans softly and touches his ears when izanagi mentions them, "fuck.... fuck you might be right, shit.." He pauses briefly and looks at izanagi, "do you think it might fall off if... if I take the ears off?"
-
Izanagi shrugs, " you think i have any idea?"
-
Takana pauses again before making a loud whimper, "noo00000ooooo." He leans against the wall, "of course you wouldn't but I... I'm just panicking. This is weird. So very weird. How can you be so calm?"
His tail is slightly longer than his leg so the pink tuft of tail sticks out from the bottom of the pant leg.
-
Izanagi shrugs, " things tend to be weird with you."
Arakan wakes up and feels around on the bed, frowning when he doesn;t feel the other male. He props himself up on one hand and looks around the room, getting up and pulling his pants on before stepping out and checking the kitchen, baffled when Takana isn;t there and starting to panic a little. " Takana?"
-
Takana was about to whine some more until his ears twitch and he jerks his head towards the closed door, "arakan is awake...." He looks at izanagi, "I don't want to be the weird one. Ugh what do I do..." He sighs softly, "regardless.... I can't hide this..." He looks down at his puffed up pant leg that his poorly hiding the tail.
He opens izanagi's door and peaks out, looking at arakan, "I'm fine, sorry, I woke up before you and had to yell at izanagi for... um... the lube thing again."
-
Arakan looks over and sees him and sighs in relief, " ah, gotcha. don;t be too hard on him, after all we did need it."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah yeah I know. But he should still give us some actual privacy. I'd like you to be with me here and not have a.... third wheel." He hasn't stepped out from behind the door still.
-
Arakan nods, " fair. alright then." he heads into the bathroom to get cleaned up,
Izanagi looks thoughtfully at Takana. " i have some stockings that might work. not gonna be comfortable but it'd press the fluff against your leg tightly. that and some somewhat loose pants and you'll be golden. though im gonna be honest, wear a short skirt with that tail and you'd get soooooo many tips waiting tables."
-
Takana looks at izanagi and hisses softly, "don't even joke about that, gross."
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " im not joking though! the customers would go gaga over it! Anyway, those stockings..." He opens a drawer and pulls out a pair of full leg stockings, " here. try putting these on and your tail down one if you wanna hide it. then we can see about getting Nikiri over here."
-
Takana takes the stocking and nods, "right... um thanks..." He tries putting on the stockings with his pants on still but it is nearly impossible.
"Ookay pants gotta come off...look away."
He pulls his pants off, freeing the tail. He gets one stocking on just for the sake of getting it on and then for the leg that he is going to hide the tail in he gets the stocking on just at the foot part before making a grab for the tail.
The tail flicks away from takana's hand causing him to snarl softly, "oh come on."
He tries to grab the tail again but now it's flicking even more as it responds to takana's frustration.
It's just a hilarious show of a frustrated guy being unable to grab his own tail
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes and looks away, listening to him growling and grumbling, " jeez, what's even going on? stockings aren;t that bad to put on seriously."
-
Takana snaps at izanagi, "it's not the fucking stockings it's the fucking tail! Every time I go to grab it it MOVES."
-
Izanagi sighs and turns around, " well yeah, you're all upset. cats tails move a bunch when they're upset. and you're being dumb about it." he grabs the base of the tail near takanas butt and starts running his hand down it to get towards the tip and control it.
-
Takana makes a sudden squeak sound when izanagi grabs his tail and the motion of running it down the length almost causes his knees to buckle as the sudden and new nerve endings send sharp signals up his spine, "fuwaaahh~"
His eyes widen and he quickly covers his mouth, looking incredibly shocked
-
Izanagi holds the tip of Takana's tail in front of his head, " there. caught."
-
Takana stares at izanagi before his face turns red and he quickly snatches his tail, "thanks, now don't do that again." He does his best to stuff his tail into the sock while also pulling the sock up his leg.
He grabs his pants and quickly puts them back on, "okay... how do I look? Is it noticeable?"
-
izangi huffs, " 'thank you izanagi. you're so helpful catching the tail i couldn't catch. what would i do without you?'" he snorts and looks at him critically, " i can;t tell it's there."
-
Takana huffs, "you didn't ask before grabbing my tail! It was very sudden and it felt weird and despite all that I DID thank you."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " you were mad you couldn;t catch it. i caught it. anyway, problem solved for now."
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Takana huffs quietly, "i... yes... you're not wrong..." He turns an opens the door, "I suppose I should try and get breakfast going."
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Izanagi nods, " please. also i should get changed."
Arakan comes out of the bathroom, freshly showered and changed, hair hanging around his face damply.
-
Takana sees arakan and blushes a little, "morning. I'm making breakfast, will you have time to join us?"
-
Arakan smiles, " i can stay for breakfast. did you sleep alright?"
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Takana smiles warmly, nodding, "Yeah. Always when I'm with you."
-
" good." he places a quick peck onto Takana's forehead before going to sit.
Izanagi soon comes out in a nice outfit.
-
Takana hums happily when he gets the kiss and he goes to the kitchen to quickly make breakfast, "um by the way arakan. After work I was thinking I would make those dishes for the kids and tomorrow before work i could deliver them? I know I'll need an escort and I would like it to be you but I also know you're busy so if you can't I understand."
-
Arakan looks up from his phone, " i don't think that'll be a problem. i can make that happen."
-
Takana nods, "good. Good. I'm glad that I will be able to have you with me."
-
Arakan nods, " well i'll enjoy seeing them happy as well. it's worth pushing a few meetings back for that."
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Takana smiles a bit as he cooks food, "Yeah, I'll enjoy seeing them happy too. I'll also be happy that I get to keep another promise that I made."
The smell of bacon and coffee is in the air
-
Arakan nods, " indeed. those women work hard to be able to try and provide for their kids themselves as much as possible despite that i offer as much aid as they need. im sure they'll be extremely grateful for the meals, especially since it's higher quality than they can get usually."
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takana nods, "And with the vegetables from isabelle's garden to go into the meals they will get some good nutrition. its important for growing kids. and the moms will get a little bit of a break from making meals."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed. though you might get some of the younger ones spoiled and they may get fussy going back to their regular meals, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
-
Takana sighs, "yeeeaah. Hopefully we can get it across that this is a rare treat."
He sets a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon in front of arakan with some coffee, "here you are."
He gets another plate ready and sets it on the table, "nagiii!"
-
Arakan nods, " indeed." he sits and grabs the coffee, taking a long drink and sighing happily.
Izanagi hurries out and sits down, sniffing the bacon, " oh my gosh what's this?"
-
Takana chuckles, "it's called bacon. It's a very fatty and unhealthy slab of meat which is why we're eating it and not the kids. It's also delicious but most things that aren't good for you are."
-
Izanagi picks up a strip of it, " i've never seen this before." he nibbles on it and looks at it in surprise, " weird...."
Arakan hums softly, " i think i've heard of it before, it certainly never makes it to our district. i believe my father said he'd had some when he was very young."
-
Takana smiles, "personally I like to pop my egg yolk and dip my bacon in it but that's just me. The eggs came from one of isabelle's friends chickens so we got those for free~ this is a very protein and carb heavy breakfast so even I didn't eat it that often but it's nice to have something savory instead of sweet."
-
Izanagi blinks and breaks the yolk, dipping the bacon into it and nibbling on it. he then decides he likes the bacon better plain and just grabs the pieces and leans back nibbling slowly on them.
Arakan eats, enjoying the unique flavors and the egg, despite the fact that the yolk was runny. it was odd eating it that way, he knew Takana wouldn't risk them but he was told always to cook it well. probably the difference between fresh eggs and whatever they got.
-
Takana sits with his own plate and happily eats his eggy yolky toast.
He is eating a runny yolk as well so it should be a decent sign that it won't kill anyone.
He feels incredibly content at the moment, enjoying the similar flavors that he once had daily back in the human district
-
Arakan finishes his and nods to Takana, " thank you, it was good. a very unique experience." he takes a drink of his coffee.
Izanagi soon runs out of bacon and eats the rest of his food before using a finger to wipe up the last of the bacon grease from his plate and licking it off his finger wistfully.
-
Takana smiles at arakan and drinks some coffee as well, "you're welcome! I had this quite often so I'm glad I could share it with you guys."
-
Arakan blinks, " this was something you had on the regular? interesting... i've never eaten eggs that were not cooked through before, i was always told they needed to be cooked well to avoid getting ill. i suppose that's the difference between what we get and these ones you were able to sneak in."
-
Takana blinks and frowns, "wait. So this is the first time you ever had an egg with a runny yolk?"
-
Arakan nods, " of course. i do trust you though, so while it was unsettling i know you would not do something to make us sick."
-
Takana blinks and rubs the back of his head, "I would feel terrible if you guys got sick from something I cooked. Um. Thankfully the chicken eggs are fresh, even water tested before Isabelle brought them over and they all sank so I knew they were good, if that makes you feel any better."
He could feel the muscles in his tail trying to move and being unable to made him feel annoyed.
Like an itch he couldn't scratch.
-
Arakan nods, " i know, hence why i trust you. you seem aware enough in what you cook to not do something dangerous. that's why i did not question it."
-
Takana blushes a little, feeling incredibly happy to hear that arakan would trust him that much.
Would... should he just tell the man he had a new appendage?
He should trust arakan, just like the man trusts him.
"Um...thank you for trusting me. It means a lot to me."
-
Arakan nods and pulls out his phone, sighing, " it never ends... i'll get kaiten over here soon, i've got some things to deal with. tomorrow you said for the meal delivery to the kids?"
-
Takana nods, "Yeah, I'll make the food tonight so that it's fresh for tomorrow morning."
-
" got it." he texts, focusing on his phone.
Izanagi grabs the dishes and cleans them, " that was good."
-
Takana looks at izanagi, "you're welcome by the way. Hopefully I can see if Isabelle can get some more in a month or so. I know it's a drop In a bucket for her but I still don't want her husband to get any ideas. Although, thankfully, he did sign a prenup so their finances are separate and I don't think he realizes just how much she makes just on her Vinyard alone."
-
Izanagi blinks, " okay. well it's nice to get things like this now and then." he didn;t really understand the whole prenup thing so he just dismissed it.
-
Takana nods, "well I'm gonna try to see about making it a normal thing."
He gets up, pausing briefly before heading to his room to get some fresh clothes
-
Izanagi chuckles, " that's kind of an optimistic goal."
-
Takana grabs fresh clothes and a towel, giving izanagi a grin, "hey, I am a very optimistic person."
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Izanagi shrugs, " I'm not holding my breath. Unless you smuggle it in for just us, there's no way we'll get that kind of food here."
-
"You also said you wouldn't hold your breath for the chance to eat actual meat but I delivered. Again it might take some time with Isabelle sneaking things over but I'll make sure it happens one day."
-
Izanagi sighs, " it was delicious, but do you really think this is what you should prioritize? food is hardly our worst issue here."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "i... what else do you think I am able to accomplish?"
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Izanagi tilts his head, " well you've been working with Isabelle on bringing humans into the district and increasing income. wasn't Karim gonna do an outfit of hers? he can;t finish it without the gems she wants added."
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Takana huffs softly, the awkward feeling of his tail not being able to move in response to his anger didn't make him feel any less angry, "she just got back from a cruise so she hadn't exactly had the time to gather what she can. It might be a while yet."
-
Izanagi nods, " i know, but that and the dirt should probably be something to focus on."
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Takana's ears move back and he grumbles softly, "I mean... yeah but... ugh why you gotta make sense now? That's not like you."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " as yummy as food is, i want to be able to live my life and not worry about dying if i do something wrong."
-
"Well I'm trying to get there..."
-
" I know. You asked why I was making sense. I answered. Hard to enjoy life when you're always afraid."
-
takana doesnt respond. he keeps his ears flat against his hand before going to the bathroom, his original destination, for a much needed shower.
-
Arakan browses his phone until a knock at the door sounds, telling him his relief is here. He heads to the door, acknowledges Kaiten and glances back, " let Takana know i left to get work done." and heads out.
Kaiten yawns, " i'll be on the roof. make sure to yell if anything happens." he heads up to the roof to settle in for guard duty.
Izanagi blinks and shrugs, heading into his room and picking through his clothes to decide what he wants to wear.
-
Takana happily showers, trying to keep his tail dry. he soon steps out and wraps himself in a towel quickly.
once dry he gets dressed and wraps his tail with his towel to get anything wet off, "stupid fur..."
He peeks out of the bathroom and blinks when he doesnt see arakan. He steps out and blinks some more, his ears shifting back and forth as he tries to hear for arakan
-
Izanagi looks up from the couch, " he left, he had things to do. Kaiten is on the roof."
-
takana looks at izanagi, "Oh... okay, thats good. gives me a chance to properly dry out my tail before shoving it back in the stocking."
-
Izanagi chuckles softly, " yeah fur's gonna be a pain in the butt. don;t forget to take your ears off too."
-
takana perks up a bit, "Oh yeah! then i wouldnt have to deal with it wet too!" he puts the ring on before grabbing his ears and popping them off.
his tail behind him shrivels up and the fur falls out before the tail falls off like a quickly decayed limb.
Takana hears the 'clunk' of his tail hitting the floor and looks behind him at the weird raisiny looking stick, "oh.... ew." he mutters softly before picking up the stick, "um. so this is what happens. gross."
-
Izanagi makes a disgusted loo as he sees the nasty stick, " what the actual fuck."
-
Takana clears his throat a little before tossing it in the trash, "Oooookay... i suppose i wasnt really sure as to what would happen but i was really hoping it wouldnt be that."
-
Izanagi gags and grabs a dust pan, sweeping up the fur, " that is so nasty."
-
takana sighs, "I uh... Im sorry? I didnt mean to."
-
Izanagi sighs, " not your fault, but still. bleck. you're so weird." he dumps the pink fur into the trash and puts the dust pan away.
-
Takana groans, "you say its not my fault and yet you also call me weird. I didnt ask for this to be the way my tail comes off."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " you can be weird and not have it be your fault. it's definitely weird you got a tail and even weirder it comes off and turns into a slim jim."
-
Takana stares at Izanagi, his face looking disgusted, "Why would you say that? I used to eat those! ugh i can never eat one again!"
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " am i wrong?"
-
"No you're totally right! thats why i can never eat one again!" Takana whines, somewhat exaggerating his feelings before going to his room, "I'm almost terrified that when i put on the ears the tail will come back."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " no idea, but that's why you should talk to Nikiri."
-
Takana sighs, "Yeah yeah I'll give him a text and see if he has time before work."
-
Izanagi nods, " good. i gotta pick out an outfit still." he goes back into his room and picks something cute out and pulls it on.
-
After a few minutes takana frowns and calls out from his room so nagi can hear, "nikiri said he's too busy at the moment but that he'll try to see me when he can."
-
Izanagi sticks his head out, wearing a cute low cut top and ripped short shorts, " did you tell him it was really important?"
-
takana nods, "Yeah. but... i guess he must be really busy. To be fair its not like the tail stays and i dont seem to be dying from it so... when he has time he'll see me."
-
Izanagi sighs, " well, that's your choice i suppose." he plops onto the couch and scrolls through his phone.
-
takana huffs, "Im not gonna force him to drop all of his shit and come see me now. I explained it was an emergency and he said he would get to me when he could."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " well you have my stockings in case it does come back. It's a way to hide it anyway."
-
Takana nods, "hopefully it's just for a few days. A day. Hopefully soon. For now your stockings will be helpful just in case."
He hears his phone go off and he blinks before checking to see who texted him.
His eyes scan the text before huffing softly, "oh geeze Isabelle."
He goes to the couch and gently pushes izanagi, "oi. Move for like, 2 seconds. Isabelle apparently left a present when she sat on this couch during movie night."
-
Izanagi flops over when he's pushed at first then clambers off the couch. " present? like what?"
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Takana grabs the cushions and starts yanking them off, "knowing her it's probably c-ah HA!"
He grabs a thick envelope and sighs, "Yeah. Cash. She hid it so I couldn't decline the gift with her still present."
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Izanagi's eyes widen, " what you gonna use it for?"
-
Takana sighs, "no clue." He opens the envelope and fans the money out in order to count it, "it's way too much money. I know she figured she'd be safe being led around by arakan but it was still silly of her to have this much money in cash on her person."
He hums softly before looking at izanagi, "I could always use it as an emergency fund in case something happens... or I could give it to arakan and have him find some useful way to use it."
-
Izanagi's eyes bug out looking at it. " wow.... so much money. that'd be enough to bribe someone for something good even!"
-
Takana chuckles, "it's just 5k. I guess... Isabelle may give more in the future so having this isn't so important. How about this, it is a lot of money, more than we ever could really use but we could both probably use some new clothes so I'll give you some and I'll take some and the rest I'll give to arakan so that he can see that it's used towards something good."
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Izanagi sputters, " just 5k? JUST?! i..." he then blinks when Takana mentions giving some to him, pointing at himself with his mouth open.
-
Takana sighs, "Alright, that might be the rich family in me talking but yeah. this kind of money is couch coins for us. the only problem is that i was locked from the joint account when i was kicked out otherwise i wouldnt have any issues finding a home. And yeah, with how i have been budgeting we're good on household stuff but i only ever really got a few pants and shirts and whatnot so... some clothes shopping is overdue i think. Here."
He counts out 1k and holds it out to izanagi, "obviously dont have it all on you in case but I dont need all of this."
-
Izanagi hesitantly takes it, " ...I am going to get so many cute outfits ..."
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takana snorts, "maybe get some lingerie for your lovers too." his tone was sarcasm and yet a small bit of him thought izanagi would actually do this
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Izanagi nods, " yeah, i was looking at some really sexy sets that'd be perfect. might even be enough to temp Nikiri back to me ~"
-
takana laughs softly, "Alright, alright. You have fun with that." he goes to his room and tucks the money away in a safe spot to give to arakan later. A part of him wondered if... maybe arakan would want to see him in lingerie.
he blushes and shakes his head quickly. no. no no no. he never did the sexy outfit thing before and he wouldnt now.
-
Izanagi looks impishly at Takana, " you should get something to wear for Arakan~ bet it'd drive him wild~ plus there's nothing like the feeling of wearing something sexy under your clothes and knowing you're just waiting for your partner to find it. the anticipation is exquisite."
-
Takana stiffens a little and he growls softly. What was this guy a mind reader???
"I- I don't know if arakan would want that."
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Izanagi rolls his eyes, " are you kidding? what guy wouldn't want to see some sexy panties when they're undressing their snack~ and then he'd think back and realize you had that on all day just waiting for him? always drives them wild."
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Takana turns red just imagining arakan looking at him like a snack. Hell not even a snack, more like a full course meal and he can't help but look somewhat hopeful, "i... don't know..."
-
" trust me, if you surprise him with something you're going to blow. his. mind. and maybe something else~" he snickers, " but it's up to you."
-
Takana gives a slight defeated sigh, "I've never... bought or worn such things before. Not even for Curtis. Its a little intimidating."
-
" you can come with me when i go to get mine if you wanna. then we can pick something out that'll drive him crazy. it'll be fun!"
-
Takana is quiet for a while before giving a hesitant nod, "i-i suppose you would be the expert. Just don't terrorize me too much okay? I DID just give you a thousand dollars."
-
Izanagi pouts, " well it depends on what you consider terrorizing. if you consider me pulling things out that i think will be hot and getting you to look at them terrorizing then i can;t help you."
-
"Well no. But... I don't know I guess making a big deal about it? I'm really nervous so I'd rather if we acted as casual about it as possible. Arakan would not even want others to know that he...and I are uh... fucking. Which is a bummer but whatever..."
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Izanagi nods, " well so we don;t say who the outfit is for. we just get it. nobodys gonna pry into who you're screwing if you don;t give them details."
-
"I don't plan to, trust me. I just... don't want you getting too excited if it involves me. You can be excited over yourself though."
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Izanagi sighs, " i'll try not to. but if i see something that's gonna look amazing on you i make no promises."
-
"Please, at least try." He glances at the time, "I suppose we do have some time before work.... I just know I am making that food tonight and then tomorrow morning I'll be delivering it so I'll be too busy to shop with you for a couple of days."
-
" Shopping spreeeeeee! woot! Izanagi tucks away most of the money, keeping only 200 which he tucks into his pocket and heads excitedly for the door.
-
Takana has a small bit of money with him as well, not being dumb enough to have a whole 1k on him.
He puts his ears on and waits briefly and when no tail pops out he nods in satisfaction before following izanagi.
He wonders if they'll be followed by that one demon...
-
Kaiten sees them come out of the building and jumps down, following.
Izanagi hurries to one of the shops carrying some various lingerie. the amount and variety is paltry compared to human stores, but they also are sized for different types of demon to accommodate different bodies as well.
Izanagi heads over to the human sized stuff and starts browzing.
-
Takana hesitantly enters the store, absolutely looking like your typical first time sex store shopper, his face bright red and his posture tight and overall looking a bit uncomfortable
-
Izanagi pulls a harness type off a rack, " oh my gawd this is so fucking cute. think Nikiri would like this?" he holds it up to himself.
-
Takana blinks and looks at it for a little bit before shrugging, "i... guess? You'd know more than me."
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " maybe something less intense for you. hm..." he ruffles through until he finds a pink and very lacey top and bottom set, " ooo, how about this for you?"
-
Takana blushes when he looks at the outfit, "oh wow um... would that even look good on me?"
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Izanagi nods, " for sure! comere. you can;t put it on as it should be put on for obvious reasons, but we can put it on over your clothes." he haeds over to a mirror and quickly puts the outfit on Takana as well as he can, " omg that looks so hot on you."
-
Takana tilts his head a little, "uh I guess? I'm wearing baggy clothes so it's hard to imagine..."
-
Izanagi hums then rushes up to the front, " hey, can i get the key for the changing room? i promise im going to be good, he's not into me. i'll even buy it if he doesn't okay?"
The gal behind the counter looks at him for a long moment before handing over the key, " if you make a mess in there like that one time with that boy toy you brought with i swear to god i will neuter you myself."
" love you too!" Izanagi hurries over to Takana and gently pushes him to a changing room, using the key to unlock it. " they're really careful about who gets to use this. go ahead, change! keep your undies on, but the rest comes off."
-
Takana makes constant squeaks as he's pushed around and into the changing room. He processes what izanagi says, looks down at the outfit in his hands and sighs, "okay. Step out and let me close it up and I will. Okay?"
-
Izanagi blinks, then rolls his eyes, " you literally yanked your pants down in front of me this morning but whatever." he steps out and closes the door.
-
"Thank you!"
He removes all but one article of clothing before putting the lingerie on.
It hugged in all the right places, looking a bit tight around the hips but not because it was small, but to make the hips appeared bigger than they actually are.
His pale skin complemented the light fabric beautifully and the light freckling he has on his face is now clearly visible on his shoulders, chest, hips and thighs.
He looks down at himself and shrugs, not sure entirely before he clears his throat, "okay I uh. I put it on. You can open the door and laugh if it looks awful."
-
Izanagi opens the door and looks Takana over, whistling softly, " daaaaaaaaaamn. you're not a snack, you're a whole 8 course fucking meal. if this doesn't make Arakan nut himself looking at it, then he's a total dead fish."
-
Takana's ears perk up, "really?" He relaxes a little, knowing he doesn't look awful, and he even feels excited. Maybe eager to show off to arakan. Too eager!
He feels something soft brush against the back of his leg and he looks down to see his... tail... "oh damn."
He gets a bit nervous, the tail tucking between his legs and curls upwards to cover his groin area.
Somehow, the tail adds to the outfit, giving takana a shy and innocent appearance that makes the angelic yet naughty lingerie more arousing.
Not that takana noticed. He's just annoyed that his tail popped back up
-
Izanagi blinks, " oh, tails back. looks super duper cute with the outfit. anyway if you weren;t such a prude i'd totally hit that. heck, it looks so good i almost don;t want you to buy it. i'll just have to get something better."
-
"Tail came back when I got excited I guess." He's quiet for a minute before nodding, "okay I'll buy it." He gently makes sure izanagi isn't in the way before closing the door, "I'm changing out into my clothes."
-
Izanagi lets himself be scootched and goes to the rack, debating for a bit before grabbing that harness.
-
Takana changes out of the outfit and into his clothes, letting his tail stay out cuz shoving it down his pants was annoying.
He opens the door and steps out
-
Izanagi looks over, noting the tail and shrugs. " lets pay for these and get home. I wish Nikiri wasnt so busy or i'd wear this underneath my clothes as a surprise."
-
Takana chuckles, "I figured you'd still wear them just because you can. "
He goes up to the cashier and sets the outfit down for her to scan
-
Izanagi considers it, " i might." he waits until Takana is done paying and pays for his own.
-
takana eagerly folds the bag a bit to hide what is inside and where the bag may have come from, "Cant believe im actually buying something like this."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " it's gonna be so much fun i promise you."
Kaiten eyes the two as they come out of the store, noting Takana's tail but really not caring enough to mention it.
-
Takana sighs, not even noticing kaiten, "as long as he doesn't laugh at me I guess. I don't really see the appeal but I guess I have different tastes."
-
Iznaagi snorts, " he's not gonna laugh, i promise. if he does, he's soft in the head."
-
Takana hums softly, "a part of me hopes you're right. I wouldn't mind... looking good for him."
-
Izanagi grins, " you're gonna knock him on his ass with this, i swear. i know sex, and that, is sexy."
-
Takana laughs and gently nudges izanagi, "I can't argue with that. You do know sex."
-
Izanagi grins, " thank you." he carries his bag proudly, not bothering to hide where it came from.
-
Soon they get back to the apartment and takana goes to his room.
He looks at the outfit, biting his lower lip a little before shaking his head a little.
Why should he wear it? He wouldn't be having any sex with a arakan as long as he had this tail.
Ah but there was no real mirror in that shop, even in the dressing room so takana couldn't get a good look at what it looked like on him.
He could at least slip it back on and take a peak in the bathroom mirror.
-
Izanagi takes his own clothes off and carefully puts the harness on, going to the bathroom and leaving the door open while he admires himself.
-
Takana's ears twitch as he hears izanagi walk around. Probably already enjoying the harness he bought.
He hums softly and changes into the outfit he bought, feeling a LOT more exposed when he could finally wear it without his underwear. His dick actually pressed against the tight lace and a few of his light pink pubes poking through felt a lot more intense than he thought it would.
The underwear was low on his hips enough that his tail was above them, and the garter was high on his waist so it was above where his tail came out.
It really felt like the outfit was made for him, although he was sure these kind of things were meant to give you that feeling.
A part of him wondered if he should shave. It's not like he was that hairy. And even where he did have hair it was light in color and wasn't thick.
And normally he had certain areas trimmed to a short length. Just kinda of hard to get a hold of intimate grooming tools in this district.
Well, he still wanted to use the mirror... he puts in his usual clothes over his lingerie and hesitantly leaves his room, trying to ignore the thong like underwear as he headed for the bathroom.
His face falls when he sees izanagi, "really?"
-
Izanagi looks over his shoulder at Takana, " oh hey, did you wanna check yours out too? doesn;t this look amazing?" h turns to face Takana and runs a hand across the straps across his skin that hid nothing, his own dick strapped into a little cage.
-
Takana quickly looks away, his face bright red, "no I didn't come to check myself out! I'm wearing my sweatpants and my shirt obviously. I- I came to use the bathroom before we had to go to work! Not everyone wants to just look at a naked body you know. Some people have much different tastes."
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " whatever. " he looks at his ass in the mirror before sauntering to his room to get dressed.
-
Takana waits until he hears izanagi go to his room before glancing in the bathroom.
He sighs and slips inside, closing the door and removing his shirt so he can look at the top of the outfit, "i... guess arakan would like this?" He lowers his pants and looks in the mirror, blushing, "oh gods. I guess it's a good thing I'm not muscular otherwise this would look awful."
-
Izanagi soon comes back out, his clothes from earlier on over his harness.
-
Takana puts the clothes back on, "welp. Maybe izanagi doesn't know sex cuz I got nothing from this."
He flushes the toilet to pretend he really did use the restroom, washing his hands and everything before stepping out of the bathroom
-
Izanagi grabs everything they need for work and waits on the couch until they're ready to go to work.
-
Takana blinks when he sees izanagi waiting on the couch and he glances at the time, "ah geeze we're running behind."
He looks down at himself in his sweatpants and shirt, sighing softly. He'll be in the kitchen so it's fine for today.
His tail is wrapped around his leg, in the sweatpants since it does help shorten how far his tail goes down.
"I guess we should get going before we're late." He puts his shoes on, frowning in slight panic
-
Izanagi glances at the time, " well lets go." he gets up and hurries out of the apartment.
-
takana hesitantly follows behind izanagi, face red from the feeling of the fabric against his skin as he walks
-
Izanagi saunters, feeling good about his own undergarments. When he gets to work he changes into his maid outfit and gets to work.
Kaiten follows and settles in his usual spot to do his guard duty.
-
Takana steps into the kitchen to quickly get it prepped.
Haru is already done getting her station ready, sipping a cup of coffee she made and enjoying the brief silence of everyone getting ready
-
Korri smiles at Imogen and Nikiri, " nonsense, of course i can go with her to the cafe. i haven't had a girls outing in ages, and it'll be good for her to get out. Nikiri, you take care of what you need to, your mother and i will have a lovely time."
Izanagi hums as he wraps up sets of silverware.
-
Nikiri hesitantly nods, "um okay. Again I'm so sorry to ask such a thing I just- my schedule is so tight right now."
Imogen hums, "I'm not that much of a chore, am I my child?"
Nikiri squeaks softly, "of course not mother! I just worry a lot about our family. You know how I am."
Imogen laughs softly, "I know I know. Try not to over do it, okay? Your health is important too."
Nikiri whines softly
-
Korri looks at Nikiri, " indeed, I don't want to see you in my healing hall because you've pushed yourself too hard, am I clear? Now off with you, I'm quite looking forward to a girl's day."
-
Nikiri sighs, "I'll do my best." He puts on his usual happy smile, "then I hope you ladies have a wonderful time. Mother, don't hesitate to contact me if needed."
He gives a deep bow before leaving.
Imogen sighs softly before looking at korri, "hopefully things calm down enough that the okuya family can take a break."
-
Korri watches him go, " hopefully. Regretfully my son's schemes while promising have not made things easier for your family. Are you feeling up to the walk to the cafe my dear?"
-
Imogen nods, slowly standing up from her chair, "yes I think I should be just fine. The mere thought of shock on my beloved husband's face when he discovers I left the house gives me energy." She smiles at korri, "and knowing my friend is going to be by my side the entire time gives me strength."
-
Korri laughs softly, " well, im glad that you feel up to it. i did bring this along for a little extra support." she grabs a decorative cane and holds it out, " im sure you don't need it, but it would set my mind at ease if you took it."
-
Imogen hums softly and takes the cane, looking it over, "I suppose I'll hold on to it in case. I may not need it for the walk over, but who knows when it comes time to leave. Thank you korri."
-
She nods and starts heading out, keeping a slow pace, " of course. thank you for humoring me. i've heard they have wonderful meals and desserts there now, i've heard good things. It's difficult to impress my dear Arakan so im certain we'll have a lovely time."
-
Imogen hums softly, "it's that little pink boy I have heard so much about right? Not only does he jump in front of guns but he also makes good food huh?"
She happily follows korri
-
Korri chuckles, " indeed he does. seems he did not grow up in the districts, an unusual case. but he does have some very useful skills."
-
"Very unusual! I hope he isn't too much of a hassle for your child. Arakan works so hard for this district."
-
She chuckles, " oh he's definitely been a handful and a half, but he's also been opening my dear son's mind somewhat and easing some of his bitterness towards humans. i can;t fault him for having such feelings, after all he's grown up here as most of us have, but dividing us will not improve things. i think we may see an improvement in our quality of life soon thanks to the efforts of those two."
-
Imogen hums softly, happily keeping up with korri as they walk, "then the pros outweigh the cons I suppose. "
-
Korri nods, " oh certainly, and i think while he was vexed at first he's learning some things dealing with what essentially amounts to the most "human" contact he's ever had." she lifts her fingers in air quotes. " after all, our society is so different than theirs, if we intermingle more he'll need to keep his temper in check if they do something that would be unacceptable for a low rank demon to do to him. Good practice." she opens the door to the cafe and holds it for Imogen.
-
Imogen nods to korri as her thanks as she steps inside, "Is the boy kind? I haven't heard much asides from the popularity of the cafe and the inspection incident. "
-
" very kind, though free spirited and occasionally stubborn and definitely rebellious. a very high spirited young man. For two please." she nods to Izanagi who looks at them with wide eyes before quickly showing them to one of the best tables.
Izanagi bows deeply, " is there anything i can get you to start?" He sets the menus down.
-
Kaeru and mina stare at the two ladies in shock until hikari clears her throat harshly.
The two girls look at hikari, flinching at the stern look that's on the barista's face before they quickly go back to work.
Hikari sighs and grumbles softly, going back to her own job.
Imogen takes the menu and hums softly, "it has been so long since I last been here so I am unsure as to what's good. Korri, you know me better than I know myself so I'd appreciate it if you order for me."
-
Korri laughs softly, " well how about you decide what you want to drink? I'll do a chai tea." she glances at Izanagi to make sure he's paying attention. " and some of the most popular dishes are the ramen and the curry. The curry is less messy to eat, though i think the broth from the ramen would probably be wonderful for your health. i wonder if we could see what else perhaps is too new to be on the menu?" She glances again at Izanagi.
Izanagi had hurried off to get the Chai tea as soon as she mentioned it, and was back to listen to the rest when she said that, " i'll be right back Ma'am." he hurries to the kitchen and peeks in, " pssst! Takana, Arakans mother is here and wants to know what new meals you have, you should go out and talk to her!"
-
Takana squeaks when izanagi interrupts him and hearing that it's arakans mother he freezes a little, "um! Her? Why is she here? Oh jeez um" He quickly finishes up and order and puts it in the window to be delivered, "o-okay im coming."
He hesitantly steps out and goes over to korri and Imogen, "um, good afternoon. I heard you were curious about the menu?"
-
She looks at him with a smile, and if he was paying close attention, he might have seen it falter for the barest of moment before she recovers. " yes. i know you're clever and coming up with great things all the time here, i was wondering if you had anything new? the curry is good, but i simply adore the ramen when i've had it brought to me. however as im sure you understand it's a little undignified for me to eat it in public. and my dear friend here could use something with a lot of nutrition to help her bolster her strength. Can you suggest anything? we'd like to have desserts after as well."
-
Takana's ears twitch ever so slightly as he pays close attention to what korri says, "understood. Are there any flavors, preferences, or allergies that I should take into account while making both your main dish, and desserts?"
Imogen perks up a little, "oh my! What an intuitive question! Um I can't handle spice very well. I try to because I do like the flavors but I always end up over heating. I also like lemony flavors but other than that I don't really have any other preferences. No allergies either."
-
Korri raises an eyebrow slightly, a small smile gracing her lips, " I can handle a good amount of spice, though I'm not nearly as obsessed with it as my son is. No allergies. And I enjoy light flavors for desserts."
-
Takana nods, "of course! I'll work on that right away." He gives a quick bow before heading to the kitchen quickly.
Imogen watches him leave before giggling a little, "he certainly is pink, though it's a very pale pink. I figured it was a darker shade but I'm kind of glad it's not."
-
Korri nods, " indeed, it's a nice light pink. It oddly suits him though " she laughs softly
-
Imogen hums softly, "it certainly makes him look soft and cute so I'm sure it's a good way to lower someone's guard."
She's quiet for a minute before humming softly, "I'm thirsty. Oh! I think I know what I want to drink. I want that other cutie over here."
-
Korri laughs softly, " it's a deceiving look, I've heard he can be quite the imp." She catches Izanagi eye and waves him over.
Izanagi hurries over, putting her chai tea in front of her. " Yes ma'am?"
Korri stands, " Imogen dear I wanted to speak with the manager about how Arakan is doing overseeing the place if you don't mind excusing me for a bit?"
-
Imogen blinks and gives korri a hesitant nod, "oh of course, take your time."
She looks at izanagi, "I decided what I wanted to drink. A vanilla macchiato would be lovely."
-
Izanagi nods, " right away ma'am." He rushes to the drink station to put the order in.
Korri heads to the back, " I'll be right back." She steps into the back and finds her way to the kitchen, " Takana"
-
Takana quickly turns and looks at her, "oh! Uh! H-hi ma'am! Is there something you needed from me?"
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She looks carefully at him, " since when do you have a tail? And your ears are deeply connected again. Have you spoken with Nikiri?"
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Takana turns bright red and his heart rate jumps, "UM. Uh... we-well uh. This... this morning is when the tail... showed up. Your son spent the night and uh... when I woke up it was connected to me. I quickly hid it before he woke up though. And yes, I did text nikiri and he said as long as it's not killing me then it could wait until he was less busy. "
-
She slowly raises an eyebrow, " i see." she pulls out her phone and dials Nikiri, " your mother is fine, i just had a question for you."
-
Nikiri blink and frowns a little, "alright, what is your question?"
-
" were you aware that Takana has sprouted a tail and that his ears look as if they are a natural part of him?"
-
"Well uh yes. But. BUT. He did inform me that he can still remove the ears and that the tail goes away once the ears are removed. I figured whatever it was it could wait until I had a quick minute."
-
" The tail is fully connected to his spine, i can see the nerve system, i can barely tell those ears are naturally his. have you spoken to your little sewer friend?"
-
"I- um. No. To be honest I have not. I have been incredibly busy."
-
" would it not be wise to ask the expert on the subject if it is okay to leave it for a bit or not? allow one of your sisters to take on some of the responsibilities. call him. and if he deems it an urgent matter as i suspect he might, come in the back door."
-
There's a bit of a pause over the line before the sound of nikiri exhaling through his nose can be heard and he clears his throat, "very well, my apologies, I'll contact Luna and then contact my friend."
-
" im aware you're busy but we really cannot afford for anything to happen to this particular individual. i suggest you take care of this presently." she hangs up and sighs. " i will be having my meal as normal to avoid rousing my dear Imogen's concerns, but Nikiri will likely be arriving soon and i will see that things are dealt with so you may go." she heads to the managers office and chats with her briefly before heading back out to sit back at the table, " so sorry for that my dear, you know i worry about my dear son."
-
Imogen smiles at korri and hums softly, "it's quite alright korri. The work us mothers have to put in is always overlooked, don't you think?"
Takana watches her leave and huffs quietly before rolling up his sleeves and going back to work as normal
-
Korri chuckles, " oh always, i swear we're the foundations behind our families keeping everything from falling apart, but recognition rarely comes our way. cheers to us mothers." she lifts her tea and takes a sip.
-
Imogen smiles and lifts her cup as well before taking a sip as well.
After about 15 minutes takana finishes making the new food items and looks at them carefully, silently critiquing his work before nodding in approval.
He would rather have izanagi bring the food out to them but... they would ask what it was since it's new and no one in this cafe would know what the fuck to even say.
Which means he has to deliver it...
He gently plates the dishes and gets then on a large tray before carrying it out to the table, "finished, sorry for the wait."
He sets the plates down, "I have made not only a mushroom wellington but also a cold style soup so no need to blow on it and slurp. The wellington of course has mushrooms, but it also has sweet potato, butternut squash, kale, and farro. Wrapped up in a puff pastry and baked until golden brown, it is one of my favorite things to eat as a kid. And on the side is a soup that contains mango, ginger, blended onion and lime juice with just a hint of chili pepper to get it a tiny pinch of spice but not much. I know a cold soup sounds weird but it's very refreshing and both meals have a ton of vitamins and nutrients."
Imogen practically drools as she looks at the steaming savory pastry in front of her, "oh it smells wonderful."
-
Korri talks quietly with her friend until Takana comes out with their meals and she raises an eyebrow, " oh it looks wonderful. consider me impressed. you have to let me have a bite of that to try it Imogen. you have my thanks for such thoughtful meals."
-
Imogen squeaks and quickly takes her two plates of food in a protective manner, "no! You have your own korri!"
-
Korri notices the pastry with her meal as well, " oh! so i do. my this looks so good. and it's not like i was going to eat the entire thing, i only wanted a taste. i would have shared too." she laughs softly and breaks the top crust of her wellington, inhaling the scent of the steam rising out.
-
Imogen takes a spoonful of soup and blinks a little bit before lowering her spoon. She takes takana's hand and looks up at him with sincerity and determination, "please don't ever leave us."
Takana blinks, a little stunned, "...what?"
Imogen continues, "I have a lot of daughters. All of them with different looks and personalities I'm sure one of them would be a good match for you."
Takana turns bright red and his eyes widen, "wha-what??"
-
Korri blinks and laughs heartily, " oh my, looks like she'd like to be your mother in law. well she's right, she has several lovely daughters. and you've met her sole son as well. it'd be a good match if you're looking for a higher rank family to marry into without too much responsibility attached to yourself."
-
Takana nervously gulps and hesitantly pulls his hand away, "I'm very sorry but I will have to reject your offer. I don't really believe in marriage for benefits. Besides, I have someone that I love and care about deeply. If it comforts you to know, I would be happy to make you meals if you love them this much."
Imogen pouts briefly before sighing, "disappointing but... understandable. I appreciate you being honest with me. I hope the person you love treats you very well."
Takana smiles and nods, "they do. I'm very happy with them."
-
Korri takes a sip of her tea, studying Takana carefully during that. Well, that did make things interesting, though she wasn't sure yet she wanted that commitment between them. She takes a bite of her soup, enjoying the flavors.
-
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to work on your desserts."
Imogen perks up again, "oh! My goodness I'm excited! Go! Go! I can't wait!" She shoo's takana away before quickly going back to her food, "I don't recall ever being this excited. Not even when I gave birth to nikiri."
-
Korri blinks and smiles tenderly, " well im glad you're enjoying yourself, it's good to see you have some life in you."
-
Imogen smiles at korri, "I am feeling a little hyper, I won't lie. I'll probably be wiped layer but for now I'm feeling good and I am tasting good food. Thank you korri for bringing me here. I appreciate it greatly."
-
She smiles, " well I think this is good for you. Even if it tires you out we may have to do this more often."
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Imogen hums softly, "if I get the opportunity to come back here at all I would be fairly shocked at myself. Excited, for sure, but also shocked. Hopefully I won't lose so much of my strength by the time we get the chance to come back here."
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" well seeing as you have strict orders no more children, hopefully as these ones get older it'll get easier. You need time to yourself to recover as well. Has your husband been giving you trouble?"
-
She sighs softly and looks out the window, "not... really. I mean... he's fair. And kind. Although I was hoping with my whole 'no more kids' thing he would leave me alone now but he seems to be more tentative and over bearing."
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Korri hums softly, " well, i could see about finding him some translation work to keep him busy if you prefer."
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Imogen nods, "yes please. He SHOULD be doing some of that anyway instead of relying on my poor babies to do it."
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Korri, nods, " i'll set some work to him and try to see if i can;t take some of it from the kids."
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Imogen nods, "I'd appreciate that a lot. I know Luna absolutely hates doing our family duties. She has terrible anxiety with people. And katie...seems to have made it her default personality. She should take a break from it all."
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Korri sighs, " i might not be able to give them a break from being our communicators mind you. im not sure how we managed before your family, but i know things were also not as bad as they are now. but i will place the translation onto your husband as much as possible."
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Imogen nods, "I understand. Still a tiny break so that the girls can just be girls for a little bit would be nice.... I especially worry about seraph when she grows older. Damn Orym should have known to stop trying for kids after she was born with how frail she is but no, I had to have Elyza and then a miscarriage for him to take a hint."
-
Korri looks at Imogen with sympathy, " im sorry, i should have stepped in. i suppose i had not realized just how bad it had gotten, i was focused on Arakan and the state of the district." She sighs softly.
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Imogen blinks and shakes her head, "oh! Nonononono! It's not your fault korri, there's nothing for you to apologize for!"
-
" As the head healer and Lady of this district i should have seen it happening and stopped it. Perhaps then you wouldn;t be in such a state now."
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Imogen reaches out and takes korri's hand, "hey. Everyone can play the blame game on this. I should have put my foot down and stopped him or told someone what was going on. You could have noticed sooner. Orym could have thought about my health instead of the 'good of the district'... but what's done is done and there is nothing that can be done now. You are my dear friend and I don't blame you, nor could I ever." She sighs softly, "I'm sorry for even bringing it up. I'd rather spend my days with you and laughing rather than being all gloomy."
-
Korri chuckles softly and shakes her head, " very well. well i won;t lie, you have suffered greatly but your suffering has brought this district one of our greatest assets. we'd be clueless without your family." she squeezes Imogens hand gently, " i could try and have him transferred to another district if you wish."
-
Imogen brightens a little, "could you? He might fit in with district 3. I feel like he might cause more harm for that boy who is in charge in district 5 and he might get eaten alive in 6 or 7."
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" i can;t make any promises, but i'll see what i can do. after all, a man of his skill could be useful elsewhere." she lets go of Imogen and takes another bite of her meal, " mmm this is so good. eat, you certainly need it."
-
"Oh! Yes!" She smiles and starts eating her food happily.
Takana sets the desserts he made into the freezer to help set up faster.
Nikiri steps inside the cafe via the back entrance as korri had instructed him to do, grumbling angrily.
-
Korri soon finishes her wellington and then goes for the soup, since she didn't have to worry about it getting cold."
-
Imogen finishes most of her food, which is probably the most she ate in one sitting for a while, and she leans back in her booth to rest her tummy, "that was way too good...." she yawns softly.
-
Korri smiles softly, " lets hope it wasn;t too much at once. it's good to see you so content though."
-
Imogen closes her eyes as she rests, humming softly, "it's good to feel content. I feel like a kid again. A very full kid. "
Nikiri goes to the kitchen and raises an eyebrow when he finds takana, "hey. Helios wants to see you so he can take some of your DNA. "
Takana looks at nikiri and huffs, "no thanks. I'm busy today. "
Nikiri rubs his temple in frustration, "that was not a request, it was a demand."
Takana's ears flatten back and his eyes narrow, "I'm in the middle of my job, I have a LOT of cooking to do when I get home, and I'm a smidgen uncomfortable so I'm telling you no. "
"You're uncomfortable from your tail that you won't fix-"
"Not the tail. I have a much different issue right now. "
Nikiri pauses briefly in confusion before shaking his head, "whatever. Regardless. Korri wants me to make sure you're okay or it's my head so imma make sure you're okay. Let's go. "
Takana glares at Nikiri, "if all he's going to do is take my DNA to analyze then why don't YOU just grab some DNA and take it to him to analyze. If it's that bad you can let me know the results but other than that I don't need to physically be there. "
Nikiri's eyes twitch
-
Korri chuckles softly, " well we should have some lovely desserts coming soon as well. i can only imagine how good this day has been for your health."
-
Takana takes the desserts from the freezer and tests their stability before nodding in approval.
He glances at nikiri, "move please. I have to give the girls their desserts."
Nikiri sighs and steps to the side.
Takana grabs the princess cake and the pomegranate gradient mousse cake thing and goes to the girls' table, setting down their desserts, "here we are. We have a princess cake with lemon custard and raspberry jam and a pomegranate mousse."
Imogen quickly sits up when takana come back and her eyes sparkle as she looks at her little dome cake, "oh my! It's so cute!"
-
Korri blinks and smiles, " oh, these look wonderful. my thanks to you." she looks at him carefully, then looks back towards the kitchen.
The manager heads into the kitchen with the other chef, working on taking over so Takana can leave.
-
Takana nods, "you're very welcome. Enjoy. " He smiles and heads back to the kitchen, blinking when he sees the manager, "oh uh hey boss. What are you doing back here? "
Nikiri waits against the wall, staying out of the way
-
She glances at him, " taking over. Korri let me know you needed to leave, something came up. So she made sure i knew i needed to take over for you when Nikiri came to get you. we'll manage for the rest of the day so go take care of what you need to."
-
Takana huffs, "it's fine. I don't need to go anywhere. Everyone is making a big deal out of nothing and I'd honestly would rather stay and work."
Nikiri looks at the manager, "I warned ya he was being stubborn."
-
The manager stops what she's doing and looks at Takana long and carefully, " i know you're new to things here, but regardless of how you feel about the situation, Korri is second in command in the district. Her orders carry even more weight than Arakans. Even moreso because it's rare she gives commands, which means she feels this is important. With that in mind i cannot allow you to continue working today, so please don't fight me on this."
-
Takana hesitantly looks down, his ears drooping, "i..." He sighs and rubs his face before looking at nikiri, "how long is this going to take?"
Nikiri shrugs, "I'm not sure honestly. Probably thirty minutes getting the DNA but I couldn't tell you how long his analysis will take."
Takana huffs, "and you're sure you can't just TAKE some of my DNA and bring it to your friend?"
"My orders weren't to take your DNA, it was to take you to him so even if I could, that wasn't the order given."
Takana's ears twitch and he sighs, "well maybe that's something that could be negotiated."
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, "you... want to negotiate... with korri's order."
Takana nods, "she is an intelligent, understanding person. I don't see why a simple conversation about it is so out of the question."
"There was a conversation. And with that conversation she made a decision. End of conversation. "
-
The manager looks at Takana with a frown, " orders from the leaders of the district are not something you negotiate with. the sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back. the longer you sit here and argue, the longer i'll be covering for you. Now go before i have to make some decisions i really would rather not have to in order to comply with the orders i was given." she crosses her arms.
-
Takana groans loudly before holding his arms out, "FIIIIIINE."
Nikiri rolls his eyes and picks takana up, grunting softly when takana let's himself go limp in the deers arms, "not helping."
Takana huffs, "I wasn't given orders to be helpful. "
"Cheeky brat today. " He carries Takana out the back
-
The manager shakes her head, " good thing we have very tolerant leaders..."
-
After about an hour nikiri returns through the back door with a very upset takana.
The demon unceremoniously plops takana on the ground before sighing, "I'll inform korri when my friend gets the results."
Takana huffs, "ain't there some kind of hippa law to keep you from doing that?"
"Human district, sure whatever. Here? No. Especially since I know that if I only told you you wouldn't let anyone know about the results."
Takana grumbles and stands up, rubbing the back of his bandaged neck.
Nikiri gently smacks takana's hand, "none of that now. You were told not to mess with the bandaging."
"But it itches."
"Surprise, wounds do that. Now stop touching it."
-
Korri had finished dessert and taken Imogen home a bit earlier, and wanted to make sure she didn;t overtax the other woman more than needed. She sits with Imogen and chats softly, keeping the other company as they keep an eye on the youngest kids.
-
Elyza is playing with some dust bunnies off away from the women but in the same room.
Imogen idly chats with korri. Her conversation is getting softer and shorter as she struggles to stay awake.
She desperately wants to stay awake and talking with her friend but it's pretty easy to tell that exhaustion is setting in.
Summer comes home from her daily duties and peeks in the room, giving a little wave at korri and her ma.
Letting the parents know she was home just so if korri needs to leave Imogen and the younger kids won't be alone.
-
Korri notices when Summer peeks in and smiles, looking at Imogen who's clearly about fallen asleep. " alright my dear, i think it's time i got you to bed. that's enough excitement for one day. we'll do this again soon though alright?"
The manager once Takana has returned and is assured by Nikiri that he's done with whatever Korri had wanted allows him back into the kitchen.
-
Imogen blinks and frowns slightly, "oh, is it that obvious? I hate the fact that I tire easily. Thank you though. I had an amazing day."
-
" don't you fret my dear, hopefully we can work on improving your strength so you don't tire as easily, but for now i know things are just busy for you taking care of the little ones. i'll check in soon." she heads out, sighing softly as she leaves the house and texts Nikiri inquiring as to how it went.
-
Nikiri looks at the texts and snorts softly before replying
'the kid seemed adamantthat i should just take his dna to helios if thats all that was needed. Thanks to the manager we were able to convince him to just go and get it over with. That kid is a workaholic i swear. Anyway, once helios gets the results back I'll let you know. And yeah takana is still able to remove his ears with no problems and doing so does cause the tail to fall off. So he is currently, as far as I'm aware, tail-less.
-
She snorts, "stubborn boy. well at least we got him seen. we'll see how long he remains tail-less"
-
'from what i picked up during his rambling the tail showed up after a night with your son and then again after purchasing some.... type of clothing that got him excited. So I suppose it's a waiting game now to see if getting excited causes it to come back
-
She hums thoughtfully, "indeed. we shall see. im not certain i like how attached he's getting."
-
Nikiri snorts a little, 'what, not interested in a real life romeo and juliet situation?
-
Korri raises an eyebrow, "not particularly. them being close while Takana is helping improve things is fine, and my son taking a lover isn;t an issue. the problem becomes is Takana really suited for the role of second in command in the district? i have not had any other children, Arakan needs to have a reliable partner."
-
Nikiri hums and leans back as he thinks about the situation, 'i understand where you're coming from. It might be too early to worry about such things. And at least he has an urge to help and protect others. That, plus his infatuation with arakan might help shape him to be a suitable partner. Or, he might figure out that he bit off more than he can chew and he'll go home. Hard to say at the moment
-
Korri sighs, "i did not get to where i am now without being aware of things going on in my district. i will monitor the situation."
-
i suppose the fastest way to put an end to their relationship is to let takanas whereabouts slip to the other humans. His father IS apparently worried sick for his son.
-
" as wary as i am of their growing relationship, i will not put our district in danger over it. and besides that we do need his connections for the moment. she rubs her temples.
-
alrighty then. Enjoy the rabbits in love and I'll send you helios' report when it comes in
-
She snorts, shaking her head, "i'll be waiting" she puts her phone away and heads into the healer hall.
-
After a few hours of silence nikiri finally gets a text from helios.
He reads it briefly, since it isn't a report, and blinks, frowning and sitting up from his previous slouched position.
He hesitantly sends korri a text, 'finally heard back from helios. He didnt send a report but said if we want to know the findings to meet with him. And he specifically said not to bring takana.
-
Korri hears her phone and puts the jar of herbs away that she was checking, frowning at the text. "i almost wish that man was in my district so i could see about making him less cryptic. very well, do you have time for us to go get this done?"
-
Nikiri sighs, the sooner we get this over with the better. he gets up and heads to the the man hole cover and waits for korri
-
Korri shifts and flies over, alighting gracefully next to Nikiri and looking at him pointedly as she waits for him to open it for her.
-
There is no need to wait as nikiri opens the sewer as soon as he sees her, "ladies first. Especially since I'm going to have to close this lid once we're in."
-
She hops down in and flies ahead, remembering the path and not wanting to slow down and risk stalling and landing in the muck.
-
Nikiri follows after, wasting no time getting to the clean lab, knocking on the door.
Helios opens it and almost looks like he regrets opening the door, "ah. You guys came right away. Great..." He opens the door all the way so they may come in
-
she smoothes her feathers before shifting back, " well what did you expect being so cryptic?"
-
Helios sighs, "sorry I just- it is a lot to explain over text and there's no real way to... send a report on this. And takana seems to be the type to make a big deal out of things that.... might... deserve to be a big deal... maybe. Either way, I can't handle someone like him getting all upset about things that can't be changed."
-
Korri sighs softly, " very well then, lets hear what the news is." she walks in and takes a seat,
-
helios paces a little, muttering to himself briefly before running his hand through his hair and taking a deep breath, "Takana is absolutely a changeling. whether he's 1/2, full, a quarter, doesnt matter. he is absolutely a changeling. i didnt necessarily keep track of the dna of the ears because i had no reason to so when I saw Takana's dna match with his previous ears i figured his dna change to match the ears however I was wrong. I took a snip of dna from his new ears before i gave them to him last time and now after taking more samples of dna today I made the discovery that his body changed the dna of the ears to match."
Nikiri blinks and frowns, ".....um...how?"
"weeeellllll......" he presses his index fingers together and casual looks away, looking like a child who is trying to come up with a reason to not get in trouble by their parents
-
Korri hisses softly, " a changeling? that's trouble. all the more reason to make him realize he's a bad match for my son." she looks over at Helios and her eyes narrow as she stands, " what. did. you. do."
-
Helios flinches and takes a step back, "hey hey hey I'm not doing anything anything illegal here. No one cared about changelings during the war when they rather hid then fight and our kind didn't exactly try to keep them safe from humans since we figured humans killing changelings was a win win for us so... I thought no one cared if I collected the dead bodies and... preserved them and... use their cells to make... the ears. "
Nikiri's eyes widen, "you- the ears are just changeling parts?!"
"Stem cells really. Stem cells are very active and easy to manipulate so... i discovered that takana being a changeling caused the ears to actually change their DNA structure to fit takana's and influence the demon part of him to be not dormant. Thus the tail. He even said he liked the tail so subconsciously his changeling side is changing his body based on not only his environment but what he feels is 'correct'."
"You're.... putting dead changeling parts.... on people... well at least I can see why you wouldn't want him to be here to hear that... " Nikiri looks honestly disturbed
-
Korri rubs her temples and sighs, " if you were under my jurisdiction... im not even sure what i'd do. in the meantime, perhaps truely fake ears, not ones made from changeling cells, would be a good idea to help reduce the chance of this continuing to happen."
-
Helios sighs, "it's not like they were alive! And no one cared about them when they were being killed by humans, hell I know there is a few demons out there that would proudly confess to leaving a family or two of changelings to fend for themselves during the war."
Nikiri shudders, "look, I don't like changelings as much as the next demon but the fact that there is one out there means there could be more, are we not forgetting that? You remember what we were told as kids? Where there's a changeling there's a skin walker. And where there's a skin walker there's bound to be...a.... you know...."
Helios blinks, "a wendigo?"
Nikiri freezes and turns pale, "DONT SAY ITS NAME! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Helios sighs, "look I get deer folk and deer related folk have an exceptional fear and hatred for the wen- ugh that type of shape shifter but with how evil they apparently are and how much destruction they are rumored to cause I highly doubt there are any left alive. If there was one alive then we would have seen or heard something, especially from your family since you guys are the only ones that can roam to other districts freely."
-
Korri sighs softly, " i never did particularly approve of trying to get rid of them, however they chose their fate. when we fought for our freedom and our lives they turned their backs on us. it's concerning that there are changelings among the humans, since that's where Takana came from. i'll have to look into this."
-
helios sighs, "regardless of the neutral stance they took we all thought they were instinct. And to be fair, a changeling's instincts are to hide amongst the crowd so if there are more of them out in the human district they more than likely have no clue. They could be exactly like takana in which their demon side is dormant and they live their lives as normal humans. Man wouldnt that rile both sides up. If everyone found out they were some part demon could they still hate the demon district or will the lines be too blurred to hold prejudice." he waves his hand dismissively, "moving on from that thought, since takana knows that we know he's human he doesnt have to hide his past from us like he has to with the demons so if he can spill more information about his parents it would help us figure out where the demon half comes. help track down the lineage and see how big of a problem we have on our hands."
-
Korri sighs softly, " indeed. i'll see about speaking with him to try and find out. what a mess..."
-
Nikiri sighs, "you're telling me... "
Helios shrugs, "what can ya do? But that's all I have to tell you guys."
-
Korri shakes her head, " thank you for the information. please see about getting a pair of ears that is not made out of dead demon parts so that hopefully we can stop this problem, and hopefully keep Takana from finding out. for now anyway."
-
helios shrugs, "I'll see what i can do but honestly changeling dna is the absolute BEST for just about everything. especially for healing others since you can just replace parts or have a skin graft without worrying about the body rejecting the changeling parts. Changelings should have been kept alive for the usage of their body parts."
-
Korri tsks softly, " i've been managing to heal without use of it for this long... but perhaps i should look into this as well. what herbs i can get are extremely limited, i often need to use great amounts of my own energy to heal things that my records say our kind were able to heal with ease." she sighs. " as unethical as it sounds, i think i will ask a sample from you. though do not allow anyone else to hear you say they ought to have been kept for their body parts, it sounds far too much like what the humans were doing with our bodies when they killed us before my husband began burning them before they could take them. i doubt it would be received well."
-
helios hums softly, "a sample huh? I can give you some of the better pieces i have, although you already have the freshest sample that i could never get my hands on. But if takana suddenly dies or something i would pay handsomely for his body! In the name of science of course."
Nikiri grimaces, "we'll have more to worry about if he dies then making sure you get a piece."
Helios sighs softly, "yeeeeaaah kinda a bummer than he's the kind of person that people would actually look for if something happened to them. What a bit of irony we have." he grabs a few tightly sealed vials of goo and hands them to korri, "maybe even some of his blood would be nice. he doesnt have to die to get some blood from him."
-
Korri looks hard at Helios, " there are some things that should not be considered. regardless i will see what i can do with this." she tucks the vials into one of her sleeves and into one of the hidden pockets within them. " i almost wonder if the changes he may bring are worth the trouble he will cause..."
-
nikiri sighs, "Lets head back Korri."
-
Sh nods, " agreed. i'd like to check on your mother, see if she rested as i told her to. the excursion was good for her, but tiring." she turns and heads for the door, shifting and flying ahead to hover at the exit.
-
nikiri hums softly, "id like to also take this opportunity to visit home and see how my younger siblings are doing. Elyza has been being a handful and i think maybe spending the day with her would be a good break for the household. Rylie and Rae are shadowing Rita and Seraphi and Phae are doing their own training. A bit different than the training the other siblings got but since its seraphi.... we have to be a bit more careful for her sake."
-
Korri shifts back once they're out, " indeed. she's the one who's antlers keep breaking correct? i have been wondering if it may not be better to try and neutralize the antler bed and prevent them from growing back entirely. it would take some recovery afterwards, but then she would not be expending so much energy growing new ones just to have them break."
-
"mother has been thinking about that too. If she didnt have antlers at all then we wouldnt have to worry about the chances of them breaking badly and causing damage. But father thinks once she grows older she'll be strong enough to properly grow antlers and that line of thinking has made Seraphi stubborn as well to have antlers. we tried to tell her that having antlers doesnt impede on her abilities but she always looked up to father so.... yeah."
-
Korri sighs softly, " of course he did. why am i not surprised."
-
Nikiri shrugs and frowns, "because it's father... he is very... eccentric and thinks he is truly a C rank. And then some."
-
Korri snorts, " may i ask, how useful is he in tending to the other children? "
-
Nikiri looks at korri, one eyebrow raised, "him? 'Tending' to his kids? I don't think I ever saw him even touch a diaper or a bottle. Or... he'll even one of the younger kids. Thats a woman's job apparently. Kacie and I normally help where we can."
-
Korri lets a small smile grace her lips, " good, then he won't be missed." she makes her way back to her home.
-
Nikiri pauses when she says that and watches her leave before tilting his head.
He sighs and shrugs to himself before heading home himself
-
Izanagi sighs softly as he finishes cleaning up to get ready to go home for the night, " man, today was kinda busy huh?"
-
Mina gives a tired sigh as she finishes up sweeping, "I'm sure we had a good business day but my god it was almost as busy as the day takana made his ramen."
Kaeru plops down in a booth for a brief moment, "my feet hurt. I'm so glad my master said she would come pick me up today cuz I don't think I'd be able to walk all the way back to the shrine."
-
Izanagi puts the last of the clean dishes away, " you ready to go home Takana?"
Kaiten is at his table, waiting patiently.
-
Takana looks over, "Yeah. Just finished rotating the supply."
A green haired tall drink of water waits by the doors, glancing at his watch.
Kaeru sees him from the windows and frowns, "oh. That's not master. That's my brother."
-
Izanagi glances over, then quickly looks back and whistles softly, " THAT'S your brother? daaaaaaaamn, he got all the hot genes. shame on you for hiding that you had such a hottie for a brother."
-
Kaeru huffs at izanagi, "you only say he's hot because you like boys and not girls."
She pushes the door open and glares at her brother, "what are you doing here?"
Kayleth looks up at Kaeru and hums softly, his voice soft as he speaks, "mother says I'm in charge of picking you up since you keep embarrassing her by calling her master."
Kaeru gasps before whining, "bu-but she's in charge of the shrine now and that means she's my master since I'm the shrine maiden."
Kayleth raises his eyebrow at her, "I see mom's arguement... in any case no one but you takes this shrine stuff seriously and she is your mother first. Quit being such a weirdo."
Kayleth glances up at the Cafe sign and tsks softly, "I still can't believe you're working here. It's not like you need the money."
-
Izanagi snorts, " ask Hikari, i bet she thinks he's hot too." He inches closer to listen to the conversation before peeking around the door, " well hey there hotstuff~"
-
Mina and takana blink before looking at hikari for the answer.
Hikari sees this, looks at the guy as she is grabbing her bag and huffs, "he may have an overall appearance that his deemed pleasant to look at however he isn't my type so I wouldn't say he is hot necessarily."
Mina giggles, "such a hikari answer!" She steps outside with takana and hikari so they can go home.
Kayleth pauses his conversation with his little sister when izanagi calls to him.
He gives a little smirk, and then his eyes land on the others that step out. He whistles softly, "alright lil' sis I think I know why you work here~"
Kaeru groans loudly and let's her face drop into her hands, "noooo this is exactly why I didn't want you to be here."
Mina blinks and looks at takana, "this guy must be quite a flirt. Best to let 'Nagi take over."
Takana snorts softly, "you don't have to tell me twice."
-
Izanagi saunters out so his cute maid outfit and skirt are on full display, " i was just telling Kaeru how unfair it was to keep a cutie like you hidden from her coworkers."
Kaiten gets up, " he's not who i have to watch, so i can escort you home if you're ready." he looks at Takana.
-
Takana nods at kaiten, "thank god, please take me home."
Kaeru grabs onto her brother, "don't do this today! I'm actually REALLY tired!"
Kayleth looks at his sister and hums softly before looking at izanagi, "normally I'd jump you right here and now since I do fuck anyone that isn't blood related to me however I did come here for my sister. So how about this, let's exchange numbers, I'll get her home and I'll text you when I'm done and we can meet up after. How about that? "
-
Izanagi licks his lips, " deal." he pulls out his phone and hands it over for him to put his number in. " sorry Kaeru, im not gonna keep you from going home."
Kaiten nods and heads back to Izanagi and Takana's apartment.
-
Takana quickly follows kaiten.
Kayleth enters his number in izanagi's phone and even texts his own phone via izanagi's, smiling when his phone beeps at him to let him know he got the text, "perfect. Here." He hands the phone back to izanagi before picking up kaeru and plopping her on his shoulders, "let's go kaeru."
Kaeru squeaks when she is placed on her brother's shoulders, her legs dangling against his chest in the standard piggyback ride fashion, "am I not too heavy? I'm an adult too ya know!"
Kayleth laughs, "you're a scrawny adult and I work out. It's fine. I also gotta show off how strong I am for the guy I'm gonna pound later."
Kaeru frowns and looks not pleased, ".....gross..."
-
Izanagi takes his phone back and smiles before pocketing it, " i look forward to it~" he hums softly and heads home.
Kaiten escorts Takana to the apartment, "i'll be on the roof, yell if you're in trouble."
-
Takana nods, "yup, I know the drill." He goes to the kitchen and starts cooking those meals for the shelter.
-
Kaiten nods and heads up to the roof to chill.
Izanagi enters the apartment right after and sighs happily, looking at his phone as he waits to be contacted.
-
It doesn't take long for izanagi to receive a text from Kayleth, maybe 10 minutes at most.
'errands are done~ now, where should we meet up? '
-
Izanagi squeals softly, " i'll be back later!" "know any good places? i have a roommate who's a prude and we wouldn't be able to have as much fun here."
-
'i know a spot close to my place. Far away from my family though so no worries about kaeru getting in the way'
Takana looks back at izanagi and nods, "alright you be safe out there."
-
" uh huh." Izanagi waves absently at Takana and heads out. "alright. meet you by the old coke billboard? shouldn't be too far from your place if you live with Kaeru."
-
Kayleth hums and let's izanagi know he'd be there soon before heading out to meet with a new fuck buddy
-
Izanagi never changed, so is still in his uniform with his new harness under it, and he hurries to the billboard and plops onto a bench to wait.
-
Kayleth is doing a little bit of a hop like walk as he approaches the billboard, smiling when he sees izanagi, "if I knew you were going to stay in your work clothes I would have changed into mine~"
-
Izanagi smirks, " just wait until you see what i've worn all day under these." he licks his lips as he looks Kayleth up and down.
-
Kayleth chuckles, "I'm sure I'll enjoy. Not that it takes much for me. As long as the person isn't blood related to me ill fuck anyone." He takes izanagi's hand, "now. How about I take you to my spot?"
-
Izanagi laughs softly, " i think you and i are gonna get along just fine then, i enjoy eager partners." he squeezes kayleths hand, " lead the way."
-
Kayleth scoops izanagi up and tosses him over his shoulder so he can gently pat izanagi's butt as he heads off the main road, "very eager~ hope you don't mind I have a very long tongue."
-
Izanagi yelps as he's grabbed and tossed over his shoulder, quickly reaching back to pull his skirt down to cover his ass, " woah there! there's not much covering back there! and why on earth would i mind a long tongue? sounds like fun."
-
Kayleth shrugs, "some people are weirded out, especially the ones who might not enjoy rimming. Personally my rim jobs are the best way to get lubrication since my saliva is special but everyone has their preferences unfortunately. Ah and honestly you show your ass off to half the town I'm sure so a quick walk shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially since I'm taking you somewhere private."
-
Izanagi grins, " well im looking forward to it. Yeah i don;t really care but i get in trouble if im too 'indecent'." he lifts his fingers in air quotes. " so how far away is this spot hm?"
-
Kayleth hums, "no worries, you're not being indecent. I'm just being careless with how I'm holding you~"
He stops at a small, and secluded little shack. Nothing impressive but also tucked away from everything that the privacy is almost impressive, "here we are. Nothing too fantastic but it has plenty of space for what needs to be done."
The inside looks a lot nicer then the outside, the queen size bed is the most nicest thing in the whole shack with nice fluffy pillows and gentle silk sheets, "I paid a pretty penny for this bed set."
-
Izanagi cranes his head to look around, kicking his feet idly, " a lot better than some places i've fucked. nice looking bed. so, you gonna put me down or just keep man handling me?"
-
"Man handling, until I get the chance to give you a proper tongue lashing." He plops izanagi down on the bed and begins pulling izanagis clothes off
-
" oh my, how savage~" Izanagi grins as the other takes his clothes off, revealing the harness under them.
-
Kayleth whistles softly at the outfit, "what a little good slut you are. You already got dressed up for daddy."
Making sure izanagi is on his back comfortably, kayleth pushes the slut's legs up, his little ass in the air
-
Izanagi gives a surprised yelp when his lower half is hoisted up suddenly, then laughs softly, " daddy huh? Whatever gets you going~ I wore it aaaall day just dreaming of when you'd fuck me daddy~"
-
He opens his mouth and his tongue practically drools out of his mouth, his saliva a clear color and stickier looking than normal saliva, something that even izanagi would notice.
He let's his tongue slide against nagi's hole, getting it nice and wet
-
Izanagi notices and grins, " ooooo, guess we won't need the packet of lube I brought with." He shudders as he feels the tongue start to probe his entrance, " oh~come on daddy, give me it. Don't make me wait!"
-
Kayleth shudders and doesn't wait. How could he with such a sexy plea?
He presses his tongue into izanagi and it curls into him, following the natural curve of the colon since it is long enough to do so, the toxins in the saliva gently numbing the surface area
-
Izanagi moans sweetly, wiggling his hips a little as he feels the long tongue within him. " oh fuck~ahn~it's so deep..."
-
Kayleth focuses on thrusting his tongue deep into izanagi, making sure to search for that prostrate as his tongue glides around his insides
-
Izanagi suddenly thrashes and cries out as that spot is found, his fingers digging into Kayleths shoulders, " Ah fuck! right there~!"
-
Kayleth holds back the urge to grin, instead focusing on that spot, letting his tongue roll up and build a big knot, flicking against and putting firm pressure against his prostate
-
Izanagi moans, crying out as the spot continues getting assaulted by the other. " oh gods! ahhn Kayleth! you're gonna make me cum~!"
-
Kayleth uses one hand to hold up izanagi's body, using the other to stroke izanagi's dick, making sure to wet his hand with his saliva.
He makes sure that when he strokes izanagi's shaft and his hand goes to the tip to rub his thumb against the head, putting quite a bit of pressure on the tip
-
izanagi cries out and quickly cums from the double stimulation, his cock jerking as it spills his seed. He soon goes limp, panting softly from the climax, " goodness..."
-
Kayleth retracts his tongue back into his mouth and sets izanagi back down fully on the bed before he takes his own pants off, his painfully large cock stretching the fabric of his underwear with how hard and erect it is
-
Izanagi watches him eyes locking onto that huge cock and licking his lips, " oh my~ i like what i see."
-
Kayleth chuckles, "it's handy to be able to produce my own numbing lube when I have a dick this big."
He lowers his underwear, not that it helped keeping his monster contained.
He presses the tip against izanagi before pushing all the way in
-
Izanagi chuckles, " no kidding. though i think i'd like to try taking it without that sometime. i can handle it~"
-
Kayleth hums as he gets himself settled inside izanagi, "I use it the first time for every new fuck as a courtesy."
He slowly pulls almost all the way out until just the head is in before slooowly pushing all the way back in. He repeats this process for a few thrusts.
-
Izanagi shudders and moans, " i can see why~ mmm damn, it feels so big~"
-
kayleth chuckles and starts to quicken his speed, "next time i'll let you feel everything."
-
Izanagi exclaims with each thrust, " ah!~ah!~ ah!~yeah!~give me!~your giant!~cock daddy!~"
-
Kayleth pulls out briefly so that he can shift Izanagi onto his side, keeping one leg in the air before thrusting into izanagi again, pounding into the smaller demon hard
-
izanagi whines softly when the other pulls out, and allows himself to be shifted without struggle, mewling in pleasure as the other slams into him once again. He could barely catch his breath as his head spins, hard and dripping as he gets close to another climax.
-
Kayleth keeps thrusting faster and harder, reaching down and running his hand through izanagi's hair.
He grips the incubus' hair and roughly pulls
-
That was the tipping point for Izanagi and he cries out, cumming hard and clenching around Kayleth as he makes a mess on the bed.
-
Feeling izanagi squeeze him he groans, the sound in his throat almost turning into a growl as he cums into izanagi.
It had been a while for him so it was a lot, it was hot, and it was thick.
-
Izanagi shudders as he feels the heat filling him, " mmmm fuck yeah, blow your load into me daddy~"
-
Kayleth sighs softly and pulls out of izanagi, "damn that was good." He pulls his pants back on
-
Izanagi cries out a bit as Kayleth pulls out of his sensitive and abused hole, shuddering as he feels the warm fluid dripping out of him, " glad to please. are you leaving so soon?"
-
Kayleth looks at izanagi, "Yeah? Why wouldn't I? You're an incubus so all you need from me is sex right?"
-
Izanagi keeps a smile on his face, " don;t get me wrong, the sex is amazing, but i don;t mind a little cuddling afterwards."
-
Kayleth shrugs, "I guess if you don't mind me having a smoke. "
He goes back to the bed and sits next to izanagi casually
-
Izanagi scoots himself closer and tests his head on kayleth, " that's fine."
-
Kayleth pulls out a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out along with a lighter.
He lights it and takes a long drag
-
Izanagi sighs softly and closes his eyes, just enjoying the intimacy of being with another person. He doesn;t really care that he's still pretty much nude with the others cum drying on his ass.
-
Kayleth does their best to not look bored as he keeps smoking.
Takana finishes making the food for the shelter tomorrow and packs it all up, sticking it in the fridge
-
Izanagi gets up after he's recovered a bit, " do you have someplace i can wash up a bit?"
-
Kayleth blinks and gets up, "Yeah there's a little bathroom down the hall. It's just a toilet and a sink though. Plenty of hand towels though so you can just wet one and use that I guess."
-
Izanagi blinks, " uh, yeah, that'll work." he gets up and grimaces as he feels more cum dribble out of him and heads to the bathroom, giving himself a towel bath as thoroughly as he can.
-
Once izanagi is out of the room kayleth gets the rest of his clothes on and takes the blankets off so that he can properly wash them.
It's starting to get dark and with the seasons beginning to change it also starts to cool off faster than in the summer.
Kayleth tsks softly and frowns. He hated being out when it gets cold...
-
Izanagi shiver a little as the cold air hits his bare and wet skin, quickly finishing getting clean and walking back to grab his clothes and put them on. " oh br, maybe i should have brought some pants with. i should get going."
-
Kayleth nods, "yup. As soon as you're out I can lock up and go home too."
-
Izanagi tries to not show that that hurts him and heads out, wrapping his arms around himself and hustling home in the chill.
-
Takana is cleaning up the kitchen, looking at the time and frowning a little.
He wonders if izanagi was staying the night with that guy or not
-
Izanagi enters the apartment, his teeth chattering a bit, " damn is it cold." He hurries to his room, quickly wrapping himself in Nikiri kimono and sniffing it, sad when the scent is faded.
-
Takana blinks, surprised to see izanagi. His nose twitches and he makes a bit of a face before going to izanagi's room and gently knocking on the door frame, "hey, you stink. Why don't you try to warm up in the shower and when you're done ill have some food ready for you."
-
Izanagi sighs, " alright, sorry about that, all he had was a sink to clean up in." he lets the kimono drop and grabs a towel and some clean clothes, heading to the bathroom and getting in the shower.
-
Takana snorts softly, "what, the dude couldn't at least towel you off when you guys were done? How rude." He goes to the kitchen and starts prepping some food.
Normally when izanagi came home from a fuck friend's place he was... more cheerful than this.
Takana frowns a little as he thinks about it for a little bit before shaking his head and continuing with cooking
-
Izanagi doesn't respond to that comment, showering and getting cleaned up before coming out and drying off, getting into normal clean clothes. He comes out and heads for the kitchen to scrounge in the fridge. " howd your cooking go? i remember you saying you were gonna make stuff for the ladies and their kids?"
-
Takana looks at izanagi, "ah. you sit. im making you food and its almost done. you'll prefer this than anything you get from the fridge. And as for the shelter cooking, im done with it. some of it is in the freezer to last longer since it'll just need to be rewarmed and some items are in the fridge to be eaten sooner."
-
Izanagi blinks, " you don;t have to cook just for me." he obeys though and sits at the table.
-
takana shakes his head, "I said i would when i told you to shower and you had to walk home in the cold so we gotta warm you up from the inside too. I dont know if demons get colds but i know on days when i came home wet and cold my mom had some hot foods ready for me and i remember how nice it felt..." takana cant help but smile at the memory before shaking his head and setting a big bowl of ramen in front of izanagi.
He knew it was a favorite of izanagi's and he maayyy have added some extra fatty slices of meat for the demon. Either way it smelled and looked amazing, even the steam wafting away from the bowl looked inviting.
"so eat and warm up."
-
Izanagi perks up when he sees it, " oh wow yum! And yeah we can get sick, especially lower tier like me. Thank you!" He digs in, face lit up happily.
-
takana nods, "then its important to keep you warm and healthy. make sure you get some good sleep tonight too. S'posed to dip into cooler temps at night."
-
Izanagi nods, " if there's a next time i'll bring warmer clothes with. i dunno, it was good sex but... that's all it was."
-
Takana frowns and sits down at the table, "Do you... wanna talk about it at all?"
-
Izanagi pauses a bit then smiles, " i mean not much to talk about. it was great sex, but that's it. once he was done he wanted me out."
-
takana tsks softly, "alright.... so the guy seems pretty thoughtless. No wonder Kaeru never brought him to the cafe. Well i suppose if you're prepared for a quick fuck and then leave thats one thing but i know you can do a lot better. maybe i can ask arakan next time i see him if he can text shiro and have the guy come over or something."
-
Izanagi sighs, " he's not into me, it's not worth bothering with. i wish Nikiri wasn't so busy..."
-
takana hums, "well if shiro didnt directly tell you he isnt interested then id say you should still try to pursue him. apparently he's treated like shit by everyone where he lives so I'm sure he has some terrible confidence. regardless, we can at least figure out if he is or isnt interested. i want to hear him say it before you move on to the next."
-
Izanagi blows a raspberry, " well considering he's never here that's gonna be hard to manage." he goes back to his ramen, soon finishing it off.
-
takana chuckles, "Which is why i thought maybe id bother arakan to get the guy over here first. either way, im just glad you came home safe."
-
Izanagi blinks, " you were worried about me? it was just sex, i think Kaeru would have said something if he was dangerous."
-
Takana rubs the back of his head, "well... it's getting darker earlier than normal and colder. Even if you weren't with someone dangerous coming home alone is still scary sometimes." His face turns a bit red, "a-at any rate you're back. So we can stop having this conversation!" He quickly turns and heads for his room, "good night!"
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Izanagi tilts his head, " okay?" he drinks the last of the broth and puts his dish in the sink, going to his room and grabbing Nikiri's kimono and cuddling with it.
Arakan soon arrives at the apartment and enters, texting Kaiten to let him know he can leave. He blinks as he looks around the apartment and doesn;t see the two males.
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Takana hears the door open and pokes his head out of his room, "oh! Welcome back."
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Arakan looks and nods, " thank you. apologies i haven't been able to come sooner, i was getting some extra things done to clear up tomorrow morning."
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Takana feels a bit guilty at that but... arakan said it was fine, "I see. Are you hungry at all? I can whip up some food real quick."
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Arakan shakes his head, " i ate something earlier, im alright." he yawns, " looking forward to getting some sleep though." he goes over and wraps an arm around Takana to pull him close enough for a quick smooch on the lips before heading into Takana's room.
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Takana can't help but smile when he gets kissed, "sounds good." He closes his door, happy to get some cuddle time
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Arakan pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it aside before settling on the bed, " got enough blankets to keep warm this time?"
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Takana nods, "Yeah um. So..." He didn't have a tail anymore and he... was still wearing the lingerie outfit, "you're probably too tired to do anything tonight, right? You did do a lot of work in order to be with me tomorrow morning."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " well i wasn't planning on it, why were you in the mood?"
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Takana rubs the back of his head, "n-no I just...it's been a weird day in the sense that izanagi convinced me to purchase something to, I don't know, I guess show off or something.. anyway I've been dumb enough to not also buy it but also wear it so I didn't want you to freak out or something when I take my clothes off and put on pajamas "
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Arakan blinks and raises an eyebrow, " i won't freak out. though if it was Izanagi's idea i'll admit im curious. but i won;t look if you won't want me to."
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Takana takes a deep breath and hesitantly removes his shirt and pants. His ears flatten and he nervously looks away, "go ahead and laugh if you want. I've never worn something like this before so I feel a little ridiculous. "
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Arakan blinks and his eyes widen slightly, his face flushing a bit. he turns his head and covers his mouth, " ah, you don't look ridiculous, not at all."
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Takana blinks and tilts his head, "um... yeah? You mean it? "
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Arakan nods, still keeping his head turned to not be looking, " i do mean it, a lot. you look really, really good."
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Takana chuckles softly and blushes, "I'm glad that it doesn't put you off then. I'll take it off and get some pj's on so I can stop torturing you."
He begins to carefully remove the top
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Arakan nods, " i appreciate that. ...is that really the first time you've worn something like that?"
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Takana nods as he removes the garter and stockings, "Yeah. I would never do this for anyone, not even Curtis."
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Arakan grins, " okay, not only is that even hotter, but that is a very satisfying thought. something that you never did for him."
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Takana snorts softly and takes the lacey undies off, folding them and setting them to the side, "you would think that. "
He gets a pair of baggy sweats on and turns off the light before snuggling into bed against arakan.
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Arakan chuckles, " it's not often i can get a one up on that smug prick. well. okay not a prick, he's been better. old habit." He pulls Takana close, " you never did answer if you had enough blankets."
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Takana hugs arakan, "I have plenty, don't worry about that." He gives arakan a soft kiss goodnight before snuggling into the bed
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Arakan gets comfortable and pulls Takana close, making sure that there's a few layers of blankets between them.
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Takana falls asleep comfortably.
Once it's morning takana yawns and slowly opens his eyes. He grumbles softly and touches his backend, thankful to not feel a tail. Good. He could sleep in a little bit
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Arakan sleeps deeply until morning, sighing softly and nuzzling into Takana.
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Takana feels the movement and smiles, looking up at arakan.
He was incredibly lucky...although who knows how long that luck will last. Eventually the truth will have to come out and... would arakan hate him? For lying? Being human?
Takana felt guilty for keeping this secret from arakan... he wanted to tell the demon so badly...
He tightens his grip on one of his blankets before shoving his face into arakans chest, wanting to go back to dreaming that everything will be okay
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Arakan takes a deep breath, opening his eyes a little and yawning, seeing Takana's face in his chest and gently kissing him on the top of the head.
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Takana looks up at arakan and smiles, "good morning. Sleep well?"
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Arakan nods, " good morning. indeed i did. and you? not too cold?"
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Takana chuckles, "Yeah I slept great, thank you."
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Arakan kisses his forehead, " good."
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Takana blushes, enjoying the cuddling obviously, "I should get breakfast going so we can get over to the shelter."
He gets up and changes his clothes before heading to the kitchen
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Arakan reluctantly lets him go, " yeah i suppose so. those gals will be happy to see you."
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Takana chuckles and starts making food, "they'll be happy to see the food I bring."
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Arakan gets up and goes to the bathroom to freshen up before changing into new clothes, " close enough." he grabs a scrub brush and sits at the table, scrubbing his horns clean.
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Takana glances back at arakan, "coffee?"
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Arakan gives his horn a last scrub and wipes them down with a wet rag, " sure, that'd be great."
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Takana nods and starts the coffee pot, "oh that reminds me. Isabelle left some cash for me in the couch cushions so I couldn't find it until after she left therefore being unable to decline the money. I personally don't need all of it, I already kept a little for emergencies but other than that I don't want to have this much money on me so I wanted to give it to you. I know you'll know what to do with it or who might need help. Maybe hold on to it and let your people know that if there is a dead collar that someone can't afford to replace that money can be used for it or something."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " that's very generous. my family finds ways to fund collars for those who can't afford it, there are materials we as the lead family have control over selling to the kuroshiba company, such as caladrius bird tears. there are others, but we do have a fund set aside for things like that and we do use it. if you wish to donate to our fund for emergency use though i will not say no. to be honest, usually we can only afford the lowest end collars in such cases."
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Takana nods and sets some pancakes and coffee in front of arakan, "let me grab it then." He goes to his room and shuffles some shit around until he finds the envelope, "ah, there it is."
He goes back to arakan and hands it to him, "here."
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Arakan takes it and solemnly tucks it into an inner pocket in his shirt. " it's appreciated. that'll reduce the amount of things we need to sell to that damn company. i'd rather not sell that sort of thing to them at all, who knows how they abuse it, but it's the only thing they'll buy for enough to even come close to getting enough to be able to afford the collars..."
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takana flinches a little when arakan says 'damn' company, "ah... y-yeah.... thats understandable."
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Arakan sighs, " regardless, hopefully we can start bringing in enough funds that it won't be necessary to do business with them any further. ideally anyway."
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Takana sets a plate of pancakes in izanagi's usual spot, "um okay. Well you enjoy your food and coffee. I'm going to go wake up nagi..."
He goes to izanagi's room and gently pushes on his arm, "oi. Pancakes on the table."
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Arakan blinks, frowning. Why did he seem bothered by references to that company?
Izanagi opens the door, wearing Nikiri's Kimono and rubbing his eyes, " already? okay." he yawns and walks to the table, plopping down and starting to eat.
Arakan sighs softly and eats his own meal.
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Takana gets a cup of coffee for himself and leans against the counter, quietly blowing on it and sipping, "it is a bit earlier than when I normally wake you so feel free to take a nap or something after. I just wanted to make sure you got some food in you before I head out."
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Izanagi nods, " 'kay" he stuffs a large chunk of pancake in his mouth, chewing happily.
Arakan eats more politely, steadily working his way through his portion.
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Takana hears his phone go off and he looks at it before humming softly and looking at arakan, "Isabelle says that the next shipment that is scheduled for this district will have some dirt for the gardens and to bring some muscle cuz it's a lot of dirt."
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Arakan glances over, " that'll be excellent. i'll make arrangements. one thing that i can provide a lot of is muscle." he chuckles softly and finishes his plate and gets up, taking it to the sink to wash it.
Izanagi finishes his and is scraping the last of the maple syrup off the plate with his fork.
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Takana goes to his room and grab his backpack. He heads back to the kitchen and loads up what he made that is in the freezer into his backpack.
"Alright muscle imma need you to wear the backpack and hold some of the stuff in the fridge. Thankfully you being a chill guy will help keep this food cold and frozen on the walk over."
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Arakan snorts softly in amusement, " that's easy enough." he grabs the backpack and slings it over one shoulder, " anything else?"
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"That should do it. Ready when you are."
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Arakan nods and heads for the door, leaving a wave of cold behind him as he focuses on chilling the bag. " lets go then."
Izanagi crawls back in bed.
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Takana follows behind arakan, not knowing where the heck he needs to go so arakan is gonna have to lead
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Arakan heads to the womens center after making sure that Takana is following, soon arriving and heading in. the sounds of the kids playing can be heard already despite how early it is, and the sound of the women chatting.
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Takana hesitantly heads inside and looks around, his ears twitching as he takes in every sound
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A six year old boy goes screaming running out and runs into Arakan, falling on his butt after colliding with the stronger demon. He looks up, and two slightly older kids stop when they see their friend on the ground. The six year old yells, " Mom! Arakan is here!" and quickly gets up running back. the other two follow.
Arakan shakes his head with a chuckle as one of the womens voices scold the kids softly, and he goes in to where they're seated. " im so sorry about that, we weren't expecting you or i'd have told them to behave. what do you need from us today?" the woman with wings coming off her arms looks at Arakan questioningly, and glances over at Takana curiously.
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Takana follows arakan, trying not to look nervous, "um. Hello. Um... sorry it took a while but I am here to keep my promise of some home cooked food. All of it I made last night and a couple I kept in the fridge, and the rest I froze to last longer. Arakan is assisting me with delivery for obvious reasons."
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One of the women who looks sickly with stringy blue hair, coughs softly and smiles, putting her hands together, " oh! that's wonderful. I'll be honest, we didn;t really think you were going to, but it's very much appreciated! Makai! show them where the freezer is would you sweetie?" A little boy with the same sort of sickly look and stringy blue hair comes over, one of the two that had followed the younger who had run into Arakan, " yes momma. over here sir." he heads into another room with a run down looking fridge.
Arakan follows, setting the bag down and starting to put things away, " you and your mom aren't looking great, do you guys need me to cool off the pool again?"
The boy nods slowly, " mom says not to bother you, but the water feels so hot..." Arakan reaches over and ruffles his hair, " sorry about that, i'll try and remember to stop by more often to get it cold for you two."
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Takana can hear the conversation, doing his best not to frown.
His ears flatten a little and he looks at the woman, "i... sorry it wasn't sooner. A lot of stuff happened but if it's one thing I am it's stubborn."
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The blue haired woman starts to wave at him, " oh don't fret we're easy to-" she starts coughing, covering her mouth.
The harpy glances at her and takes over, " what she was saying is it's easy for most people to forget we're here. And while it was generous thing you offered, that's a lot of money and work for it. we're grateful, but we didn't expect it." she has a clawed foot on a basket with a very young sleeping child and is rocking it with her foot.
Arakan finishes putting all the food away and heads to the pool, putting his hands into the water and taking it from a normal cool room temperature to basically freezing, some ice chunks forming. he heads back to Takana and glances at the blue haired woman, " go take a swim, i've lowered the temp in the pool. that's an order."
She had finally stopped coughing and looks up startled, " oh, you didn't have to..."
" your health is important. i know i have a lot going on, but i want you to tell me when it gets too warm for you."
She nods and gest up, grabbing the blue haired boys hand and heading to the pool and they both get in for a swim.
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Takana hesitantly nods, "um well. If you guys need more meals don't hesitate to let me know. You can just let arakan know and he'll tell me. I have no problem helping you guys out."
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Tori, who's husband was the one Takana watched be killed, chimes in, " it's very kind of you to have done this, but we can't possibly ask you to spend so much money and time on us. we're taken very well care of, most districts don't do half of what is done for us here. we'll be alright."
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Takana's ears twitch as he takes in what tori says, "um... okay. Then you won't ask. I'll just... every so often make some stuff and bring it over. It's honestly not a problem for me. I have the ability to do so and I have time, as long as things are calm that is."
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Mikitsa the harpy shrugs, " well we'll appreciate whatever you bring us, and the kids will too im sure. let us know if there's anything we can do in exchange, i dislike being is someone's debt."
Arakan watches Takana carefully, " you all set here?"
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Takana nods to the harpy, "I make no promises on getting a schedule down on making food since it will always depend on time and what I can get but I do want to give you guys a break every once in a while and just have something ready to eat. If I think of anything I won't hesitate to ask for assistance with something."
He looks at arakan, "Yeah, I'm good. I should get back so I can get ready for work. Thank you for helping me with the delivery."
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Mikitsa nods, " if we can do something to repay you, we will."
Arakan nods, " lets get going then."
the kid who had run into Arakan peeks out and waves at them, " byeee!"
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Takana had turned to leave however when he hears the kid he looks back and gives a little wave, "goodbye kiddo."
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Arakan chuckles softly and heads out of the building, sighing softly, " alright, make a mental note to visit more often because Kainani is stubborn."
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Takana looks up at arakan, "they're sick right? What's wrong with them? Why do they need cold water?"
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Arakan looks at him, " oh, they're really not made to be here. They're sealings, a subtype of demon that normally live in deep ocean areas. they've mostly managed to stay out of this whole district thing simply because it's nearly impossible to access them or catch them. they stayed pretty much to themselves even before the war. in specific she and her kid are sirens, though there are more types, just like there's lots of land and air based demons up here. anyway they're not made to breath air so much, or for more than short periods of time, and they're used to extremely frigid waters and pressure. so being forced to stay up here on land is hard on them, giving them a freezing cold pool to mimic at least the water temps they're used to is about all i can do. i've added as much salt as i can get my hands on to it, but enough to make it more than just a light brine has been hard to get." he sighs softly.
-
Takana frowns, "salt? Oh... I see.... I'm sorry to hear that. I wish there is something I could do for her."
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Arakan sighs, " not much we can do since she got caught. best thing would be if she and her son could go home, but she and her husband came to the surface a few years ago when she was pregnant, and they encountered some humans and were caught. he was killed, she was sent here. the boy has never even been in the ocean where he belongs. hopefully as things improve i'll be able to get ahold of more salt that i can use in the pool, thankfully it's not like it evaporates or anything so adding more isn't an issue once we get enough. that'll help somewhat, though it's a bandaid on the bigger problem that they're simply not supposed to be here."
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Takana rubs his arm and nods, "hopefully what i have been doing will do more good than bad... I would like to eventually see this place become a proper place to live."
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" i hope so as well. that would be a good outcome. regardless, what was happening before wasn;t going anywhere, at least things are changing. time will tell what those changes will bring."
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Takana nods, "right..." He sighs and looks away, "well, at least you guys will be getting better produce. That's always a positive."
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Arakan nods, " any change for the better helps."
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Takana frowns a little, "that's what I'm trying to do."
He gets back to his apartment and heads inside
-
" i know, im just saying that any change for the better is good. you're helping. we just need to wait and see from here."
-
"Sorry I just... I worry. I worry that I'm not doing enough... and sometimes I think that what I'm doing might piss off some humans and cause more issues for you. I wish I could ensure that this district and it's people thrive in better conditions."
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Arakan sighs, " it might, but if we didn;t do anything at all, i might be able to keep things under control for a few more years, but that's about it. things were getting to a breaking point, and that means a lot of death would follow."
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Takana whines softly and goes over to arakan, rubbing his head against the taller male, "I know... could you imagine all the shit that would never happen here if I hadn't shown up."
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Arakan rests his hand in Takana's head and gently teases his hair, " yes, things would be different. to think not that long ago i was preparing for an inevitable second war. now i hope we can avoid it."
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"And I would have never known that a war was even going to happen. I probably would be killed. Isn't that an interesting thought."
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Arakan sighs, " maybe. maybe not. we're not monsters. most people would flee and not fight. we wouldn't have gone after people who ran, we would have gone after the guards first, then perhaps the makers of these." he reaches up and gently touches his collar, " made them free us. and if we survived that...tried to go someplace where we could get away from the humans i guess."
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Takana snorts, "something tells me I'd be dead. You would have found me in an interesting home, no ears, no collar, and I certainly wouldn't have ran. At least without getting yori and protecting him. "
-
Arakan blinks, raising an eyebrow, " no ears? And i wouldn't go running into random homes killing people."
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Takana blinks and looks up at arakan, "remember? The last time we talked about my daily life before here, I was made to wear a headband that hid my ears. And sure you wouldn't go into homes at the random but what about mansions for the obscenely rich? Like, they control the guards, rich?"
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Arakan blinks, " ah, right. i forgot. i mean, not if they weren't doing anything. i may have even spared the kuroshibas if they cooperated in taking the collars off. I have no desire to slaughter them, just to get free."
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Takana's ears fold back a little and he looks back down, "this isn't a great conversation. I'm gonna go get ready for work."
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Arakan blinks, " okay?" he frowns, sitting down and shaking his head. did the other really hate the humans so much that he'd prefer they died?
-
Takana goes to his room and gets ready for work.
-
Arakan sighs softly and pushes it from his mind, looking at his phone and working on a few emails from there.
Izanagi soon comes out, perky and ready to go to work.
-
Soon after takana steps out and grabs his bag, "alright, I'm ready to go."
Nikiri sends izanagi a quick text, ' bring my kimono to the cafe today. I'll trade it out for a different one
-
Izanagi looks at his phone and blinks, " uh, one second." he heads back into his room and grabs the kimono, looking at takana, " hey, did you say something to Nikiri about yesterday?"
Arakan glances up and stands, heading for the door.
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Takana blinks and looks back at izanagi, "ah sorry I haven't yet. Haven't had time yet, did you want me to?"
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Izanagi shakes his head, " noooo, was just curious. lets go." he heads out the door quickly.
Arakan raises an eyebrow and looks at Takana, before shaking his head and following, " actually i don't want to know."
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Takana snorts softly, "I don't wanna know either." He heads out the door to work
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Arakan chuckles, " i would have thought he'd tell you all about it." he looks at his phone while he walks, sending a text.
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Takana hums softly as he walks besides arakan, "he's probably being nice to me today because I was nice to him yesterday. "
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Arakan hums softly, " perhaps. couldn't say for sure."
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Takana gets to the cafe and quickly goes inside to get the kitchen ready
-
Izanagi starts getting places set and silverware wrapped and ready to go.
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Hikari was already there, probably the first after manager, with everything already to go at her station
-
Kaiten arrives shortly after and Arakan leaves to let him keep watch over Takana.
Soon the cafe is opened and customers flood in to be taken care of by the staff just like any other day.
-
The only exciting thing about the day is the reappearance of nikiri, his antlers still growing and still velvety however there is now a small charm hanging on his left side.
He takes his usual seat knowing izanagi will spot him at any moment
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Izanagi indeed spots him soon and grabs the kimono, setting it on a chair next to them before plopping onto his lap, " you got one of your charms back!"
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Nikiri hums happily and nods, "yes, I woke up this morning and it was already there. I'm quite happy about that. Things have also settled down for me so I came to check on you."
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" it's very dashing." he reaches up and gently flicks it to make it swing." aw that's so sweet of you. i'll admit i've been lonely. im sorry you've been so busy."
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Nikiri shrugs, "it'll be alright. If it gets too bad I could always request som help from family. They are mostly in the third district but they are harmless enough that coming over shouldn't be a big deal."
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Izanagi hums softly, " more cuties like you? count me in." he places a peck onto Nikiri's cheek, " lemme know if i can help you unwind sometime, you know im always down for some fun."
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Nikiri chuckles, "I don't really know if they are someone you'd get along with. A lot of them are on my father's side and we all know how he is. But yes, I think some companionship between you and I are overdue."
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Izanagi grins, " oh good, i've had some flings to keep me sated but they're always lacking. I like snuggling with you after, and I do enjoy you during too."
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Nikiri nods, "how about tomorrow night then? I'll have some time after work. "
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Izanagi nods enthusiastically, " yes please! that would be great! i should get back to work though, as much as i'd love to stay here and give you some... personal attention."
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nikiri nods, "Go back to work, i'll be here until the end of your shift so that i can switch out my kimono, okay?"
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Izanagi reaches over and grabs the kimono, " I brought it out. not that i'd be opposed to you staying. i know you have a lot to do though so i understand if you wanna go."
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nikiri shakes his head, "im good for today. I have a very early start tomorrow otherwise id just have you over tonight but since my day starts early it will also end early. no need to worry about me."
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" okay!" Izanagi quickly places a kiss onto Nikiri's lips before running off to take care of customers.
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A couple of months go by, the season turning colder and colder as the christmas nears.
Shipments to the demon district have been receiving slightly higher quality products thanks to isabelle, including a potato sack that was heavy and tied up, labeled for Karim filled with sapphire's for her dress to be completed. Another large sack tied in the same way to go to indigo's family. Plenty of dirt for the garden to officially be completed and clippings of previous potted produce for the greenhouse so that they start producing food around the time that they can come outside to naturally be in season.
The dress was completed on time and was the talk of the town when she wore it at the kuroshiba's christmas ball, so much so that guards were already inundated with calls, emails, and karens asking why they couldnt get the same dress that isabelle got just because it was in the other district.
That combined with a successful winter cafe' menu also being talked about made enough humans question the demons captivity rules and thus a new contract was set in place to be discussed at the start of the year and everything was finally looking promising.
Its new years evening and Isabelle walked through the snow up to the gate, all bundled up and dragging what usually was a red wagon on wheels, but now had the wheels removed and had runners installed instead.
She walks up to the gate and smiles at the guard, "Hi! we're here to cross through for the night please and thank you."
The guard raises an eyebrow, "At this time of the day?"
Isabelle nods, "yes. I'm not celebrating on the human side tonight, i wanna celebrate the peace with some friends. here." she goes to her sled and pulls out a bottle of wine and holds it out to the guard, "a gift from my vineyard. its been slow aged and tastes amazing. I hope you have a very good year sir."
the guard blinks and accepts the bottle, "o-oh wow. thank you very much miss kuroshiba. Um just stay safe alright? have a good evening!" he moves to the side and opens the gate for her and yori to pass
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Arakan who had been informed of her arrival was waiting, shorts sleeves showing off his pale skin and muscles as the cold had zero effect on him. He stands in the snow, watching her enter the gate with Yori, " good evening, I hope you traveled safely?"
Yori has his arms wrapped around himself and stamps his feet to try and warm them, " dang it's cold. I can't wait to see Takana though!"
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isabelle smiles up at Arakan and nods, "mm! I did, thank you! I hope everything has been well? Do you know perhaps if indigo's family got my gift to them? I hope it was enough for them."
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Arakan nods, " things have progressed smoothly. We have focused a lot on fast growing crops with a lot of nutrients for now, and it has been a marked improvement for diets overall. We don't have much, but everyone gets a small ration each week. It helps. I made sure Indigo got the package, it's more than they normally get in a few years, and better quality. We simply can't afford precious metals and gems for them often, so scrap and discards are what they get. He plans to come see you tonight and say hello, you'll see the difference it's made " he starts leading the way to the apartment. " Would you like me to take your uh, sled?"
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Isabelle shakes her head, "its fine for now, maybe when we have to go up the stairs to their apartment but for now dragging it is fine. oh but be careful when we do get to the stairs. it has gifts in it so i dont want anything to break."
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Arakan chuckles, "when we get to the stairs I'll carry it then. No problem."
Yori walks behind them, blowing into his hands.
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Isabelle looks back at yori and sighs, "are your hands cold? I told you to wear gloves."
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Yori pouts, " I didn't think it was gonna be this bad!" He whines.
Arakan shakes his head, " can't help you, this is my element. I can make it colder, but that's about it." He opens the door to let the other two go in, grabbing the sled and hefting it onto his shoulder.
-
there's a soft clinking when arakan does that and isabelle cant help but look at the sled cautiously, "um well you'll warm up once we get inside yori. you'll be fine." She heads inside
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Arakan notes the sound and is more careful to not jostle the sled further as they head up.
Yori runs in and up the stairs, stumbling a little as he goes.
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Takana hears them coming and opens the door quickly, smiling when he sees them, "hey!! you guys made it!"
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Arakan walks in and gently sets the sled down, " indeed they did."
Yori launches at Takana, hugging him tightly, " Takana!"
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Takana hugs yori and laughs softly, "im so glad to see you!! both of you!"
Isabelle steps inside and smiles, "im glad we could make it, and im glad we have a good reason to get together. I brought some gifts, i hope thats alright."
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Izanagi looks up from the couch, wearing a skimpy santaish outfit. " you didn't have to do that. i didn;t get anything for anyone." he thinks for a moment, " i could-"
Arakan quickly cuts him off, " we don;t need you to finish that Izanagi. It was very generous of you Isabelle but you shouldn;t have, really. none of us planned for gifts." he spins a chair from the table around and straddles it to sit.
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isabelle smiles at arakan, "its alright. you take care of takana and thats all i could ever ask of you guys. besides, i love to give gifts and i think you'll like yours. at least i hope you will."
Takana looks at izanagi, "For just one night, dont."
Isabelle goes over to her sled and opens the bag that was in the sled, pulling out a 12 by 12 inch box that is wrapped well and a big bow on top. the sound of clinking can be heard as she carries it over to arakan, "here. for you."
-
Izanagi pouts, " i was only gonna offer as a gift!"
Arakan shakes his head and sighs, " very well." he blinks and takes the package, gently setting it on the table, " this is for me? it's very large." he's hesitant to open it.
-
inside the box are 4 tightly packed 16 oz jars with tightly sealed lids. the jars are glass so its easy to see that they are filled with some sort of thick liquid gold. The sticker label states that the jars contain wild flower raw honey, collected from a small town bee farm that focuses on the old fashioned way of collection instead of using modern technology to keep the taste of the honey pure, since 1815.
Isabelle hums softly, "it isnt much, i know. I just thought you'd appreciate this kind of gift. um hopefully..."
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Arakan blinks, " well i assume i will like it, i can;t say i've ever really had the real stuff. if nothing else i've heard it has good medicinal properties so my mother will appreciate it. thank you very much." he nods to her.
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she nods to arakan, "I wanted to get something different but still nice so i figured honey was good since takana told me honey doesnt make it to the shelves at all which is a shame."
Takana smiles, "Thats the Gold Shire honey? thats some good stuff! Nice."
Isabelle looks at izanagi and frowns, "unfortunately i am not comfortable purchasing anything you really like so your gift has less thought to it." she holds out an envelope, "its just cash but it should be enough for you to get whatever you want and I know you wont say no to money."
-
Arakan sets it aside.
Izanagi blinks and takes it, " oooooo. thank you." he takes it.
-
Isabelle looks at takana and hands him a bag, "I didnt wrap these, sorry. figured it was weird to wrap every single one."
Takana looks in the bag and gasps, "My clothes! all of them! Even my skinny jeans! Yes!! Thank you isabelle!"
Isabelle hums softly, "normally id buy you a gift but since it seems what you want is your things back I figured it was good to bring them as your gift. especially since makoto is out tonight."
Takana smiles, "its perfect, thank you isabelle. did you get the food?"
"of course i did. I also got a few other things as well." she hands takana the bags of food and grabs a bag set to the side, pulling it out and setting the clementines on the table. These are amazing this time of year so i got two bags. help yourselves."
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Izanagi pulls one out, " ooooo fresh fruit!" he peels it and stuffs it in his mouth, sighing happily.
Arakan gets up and walks over to Isabelle. " im afraid it pales in comparison to the work you put into the gifts you gave to us, but i thought of something useful anyway." he holds his hand empty and palm up, closing it tightly and opening it again to reveal a sparkling hairpin with a snowflake. " our district is still dangerous for humans, despite my best efforts. break this if you are in trouble, i will know where you are if you do."
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isabelle blinks and her eyes widen a little, "oh- oh my its beautiful. Thank you." she smiles up at arakan before carefully setting the pin in her hair.
Takana quickly starts working on dinner for everyone.
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Arakan nods, " I figured if it was pretty you wouldn't be opposed to having it, and it wouldn't look out of place. Don't forget it's main purpose is a distress call." He sits back down.
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isabelle shrugs, "more like its just easier to hide in plain site. if it was something odd id be questioned about it constantly, but i do appreciate how pretty you made it."
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He chuckles, " well the shape was intentional, the color and sparkle not so much. it's essentially made of ice after all." he lets his eyes slide over to Takana, smiling to see him so happy and excited over his clothes.
-
Takana had set the bag aside, now more focused on getting dinner going.
Isabelle hums softly, "regardless, it's lovely. Thank you." She follows arakans gaze over to takana, smiling as well. She is an intuitive woman after all.
She looks at arakan, "at any rate, please enjoy the clementines and star fruits. They are delicious this time of year."
-
Arakan looks back at her when she comments, " ah, right. thank you. fresh fruit is a real treat." he takes a Clemintine and peels it, chewing thoughtfully on one of the segments.
Izanagi had grabbed several and was enjoying them thoroughly.
Indigo shakes the snow off his jacket and knocks at the door before opening it, " hello hello? i heard there was to be a gathering?" he had a multitude of brightly shining feathers in his hair, each a different metal color, with a few translucent and colored like gemstones. several grape sized teardrop shaped gems hang from his scalp as well, attached by thin stems.
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Isabelle hears indigo and goes over to him, looking him up and down before nodding, "good." She goes back over to the fruit and picks up a star fruit, biting into it.
She was glad that the gold and jewels she snuck over seemed to be having a positive impact on indigo, "there's fresh fruit on the table indigo."
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Indigo blinks as he's suddenly inspected, smirking by the end. " im glad i meet your expectations. my family and i haven;t felt this good since before the war. and you are to thank for that." he walks over to where she's sitting and bows deeply, " you have my eternal gratitude. anything you desire, i will do my best to make happen."
-
Isabelle looks at indigo and hums softly, "well for starters," she grabs a clementine and pushes it in his hands, "have some fruit. We're here as friends to celebrate a new year, with, hopefully, a light at the end of this tunnel. My 'expectations' were mainly me thinking you looked healthier."
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Indigo blinks and takes the fruit, " ah, many thanks. indeed, our future looks bright. with humans being able to enter the demon district my family should be able to get a fair price for the refined metals and gems that we can produce, and use that to buy mixed and scrap metals and flawed gems to sate our appetite and to refine. it will be a beneficial cycle." he sits, peeling the tiny orange carefully and eating a segment. " oh right, you like the color blue, yes?"
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Isabelle nods, "mm yes. It has always been a calming color for me."
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Indigo reaches up to grasp a deep blue feather with a soft metallic shimmer, " well, usually the feathers are made from the metals and the gemstones are refined as the drops, but sometimes things get mixed. I thought i remembered that was your favorite color, so when i saw this growing i thought i knew exactly where it should go." He closes his eyes and winces as he yanks it out, shaking his head a bit, " ouch. anyway, worth it. for you." he holds the feather out to her.
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Isabelle blinks and hesitantly takes the feather, "well now you didn't have to do that, but thank you. It's pretty."
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Indigo smiles, " it's worth it to give you something unique. Gems you obviously have in great supply, but this is something only an alicanto can make. And I wasn't willing to wait months for it to fall out naturally. I know it's but a small and worthless gift compared to all you've done and everything you can get for yourself, but I hope it pleases you even just a little."
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Isabelle gently wraps the feather before placing it in her bag for safe keeping, "I do like it a lot. I enjoy unique items. I don't care about monetary value of items as nearly as much as I enjoy fun and unique gifts that were given with thought in mind."
-
Indigo nods, " it makes me very happy to hear that." he hesitates for a moment, debating if he should do more, before deciding that would suffice and more would be too much, sitting down and eating the rest of the clemintine she gave him, savoring each piece.
Arakan watches the exchange, pleased when Indigo doesn't go over the top. He gets up and heads into the kitchen, gently placing a hand on Takana's lower back as he comes up behind him, " need any help?"
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Takana gives a slight squeak, being startled by the hand at first. He turns and looks at arakan, smiling, "ah, are you good at cutting thin slices?"
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Arakan blinks, " i can;t say i've attempted it, but i can certainly try. im not sure if my fighting skills will translate but it might."
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Takana nods, "alright, I'll leave the veggies for you since it's more important for this meat to be super thin. The broth and sauces are ready so as soon as these ingredients get sliced up I can set the table for an amazing hotpot dinner."
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Arakan shrugs and grabs a knife, chopping the veggies, "very well."
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Takana takes the thick red slab of steak he has and begins to thinly slice it, "the idea of a hot pot is its a big pot of broth and you put the veggies in, and as those cook you'll take your thin pieces of meat, swirl it in the broth long enough to cook, dip it in a sauce of your choosing before eating it. You can also eat the veggies in it as well and its super delicious and a fun way to eat a big meal with your friends. I made a special batch of hot oil for your sauce since I know that's what you'll want."
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Arakan blinks and chuckles softly, " i appreciate that. it certainly sounds like an interesting way to eat." he keeps chopping, making his way through the veggies.
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Takana nods, "in certain cultures its specifically used as a symbol of a group of people coming together for the new year and new change so I thought it was the perfect meal to have with all of us together."
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Arakan hums softly, " interesting. Different groups of demons used to have specific traditions. we've all sort of been mixed together so a lot of them have been lost. the oldest might remember them, but few even attempt it, too many memories. I know my fathers group had traditions involving the volcanic areas they lived in, cooking in the hot springs and gathering the fruit that only thrived in the mouths of active volcanos, the heat was no problem for them. My mothers family wasn't so much about proving yourself by taking on difficult tasks, they're clever and subtle. She's said they usually had festivals that were really ways to show off their skills. sculpting ice into the most beautiful forms, testing each other with subtle trials of wits, it wasn't obvious, but in some ways it was even more brutal than my fathers family. It's easy to know where you stand when it's displayed for all to see in trials of strength and bravery." He gently sets the sliced vegetables aside.
-
Takana nods, "I see. That's really interesting. It would be fun to see such things happen again..." He finishes cutting the meat incredibly thin.
Different cuts and type of meat sit on different plates so you know if you're eating fatty pig, lean pig, fatty beef, lean beef, and extra fatty beef, "okay, I'll get the pot on the table and then the plates."
He grabs the single burner and sets it on the table and turns it on before setting a large wide pot on top, watching it begin to simmer gently.
He goes back to the kitchen and starts bringing the meat out on the table as well
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Arakan sighs, " yeah, I'm not sure it'll happen though. Perhaps we'll eventually get new traditions." He helps bring the plates out.
Izanagi sees food coming and scotches closer, curious at the array.
Indigo sees the food coming out as well, " ah, I should go then. I only wanted to pop in and express my gratitude, not invite myself to a meal." He gets up.
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Takana looks at indigo and hums softly, "Isabelle did go a little nuts on the veggies and meat-"
Isabelle raises an eyebrow and smiles, "only because you told me to."
"REGARDLESS. We have plenty if you wanted to join us. We have like, 8 plates of meat alone and a ton of veggies and I have quite a few ramen noodle blocks that you toss in at the end to soak up the broth."
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The Alicanto hesitates for a moment, "i'll admit it sounds delicious. are you certain it will not strain your own meals at all?"
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takana snorts softly, "A hotpot feeds at least 6 people. you being here makes 6. This is without isabelle bringing half of her garden and all of the other ingredients. I have enough to feed at the very least 12 people, maybe 8 if we all stuff ourselves until we cant breathe. if anything you'd be doing me a favor to have less leftovers."
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Indigo chuckles softly, " very well then. since i am not making a burden of myself i will join you with pleasure." he sits back down.
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Takana nods, "Good. Imma throw some veggies into the pot now so I dont have to find a spot on the table for them since they go in pretty early anyway." he grabs a few plates of isabelle's premium veggies and mushrooms and dumps them into the pot before setting the plates back in the kitchen, "Grab an empty plate, pick a slice of meat, swirl it in the boiling pot for a few seconds before pulling it out and eating it with or without a dipping sauce."
He sets some sauces down before handing arakan specifically a red tiny bowl filled with sauce that looks an angry red, "This is specifically yours. no one dips their food in the red bowl. you'll probably die if you try to handle this type of spice."
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Indigo laughs softly as we watches the red bowl come out, " don't worry, our heir to the district is well known for his ability to handle spice. i have no desire to put myself through that sort of torment." He carefully grabs a slice of meat and dips it into the pot, watching it cook and pulling it out, looking at the now cooked meat, " fascinating. " he pops it into his mouth.
Izanagi wrinkles his nose at the red bowl and grabs some fatty meat and dunks it, chewing happily after he stuffs it into his mouth.
Yori also sits, looking curious at the red bowl, " is it really that bad? how can he tolerate it if it'd be that bad for someone else?"
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takana chuckles and looks at yori, "Having ice powers helps with that, but i am serious. please dont touch his sauce yori. I have a dipping sauce that has normal spicy to it in a normal colored bowl here if anyone wants an acceptable amount of heat but the red bowl is death."
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Yori wrinkles his nose, " weird... can i like, do that thing where you take a toothpick and just have like, a teeny tiny bit?"
Arakan rolls his eyes, before looking at Takana with a smirk" i see a lack of self preservation is a family trait it seems."
Indigo makes a soft choking noise at that, thumping his chest with his fist and clearing his throat.
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Takana snorts softly at arakans comment before shaking his head at yori, "yori, if you ingest any of this then you will wish you were dead if you don't already die. I wear gloves and clothes I don't care about while I make it just in case a drop gets on me. Please don't even sneak a pin drop."
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Arakan looks at Takana with an eyebrow raised, " you don;t need to go through that trouble for me."
Yori pouts but starts eating without complaining about it more.
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Takana looks at arakan, "I don't make this spice often so no worries about that. Tonight is just a special occasion."
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Arakan chuckles and dunks into it, taking a bite and letting out a long breath, " well damn, that's good. actually making me feel it. whooo."
Indigo makes sure to pass over the choicest tidbits to Isabelle, insisting that it's only proper.
Izanagi eats lots of the fatty meats, not having much of the veggies.
When they're all full Izanagi heads to bed, and Indigo thanks Isabelle for her kindness again before heading out into the cold to go home. Yori goes into Takana's room to nap off his full stomach a bit.
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Takana is on his bed, out cold and snuggling with yori.
Once everyone has either slept or left Isabelle approaches arakan, "arakan, now that I have a moment of it just being us I was wondering if you and I could talk real quick. I won't take up much of your time."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow and sits back at the table, " certainly you may. what do you need?"
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Isabelle looks a little uncomfortable at first before starting, "what I say to you is something I don't want to get back to the boys. I know how they are. They are very similar and I'm sure you are very familiar with takana and how he is so just imagine two takana's. At any rate, a divorce between my husband and I is imminent and because of the prenuptial we signed beforehand both of our assets cannot be used or touched by the other person. Granted all of the funds and items that have been brought here has been strictly used by my accounts makoto was the one who paid for my clothes and it's being married to him that gave me the status that I had." She's quiet for a moment before sighing, "don't get me wrong, he hasn't brought anything up about a divorce, nor is it probably in his head space. It's me who has been pondering such a thing to a point that I can't deny it any longer. Staying with makoto might be a risk I can't handle."
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Arakan nods, " i won't breathe a word. i know how to hold my tongue." he frowns as she continues, " im sorry you're dealing with so much. i doubt you're telling me this simply to confide in me, although i would not mind if it were the case. what do you need?"
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Isabelle hums softly, "I'm not... sure yet. Most of my funds came from magazines and modeling thanks to makoto's connections so I don't know if I'll still have that. And the house is his too so once the divorce happens I'll need to spend money on finding a new place and... well I have another area in which I make money. My vineyard. That's all mine and while my quality wine does sell for a LOT it doesn't make much at this time. It's only an acre which sounds like a lot but it has buildings on it that process the wine which takes up space. I may be able to grow it out because the old gentleman has a 10 acre plot next to me that he kept flowers and woods going just to stick it to some development company years back. Quite a few years back his wife died and I stopped by all the time to help him and his family out. Now he's looking to sell the land since his family don't want it and he offered me a good deal, below asking price since I had been a good friend to him. His only request is that I don't turn it into a city or the sort. Vineyard is fine but he hates the city. It's a lot of money to front, even with the discount and... I would need workers pretty quickly in order to help rebuild the land and expand the vineyard. So I guess... what I'm asking for is help. Or advice of some sort. This divorce isn't happening tomorrow or the day after, and I can push it back quite a bit so that I still have a tabloid and model cash flow for a while but I will eventually need to make my own money if I am to continue helping this district WHICH I plan to still do. I want to. That isn't going to change."
She's quiet for a moment, trying to find where she went in the ramble, "sorry... I'm nervous... divorce was never something I saw in my future. There are a lot of if's going on at the moment so I guess... hypothetically if I were to purchase this man's property and expand my vineyard... and need heavy lifters, hard workers and had a safe mode of transportation for them to my job... could.... could you see any of your people working for me? I don't pay slave wages, I believe in fair pay for fair work but it's all hypothetical. Maybe. I-if it's not possible then that's fine, honest! I just... "it could help us both out", was my thinking."
She looked very distressed at the moment. Clearly this was something she had been thinking about for a few weeks and had been scared of even asking about such a thing.
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Arakan leans back as he listens, " well, i think that can be arranged. regretfully the only demons you'd be able to employ are e rank, so no real abilities, and no stronger than a human, but there are plenty of demons that need work and would jump at the chance to work for someone who treats them decently. If we can convince the humans to permit higher ranked demons then i could offer heavy lifters, d rank isn;t much stronger than e rank but i know several c rank that can lift a couple times their body weight with ease. As for money, i know Indigo spoke about their families ability to refine gemstones and metals. if you supplied them with the discards from gem cutting, cracked gems, flawed, and scrap metals, they can refine them to fresh pure forms which can be sold for a much higher price than what was used to make them. i don;t doubt Karim would be happy to work with you, your fame may have tied to your husband to begin with but you're also the one that has made the ability to renegotiate this new contract possible, there's certainly a good possibility you'll become known for that. especially if you permit him to use you as the model for his best items. we'll see how things go, but if humans are half as crazy about what he makes as we think they'll be, he'll be a wealthy spidren before long."
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Isabelle listens intently, nodding every so often, "well... maybe after this new contract is signed, and all goes well for the next few months after it'll be easier to negotiate for higher rank demons to cross the gate. For now, I can't leave my neighbor hanging and it seems like getting workers won't be hard then so... I will purchase his land, leave it to naturally exist for a while and either it'll be used for a vineyard or worse case scenario... I'll just keep it safe. There's not many areas in this city that is just woods. Thank you for listening to me. I do appreciate it a lot. And thank you for keeping this under wraps from the boys. I know they mean well but... they would ask questions that I'm not ready for so it's best that they are left out for now."
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Arakan nods, " we'll see. i doubt they'll ever permit higher than c rank, but worth a try anyway." He looks at her, " i know how to keep a secret, this is your information to share. im here if you want to talk about it though. you have allies here,"
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Isabelle sighs softly, "you're too kind, really. Kindness that I don't feel like I deserve..."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " oh? and how many humans do you expect would have been willing to trust us with their lives, and not only that, spend what must be a small fortune to try and help us? already life has begun to improve here. it may be small, but fresh produce is rationed to everyone regularly now. and it'll only become more as we get our stride. My family and i are probably the only ones who knew just how bad things were getting and how close we were to losing control. I was training myself to lead my people in war, because while i didn't wish to start it, i would not leave my people to suffer it alone. i estimate we had maybe a year. two if we were lucky. im not worried about that now, not at the moment. that, deserves respect. you've shown far more kindness than i can ever return."
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Isabelle shudders a little, "but i..." her eyes water and she looks down, "I am only doing what I feel is right. I know I only married into the Kuroshiba family but I am from a family who has its own sour history. One that I wish not to carry to the next generation..."
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Arakan reaches over and gently places a hand under her chin, lifting her head to look at him, " and what you're doing is saving your people and mine from war. I'm not sure what you mean, but you are not your family. And trust me, I have no love for the kuroshiba family either. You're preventing a great deal of bloodshed here. And more than that, you're improving our lives, you aren't doing it to save humans, because they had no idea how close things were. I'd like to keep it that way mind you. But regardless you wanted to help us simply because you can."
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Isabelle sniffles a little and nods before wiping her eyes, "um sorry for getting a little emotional. I've been doing my best to hold it in since I'm usually in the public eyes a lot."
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Arakan watches her carefully, " you don;t need to apologize. i will not judge you. if you need time out of the public eye, just let me know and we'll get you someplace where you can let it out if that makes you feel better. i know it's not easy keeping an image up."
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Isabelle gives a weak chuckle and smiles softly, "yes it is clear to me that if anyone understands what its like having to have to have a front up. Um and honestly just being in your district keeps me out of the public eye so at least there's that."
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Arakan nods, " well, for now at least. you'd be welcome to stay here as long as you like. I know at least one Alicanto that would bend over backwards to ensure you're comfortable and safe. But you'd be welcome in my home as well."
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Isabelle shakes her head, "as much as I would like to hide somewhere away from my problems it would accomplish nothing. If anything it could potentially create issues that we don't need. Coming here is a nice break but I'll need to go back and continue my duties in my district. Thank you for the offer though. Maybe once things have settled more there will be more opportunities."
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Arakan nods, " I did not expect you'd want to stay here, but I figured it may be a nice getaway now and then. There's not much to offer, except that it's away from humans. Regardless. You'd better get some sleep, the couch I think is the last spot open."
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Isabelle glances at the couch before humming softly and nodding, "yes I suppose sleep should occur.... thank you for listening to me. I do appreciate it. Hopefully soon this district can rival its counterpart."
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Arakan nods, " anytime. we'll see, it's a nice dream, though im not certain we can hope for that much." He leans back in his chair to get comfy for the night.
-
Isabelle gives a numb nod before getting up and going to the couch
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Arakan watches to make suer she settles in before letting himself doze off in the chair. not exactly comfortable but there weren;t many options and he sure as hell wasn;t about to let the lady sleep on the floor.
Morning arrives and Yori is stubbornly burrowed under the covers, not being even a slightly early riser.
-
Takana is asleep with yori still, tired from yesterday's activities.
Isabelle is up already, sitting quietly on the couch as she waits for the others to wake up
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Arakan soon wakes, rolling his neck and hearing it crack from sleeping upright in a chair. He looksa round, noting Isabelle awake and the silence in the rest of the house, " well, Izanagi isn;t an early riser, though Takana usually is. yesterday must have tired him out." he gets up and stretches, " i think he has a coffee maker we could get started."
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isabelle blinks and looks over at arakan as he talks. she nods and stands up, smoothing out her skirt before going over to the kitchen, "coffee sounds good right about now. I'm sorry you slept in a chair. Im sure that wasnt very comfortable."
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" it happens. wasn't the first time, won't be the last time. at least i got some sleep." He opens a cupboard and pulls out the coffee grounds, " it'd pale in comparison to what Takana can make, but since he's crashed im thinking i can go get some chow for everyone from one of the other venders. i'd have to get someone over here to keep an eye on the place while im gone though, i don;t want to take any chances with the contract deal so close."
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isabelle nods, "Sounds agreeable. is there anything I can help you with?"
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" not that I can think of. I'll get Indigo over here to keep an eye on things." He pulls out his phone and messages the alicanto.
Within about 10 minutes the alicanto arrives at the apartment, slightly out of breath as he enters, " hello, yes, i am here. you can count on me." he bends over a bit and tries to get control of his breathing, having clearly run over.
Arakan shakes his head, " i leave them in your hands." and heads out, going to get the food.
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Isabelle raises an eyebrow before quickly relaxing her face, going back to a neutral expression, "Good morning Mr. Indigo."
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Indigo raises an eyebrow, " good morning Mrs. Isabelle. apologies for my state, when the heir to the district calls for assistance, one does not keep him waiting. Were flying less... painful, i would have been here sooner. How are you this morning?"
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isabelle hums softly, "Tired, admittedly. This is not my usual standard for sleeping arrangements but that was a given."
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Indigo hums, " indeed, this is a small dwelling for the number of guests that were here last night. im sorry, had i thought of it i would have offered to accommodate a few of you in my own home. ours is not a luxuriously large residence however things could have been arranged. you have my apologies for my thoughtlessness." he bows deeply to her. " i see there is coffee brewing, may i make you a drink to atone for my blunder? or i could start a pot of tea if you prefer."
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Isabelle snorts softly, "No one made a blunder. I sleep on a very special bed to accommodate an injury I got as a child. Anything that isnt that bed will cause some aches or pains the next day. i knew this would happen regardless of your residency."
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Indigo hesitates for a moment, then nods, " very well. i apologize that you have such pains. have you considered seeing the lady of the district? Arakans mother that is, she is a wonderful healer, she may be able to help." He pours a mug of coffee and brings it over along with a small container of milk and some sugar.
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Isabelle shakes her head, "No. asking for such a favor feels wrong considering im part of the kuroshiba family. Im in no way deserving of such treatment." she glances at indigo and the coffee, not assuming that the coffee is for her since she didnt ask for it, "i have lived with it for a long time so its something that i have become accustomed to."
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Indigo sets the coffee firmly in front of her. " i'd have made it to your liking but im not aware how that is yet. As for seeing the healer, i think the items you've had smuggled in with no small inconvenience to yourself has helped clear you from the association of that name. you may carry the name, but if my own knowledge is correct it was mainly the men of the family that directed their actions. I don't presume to speak for our lady healer, i only offer the chance to go see her and allow her to decide for herself what she deems appropriate. I think Arakan would agree what you've done is worth taking you there, what happens after is entirely her prerogative. And just because one has become accustomed to something, does not make it right. As im sure you would agree in other cases, such as our own."
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She blinks, looking at the coffee before hesitantly taking the sugar and dumping an impressive amount into the cup and stirring before adding a bit of milk, "thank you. I do prefer coffee sweet. I may need the caffeine to keep me functioning in the morning however I don't believe in suffering through the bitter taste." She gently blows on it before taking small sips, "and it's not just the family I married into that is problematic. My own father... my maiden name has its own scars that affected this district heavily. It's bad enough that if I were to legally separate from my husband's family I wouldn't be able to bring myself to reclaim my family's name. I would pick a new name entirely. "
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Indigo gets his own cup and adds just a bit of milk to it before sitting across from her. " and tell me, what makes you think that the children should be punished for the acts of the parents? From what i am hearing, you yourself have not been part of the harms caused by either family." he takes a sip of his coffee, " as for disliking the bitterness of coffee as a caffeine source, that's understandable."
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"I may not have actively contributed to the damage they have done, but I also didn't stop them by any means..."
She stares at her cup of coffee, frowning at her own reflection.
Takana had woken up by this point. He didn't leave his room though. He stayed laying down, his ears twitching as he listened to isabelle's and indigo's conversation
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Indigo tilts his head, " and pray tell, how would you have stopped it? You are young yet, and from my understanding most humans are under the impression that the methods used against us are needed. Even if you did realize it was wrong, it is not easy to go against our elders, especially those who have raised us and have a natural authority over us. And even if you had, the way things are few humans would have listened. You are not responsible for the actions of others, even if they are related to you."
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Isabelle looks up at indigo and sighs softly, taking another sip of coffee, "my father is non other than Byron Ophylious Goodman. The inventor of those damned collars when he was much younger. Although it was society that taught me that there was nothing problematic with the collars. If he were to tell me about the good they would do I wouldn't have believed him. I always thought he was a monster growing up, just wished I did some critical thinking before...so I'm sorry that it hurts for you to fly..." She goes quiet for a moment. Waiting for indigo's reaction. She was always ashamed of her family for personal reasons and now that she knew just how much damage the collars did the guilt practically consumed her. It made her feel like... Makoto was right about her.
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Indigo listens and looks at his coffee for a long moment, " i would be lying if i said i did not hate your father and these collars with a passion." he lifts a hand to his collar, touching it gently, " but you are not your father. this was not your doing, and even with the hatred i feel towards him, none of it spills over onto you. and you are so kind hearted and empathetic, i have no doubt if you had the ability, you would free us all in a heartbeat. you are not to blame for what he did." he reaches over and takes her hand gently, bringing it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss onto her fingers. " you are the most kind and caring person i have ever met in my life. nobody with a speck of sense will blame you for your fathers misdeeds."
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Isabelle's eyes start to water and before she can stop herself or pull away to shield her face tears start streaming down her face, her eyes locking with indigo's in stunned silence, "i-..."
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Indigo let's her hand go and scoots his chair over next to her, carefully wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, " shhh, you don't need to say anything. I've got you, it's alright."
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Isabelle freezes briefly, unsure at first what she should do. Besides takana and yori she doesnt really.... get hugs. Another person hasnt hugged her for so long that the feeling of indigo hugging her felt so foreign.
She relaxes a little, the feeling of warmth becoming comforting and she cant help but gently hold indigo, her face becoming warm and wet. A soft sniffle escapes her before she pushes her face against indigo, hiding herself in his grasp
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Indigo at first wonders if he made a mistake as she tenses up, but then as she relaxes he knows he was right. He gently rubs her back, " you're not responsible for the evils of the world, you don't need to carry all that weight yourself. It's alright to let yourself feel, and even to be vulnerable." He murmurs softly, not giving a single shit that he's getting tears and snot on his shirt.
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She takes a deep breath to steadies her emotions, sighing softly, "um... sorry... I... I hear that from Yori and Takana a lot but they're family to me so its just... different hearing it from someone new..."
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Indigo nods, " understandable. and there's no need to apologize, you've done nothing wrong. im glad i could be here to help you."
Arakan comes in, carrying bags with a bunch of containers in them. He hesitates when he sees the two cuddling, " ...i can leave if i've interrupted something?" he then sees Isabelles puffy eyes and his eyes narrow, " what did you do to make her cry?" a slight growl enters his voice.
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Isabelle had quickly pulled away as soon as she heard arakan mention 'interrupting' something and wipes her eyes quickly, "um no- no he didnt make me cry i um... its just been a hard week, im fine now. If anything he said something very kind."
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Arakan studies her carefully and then looks at Indigo for a long moment before setting the bags on the table. " since you say so i will leave it at that then. we'd better wake the boys for breakfast."
Indigo gets up and goes to get some tissues, setting them in front of her before taking his seat again. " apologies for the misunderstanding."
Arakan heads to takana's room and knocks, " breakfast you two."
Yori jolts a bit and grumbles, " five more minutes..."
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isabelle quickly wipes her eyes with some tissues
takana snorts when yori grumbles, "if you're not up in 5 im dragging you out." he leaves his room
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Indigo opens the bag and pulls some of the containers out, dishing a few of the pancakes within onto a plate which he sets in front of Isabelle, " did you want more coffee?"
Arakan knocks on Izanagi's door and demon comes out, draped in Nikiri's kimono and yawning, " im up..."
Yori fully goes back to sleep.
arakan heads back to the table and gets a few onto his own plate and sits on the floor to eat, leaving actual seating for the others.
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Takana goes to the kitchen and gets yori a plate for when he gets up before getting a plate himself, "thank you arakan."
isabelle looks at indigo and shakes her head, "Im good, thank you though."
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Indigo nods and gets his own meal ready, sitting to eat.
Arakan nods, " well, figured even you can use a break now and then."
Izanagi gets some water and a plate of pancakes, drenching them with syrup before munching with soft happy noises.
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Takana sits down with his meal and starts eating, "you're not wrong. I think once things get settled we should all get a break." He chuckles softly.
Isabelle sits politely with her food, "yes thank you arakan. I appreciate it." She starts eating
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Arakan laughs softly, " well i doubt i'll get much of one anytime soon, with all the changes i'll be busy making sure things go smoothly. But grabbing food to save us having to cook is easy enough."
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Takana gives a soft sigh as he stares at arakan, smiling. He could listen to arakan laugh all day, "yeah..."
Isabelle pauses, mid-bite to look at takana and raise an eyebrow. She thought there was some chemistry between the two, she was a woman who appeared in magazines after all, but she had no idea just how much takana was into arakan.
She sets her fork down and hums softly, "yori still in bed?"
Takana snaps out of it and looks at Isabelle, "what? Oh yeah. Yeah you know how yori is. If it's before 11am it's too early for that kid."
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Arakan shakes his head, " i could never sleep in that late, even if i didn't have so much to get done." he finishes off his plate and sets it next to him, checking his phone and sipping some coffee.
Indigo catches Isabelles tone, " i could step out for some fresh air if you'd like."
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isabelle looks at indigo, "oh gosh no you're fine. Admittedly i shouldnt stay too long today or else i'll never hear the end of it."
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Indigo frowns, " your husband doesn;t like you being out for long?"
Izanagi finishes his and puts the plate into the sink.
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Isabelle sighs, "There is a lot of things he doesnt like. but its not just him."
Takana snorts, "the paparazzi and magazine tycoons love a scoop they can exaggerate so im sure the longer you're here and not in the 'safety' of the human district makes them all assume the worst."
Isabelle nods, "Yes exactly that. I dont need those goons coming up with lies and speculation about what i do here and why it takes me so long to go home. its bad enough they can fabricate a whole story about how lazy i must be should i wear the same outfit more than once. Its like the concept of a washing machine falls on smooth brains."
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Indigo nods, " i suppose if staying will cause you trouble we should get you out of here soon." he hesitates, " do humans often only wear clothing once before disposing of it?"
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Isabelle hums softly, "no, most of them are too poor for such practices. The problem for me is that I am considered wealthy AND a fashion icon so people expect that my wardrobe is different daily. "
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" ah, understood. humans are absurd sometimes." he shakes his head. " im glad our society at least does not have to deal with such things. there are expectations among certain families of course, and for the different classes, but nothing so absurd."
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"You guys seem to have.... expectations when it comes to survival and the greater good for your people from what I understand. I honestly don't think there are any humans like that. Not ones that I have met."
Takana snorts softly as he finishes up his food and brings his plate to the sink, "what, you haven't met yourself yet?"
Isabelle blushes a little as her eyes glance over at takana, "I'm not that wonderful. I'm simply making amends and restitution for what has occurred already in the past in hopes for a better future."
Takana chuckles softly, "so humble."
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Indigo nods, " well, yes. we do have a somewhat strict system when it comes to our ranking, but that avoids fights and trouble most of the time. the stronger have a responsibility to protect the weaker, and the weaker obey the stronger. by following this we always know who to look to for instruction, and what needs to be done. if Arakan was not here and danger threatened, it would be my duty to protect you all, and i would expect you to obey any orders i give as it would make my job of doing so easier. Since he is here, i would obey his directions in the case of danger so i do not get in his way of protecting. it usually works very well. it can seem odd im sure to those not used to it, but this is how we've dealt with the vast variance of strength and abilities among our people."
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Isabelle nods, "again, for the greater good of all people."
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Indigo nods, " indeed."
Arakan glances over, " im surprised you accept that idea so easily. most humans don't understand and try to insist we are cruel or savage."
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Isabelle hums softly, "I have seen the true definition of savage and cruel. I grew up with an actual monster. Laws, culture, your way of life doesn't make your people savages just because humans don't understand it. If anything it makes sense. It's like a form of checks and balances. Something the judicial system brags about having and yet every day humans break the law and see no consequences."
Takana raises an eyebrow, "well you certainly seem to understand it more than I do. I still don't get it or like it."
Isabelle giggles softly, "you have never liked ANY type of authority. You make Curtis do anything and everything that can get him fired, you get in the face of anyone that tries to tell you what to do, AND 3 years ago you pulled the pants down of Sargent Casper at the Christmas ball in front of hundreds of guests!"
Takana tsks and looks away, not looking remorseful at all, "that jackass deserved it."
Isabelle smiles and shakes her head, "I believe that was in the newspaper for a good week. He didn't come out for days because you humiliated him."
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Arakan looks over sharply, eyes narrowed, " well... that explains a few things..." he sighs softly.
Indigo pales at that, " he did what?!"
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Takana leans back in his chair, huffing, "he was being a dick to our maid, Touhou. Our maid is amazing at his job and is incredibly kind so to find out that he was being harassed was not something I was going to tolerate. Sargeant Up-His-Ass is lucky that's all I did to him."
Isabelle gives arakan a sympathetic look, "takana has never been one for rules. I'm sorry for anything he has done."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " well it certainly explains why the sergeant was in a particularly vindictive mood for awhile around that time. things were rough for a bit there."
Indigo shudders, " please do not do such a thing here. you will die, and there will be nothing any of us could do to stop it."
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Takana huffs and looks at indigo, "I mean he didn't do anything to me. I'm not dumb enough to do something without having my family near me." His ears fold back a little at the thought of Casper doing something to the demon district.
He sighs softly and looks at arakan, "he's an ass so I'm not to surprised he would do something awful... I'm...sorry."
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Arakan sighs, " you didn;t know, and you are not in control of his actions. i expect you to behave better should you see him while you're here though. i do not wish to have a repeat..."
Indigo shakes his head, " you are certainly an audacious one..."
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Takana hums softly, "as long as he still has power to harm here I will do my best to have pleasantries with him IF I ever actually see him again."
Isabelle looks at takana, "so, what, he retires or something and he becomes fair game?"
Takana snorts, "if he ever retires. But yes essentially. "
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Arakan sighs softly, " if only he would retire. somehow i think he stays on simply because he enjoys the power he has."
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Takana snorts, "well maybe in the future once he's so old that he's on his death bed ill visit him and let him know you send your regards." He chuckles softly, knowing exactly how takana would get that message across.
Isabelle hums softly, "if he ever gets the chance to die old. I feel like he'll be killed before that happens with how he acts around everyone. At any rate we should get yori up so he can eat."
Takana nods, "Yeah you're right, I should." He gets up and heads back to his room and cracks the door open so he can look at his brother, "oi. Yooooooriiiiiii! Wakey wakey!"
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Arakan chuckles, " oh? i won't lie, that man is one human i would very much enjoy to meet in a dark alley... i do hope another human ends him soon, because as tempting as it is for me to take care of it, it would not bode well for anyone in the district."
Yori squirms and hides under the sheets.
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Takana slips into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He goes over to the lump under the blankets and quietly slips his hands under the blankets, going for a tickle attack
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Yori doesn't realize it until it's too late and he shrieks, slapping at Takana's hands as he squirms, " no! Ahahaha ahhhh Takana!"
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Takana laughs and quickly pulls his hands away, "come on! You have a plate of food waiting for you and it's gonna go cold."
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Yori peeks out from the covers, looking grumpy, " fine fine...." he slowly comes out, shivering as the chilled air hits him, " i'd rather stay in bed..." he pulls the blanket around him like a robe and heads out of the room.
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Before yori has a chance to fully leave the room takana makes sure yori has his fake ears on him before heading out with him, "well Isabelle has to leave soon as well so as soon as you guys head home you'll be much warmer. "
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Yori blinks, " awww already?" when Takana gives him the ears he makes sure they're on his head securely. oops!
Indigo chuckles when he hears Yori whining, " It is indeed a tragedy that we'll be deprived of such wonderful company so soon, but that is how it is sometimes."
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Isabelle nods at yori, "we can always come back later yori. But it is best if we go back and... check in with the family. "
Takana nods and hands yori his food, "things will probably get busy but I can always make time to see you."
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Yori nods, " okay..." he takes his food and quickly eats.
Indigo looks at Isabelle, " well, i for one look forward to the next time i see you. and if you decide to stay overnight again, my family and i would be honored to offer you a place to sleep. a room to yourself of course, nothing untoward. although i make no promises that my sister will not come in and bother you. she likes to take turns sleeping with all of us, children will be children."
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Takana looks at arakan, "your day is going to be pretty busy too. Anything I can do to help you?"
Isabelle nods at indigo, "we shall see. Personally I prefer to keep close to my family. I'm sure you understand." She glances over at takana. Watching the way his eyes linger on arakan and the tenderness in his tone as he speaks to the demon.
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Indigo nods, " of course, i simply noticed there is a shortage of sleeping spaces here. it would only be for sleeping of course. I simply want you to be comfortable."
Arakan sighs softly, " not sure there's much you can do. i think mostly my father and i will be in a bunch of ridiculously boring meetings going over the contract and the details. though if you think you'd be helpful with all their legal garble they try to irritate my father with i suppose that wouldn't be a bad idea."
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Takana pales a little, his ears drooping, "ah.. no. No I'm not good at that." He also didn't want the chance of someone recognizing him and spilling the beans to his dad.
Isabelle shrugs, "it is what it is. I doubt large sleep overs like this will be a common occurrence so it isn't too much of an issue. "
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Arakan nods, " probably not a good idea to bring a lower rank demon along anyway... Nikiri will be there and he can get his family to help translate the garble. since he's an ambassador it won't be odd for him to be there."
Indigo nods and dips his upper half in a quick bow, " very well."
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Takana nods, "Yeah and knowing that I pantsed a very scary guy probably doesn't help." He chuckles softly, "well when you're done I can always find a way to help you relax afterwards? Get a good meal in ya."
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Arakan can't help but let his mind go to dirty thoughts when Takana mentions helping him relax and flushes a bit, clearing his throat, " yes, your meals are always excellent. we'll see i may have to do some damage control with my father. His temper is less controlled than mine, but then that's not uncommon for hellhounds." He glances over at Yori and Isabelle, " well, would you two like to stay a bit longer or shall we get you two on your way?"
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Isabelle glances at yori, "are you ready to head out?"
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Yori finishes off his breakfast, " yeah i guess so. you promise i can come back again soon?" he looks at Takana.
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Takana smiles and nods, "of course! I always miss you."
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Yori goes over and hugs Takana tightly, " okay. text me and let me know if you want me to bring anything okay?"
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Takana hugs yori back, "Of course! let me know when you get home safe, okay?"
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" always!" he squeezes Takana briefly before letting go, " alright, if you're ready to go we can go."
Arakan glances at Takana, " did you want to see them off?"
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Takana looks up at arakan, "I suppose as long as i dont have work to get ready for I can come with."
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Arakan nods and gets up, stretching. " Let's get these two to the gate then."
Izanagi peeks out, " if it's all the same it's cold out so I'm gonna stay here. Thank you again for the gift Isabelle."
Indigo grabs his jacket and puts it on.
Yori also puts his winter clothes on.
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isabelle nods to izanagi, "Yes well thank you for allowing takana to be your roommate. i know how he can be so i do appreciate your kindness." She gets her coat on before heading out.
Takana chuckles and sticks his tongue out at izanagi before following the others out the door
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" well, he saved my life so I can't complain too much." Izanagi sticks his tongue out at Takana.
Arakan goes first, breaking a path in the snow for the others to follow in. Indigo breaks the path in further, to make it easier to follow. He glances back frequently to make sure the rest are managing.
Yori watches where he puts his feet, grabbing onto Takanas hand.
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Isabelle follows after the boys
Takana grumbles softly, "Next time you guys visit i should have you bring me my coat."
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Yori laughs, " well text me to remind me and I will."
Arakan makes a path to the gate before backing off to not make the guards nervous.
Indigo bows to Isabelle, " I look forward to your next visit."
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isabelle nods to indigo, "yes it was... alright. thank you."
Takana nudges yori, "Will do if i remember."
Isabelle nods to arakan, "thank you for a fun evening. Good luck." she heads to the gate, showing the guards her paperwork before going through
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Indigos face falls for a moment when she says it was just ' alright' before bowing, " I will endeavor to make your next visit more pleasant."
Arakan nods, " you're welcome back anytime."
Yori waves and hurries to the gate, showing his paperwork as well.
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Soon Isabelle leaves with yori
Takana nods and pats indigo on the back, "hey good job. You got an 'alright' out of her. That's an improvement."
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Indigo looks at him, " truly? well, if you are certain. regardless she said she dislikes coffee, so i will prepare a selection of teas for her next visit. i wish there was more i could do to make her comfortable." He sighs.
Arakan checks his phone, " i'd take you back to the apartment but sounds like the meeting is starting shortly. i've gotta go. i'll let Kaiten know to come take over, so you can leave once he's there."
Indigo nods, " understood. I suppose we ought to head back then unless you had somewhere else you wanted to go?" he looks at takana.
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Takana looks at arakan, "alright, good luck with the meeting."
He looks back at indigo, "well she was out in the open and close to the gate so she couldn't let out too much emotion in her response or else any paparazzi with hatred in their heart and a VERY good microphone could come up with a ton of clickbate articles that would hurt her daily life. As for making her more comfortable, you don't. You can always ask if you want but if she says no then you drop it. She hates being treated differently. Everyone who has ever been awful to her has treated her either like she's a goddess or like she's dirt. If you just act like she's a friend, and that's all there is to it and you're not putting her on a pedestal then she'll warm up to you a lot faster. Just look at yori and I. Growing up she's always been like an older sister to us. One of us. And because of that she puts up with the kuroshiba. As improper as you may feel it is I assure you that if you give her a casual greeting, and keep the small talk... small, then she'll warm up to you. Trust me. I know her a lot more than you do."
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Indigo sighs, " I suppose so. Though I did not mean to treat her anything other than an honored guest, which she is. My offer for better lodging I'd extend to the other boy as well if I thought he'd take it, but I suspect he'd prefer to sleep with you as he did last night. So offering other lodging to her made the most sense. Perhaps instead I will see if someone has a cot I can borrow, for either izanagi to use so she may have that bed, or at least it must be better than the couch."
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takana snorts softly and starts heading home, "or, how about you say, 'thats unfortunate. im sorry to hear about it but if you can think of anyway i can help you then let me know.' that way you are still sympathizing and showing concern AND you are also letting her take charge over whether or not she even wants help. After all, you dont know if your solutions will even work for her given the fact that she has to tread carefully regardless of what side of the gate she is on. To be honest i have no idea what she even said to her husband that would make him okay with her spending the night here but if word got out that she was spending nights in the demon district that werent all the same location it would probably raise even more red flags. Also, i know its like a thing for you to consider her an honored guest, and while arakan may consider her to be one as well, he doesnt bow to her or any of that stuff. And im not saying she didnt appreciate your offer, im sure she did, but you gotta understand that she is still pretty new to the district and she knows she is well known and hated by most so while she is here she will feel the most safe with arakan since he's a VERY capable and strong man and also me. cuz i am family. she doesnt know you that well and she doesnt know your family at all so its something that could be intimidating for her."
he hums softly, "At least you're doing better than the first time."
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Indigo sighs again, " valid points. very well, the cot will be the best option then. And Arakan does not bow because he does not bow to anyone, not even his parents. He must show that he is ready to take over as leader of the district, so showing deference to anyone is a nono. i will try to keep these things in mind however."
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Takana hums, "right him bowing is a nono i know but im just saying the fact that he doesnt do that makes her feel like she's above or below anyone. but regardless it is what it is. you'll figure it out eventually."
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Indigo runs a hand through his hair, " she is a complicated woman. not that it is a bad thing, just... difficult." he chuckles a bit, " anyway, im sure you're cold. lets you inside." He picks up the pace and opens the door to usher Takana in.
Arakan sits down at a long table, next to his father. a good amount of distance separates them from the humans, to give the humans a sense of security. not that this paltry distance would do anything if they wanted to hurt the humans there, but it seemed to put them at ease anyway.
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Takana nods and heads inside. He looks at izanagi and smiles, "Isabelle is sweet isn't she? She's like the nicest person I know."
Nikiri sits at a perfect distance between both the demon side and the human side as is the standard for every meeting.
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Ryokan studies the humans carefully, " so, as we have discussed, we are here to discuss the signing of a new contract which will allow humans to enter the demon district more easily. i was told you would have a preliminary document for us to look over before signing?"
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The main bastard old guy gives a soft diabetic huff before opening his briefcase and pulling out the thick documents, "yes. Normally we'd never waste paper on such things but ever since it was discovered that you things weren't illiterate we figured it would be a kind gesture on our part to hand you something to look over first."
He sets the documents on the table, pushing them to nikiri who, in turn, pushes them over Ryokan, helping translate anything on the document if needed
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" Considering we've kept our own reports on many happenings, i would think it would have been obvious. but i suppose not everyone is as quick on the uptake as others..." Ryokan takes the papers and starts reading over it, pointing out things once in awhile to get Nikiri's aid clarifying what exactly it means. He picks over everything carefully to ensure there was nothing that would harm their district by agreeing to it.
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Surprisingly, the documents don't contain anything too horrific.
Although the wording sounds like it's heavily assuming that the demons are responsible for the safety of any and all humans that cross into the demon district but all things considered its a decent enough proposal.
Key highlights are the fact that any human that crosses over is not allowed to bring a weapon even if they have a permit to carry, there is a curfew for the humans to come back, humans will be treated in a positive manner, and, because humans can't bring any weapons, guards and guard posts will have to be built in possible high human trafficking areas so that the guards may ensure the humans safety.
Nikiri hums softly, pondering why the humans drafted a sensible proposal. Silly, but at the very least there are dots that one can connect with such demands. He was surprised there was no cruel mentions of the demons being forced to wear the microchips or what have you.
He does quietly mention to ryokan that they should ask about being able to choose the guards that end up inside the district.
It would be foolish to have some trigger happy demon slayer inside the walls.
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Ryokan sets the papers aside, " surprisingly reasonable. however i insist we be allowed to select, and be able to change that selection at MY discretion, which human guards are selected for inside the district. i need to be sure that they work well with the demons i will be selecting as guards. Am i understood?"
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The main guys tsks softly and starts talking to the other 3 men by him in a different language, purposefully trying to keep their conversation to themselves.
Nikiri doesn't comment, doesn't respond, acting normal and calm however anyone who knows nikiri will clearly be able to tell that he has already tapped into his abilities.
If it's anything alarming then he would of course inform ryokan however at the moment he doesn't appear too concerned with the humans conversations.
Eventually the men turn back to the demons, the main guy clearing his throat, "very well. It will take a while for the guards posts to be constructed do in that time you have the opportunity to pick your guards."
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Ryokan nods, " good. Because if the humans can't work well with my men, then we can hardly expect to protect the humans in the district. If that's all, then let it be so." He takes the papers, signing.
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Soon the meeting is over with and the humans take their copy of the documents before leaving.
Nikiri sighs wants the humans are gone, frowning, "what a day."
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Ryokan gets up, " I hope all this trouble is worth it." He looks over at Arakan, " you have had more dealings with the humans lately, I'm putting you in charge of picking out the ones that will man the guard posts." He leaves without waiting for an answer.
Arakan nods, watching his father go before sighing, " guess I should go talk to Curtis. Can't say I've had much interaction with the guards otherwise."
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Nikiri looks at arakan, "well maybe Curtis can pick out the guards since he knows them better than us. "
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Arakan nods, " I was thinking of that. Maybe have him pick out candidates and talk to them, see how they do face to face with me. After all they'll be working closely with strong demons." He starts heading for the gate. " You can head home if you like."
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Nikiri hums softly, "Alright. Good luck with the rest of that and if you have any need for me I am but a text away." Nikiri heads home.
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" yeah, have fun." He heads to the gates and knocks with a knuckle to get the guards attention, " Curtis around?"
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most of the guards ignore arakan, grumbling softly however one looks over and approaches the gate.
The guard looks younger than his peers, "Ah no he is off today. His next shift is tomorrow at 2pm. The evening shift and all that. Arakan, right? My name's Davie."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow when one of them is bold enough to come over and talk with him. " noted. Yes, that's me. I don't believe i've seen you before?"
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Davie beams and nods his head, "Yeah I was transferred over from the 1st district recently to help out! It's nice to meet ya!"
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Arakan looks him, " no wonder you're so...chipper. Well, you're not afraid anyway...though i suggest you not be so friendly with every demon that walks up to the gates. Have you used that gun?" he nods to Davie's hip.
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Davie blinks, "oh uh. I've had training with it but I've never actually used it on a demon. Usually if we have an issue we have a conversation first to find a resolution. Not everything has to start with violence."
-
Arakan blinks then brings his hand up to his face, rubbing his temples, " oh no wonder. Im going to give you some advice, because you seem decent, and i'd like for you to live. Demons in the first district have things pretty well off, therefore there's rarely issues. That's not the case here. Things are not easy here, and many demons resent those that guard the walls. demons die during inspections, and that doesn;t improve things either. if a demon is being aggressive, shoot. because even if that doesn't hurt them, at least i should hear the gunshot. we are working on changing things, so hopefully that will not be the case always. on that note, part of the change will be guard posts within the walls for human protection as they'll be allowed within the walls at certain times, and you seem like a decent candidate to man one of those posts."
-
Davie blinks as he takes the info in, frowning, "wait... demons die during your inspections? That's terrible. How does that happen?"
The guards off to the side groan slightly, muttering about how innocent this child is
-
Arakan sighs, " well, sometimes collars stop working, and if they're not working during the inspection, the lovely guards of this district tend to shoot them."
-
Davie pales a little, now talking quietly, "but... in district 1 an inspection isn't a punishment.... it's just... an inspection. We test the collars and if they're working we leave them alone but if we find any that aren't we remove the broken collars and hand out replacements... how.... why is the process so different just because of what district a demon is in? That's not fair."
-
Arakan Nods, " it's not fair, but that's how it is here. And we're the ones that need to pay for replacement collars when they stop working. You seem like a good kid, hopefully you can convince others to be more like you."
-
Davie snorts softly, "unbelievable.... actually no. Considering how terrible humans are I actually do believe it. And I doubt those old farts will listen to me. Maybe some who are closer to my age but the older the generation the more they are set in their ways. Oh um I'm here Monday through Fridays if you ever need anything, otherwise I always have my phone on me if you wanted to exchange numbers?"
-
Arakan nods, " no, changing the minds of the older humans would not work, but any sway in the younger generations would be beneficial." he looks at Davie for a long moment before pulling his phone out, " this is not something i give out often, i don't have time for trivialities, but something tells me you'll be useful." he hands it over so Davie can put his number in. " and if you'd like to see things with your own eyes so you know i am telling the truth, i could see about taking you in to our market sometime, the meager rations there should be enough to show you how we are treated. i suggest not coming into the district unless i am with you however."
-
Davie quickly puts the number in before handing arakan his phone back, "no i... I believe you. I'm not happy about it but that's just how life seems to be when you're around humans."
-
Arakan snorts in amusement, " can't say i ever thought i'd be agreeing with a human on that opinion. Keep that guard post position in mind. And be careful." he pockets his phone.
-
Davie nods, "alright. Will do. See ya around arakan!" He smiles and waves
-
Arakan nods, shaking his head a little as he heads back to Takana's apartment. " will wonders never cease..." he raps on the door before going in to let them know he's there.
-
Takana looks up from the couch and smiles, "hey! Welcome back. Did everything go alright?"
-
Arakan nods, " surprisingly well. nothing bad in the papers, and we get to pick the human guards. speaking of which, there's a new one that transferred from the first first district. i really hope he stays alive, because he seems like a nice kid. just... extremely sheltered."
-
Takana blinks, "a first district guard getting bumped all the way to 4th district? Thats... quite a jump. "
-
" yeah, didn;t ask why he got moved here. but he's... woefully underinformed about how things work here. hell, we exchanged numbers. im sincerely concerned for his safety."
-
Takana hums softly, "well district 1 is considered the Disney district so I'm not surprised- wait what? You... exchanged numbers with him?" His head snaps to look at arakan
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " yeah, so i could get in touch with him. he seems like a good candidate for one of the guard posts in the district. He's got a good attitude and none of this fear or hatred towards demons. plus he's painfully innocent and i'd rather him not die if i can help it."
-
Takana is quiet for a moment before slowly looking back at his phone, "ooookay. I just didn't think you'd ever get a humans number is all. "
-
'You're no more surprised than i am. he's got tht kind of... dumb innocence that makes you feel sorry for him. regardless, having a guard like that could be beneficial. " Arakan sits, then looks at Takana, " you're not jealous are you? it's just a human."
-
Takana's ears move back, his eye twitching before huffing, "I can't help it. You don't even have isabelle's number despite working with her, but you'll happily exchange numbers with some human. I don't like it when your eyes aren't on me. "
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " i don't have her number because she doesn't want her husband getting suspicious. it's only because this one seems like if i don;t keep an eye on him he'll die within the week. im not interested in some human, im only doing it because he seems like he'll be useful for the district, nothing more." he gets up and walks over, pulling Takana into a hug.
-
Takana let's arakan hug him, but he doesn't hug back. He just sits there for a moment, thinking about what arakan said before he grumbles softly and he pulls away from arakans hug.
He moves the demons arms briefly before sitting on arakan's lap so his head can rest on the man's chest and hug him, "okay now you can hug me."
-
Arakan settles to sit and chuckles as the other cuddles into his chest, " alright." he wraps his arms around him again.
-
Takana hums softly as he relaxes in arakans embrace, nuzzling into his chest, "I am glad everything seems to be going well..."
-
" hopefully. the fact that they didn;t try to screw us over in the contract is a good sign. i was going to talk to curtis about a list of guards, that's why i stopped by the gates. God those pompus humans are irksome though, the guy starts out saying something how 'they didn;t think us 'things' could read. urgh."
-
Takana hums softly, "Yeah I can imagine. I think Isabelle had a meeting with them prior to establish what the humans were going to have to do if they wanted entry but I don't know what the whole thing was about."
He doesn't stop rubbing his face on arakan, enjoying his scent
-
Arakan reaches up and gently scritches Takana's head, " that's probably why they were so reasonable. no way they'd do that without someone pestering the hell out of them."
-
Takana purrs softly, smiling at the feeling of arakan giving him scritchies, "mmmmm Isabelle is the best. She reminds me of my mother sometimes."
-
Arakan sighs, " she's a very unique human. we're very lucky she decided to take our side."
-
Takana stops hugging arakan, only so that he'd have a free hand to run a finger around his chest, "yeah..."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow as he looks at Takana, " someone's feeling a little frisky today it seems. Are you going to help me relax with a meal?" he grins.
-
Takana shudders and licks his lips, "can't help it. I slaved away making sure your meal was hot and ready while you were at your meeting."
-
Arakancan;t help but feel himself harden under the other, " well, it would be rude of me to not enjoy this meal to the fullest then wouldn;t it?" he puts his hand under Takan's chin to lift it and presses his lips to the others.
-
Takana shudders and deepens the kiss, wiggling slightly in arakans lap in anticipation of having sex
-
Arakan groans softly into the kiss, shifting slightly as his pants get uncomfortably tight.
Izanagi is laying on the floor of his room, door slightly cracked open as he peeks out to watch.
-
takana doesnt notice the door at all as he continues kissing arakan, his hands working on getting the demons shirt off
-
Arakan is more than happy to help once he realizes what Takana wants, tossing his shirt off to the side once it's freed. He pulls away from the kiss and gently nips at Takana's neck, not hard enough to leave a mark, before kissing down to Takana's chest.
-
Takana leans in to arakans neck nipping, groaning softly before pulling away ever so slightly when arakan trails the kisses down his chest. he cant help but smile softly, "i used to be fine without sex for months. it wasnt even that big of a deal for me, but now i cant seem to get enough of you."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " im flattered. that's a big compliment. I can't say the same since i avoided relations until you, but you were enough to tempt me into being with you, something nobody else has managed." he pulls Takana's shirt off and gently bites the others nipple, then kisses it tenderly.
-
Takana chuckles softly, "maybe you just have a thing for challenging assholes and you didn't realize it until now." He was partially joking of course.
He happily helps in getting his shirt removed, moaning softly when his pink nipples get bit
-
Arakan chuckles, " well i wouldnt say your asshole was particularly challenging. after all, it seemed to practically jump onto me the last few times~" he reaches down and grasps Takana's ass, squeezing gently.
-
Takana growls softly, "and that is because we are already together. Let me remind you, and maybe stroke your ego a little, I have never been like this with anyone. Ever. It only seems to be you that I'm okay with acting so animalistic during sex. So needy for affection and eager to please. So I AM a challenge. You just seem to have found yourself a bunch of cheat sheets."
-
Arakan grins, " i have to say i like these cheat sheets. And go ahead and be animalistic, there's nobody here to judge you, we're not humans after all." he lifts his hips to grind his very obvious bulge against Takana's ass.
-
Takana stiffens for a brief moment at the human comment before pushing it to the back of his head to get angry at later. He can feel arakan's bulge and he shudders, "mmm time to get your pants off before you bust through them it seems."
He slides off of arakan and onto the floor, kneeling with his hands gently rubbing arakans thighs
-
Arakan groans softly, " you're not wrong about that, it's getting rather uncomfortable." he looks down at Takana, " you look eager to take care of it."
-
Takana purrs softly, "well of course~♡" He unzips arakans pants, freeing the demons dick
-
Arakan's dick springs to attention the moment it's released from its confines, twitching slightly. Arakan licks his lips, " well, now what do you plan to do with it?"
Izanagi's eyes widen and he holds back a moan, slipping his hand down his own pants.
-
Takana smirks a little and gently grasps the shaft, stroking arakans dick, "no need to act playful or cute with this. I'd rather cut to the chase and inform you that I plan to suck your dick and drive you so wild that you'll end up fucking my throat so hard and deep we may actually find a gag reflex somewhere in me."
-
Arakan can;t help but tilts his head back a little, letting his breath out slowly, " fucking hell Takana you're gonna make me lose it... how is it that you break my composure so easily?"
-
Takana smirks a little, "Cant help that we are oh so compatible." He runs his tongue around the head of the penis before flicking against the tip, teasing arakan
-
Arakan shudders, " too compatible it seems at times." Precum start oozing from the tip, glistening on the head.
-
Takana doesnt hesitate to take arakan into his mouth, greedily sucking the shaft
-
Arakan lifts his hand up to wind it into Takana's hair, " fuck~"
Izanagi inhales deeply, and some dust from the carpet gets into his nose and he sneezes, freezing before scrambling to get off the floor and shutting his door, locking it before he can see the aftermath.
-
As soon as izanagi sneezed takana's whole body flinches, the movement causing his teeth to scrape against arakans shaft before quickly pulling away and panicking, "shit shit shit!"
-
Arakan yelps and doubles over, making a soft pained noise as he curls around his crotch.
Izanagi winces and covers his mouth, " ohhhhh he's gonna kill me...."
-
Takana whines and hovers over, wanting to help but not knowing what to do, "oh god I'm so fucking sorry! I didn't mean to I swear!"
-
Arakan groans, " I believe you." He pulls one of his hands away long enough to form some ice on it before placing it back over his crotch, whimpering again before a little.of the pain leaves his face, " ah fuck. I'm not mad. Just ...hurts."
-
takana whines again, softly as he very gently presses his forehead against arakan's, "im so sorry I heard a sneeze and i-" he pauses very briefly before his ears very... very slowly... move back in pure rage, "IIIIZAANAAAGIII...." he's not loud, but the growl in his throat emphasizes his unbridled rage
-
Arakan steadies his breathing, still curled up, " not mad at you. just gonna... lay down..." he twists and gently lowers himself to lay on the couch, still curled into a ball.
Izanagi whimpers, " imdeadimdeadimdead."
-
Takana stomps over to izanagi's door, grabbing the handle and turning it, growling when he feels the lock bind and keep him from opening the door, "Izanagi! Open the fucking door or else I'm breaking it down!"
-
Izanagi yelps, " i didn't mean to sneeze! you guys were doing it in the living room!"
-
Takana growls, "breaking it down it is then! Don't think I didn't hear you closing your door afterwards! You were spying on us!"
-
Izanagi whimpers, " well duh! you guys were doing it in the living room! like, that's shared space! im allowed to look in my living room!"
-
"Then tell us to go to my room, don't watch like the skeevy little pervert you are!"
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " oh right, I'm sure if I'd walked over to you guys while you were in the middle of swallowing his sword and telling you to go in your room would have gone over so much better."
-
Takana turns bright red at 'swallowing his sword and he slams his shoulder into izanagi's door to try to break it open, "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BEYTER THAN FUCKING WATCHING US!"
-
Izanagi yelps, " who says i was?! maybe i started ot walk out and i sneezed and i realized it? my door was cracked all morning!"
-
"Let me see your dick! If you're hard then I KNOW you've been watching us!"
-
Izanagis eyes widen, " dude, just seeing you two in action for a moment woulda done that. Arakan has a smoking dick. Besides you've told me many times you're not into me so I'm not showing the goods for no reason!"
-
Takana snarls and drags his claws against the wood door, scratching the door, "the moment you open that fucking door in gonna kill you! "
-
" even more reason to not open the door!" He whines
-
Takana snarls and slams his shoulder into the door again, "motherfucker!"
-
Arakan slowly gets up and puts himself away with a wince, walking over and placing a hand onto Takana's shoulder, " Alright, im okay, don;t break down the door. we probably won;t be able to have it fixed."
-
Takana flinches before looking up at arakan, whining softly, "I'm sorry i-" He pulls back and sighs softly, "I'm sorry..."
-
Arakan bends down and gently places a kiss onto his forehead, " im not mad. you didn;t do it on purpose."
-
takana huffs, "good, because its NAGI'S fault!" his head whips around to look back at the door, snarling
-
Arakan sighs, " well you're not wrong, though we probably shouldn;t have been doing that in the living room. i honestly should know better with Izanagi."
-
Takana growls harshly before pressing his forehead against arakan, "but- but its ruined now... we cant continue after.... after i bit you... damn it i even prepared myself and everything.... "
-
Arakan winces as the mention of him prepping himself makes him stiffen up, " ow fuck. yeah, probably not a good idea to continue. sorry."
-
takana whines again, "This fucking suuuucks..."
-
Arakan places a gentle kiss onto his head, " give me a couple days and i promise i'll rock your world okay? we'll make it a date. send Izanagi off to Nikiri's place or something."
-
Takana sighs and nods, "oookay... although if i do actually kill izanagi then we'll have the whole apartment sooner..."
-
Arakan snorts, " you'd also have to pay the entire rent yourself. Plus do you really want a bedroom that you know izanagis fucked probably dosens of men in? I've heard there's a special light humans use to see that, and I have no doubt that room would light up like you painted it neon. Gross."
-
takana sighs softly, "Im good at cleaning. and you're thinking of a UV light, or as my friends called it, the Cum Light."
-
Arakan makes a face, " weird and gross. Regardless, maybe don't make extra paperwork for me. Come on, we can at least cuddle." He applies gentle pressure to Takana shoulder to encourage him away from the door, but not forcing him.
-
Takana grumbles softly, "nagi lives for today..." He let's arakan pull him away from the beaten up door
-
Arakan gently guides him into Takana's room. " yup, for now. he's not worth the effort. now come on." he sits on the bed and tugs Takana down to join him.
-
Takana sighs and sits down next to arakan, "this fucking sucks..."
-
Arakan lays down and pulls him down to cuddle, " i know."
-
Takana hugs arakan and snuggles into him
-
Arakan wraps his arms around Takana and nuzzles the top of his head.
Izanagi scoots over to his door to listen, then cracks it open to make sure Takana is gone before letting out a sigh of relief and closing and locking his door again. He grabs his phone and texts Nikiri, Takana almost killed me! but i saw Arakan's dick and it was glorious.
-
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, somehow I dont feel bad for you if takana kills you in your sleep
A few days later in the human district, Corrin sat at his lavish dinner table watching his family eat.
He had insisted that he wanted to have a family dinner with everyone so he finally had Makoto and Isabelle, Yori, and his wife eating with him, enjoying their company(and also to gauge in everyone's response to certain questions he asks.)
"so." he begins, "Yori. How have you been?"
Isabelle quietly eats her meal, trying not to draw any attention to herself
-
Izanagi pouts, not my fault they were doing stuff in the living room.
Yori who had just been about to put a bite of food into his mouth stops, " i've been fine. just hanging out with Isabelle and some of my friends. nothing that much, too cold to go out much."
-
Corrin nods, "Yes, yes. of course. It is very cold out.... it must be so nice that almost all of my kids are inside a nice warm house." his eyes trail across all of the other family members.
-
Kahana glances at her husband, " well we must be thankful for what we have instead of dwelling on what we don't."
Yori looks down at his plate and stuffs food into his mouth.
-
Corrin happily takes a few bites of food before responding, "what I have is infinite wealth. And I'd give it all away in an instant if I could have my first son back."
Isabelle's eyes glance over at yori before nervously taking a sip of water.
Corrin continues, "which is why I have decided to hire my own private investigator so if you guys get questioned at all don't be surprised."
Isabelle nearly chokes on her water, however she is able to hold it in and act normal
Makoto pauses mid bite, having not cared about the conversation until now, "what? Why would we be questioned?"
Corrin looks hard at makoto, "because it has been 6 fucking months since my child has gone missing and no one here seems to even care!" Corrin slams his fists into the table at the end of his sentence, causing it to shake ever so slightly.
Isabelle flinches and looks at yori worriedly
-
Kahana sighs, " he had access to our money before he left as well, remember i told you everything was neatly packed up, who knows where he is by now? i still think if he had wanted to contact us he would have."
Yori shrinks down, " do i have to talk to them? that just seems like it would be... kinda scary."
-
Corrin glares at Kahana, "yes and after checking our family accounts, all of them, he is no longer on them AND he isnt on our phone line either. I'm tired of having this paranoia about my own family lying to me so i figured a P.I. would be for the best." he looks apologetically to Yori, speaking much gentler to him, "Im so sorry my son but it is for the best. I know you would never lie to me though so dont worry, she'll probably just ask you some simple questions about the last time you saw your brother."
-
Kahana waves a hand, " of course. after he was gone for a bit i removed him. who knows what he planned to do? He could have drained our funds completely and we'd have had nothing. I would have been happy to send him some money if he asked, but i wasn't going to let him ruin us. Im not sure why he isn't on our phone line." she picks up her wine glass and sips from it.
Yori nods, " okay..."
-
Corrin snaps back at Kahana, "And so WHAT if he were to pull money from the accounts? MY money? The money that HE and YORI are more entitled to than the rest of you??"
-
Kahana looks at her husband, " well sweetheart of course he's entitled to that money. but if he suddenly drained all of our savings then where would that leave us? Yori is entitled to some as well, and if something had happened and Takana pulled everything for some reason or another, then we may have had to take drastic measures to keep from going bankrupt, like selling our home. I was simply acting out of caution to make our finances were under control. im not saying he'd betray us like that, but you know what kinds of things people can do. there are drugs that make you completely susceptible to whatever someone asks you to do, and then you remember nothing of it the next day. it's terrifying."
-
"God. DAMN IT WOMAN." Corrin slams his fists into the table again, hard enough to make the glasses and plates clatter softly, "That is my son you are talking about! The air that I breathe! The oxygen in my lungs! My CHILD. How would you feel? HOW would you feel if it was Makoto! That he just up and disappeared out of nowhere and instead of actually helping you I just removed his access to any means of survival and communication and said, 'he must have left on his own, i better make sure he doesnt turn into a financial burden to the rest of the family in case bad guys get to him'. How heartless can you actually be?" his voice cracks a little, tremble even, as he struggles to not show any other emotion other than anger.
Touhou stands in the corner of the dining room, looking like he could piss himself at any moment in pure fear of Corrin's outburst.
Makoto snarls softly and wipes his mouth with his napkin before tossing it on his plate and getting up from his seat, "Mother, lets get out of here right now. I can tell father is having a moment of weakness and we dont honestly deserve his abuse."
-
Kahana sighs, " i told you i don;t know why he's not on the phone plan dear. i was simply protecting our family. And you really ought not get so riled up, it's bad for your heart sweetie. I can see you're not thinking clearly, so i think it best if we do go." she gets up and grabs her purse, heading for the door, " Yori? would you like to come with?"
Yori shrinks into his seat, not wanting to get in the middle of this but really not wanting to be here with his father so upset either, " uh..."
-
Isabelle nervously glances at Kahana, "the... house is big so I think yori should be fine if he goes to his room and maybe work on his homework. I can make sure that Corrin gets to bed and is given some medicine for his blood pressure. Makoto, I'll be home later. "
-
Kahana looks at Isabelle for a long moment before nodding, " very well. call me though sweetie if you change your mind." she heads out.
Yori lets a long breath out. he looks down at his barely started dinner, his appetite gone.
-
makoto scoffs and leaves with his mommy
Isabelle hesitantly stands up and goes over to yori, "Hey, why dont you take some food up to your room and try to relax, okay? I'll try to get your dad to calm down, okay?"
-
Kahana takes Makoto to a nice restaurant where they can enjoy dinner.
Yori looks at her and frowns, " but then you'll get yelled at too."
-
Isabelle hums softly, "I don't think so. I think I'll be alright. After all, you your father and I do care about takana and I make sure Corrin knows that. Alright?"
-
Yori nods, " kay. be careful. " he hugs Isabelle and grabs his plate, heading to his room.
-
Isabelle shrugs, "it's just your dad. Everything will be fine."
She watches him go and sighs softly before turning to Corrin and frowning as she watches the man hold his head in his hands as he just stares at his plate, "Mr. Kuroshiba." She walks over to him, "I understand your worry over your son. Trust me. Yori and I have been worried sick as well...."
Corrin sniffles and nods, "I know you two actually care about takana... you're the one who told me about the apartment after all... you wouldn't have done that if you weren't scared for him..."
Isabelle nods, "we'll find him. I'll help you."
Corrin sighs and wipes his eyes, "thank you. You're very kind Isabelle. Would you help me get to my room? I think I need to lie down."
Isabelle blinks and nods, "oh yes of course." She helps the older gentlemen to his room, setting him down on the bed, "there you are. Anything else I can help you with?"
Corrin hums softly, his eyes turning red, "what was that dear? You'll have to come closer, my hearing is very poor."
Isabelle gets a little closer, a mere inches away, "oh I'm sorry, is thi-"
Corrin grabs the back of his neck, his fingers elongated into sharp claws which pricked into her skin, "I would like you to tell me the truth my dear."
Her eyes fade as well as her expression, her body going partially limp as she falls under kuroshiba's control
He stands up, lifting her up as well as parts of his body morph and change, bones cracking, black ooze dripping from the popped out joints, "tell me... where is takana"
Black veins pulse under isabelle's skin, "in the 4th district."
Corrins eyes widen and he snarls, " WHAT?!"
Touhou dusts the hallway nearby, flinching when he feels the house vibrate. oh no... he looks down the hall and nervously shudders before running to a nearby supply closet.
Corrin does his best to control his anger, "who knows that he is there? Is he safe?
"He is safe. Happy. Kahana knows. Makoto knows. I know. Yori...knows."
Corrin coughs up more black ooze, "gods... i thought i could trust my own baby... why. Why did you all lie to me?"
"Takana asked yori... and I to keep it a secret... Kahana and makoto...push-"
Touhou runs into the room with a bucket of water and throws it on corrin
Corrin gives a startled roar when he's quickly soaked, breaking his concentration on his ability and dropping Isabelle.
Touhou yelps and grabs Isabelle and drags her out of the room, looking her over briefly before giving a sigh in relief to see she is more or less unharmed.
-
Yori feels the house vibrate and yelps, " an earthquake? here?!" he stumbles out of his room and towards where he knows the rest of his family is, seeing Touhou pulling Isabelle out, " oh my god, what happened?! Isabelle! Dad?!" he quickly runs to the door since Isabelle is being taken care of, to make sure his father is okay, " Dad?! are you okay? the house shook, what's going on? What happened to Isabelle?"
-
Corrin looks over at yori, looking pale, "oh yori. There was this weird trembling and my armoire fell over and it startled Isabelle so much that she fainted. Is she alright? I saw the maid pull her out of the room." He looks over at the side of the wall where the large piece of furniture was, in fact, on the ground.
-
Yori nods, " i-i think so. I saw T- the maid was taking care of her so i wanted to check on you... are you okay? you look really pale dad." he walks over, looking worried.
-
Corrin hums softly, "I think I'm alright. I was already sitting, thankfully. A little sweaty...well... a lot sweaty. But I think it's from the outburst I had earlier... I owe you and isabelle an apology. I didn't mean to get upset.. I just... I'm so tired if being scared for your brother and it's painful for me to feel like I'm the only one who does care..."
-
Yori nods, " yeah, um, lemme get you some dry clothes. im worried too dad, i just... im trying not to think about it i guess." he goes to his fathers dresser and pulls out some dry clothes and brings them over, " here. do you want a wet washcloth or something?"
-
Corrin shakes his head, "I'm good my son. Thank you so much for caring. If anything happens to me and takana isn't found then... everything will go to you." He takes the clothes from yori, "why don't you help the maid make sure Isabelle is alright and when she is awake send the maid in to help me. That's his job after all."
-
Yori frowns, " don't talk like that dad...im sure he's fine. i don't care about the money anyway." he hesitates before nodding, " alright." he heads out to Touhou and kneels next to Isabelle, " is she okay? we could call a doctor."
-
When yori doesn't come out of the bedroom screaming about some monster touhou frowns and takes a peak inside the room.
Seeing corrin back to normal causes a soft growl to escape his throat. Of course that bastard was back to normal so soon.
Touhou looks back at yori and blinks at the mention of a doctor.
He checks the back of isabelle's neck. No wounds, no marks, no veins of doom.
Touhou looks at yori and mimics drinking from a cup in hopes yori understands to get some water.
Touhou had made a mad dash before for the water bucket so he didn't grab his notepad
-
Yori blinks before he nods, " okay! i'll be right back." he runs down the hall to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it before fast walking back to avoid spilling it. He hands it over, trusting Touhou to know what to do. " when she's okay dad wants you to go help him, he's sweated and soaked his clothes."
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Touhou freezes when yori says that, knowing his ass is grass as soon as he steps into that bedroom alone.
He hesitantly nods before gently tilting the cup, letting only a couple of drops of water fall onto isabelle's face.
Isabelle's face scrunched a little before she let's put a soft groan. She opens her eyes, confused before slowly sitting up, "yori? The um... the maid... why am I on the floor? What happened?"
Touhou holds the cup out to Isabelle
Isabelle blinks and takes the cup and slowly drinks from it, "ugh my head hurts..."
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Yori frowns, " im not entirely sure what happened. the house shook, and i ran to see if you two were okay. you were on teh floor... dad said the armoire fell and you fainted." He hovers worriedly.
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Isabelle nods, "I see.... I guess I can't remember... I know I got your dad on the bed and then... it's all blank. Is he alright?"
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Yori nods, " he's doing okay it seems, he's kinda pale. Come on, lets get you into one of the spare rooms here so you can lay down on the bed." He grabs her arm and puts it around his shoulders.
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Isabelle nods and accepts yoris help, letting him take her to a guest room
Touhou shudders and slowly gets up, staring into the bedroom
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Yori helps her to a nearby bedroom, carefully getting her set up on the bed. " anything you want? more water?"
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Isabelle shakes her head, "no i... I think I'm fine. I'll probably just rest a little. Thank you though. "
-
Yori nods, " okay..." he heads out, looking towards his dads room before heading back to his own to finish his dinner, trying to research the 'earthquake' that had happened and not finding anything to his dismay.
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A little bit later Isabelle texts yori that she was feeling better but was heading home to continue resting in her bed
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Yori sees that and texts back, okay, drive carefully! and if you hear anything about what that shaking was let me know, i can;t find anything on it? he sighs and goes to bed, worried.
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In the morning Corrin is already up, straightening his tie in the mirror and humming softly with renewed vigor.
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Yori gets up and heads to the kitchen for breakfast, sitting at the table yawning.
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A young maid comes out of the kitchen and she starts setting delicious foods in front of yori that he likes for breakfast
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Yori tucks into the food, muttering a soft 'thank you' to the maid. he looks at the empty table sadly, Kahana had stayed at a hotel for the night.
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The girl nods and smiles, "is there anything else I can do for you mister kuroshiba?"
She is human. She is new. And the room, like all of the other rooms, didn't look nearly as clean as they did prior.
Granted, they weren't dirty. Not at all. They were very tidy and clean but... the rooms usually had an odd twinkle to their cleanliness while today they just... looked normal clean.
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Yori hears the feminine voice and looks up, blinking at her, " you're not the usual maid? oh, um, im good. the food is fine."
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The girl blinks, "um no? I'm not? I guess I don't know who the usual maid is, my apologies. I'm sandri, I just started this morning to cover for someone for a few days."
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Yori shakes his head, " sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like I was upset or anything. Just was surprised, and still half asleep." He yawns as rubs at one of his eyes as if to emphasize this point. " Guess I'll have to see how dad is doing after breakfast, I hope he's okay..."
-
At that moment Corrin enters the dining room and smiles, "good morning kiddo! I see you met our temporary maid."
The maid turns to Corrin, "good morning sir!"
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Yori blinks, fork halfway to his mouth. " dad? i didn;t think you'd be up, you looked so out of it and the other maid... well i thought you were so down and out he was taking care of you. are you okay?"
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Corrin nods, "yes! Our usual maid DID take great care of me. Got me in bed and my phone so I could call my doctor who sent over a chiropractor this morning. I feel much better now. I feel like I've sucked the life out of a healthy person!" He laughs loudly, "what a great joke!"
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Yori smiles a bit, " well im glad you're feeling better. where is he by the way? he was so good at helping me take care of isabelle, i wanted to thank him. i had no idea what to do."
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Corrin pauses briefly before smiling again, "well he did such a great job that I gave him a few days off. He works 24/7 after all. You can thank him when he comes back."
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Yori blinks and nods, " oh, okay... well that's nice anyway. im glad you're feeling better dad. that tremor was really weird huh? i can;t find anything online about an earthquake or something?"
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Corrin hums softly, "it was weird, but there's no need to look that stuff up. It's done and over with and I'm sure you have more important things to do."
-
Yori blinks, " but... if there's a reason our house is shaking when nobody elses is, shouldn't we be worried? doesn't that mean that our house might like... collapse or something? And not really..."
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Corrin sighs softly, "tell ya what. If it makes you feel better I'll have someone come out and check the structural integrity of our home. Would that make you feel better?"
-
Yori nods, " yeah, i mean what if that armoire fell on someone? Isabelle could have been really hurt, or you could have too. Oh, i know moms not here today to remind you to take your meds, so i suppose im reminding you?"
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Corrin gives a hearty laugh, "already done my boy! I can take care of myself every now and again. I'll go give somepeople a call. Why don't you go out with your friends or something, hm? I have a lot to do today as long as I'm feeling this good."
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Yori nods, " yeah, okay. i think i'll go check on Isabelle first, she seemed like she wasn't doing great yesterday. i'll see you later tonight then?"
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Corrin goes up to yori and ruffles the top of his head, "absolutely! Have fun!"
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Yori closes one eye as his hair gets ruffled, " i will. don't go too crazy dad." he finishes his breakfast and gets up, pulling out his phone to text Isabelle, hey are you up? how are you feeling?
-
Isabelle pauses mid sip of some broth when her phone goes off and she sets her spoon down to reply
i have a small headache so im taking it easy. And yes, i already had a house call done just in case and the doctor couldnt find anything that was concerning.
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Yori frowns, okay. do you mind if i come over to see you? he hails the chauffeur and goes out to the car.
-
oh sure! Im just having some soup right now but yeah, im not doing anything else
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Yori has the driver take him over there and runs into the house and into her room, " Isabelle!"
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Isabelle looks up from her bed, playing with her phone, "hello yori. Are you alright? You seem more excitable than normal."
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Yori nods, " im okay, just kinda weirded out about being at home with the weird thing that happened. dads gonna have some inspectors come and check the house though. he seemed like he was doing really well today. im glad you're okay."
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Isabelle smiles softly, "I'm more than fine yori. Maybe a little tired but yesterday was a little... overwhelming so it's understandable."
Corrin, with several armed guards, approaches the gate and goes over to the guard in charge, "I'm going to need an armed escort to the detention building along with a request for this districts leader and someone by the name of takana."
The leader blinks, not used to seeing the one and only Corrin Kuroshiba, "um yes of course! I'll arrange that right now, sir!"
-
Yori nods, " that's good, i was so worried... that was so weird. im glad everyone is okay though." he pulls a chair close to the bed to sit.
Ryokan frowns as he gets a page that he's being summoned, growling and telling Arakan before heading for the meeting location.
Arakan pales when he sees Takana is being requested, going there to fetch him, " Takana. The head of the Kuroshibas is asking for you."
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Takana turns to looks at arakan, turning pale, "i-... what? No! I don't want to go!"
Corrin soon enters a steel building, going to a special room where there are a few chairs and a table between then.
Corrin sits down on the chair that's on the human side of the room and patiently waits with his 15 guards
-
Arakan sighs, " they requested you by name, we don;t have a lot of choice here."
Ryokan walks in and takes his seat, looking across the table with a blank expression, " to what do i owe this displeasure?"
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Corrin smiles at ryokan, "ah hello ryokan. Yes I'm here to retrieve what is mine, please and thank you."
Takana's ears flatten back, "God damn it...." He let's himself be taken to the detention center
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Ryokan raises an eyebrow slowly, " anything within my district is mine, so i'll need more than that for information."
Arakan makes his way to the detention center and walks in, nodding to his father and taking a seat next to him.
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Takana sees his dad and he gasps before instinctively backing up to the wall.
Corrin smiles when he sees takana, "takana! So this is where you've been hiding for half a year! Well you're little game is done now. Let's go home."
-
Ryokan looks at Takana, then at Corrin, curling a lip, " you called me here for this bullshit? you can deal with this Arakan." he gets up and leaves.
Arakan dips his head to his father before looking at Corrin, " Takana is a member of our district. he's collared, and he has his paperwork. therefore he is under MY jurisdiction, not yours. If he wishes to stay here, i will not force him to leave."
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Corrin raises an eyebrow, "yes I see he has one of our collars on, however he comes from my family and I have been searching for him for 6 months." Corrin hums softly, "it's not something we have to fight about. I'm ready to make an offer for you to return him peacefully. I understand your district made a new contract to allow humans in, right? I can make sure that goes well with no issues. Or what about the food standards that your filth cry about? I can bump you up well past district 2's standards for deliveries. I can even offer a much kinder inspection for your people. All this and more. Surely you have to think of the good of all of your people."
Takana's eyes widen slightly when his dad offers such a good deal
-
Arakans eyes narrow, " seeing as he's been so close and hasn;t contacted you, i think there was a reason he didn;t come home. it's a tempting offer, but i have things well in hand. we are earning better treatment, and instead of having you humans look on us as 'filth' in your words, charity cases, i'd rather earn our better conditions so that they may not be taken away at your whim."
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Corrins eyes narrow and he stands up abruptly, "now listen here! I don't know what he's told you or who you think he is but he doesn't belong here!! You're lucky I don't blow this whole shit hole to pieces!"
Takana's ears flatten back and he gives a quiet sigh, "that's enough... I'll go home, okay? Dont... do anything to this district, okay? There are really good people here and I don't want anything to happen to them."
Corrin huffs as he looks at takana, "your bedroom is still the way it was when you left however this time you'll be lucky if you get to keep your door."
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Arakan snarls, " If you're threatening to start a war i warn you things will not be as they were before... we are not small groups scattered across the world. We're all in one place, and we're not happy about how things are. no matter what lies you tell the humans i doubt they'll approve of genocide. He's one of us, so he does belong here, more than he belongs with you humans for your disgusting breeding projects."
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Corrin stutters briefly, stunned before looking at takana, "did you... tell him you were a demon?"
Takana huffs, "i... had to live somewhere..."
Corrin blinks before laughing loudly. Once he calms down he shakes his head, "ah I see. That makes things easier. Arakan, let me fully introduce you to my son. Takana Kuroshiba. He is a human. And he most certainly doesn't belong here. He's coming home with me."
-
Arakan freezes, eyes widening slightly. " you..." he looks between the two of them, eyes slowly narrowing. " i see. then take him and leave." he looks away, his voice emotionless.
-
Takana looks at arakan, "wa-wait arakan please, I can explain!"
Corrin snorts, "don't bother son. If you're not a demon then they don't care. Now take those ridiculous ears off and let's go home."
-
Arakan looks at Takana, " I don't appreciate being lied to. I want you both out of the district now. You are not welcome here."
-
Takana's eyes widen and he stands there, shocked, "I'm sorry i" one of the guards grab him and pull him over to his dad
Corrin heads out of the room after instructing his guards to take takana and follow him
-
Arakan snarls and storms out of the building, flurries of snow whipping into the air as he heads for the gates. He texts Nikiri, change of plans, no humans in the district yet. I have some...damage control to do.
-
Nikiri sees the text and frowns, damage control? What happened? Are you okay?
-
Arakan sighs, ... Too much to say over text. Short of it is humans are revolting in the lengths they go to to manipulate people. I need to make sure I wasn't the only idiot that was fooled.
-
Nikiri reads it and sighs softly, i see... well... maybe we should talk later when you have cooled down
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, if you think it needed. he waits until Corrin and his guards go through the gates before gathering energy, large spikes of ice bursting up from the ground within the demon side of the gates, blocking any access into the district.
-
As takana is ushered into the limo he sees the gates and his heart drops, "arakan...."
The gate guards yelp when they see the ice spikes
-
Arakan looks at the ice for a moment before heading back home, trying to keep from thinking about everything that happened and what it all might mean.
-
Nikiri sighs and decides to go visit izanagi since...someone has to tell him he no longer has a roommate.
He enters the apartment and hums softly, "nagi!"
-
Izanagi blocks and comes out, " Nikiri? What's up? Usually you at least let me know in advance."
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Nikiri frowns a little and sighs, "I think... takana got found out. I came here to tell you that you... don't have a roommate anymore..."
-
Izanagi just stares at him with his mouth open, " wait what? Just now? His stuff is still here and everything! Are you sure?"
-
Nikiri nods, "Yeah. I know there was a meeting for... our leaders and uh... takana's father. And now arakan has informed me that he was doing damage control because of some sort of manipulation so I can only assume that arakan kicked him out once he knew."
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Izanagi's eyes widen, " is Takana okay? oh man..."
-
nikiri sighs, "i... dont know. Im sure he's upset being kicked out but Im also sure that arakan is going to be uh... in a mood."
Corrin drags Takana into the house and shoves him into Takana's old room, "WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING!? DID YOU WANT TO BE KILLED?"
Takana rubs his arm and looks down, "I uh. I dont think they would have killed me..."
"Oh you DONT huh? and what do you know about those monsters?"
"Apparently more than you! they arent monsters! stop calling them that!"
Corrin growls softly, "Yes they are! They are filth! Killers! And take those fucking ears off!"
"NO!! Just shut up! I am a fucking adult! You cant do this! I was happy! I was finally enjoying life! You cant keep me here, I wont stay!"
"Oh yeah? and where would you even go? the streets? You certainly cant go back to that fucking district. That scum said so himself. You will stay here until you learn to act like a proper kuroshiba! I am doing this for your own good!" Corrin turns and leaves takana's room, slamming the door shut and locking it. normally it wouldnt have an outside lock but as long as those workers were coming to looks at the house for yori's sake he might as well have them construct a special door just for reinforced locking on the outside of it
-
Izanagi frowns, " no wonder the wind has been howling...he said something about being manipulated? i mean, i guess he's not entirely wrong... i bet that's gonna make him extra mad."
-
nikiri sighs, "I know... thats the worst part. in a way he was lied to... im sure it wasnt takana's intent though... regardless, whats done is done and I am sure i'll have my own earful later."
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Izanagi's eyes widen, " oh i hope he doesn;t figure out you knew he was human. he's gonna be pissed...."
-
nikiri grumbles, "well unfortunately I know every high society human in the area because its my job to know them. So.... i mean once he realizes that i should have known then... i'll deal with it then."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah... oh no, what if he figures out i knew? oh man... i gotta find someplace to hide!"
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nikiri sighs, "I dont think he'll kill you. it was supposed to be temporary and then... some feelings happened. we just have to tread carefully."
-
Izanagi winces, " i think i'll still lay low for a bit. you're important to him, im... not."
-
Nikiri sighs softly, "i... honestly hope this gets resolved soon. Arakan is understandably upset but it shouldn't mean the rest of this district should suffer."
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Izanagi nods, " who knows what he thinks happened though. Im sure he doesn;t mean to make things worse for the district, he always does what he thinks is best..."
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Nikiri sighs and sits down, "yeah... I know. He's hurting though. I can't imagine what takana is going through either...it sucks. This sucks."
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Izanagi nods slowly, " yeah...it sucks. i wish i could talk to Takana and see how he's doing..." he grans Nikiri's hand and tugs him over to the couch to cuddle with him.
-
Nikiri gets on the couch and holds izanagi close, "yeah i...tried to text him but he hasn't responded. I don't even know if he still has his phone on him."
Takana sits in the corner of his room, sniffling and wiping his eyes
-
Izanagi snuggles into him, " i hope he's okay... maybe once Arakan cools off he could ask Isabelle to see how he is? maybe."
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Nikiri sighs, "izanagi.... it's only right that I tell you so you can decide if you... still want to be a friend to him or not but... his full name is... Takana Kuroshiba. He is the son Corrin Kuroshiba and the first wife who is deceased so... I know it's one thing if he's human but a completely different thing for him to... be the son of that man. This is something that arakan knows now too so it's probably so much worse for him at the moment. "
-
Izanagi tenses up, " ...what? he's... but... but he's nice? why would he lie? ... was he just manipulating all of us to get what he wanted?" his eyes start tearing up.
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Nikiri shakes his head, "he is nice. He and yori are not like their father at all. From what my insiders tell me his home life isn't great and has always tried to stray away from his family name. Even going as far as moving out as soon as he's able to and trying to go no contact with his father. Then his current wife, who is a real bitch I hear, kicked him out of the apartment and thus on your doorstep."
-
Izanagi nods slowly, " but... he lied to me about who he was too. he never even gave me a chance when i got to know him. and i've helped him all this time."
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Nikiri sighs, "I wouldn't be surprised if he enjoyed not being a kuroshiba for once. Not only that but by the time he got comfortable with you he started having feelings for arakan and if that was the case his mind was busy with... well... arakan. If he gets the chance to see you again, would you let him?"
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Izanagi nods slowly, " yeah, okay... and yeah... i'd talk to him. im not entirely sure how i feel about it, but i'd talk to him."
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Nikiri nods, "alright. That's a good start. For now though we must wait."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah... we gotta wait and see. this sucks." he snuggles in closer.
-
Takana gets up from his corner and goes to his door, jiggling the handle, huffing when it doesn't open, "oh god damn it not this shit again. DAD! DAAAD OPEN MY FUCKING DOOR!"
Nikiri sighs, "yeah..."
-
Yori spends the day with a few friends after visiting Isabelle, and heads home that evening to have dinner.
Kahana also comes home, heading to their bedroom to see if her husband is in a better mood, " Corrin love?"
-
Corrin is in his room, reading and enjoying some tea, "yes dear?"
-
Kahana smiles sweetly, " oh, just checking to see if you were home. i hate when we have these little tiffs. i love you and im sorry i upset you." she walks over and kisses him on the forehead.
-
Corrin let's her kiss him and hums softly, "it's quite alright. I have takana back so I consider our fight water under the bridge."
-
Kahana's eyes widen, " what? he's home?"
-
Corrin takes a looong sip of tea before setting the cup down, "yup. He's grounded in his room for now, but yes I went and got him and brought him home."
-
Kahana smiles sweetly, "well im glad you're happier and he's home"
-
Corrin nods, "yes. So for now I forgive everyone for lying to me, and when I get the truth out of takana I will make corrective actions to ensure it doesn't happen again."
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Kahana hesitates, " is that really necessary sweetheart? you have both of your sones home safe and sound. Does Yori know he's home? im sure he'll be thrilled to see his other big brother. Oh, speaking of which, i saw him head into the dining room. come have dinner with us? Takana im sure could be allowed out for the meal, after all if he misbehaves you can send him to his room again."
-
"I'll bring him dinner after we eat. If he wants to play pretend with the demons then I'll treat him like one. "
He sets his book down, "and yori finding out now will only distract him from dinner. I'll be sure to inform him later. "
-
" if you think that's for the best darling." she heads to the dining room, sitting down at the table.
Yori looks over, " oh you're back mom?"
" of course sweetheart, your father and i wouldn't fight for long. sometimes we just need some space from each other."
-
Corrin gets to the table and sits down, "did you have a good day yori? "
-
Yori shrugs, " it was okay, spent some time with isaelle, she's doing better but is still kinda not feeling well. then i hung out with some guys from school. they're okay, i think they just let me hang around them because i can buy them stuff though..."
Kahana frowns, " oh sweetie, im sorry. it can be difficult to find true people you can rely on when you have money tempting them."
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Corrin hums softly, "don't buy them stuff then. That'll test to see if they are your friends or not. "
-
Yori sighs, " but nobody hangs out with me if i don't."
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"See? Then they're not your friends and it's time to get new ones. " He happily eats, seeing no flaws in his logic
-
Yori sighs and pokes at his food, " easier said than done..."
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"Nonesense! Instead of using money to make friends you use fear! I do it all the time. I'll get you some friends if it's that hard for you."
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Yoris eyes widen, " I don't want people to be scared of me! And they wouldn't be my friends either, they'd be ...I dunno, pawns? I don't want that."
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Corrin shrugs, "everyone is someone else's pawn in life. Just look at those nasty demons. Their whole barbaric ranking system makes everyone a pawn."
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Yori looks down, " I don't think they're so bad...and I don't want friends that way."
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Corrin tsks softly, "don't talk like that or you'll start sounding like takana."
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Yori flinches and looks down, " I wouldn't consider that a bad thing..."
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Corrin huffs softly as he finishes eating, "well I do right now. His actions have gotten him grounded for as long as it takes for him to come to his senses."
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Yori looks up quickly, " groun- he's home? he's here?! where?"
-
"in his room. while you were out I had a new door installed that locks from the outside and went out to the 4th district and demanded to get him back. The damn fool made those demons think he was one of them and now he's mad at me! clearly they must have brainwashed him so he's in his room until he acts right."
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Yori's eyes widen and he bites his lip, " ...can i go see him?"
-
corrin shrugs, "You cant open the door but there's a flap so i guess you can physically see him."
-
Yori's eyes widen, " but... dad he's your son! he's... just locked in there? because he did something you didn't like? No wonder he left!"
-
corrin snarls, "Its one thing to go and live in the apartments. At least with him still having his phone i could track his movements and know where he was. Its a completely DIFFERENT thing for me to be unable to contact him for SIX FUCKING MONTHS and when i finally DO find him he's in the demon district! Acting like those freaking monsters are worth his time! Its for his own safety! If he had free roam then he'd just try to go right back and now that they know he's human they'd kill him"
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Yori flinches, " but... but he's an adult. And they're not so bad... demons... they know Isabelle is a human and they don;t hurt her. Maybe they'd accept Takana too. A lot fo them are nice if you give them the chance."
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Corrin stares hard at Yori, "What. Exactly. are you saying. Yori."
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Yori looks down, " just that maybe you should give them a chance... and let Takana make his own choices. he's an adult!"
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corrin huffs, "If you start acting out as well then i'll ground you too. demons are NOT to be friendly with! They'll kill any human on site! Clearly they felt they could gain something from isabelle and thats exactly what they've done!"
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Yori looks down, "... im not hungry anymore. may i be excused?"
-
Corrin waves his hand dismissively, "fine whatever."
-
Yori gets up and walks away from the table, heading to Takana's room. He pales when he sees the door and the flap, pushing the flap up so he can look in, " ... Takana?"
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Takana's head jerks up and he gasps softly, "Yori! Yori!!" he practically sobs as he gets up and runs to the door, "Yori! you have to get me out of here!"
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Yori whines softly, " i would but dad's already mad at me for even defending you...and i don;t know where the key is."
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Takana's eyes water, and the normal resolve and composure he keeps around yori dissolves and he lowers his head and cries softly, "wha-what do i do... he just-hic- he just showed up and-and outed me in front of-of arakan and i- i got kicked out and i... i know arakan is mad at me but i..." he takes an unsteady breath in, "i really love him..."
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Yori watches, feeling helpless, " oh no Takana, im so sorry...i don't. Maybe Isabelle can help?" he pulls out his phone, quickly texting her Isabelle help. Dad dragged Takana home and has him locked in his room and i don;t know what to do.
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Isabelle reads her phone and her eyes widen, WHAT?! When?! How did he find out where takana was?? Do i need to come over??
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it must have been earlier today, he he didn;t say anything about it this morning when i saw him. i don;t know how he found out. And i dunno, i don;t want to make things worse, but Takana is really upset and i don't know what to do. He glances through the opening, " can.. i get you some food or something?"
-
Takana nods, "i-if you can.. I've been in here for a while and nothing has been brought to me yet... god this is so fucked up..."
Isabelle frowns, I'll... come over and see what i can do... this has to be illegal but your dad controls the cops so im not sure if getting them involved will even do anything..
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Yori nods, i don;t know, but i know i'd feel a heck of a lot better if you were here." Isabelle is gonna come over. i'll... i'll get you something to eat. i'll be right back i promise." he hurries to the kitchen and quickly makes a dish of some of the leftovers from dinner, heating them. he also makes a few sandwiches that won;t need to be refrigerated and bags those up before grabbing drinks and hurrying to the door, " i got some hot food from dinner, i had to reheat it but it should still be pretty good. and i got some other stuff you can keep in case you get hungry later."
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Takana sniffles, "thank you yori.... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry it's my fault this happened... I fucked up... I fucked up so badly..."
-
Yori blinks, " im... not sure what you're talking about right now, but right now you get something to eat okay? we can worry about everything else later."
-
Takana gives a hesitant nod and takes the food through the flap and sits down on the floor, slowly eating it and sniffling.
-
Yori sits on the other side of the door, " im sorry... Dad was talking about a private investigator last night, i guess they found you... didn;t think it'd be so soon. he talked about them asking me questions and i never saw them."
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Takana sits against the door and sighs, "you... don't have to apologize yori. Dad was always good at finding me when I pissed him off... I knew it was an inevitably. I shouldn't have become so... attached to everyone there..."
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Yori looks down, " this isn't fair... you should be allowed to make your own choices... it sounded like when i was trying to defend you if i had said the wrong thing he was gonna lock me up too... i don;t understand why..."
-
Takana flinches and quickly turns towards the door, "don't do anything to upset him! Just behave, okay? He might be a bit more lenient with your mom around but trust me, the minute you are more effort than what you're worth to him he'll find a way to reign you back under control."
-
Yori nods slowly, then realizes Takana can;t see him, " okay... i'll try my best to behave..."
-
Takana droops a little, "I'm sorry... I never wanted you to see him like this. I really thought you were different to him since you went on that cruise and you said you had a good time..."
-
Yori hugs his knees, " he's never acted like that to me... are we only important because we're related to him? just supposed to shut up and do what he wants..."
-
"He... doesn't want makoto to take over the business... he would really prefer it to go into the hands of his actually kids instead. I think at least. Other than that I can't think of anything else "
-
Yori frowns, " well i don;t want to take over his business! especially not if he's going to treat me like this. i don;t want anything to do with him."
-
Takana gives a dry chuckle as he pokes at his food, "now you understand why I left..."
Isabelle gets out of her car and pulls out her phone, setting it to record video and carefully placing her phone in her front breast pocket and making sure the lens was peaking out, "with Kahana disliking me lately and Corrin being weird I'd feel better if I had some video and audio evidence in case something happens..."
She heads inside and looks around until she gets go the flight of stairs that leads up to the hallway where the kids' bedrooms are and sees yori, "yori!"
She walks over to him and gasps softly when she sees the intimidating metal door, "what... the hell is this?"
Takana hears Isabelle and sighs softly, "hey isabelle...."
Isabelle pales, "takana?! You're in there? Wha- why? What is this? This cant be legal."
-
Yori looks up with her, " i don;t know. but what can we do about it? dad even sounded like he would do it to me if i said the wrong thing... i got him some food and stuff, i don;t know what to do."
-
Isabelle pales, "he's gone insane, I swear. Takana, do you have a bathroom connected to your room? Windows?"
Takana sighs softly, "Yeah I have a bathroom. And uh... dad already put bars on the one window I have so I can't get out."
Isabelle presses her hands against the steel door, "this is way too far..."
"Nonsense!" Corrin comes up from the stares and walks over to them, "this isn't permanent. Just until he calms down and doesn't end up getting himself killed by trying to go back into the demon district while the filth are up in arms."
Takana snarls when he hears his dad, "don't call them that!" He turns onto his feet so he's standing and facing the door, "you fucker!! You've been killing them! Slaughtering them for no reasons! And what's worse is you are actually implementing my micro chip project from high school! What are you thinking?! I TOLD you why it was a failure and yet it's going to the 7th district already?!"
Isabelle squeaks and backs up away from the door and corrin, pulling yori along with her since she didn't want her or him to get in the middle of this.
Corrin glares at the door, "how did you find this information?"
Takana snarls, "open this door and I'll fucking tell you you monster."
"Well now that's a little rude. I am hardly the monster in this scenario. You're the one who abandoned this family."
"AND I'D DO IT AGAIN. For the first time in YEARS I felt like I belonged! Like things were gonna be okay! And then you came along and ruined it!"
Corrin snorts, "I searched for you because I was scared for it! Don't blame me for telling him the truth! It's your fault you didn't tell him you were a kuroshiba."
"I haven't considered myself a kuroshiba the day you left me alone at my own mother's funeral!"
Corrin sighs softly and shakes his head, "you're still going on about that? Work comes first." He glances at Isabelle and yori, "see? He's too angry to be let out. I'm sure he'll be better in the morning."
-
Yori lets himself be pulled away, eyes wide. Yori looks between the door and his dad, " but... he's not a dog or an animal. he's a person. an adult. he should be allowed to choose what he wants to do..."
-
Corrin glares at yori, "as a kuroshiba you are held to a higher standard and if you can't abide by that standard then I'll keep you out of site until you do to keep you from being an embarrassment to the family!"
Takana growls, "don't talk to yori like that!"
-
Yori flinches, " maybe I don't want to be a kuroshiba then dad! Family is supposed to care for each other, not lock each other up like prisoners for having an opinion!"
-
Corrin huffs, "I see you need to be grounded as well it seems. Fine by me."
Takana hears that and hisses loudly before pounding on the door, "DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! YORI! GO TO YOUR MOM! NOW!" Isabelle flinches before grabbing yori's arm in a panic, "let's go, let's go!"
-
Yori yelps and lets himself be dragged away, running with Isabelle after a moment, " why is he doing this?!"
-
Corrin watches them leave and sighs softly, "oh goodie... damage control." He starts to leave until he feels a tug on his shirt.
He looks to his side and sees Takana's arm, through the door flap with a fistful of shirt.
Takana huffs, "I'm not sure why you've decided to start acting your usual self now but I'm not going to let you hurt yori."
Corrin tsks softly, "so dramatic.... there's nothing wrong with a little punishment. Sent to your room for an undetermined amount of time is very normal."
He pulls out a cigar and lights it before taking a long drag.
Takana hears the casual sound of a lighter along with the odd smell of tobacco, "a-are you fucking smoking right now?!"
"Yes... you kids stress me out. Now. If you'll excuse me," he takes another quick inhale, watching the end light up and burn before taking it out of his mouth and pressing it against Takana's arm.
Takana shrieks in pain before quickly letting go and bringing his arm up to his chest, cursing softly.
Isabelle whines softly as she carefully goes down the stairs, "I don't know! Wh-where is your mother? Where does Kahana spend her time after dinner?!"
-
" ah, usually in her office!" Yori whines, following close behind her.
Kanaha has her feet up with a cup of tea next to her as she looks over some papers in her office.
-
Isabelle makes a quick turn around the corner as soon as she hears that it's the office, going up to it and opening it quickly, panting heavily from running, "made it!"
-
Kahana startles and jumps a bit, " Isabelle! Yori? not that i mind seeing you but you scared me half to death! knocking exists you know."
-
Isabelle stands up straight, "I'm sorry but your husband. Corrin. He's mad at yori and said that he needed to be grounded like takana. Please tell him that's not gonna happen."
-
Kahana frowns, " he's going to do what now? not on my watch. Yori is a good boy." she gets up and sets her papers down, heading out the door, " Corrin?"
-
Corrin calmly walks down the stairs, humming softly, "yes my love?"
-
She places her hands on her hips, " what is this im hearing that you planned to lock my baby away like Takana? absolutely not!"
-
Corrin hums softly, "Dear, I don't do it out of hate or punishment, but rather safety of the human race. Takana is acting like a demon so he must have been targeted by some monster who has the ability to brainwash people and now we have isabelle trying to help write a new contract for the demons to flourish and yori is telling us, at the dinner table so I know you heard him, that he didn't think demons were that bad. I fear if this brainwashing ability is akin to a virus and spreading like the common cold we could get it too. I just want him quarantined until they can be looked at by a professional. After all, what do you think would happen if you or I caught this brain bug? What do you think would happen if I suddenly thought demons were good? I'd go to our factory and hit the kill switch on all of our products that's what. Think of all of those monsters finally free to wreak havoc on us humans! I'm only suggesting to have them both quarantined for the good of the mankind. Yori is still a good boy but he might be sick, my love.please believe me."
-
She crosses her arms, " well that doesn;t make much sense, " yori hasn;t been in contact with Takana except perhaps after dinner."
-
"But Isabelle has. Clearly. Why else would she want to make so many trips to the demon district. And she has been in almost constant contact with yori."
-
Kahana hums softly, " i figured it was one of her pet projects, like feeding the poor or such."
-
Corrin hums softly, "it could have started out as such but it's concerning to see how far and invested she's become. I hope you're not mad at me. I really just want yori to be okay but it's hard when he doesn't sit still and says hurtful things like how he doesn't want to be a kuroshiba anymore and that I'm a horrible father."
-
Kahana sighs, " oh dear, well i can understand that the situation with his brother is troublesome but i suppose if you're sure... perhaps a day wouldn;t hurt him if it's to make sure those demons didn;t do something to him."
-
Corrin nods, "I can have a doctor come by tomorrow afternoon who is very well known for diagnosing these issues. Until then it would be wise to have yori and isabelle also quarantined. I know your big beautiful brain would understand the severity of the situation."
-
She sighs, " that would put me at ease. oh stop it, you've got a ring on my finger there's no need for flattery. i just wish it wasn;t needed. my poor baby..."
-
Corrin nods, "alright, so you won't get in my way if I have to put yori and isabelle in temporary rooms for the night? All our bedrooms have their own private bathrooms and it's late so everyone has probably already had dinner so it's not like anyone will starve."
-
She looks back at her office with worry on her face, " no, you do what you need to. Be gentle? I'll call Makoto and make sure he's alright."
-
Corrin nods, "I would never want anything to come to our children. I love them with all of my heart. I know this is stressful for you so please. Take the company card and spend as much as you want until this is over, okay?"
He pulls out his wallet and takes out a thicccck gold credit card.
Sure Kahana had her own family card but it had a 5,000 dollar limit a day while this gold one had no limit
-
Kahana's eyes widen as she sees the card, " sweetie, but i... shouldn't i be here with my baby? and shouldn't this only be until the doctor can see them tomorrow?" she bites her lip.
-
"Once yori is out of his room and in your arms. And as long as yori is in the safety of his home he will be just fine I assure you. Until then, get some therapy shopping done. It's the least I can do for my devoted queen. "
-
"i... suppose... it's late though, shouldn't i remain tonight to make sure everyone is alright?"
-
Corrin shrugs, "go to makoto's place since it's nearby still and do some online shopping. "
-
Kahana sighs, " very well my love." She places a kiss onto his cheek and takes the card. " Hmm....I think our tea room could use redecorating."
-
Corrin smiles and kisses her forehead, "you could add a whole new addition to the house if it pleased you my star."
-
She waves a hand, " no need to go that over the top my love, our home looks wonderful as it is."
-
"Well I think you look wonderful."
Isabelle huffs as she waits in kahana's office, "what is taking them so long..." she peaks out of the door
-
Kahana sees Isabelle and turns, heading out of the house and pulling out her phone as she calls Makoto. " sweetheart? im coming over tonight, there's a few things going on here. we can go out and go shopping tomorrow!"
-
Isabelle squeaks before looking at yori, "um...your mom just left. What do we do?"
Corrin nods and waves goodbye before making his way to the office, slowly
-
Yori yelps, " um, lock the door? put stuff in front of it? i don't know!"
-
Isabelle quickly closes the door, "well then help me grab some furniture!"
Corrin sighs, "yori why are you treating me like I'm a demon? I'm your father and I'm just worried about you and takana. After all you both could be sick. It's just for tonight and in the morning I have a doctor coming to look at both you and takana. Once you're in the clear I'll let you both back out."
-
Yori flips the latch and starts shoving things in front of the door, pushing over his mothers large cushy chair and her desk, " Im not sick! it's insane that you want to lock up your own kids for having an opinion different than yours!"
-
Corrin gets to the door and sighs, "to think I have to do this to my own kids... yori I'm giving you one last chance to open this door. I already told you it's just for the night and that you'll be let out in the morning."
-
" No, it's crazy that you even want to lock me up for a single night dad!" Yori tugs at a bookshelf as he struggles to get it over to the door.
-
Isabelle helps yori, pushing the bookshelf with all of her might.
Corrin snarls, "god damn it... what if it's in takana's room so you're with him?"
-
Yori hesitates, "but, then we're both just locked together in the same prison and that's still not okay! he shouldn't be locked up either!"
-
Corrin sighs, "fair enough...time for some tough love I guess."
His neck snaps to the side making an audible crack sound before it extends in an unholy fashion.
Black goo drips from his eyes and the rest of his body starts to contort and grow long and skinny, bone like and he places his large claws on the wood door, easily digging and splintering the wood.
Isabelle jumps when she sees sharp, black things suddenly pierce the door and she can't help but scream and move back
-
Yori also yelps and moves back for a moment, hesitating before giving the shelf another shove to get it in place and retreat away from the door, " what the actual fuck is that?!"
-
The wendigo gives a hollow shriek before tearing the door off the frame and shoving the furniture to the side, pushing its oversized form into the room, ooze and black muk dripping off its skull and antlers
Isabelle full on screams in terror, running to the corner of the room, sobbing.
-
Yori freezes in place, eyes wide. After a moment he starts to run towards Isabelle, tripping in the process and hitting the floor hard. His chest heaves as he starts panicking, and the house starts to tremble as it reacts to him.
-
Black, cragly lines pulse on yori's arms like veins for only a moment before disappearing.
At the same time, the same veins crack alongside the grain of the floor boards.
The wendigo steps fully inside, another step closer before it reaches to grab yori.
The floorboards crack apart and stand up straight over yori while the pushed aside bookcase slams into the wendigo.
Isabelle's eyes widen when she sees the wood move on its own, "what..."
-
Yori's eyes widen as he stares, " i-i don't know." He scoots back a bit, and the floorboards shift and move under Corrin's feet to take him out of the room.
-
The wendigo stumbles after being accosted by the bookcase and quickly after it falls prone the floorboards push him out of the room.
The door, cracked and splintered wobbles back to the open frame and gently pieces itself back in, mending what was broken
-
Yori stares at the door, in shock. " did... that door just... put itself back together?" suddenly a wave of weakness rushes over him, equal parts adrenaline crash and from using his connection to the house and he flops backwards, thankfully already on the floor, " i... just gonna lie down..."
-
The floorboards under him do their best to also catch him a little, softly lowering themselves back into the ground.
Isabelle is... shocked and dumbfounded, watching the room carefully piece itself back together.
The bookshelf gets help righting itself back up and other pieces of furniture help get the books back on its shelves before it 'walks' itself back to the wall it rests against.
The rug gently shifts and makes a wave like motion as it brings a thick key that was lying under the books over to yori and isabelle.
The sound of a nearby faucet turning on can be heard and the now fixed door opens itself so, when they are ready, they can go into the hall
-
Yori covers his face, " am i seeing things? this is officially a dream right? my dad was not suddenly replaced by a monster who broke the door, and the house didn;t attack him and put itself together. this is like... disney princess sort of shit. okay, this is a dream then. oh, a key, thank you." he takes the key, "it seems like a very dream like thing for this to be for Takana's room right? i beat the bad guy, now i go save my brother." he giggles, sounding a tiny bit hysterical. He gets up, " come on, lets gooo." he heads down the hall to Takanas room and tries the key on the door.
-
Isabelle winces and follows yori, "yori wait!" She follows after him.
The door clicks and creaks open.
Takana's eyes widen and he gets up from his bed, "y-yori? Are you okay? I heard a weird commotion!"
-
Yori waves to Takana, " hiii. it's fine. the house fought off a monster. but now i don;t know if we should leave, or stay because the house can protect us. House! show me what i should do! man, this is a weird dream, the good ones are the ones where you can fly."
-
Takana blinks and frowns, going over to yori and gently taking his hand, "yori are you okay? You're not making any sense."
Isabelle catches up and catches her breath before going into takana's room, "takana! Thank goodness you're okay! Um yeah uh. I guess it's true. A weird creature atta ked us after corring convinced Kahana to leave for the night. Yori this isn't a dream."
-
" seriously Isabelle, my dad locking my brother into a room, and then my mom abandoning me, my dad wanting to lock me up, then being switched with a monster, and the furniture attacking it? the carpet brought me a key. this has to be a dream."
-
Isabelle grabs yori's arm and pinches him as hard as she can, "if it's a dream then you can't feel pain right?"
-
Yori yelps and rubs his arm, " that hurts! but... this doesn;t make any sense at all. the door, it fixed itself. and the shelf it like, tackled that monster. what happened to dad? did the monster eat dad?!"
-
Isabelle huffs, "I don't know but it could still be inside. It's not safe here!"
Takana pales, "well if a rogue demon got inside then we better leave. I was just about to go to my bathroom real quick so let me do that and then we can go somewhere. Anywhere."
-
Yori nods, " yeah... i have my credit card, we can go to a hotel i guess?"
-
Isabelle frowns, "Yeah but that can be tracked. Oh how about we go to my cottage? It's on my vineyard and is pretty far away from town."
Takana goes to his bathroom and grabs his first aid kit, knowing he may need to change the bandage on his arm eventually.
He goes back to the other two and pauses, "if it's really that dangerous here then we should find touhou and bring him with."
-
Yori frowns, " i don;t know where he is though. dad said he had a few days off."
-
Takana frowns, "well he still has to be in the house. Tpuhou told me a long time ago that he doesn't have family or anyone who even knows he's here so leaving the house isn't something he can just do..."
Isabelle sighs, "we can get him later or something."
Takana glares, "no. Hard pass. Either we find him and we both tag along or I stay here."
-
Yori sighs, " okay, we'll see what we can do. TOUHOU!" he cups his hands around his mouth and yells.
-
The floorboards shift and creak as they begin to gently pop up and down, leading out the hall
Takana's eyes widen, "oh... you weren't been by crazy when you uh.... said the house was doing weird things. "
-
Yori eyes it and nods, " still think this is probably a dream and the pain thing isn;t real. because that's freaky shit." he follows the floorboards, " TOUHOU!"
-
Takana keeps following the floorboards, going downstairs, "then this is a nightmare at least."
The floorboards go down a dark hallway before one of the supply closets opens on it's own.
Takana goes over to the closet and proceeds to shriek, "SHIT"
Touhou lays motionless on the floor, the back of his outfit ripped to shreds exposing the dried blood and infected slashes across his back
-
Yori's eyes widen " T-Touhou?! oh no. what do we do?! we can;t take him to a hospital, they don;t take demons. the demon district maybe?"
-
Takana falls to his knees and gently runs his hand through touhou's greasy hair, "a-arakan's mom is um i-is a healer but i... I can't go back. I saw arakan close off the whole gate area... what do I do... touhou what happened to you?" He sniffles and wipes his eyes
Isabelle pales when she sees touhou's condition, "i... well we have to do something. The poor thing looks Iike he's on deaths door. "
-
Yori pales, " he closed off the gates? um, isn;t there anyone else we can get in contact with? that might be able to get around that? how about that deer guy? his sisters could maybe jump over? they jumped really high."
-
Takana shakes his head, "dad took my phone..."
Isabelle frowns, "I only have indigo's number but... I don't know if they'd even want to talk any of us."
-
Yori frowns, " i don't know... i mean, all you can do is try right? i... i guess we just patch him up the best we can for now?" he heads to a bathroom and gets some hot water and a rag, coming back and starting to clean touhou off.
-
The heat from the water fogs up the mirror enough and some words appear in the condensation for yori, ' the cook knows the deer'
-
Yori blinks when he sees it, " so, the house just told me that our chef knows the deer guy? so should we ask him?"
-
Takana gives yori a weird look, "...wat."
Isabelle places her hands on yori and takana, "you too watch the maid, I'll go find Zeus." She leaves.
Takana sniffles and doesn't look up, keeping his eyes on touhou.
He pulls out a small device, a collar remover, and tucks it under touhou's neck and manages to get the collar off and tosses the thing to the side, grumbling softly.
-
Yori shrugs, " like i said, house told me. oh! house, can you find us Takana's phone?" he gently wipes some of the blood off Touhou's back.
-
'no. Ties to you are weakening. You must get out'
Isabelle goes over to the kitchen, "Zeus? Zeus!"
The cook stops what he was doing and blinks, "Isabelle! What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"
Isabelle frown, "we need your help. Please! Touhou, our maid, he's incredibly injured! We need help?"
Zeus sets his knife down, "take me to them."
Isabelle nods and leads Zeus to the others, "I don't know what could have done this."
The mirror responds, 'wendigo. Corrin'
Isabelle looks and frowns, "what does wendi-"
The cook quickly covers her mouth, "don't! The last thing you want to do is use its name or worse yet, whistle at night time. I'll call nikiri." He quickly takes a picture of the mirror before calling the deer.
Nikiri blinks when his phone starts ringing, "weird... I wasn't expecting an update from my informant so soon." He shifts away from izanagi and answers, "Zeus, what is it?"
-
Yori blinks, " oh, we gotta go then. What's a, that thing? Wait, you can't be saying that, that, is dad?" He pales, " ...was dad the monster thing?"
Izanagi blinks and looks at Nikiri curiously, " informant?"
-
Nikiri nods at izanagi, "an old friend of the family that helps me on the human side if needed. "
Zeus explains the scene and sighs softly, "I'm not entirely sure what you can do but this maid needs a healer immediately."
Nikiri pales, "you have got to be kidding me... i... okay... um... the 2nd district. If they can get into the 2nd district then maybe helios can bring them to his lab which connects to our district. Get a head start on that and I'll contact helios to be at his gate and then... see if I can beg korri to help. This is saving a demons life, not a human so maybe I'll have a decent shot."
Zeus nods, "understood. We have to go so I'll call you back later." He hangs up, "come on. Nikiri said we have to go to the 2nd district gate." He takes off his apron and gently fixes it to touhou's back to give it some protection before gently scooping him up, "we'll take my van." He heads towards the back door.
Takana squeaks when touhou is picked up and he quickly follows.
The mirror gives one last message, 'he feeds off of misery to get stronger and the stronger he is, the less i can help so dont count on me next time. Learn to fight.'
The faucet turns off.
Isabelle takes yori's hand, "come on, 2nd district it is."
-
Yori blinks, " learn to fight? but... how? and that didn;t answer my question if he is or not!" he lets himself be pulled away though. " i don;t understand..."
Izanagi tilts his head as he looks at Nikiri, " Korri is nice, i doubt she'd turn someone away. I guess this friend of the family is a human?"
-
Nikiri hangs up and looks at izanagi, "Yeah he is human. Before the war my moms side of the family and his family had sort of a relationship. They gave her family gifts and made them a shrine and were overall kind and in return if any villagers got lost in the woods that was nearby they'd get safely returned to the village. Thankfully both families were aware that the war was just a fact of life and neither took it personally. Years later both families remain at peace and Zeus gives me information on the human side when needed."
Nikiri grumbles, "not that arakana and ryokan need to know of such things. Regardless, it seems that takana, ypri and isabelle have had... an unfortunate time. You know the demon that is thought to not exist? The one we tell kids not to say at night?"
-
Izanagi sighs, " that sounds nice... You're so lucky." He blinks, " I'm...pretty sure I know what you mean. Antlers and a deer skull face?"
-
Nikiri nods, "that thing apparently attacked them while the adults were out. Their maid is severely injured and they need korri's help so I told them to go to the 2nd district because we have a sewer line that connects our districts together so it's the only way to get in now." Nikiri sends a quick text to helios before nervously sighing, "here goes nothing..."
He calls korri
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " it's REAL?! a-and it attacked them?! what the actual fuck?!"
Korri frowns at her phone and answers, " i do hope you're not calling me so late in the evening simply for flattery Nikiri."
-
Nikiri sighs, "no unfortunately. This is actually very serious. The kuroshiba trio was attacked a few moments ago in their own home by um... our boogeyman if you know what I mean. Their maid, a little mouse demon, is on deaths door and they don't know who else to bring him to since human hospitals don't take demons so they are begging for your assistance if possible."
-
Korri blinks for a moment, processing everything he said, " okay, first things first, bring the demon in and i will take care of him as best i can. we will discuss the remainder of the information you've dropped onto me later. the patient comes first."
-
Nikiri nods, "of course. With your son barricading the main gate the best way to get to you is in helios' lab which is why I sent them to the 2nd district gate. Helios is meeting them there in order to bring them to the lab safely if you're okay with going through the sewers again."
-
She frowns, " i could have made an opening, but i suppose this is more discreet. i will do what i must. i will be there shortly." she hangs up and gathers some emergency supplies, a variety of things since she isn't sure what the injuries are.
-
Nikiri hangs up and gets his spare kimono, throwing it on and grabbing his sword before looking at izanagi, "you want to come? You have to promise to keep your mouth quiet about the sewers."
-
Izanagi hesitates, " i want to, but i also don;t want to slow you down... this sounds important."
Korri shifts and grabs her bag of supplies, flying to the sewer entrance.
-
Nikiri raises an eyebrow before grabbing nagi and tossing the smaller demon over his shoulder, "I can still be fast now. Let's go."
He heads out and quickly goes to the sewer just as korri gets there.
He pries the lid off and holds it open for korri
-
Izanagi yelps and holds on, glad it's cold so he was wearing pants.
Korri nods to him and leaps down into the sewer, flying ahead to get to Helios as quickly as possible.
-
Nikiri jumps down and follows, the barrier already open for them.
Helios looks stressed and confused as fuck as he waits for nikiri and korri at the main door.
The cook is inside with takana yori and isabelle, touhou placed on his stomach on a cool metal table.
Takana is at touhou's side, holding his hand and gently rubbing it
-
Korri shifts as soon as she gets in, her eyes widening as she sees all the damage. She opens her medical bag and gets to work immediately however, focusing on the injuries that require her immediate attention. She slowly waves her hand over his back to cool it, before cleaning the injuries and working on stitching any that need it, and applying poultices and bandaging the rest.
-
Takana does his best to stay out of korri's way, his eyes red and puffy from all the crying. He wanted to thank her so bad but he also knew that it's best not to distract her right now.
The cook goes over to nikiri, quietly talking to him
Helios goes over to korri, "if you need any other supplies let me know. I don't know what you'll need but we are in a lab dedicated to living organisms so I do have some things here."
-
Korri keeps her eyes on her work, " everything needed for his current state I brought thankfully. The infection and blood loss are the worst he faces right now, but since he survived until the bleeding stopped he's past the worst. I will need to move him to my clinic so I can keep an eye on him overnight, but I will put him into stasis before we do that." She hums softly, " though if you have some saline fluids that would be helpful, he's dehydrated." She steps back, " he ought to survive, he's weak but I will work tonight to get the infection under control. I have more for that back at my clinic."
Izanagi hesitantly scotches towards Takana, " hey..."
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Takana sniffles and wipes his face before nodding as he listens to korri, "thank you... I um... don't know how I can ever repay you but um... money or- or things I don't know but you name it and I'll get it for you."
Helios nods and goes to the back, returning with a rolling carton of iv bags filled with saline. "I doubt you'll need this much just for him but take however much you need."
Takana hears izanagi and looks at him, his eyes watering again, "naaagi...."
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Korri looks at Takana, " hush. I do not heal for what people can give me. He is one of ours, I will take care of him from here." She hooks Touhou up to an IV, " thank you Helios. I have a few, but not many. For just salt water you'd think they'd allow us to have some, but they're stingy as ever." She packs a few into her bag.
Izanagi blinks seeing Takana and figures talking about their hurts can wait, hugging his prior roommate.
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Takana hugs izanagi back and shudders, "i- I'm sorry... I'm sorry I'm so sorry."
Isabelle hums softly, looking at korri "still... thank you. For doing this. I know takana has a deep bond with touhou so to see him in this state is... crushing..."
Nikiri goes over to Isabelle and yori, "and you two are okay as well? Zeus said some pretty disturbing things over the phone and I just want to make sure we're on the same page here as to what happened."
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Korri looks at Isabelle for a long moment, before nodding. " I do not turn away patients. I knew what Takana was the moment I laid eyes on him. I wish I could heal your ails, though internal damage is more difficult than external. The mouse will live, though with his state, he may not wish to. Who would cut out someone's tongue? Whoever did this to him is a true monster."
Izanagi hugs him tight before gently bapping him on the head, " you coulda talked to me dummy!"
Yori nods slowly, " I'm okay... I... I think my dad...I think my dad is a monster..."
-
Takana sniffles and nods, "I should have told you... I should have I just..." He hears what korri says and he whips his head around to look at her, "his tongue?! What?! What do you mean his tongue is cut off?!"
Nikiri sighs softly and gently places his hand on yori's head, "I'm sorry you all seem to be having a poor night."
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Korri raises an eyebrow, " indeed." She gently lifts his head and opens his mouth to show the severed muscle. " You were unaware? He has had many injuries inflicted on him over time, I can see the evidence of their scarring. The tongue was done years ago."
Yori blinks and sniffles, shaking as everything kind of hits him and he starts crying.
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Nikiri winces and sighs before hesitantly hugging yori
Takana let's go of izanagi so that he can go over to touhou and korri, turning a little green when he sees the empty mouth, "o-oh my.. god... what... i... no... no I didn't know. He... he used to talk all the time and then... after mom divorced dad he stopped talking. He would write instead until I taught him sign language and we talked that way. I even asked him if he was okay and he said that he was just sad that my mom left and didn't feel like talking....why... why would he not tell me that.."
Isabelle frowns, "takana you were just a child. How could he tell you, who at the time was probably still learning to tie your shoes, that something so gruesome was done to him?"
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Yori hugs Nikiri, since he's there at the moment, " how... how could my dad be that... that thing? why did he try to attack me? why did the house save me? how is all this possible? i don't get it..." he cries quietly, burying his face into Nikiri.
Izanagi looks on helplessly.
Korri gently closes his mouth, " i suspect whoever did this also threatened him if he did tell. or threatened something he cared about. it's a typical tactic, the same one used to keep higher rank demons under control. Threaten those that they want to protect, and you keep those you could not otherwise control bent to your will. though that's speculation. there are other ways to break someone as well." she gently tucks some of Touhou's hair behind his ear. " i will tend to him and do all i can to see he recovers. And when he does, we can see about that tongue."
-
Takana nods, "please. And um I removed his collar just in case. Dad always seemed to know where he was so... in case it was the collar I didn't want him to know where touhou was. If... if this damage is all from my dad then... I don't want touhou to come back to the house. I know he said he didn't have any other home but... he'll be safer in a demon district. I don't want him hurting anymore...."
Nikiri sighs softly, "I'll uh... need to talk to you and takana about that...."
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Korri nods, " we've taken in plenty of strays in our time, i will tell Arakan he was obtained from one of our... raids. best if you not know more about that. but he's not the first we've gotten who has been damaged like this, though this is particularly bad. He will be welcomed here." she looks at Nikiri, " before you get into that discussion, which i will need to be briefed on after, i need you to carry the boy to my clinic so i can finish his treatment and settle him in for the night." she removes the now empty iv bag from him and places a hand onto his back, a thin coating of frost covering his entire body. " there, he's in statis and safe to move."
-
Nikiri looks at korri and nods, "of course. " He let's go of yori and pats him in the head before going over to touhou.
A brief moment of anxiety overwhelms takana as fresh tears falls from his face, "goodbye touhou.... don't die on arakans mom, okay? You deserve to be happy and healthy..."
Nikiri let's takana say goodbye before picking him up very gently
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Korri looks at Takana for a moment, " i doubt this will be the last time you see him dear child." she grabs her bag and shifts, flying out and to her clinic.
Yori sits on the floor, not really sure what to do with himself.
-
Nikiri follows her out.
Takana sits and sniffles before wiping his eyes
Isabelle goes over to takana and hums, "don't sit on the floor. Come on, let's sit on the chairs." She bends down to take takana's hand when her phone clatters to the floor from her pocket, "oh shoot why is this-" she picks up her phone and her eyes widen, "oh! That's right! When we originally going to try to get you out of your room I set my phone to record and it is still recording. "
-
Yori is still sitting on the floor, " great, more evidence of this nightmare..."
Korri takes Nikiri and Touhou to her clinic and gets the mouse settled and works on treating him further, " you may go Nikiri, report to me what you learn."
-
Nikiri nods and heads back
Isabelle sighs, "Yeah but it might have good information on it. "
-
Izanagi sits next to Takana on the floor, " im not mad you know. just... kinda hurt."
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Takana hugs izanagi, "I'm sorry.... i... should have told you who I was... I was afraid my last name would make things worse since... it usually does. I didn't want to leave either. I want to keep being your roommate but...I doubt that's possible now. I really fucked up. "
-
Izanagi hugs him back, " im not sure Arakan knowing to begin with would have been any better, but i woulda gotten over it pretty quick. you make good food. you can;t come back right now but... maybe eventually he'll calm down? i haven;t seen him."
-
Takana nods, "I'm certainly not going back home. Not if there's some fucked up creature in it. I suppose this brings me back to the beginning ya know?" He gives a weak chuckle, "looking for a new place to live."
Isabelle sighs, "takana I told you we can hang out at my cottage. None of the other family members even know I have this property so it's safe. Out in the country by a lake. We'll be safe for a while. Until this whole thing is sorted anyway."
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Yori looks over, " i guess we need to hear what Nikiri has to say. if dad really is that... wendi thing."
Izanagi sighs, " sorry, i'd let you be my roommate again if it'd be safe. but until Arakan settles down and Nikiri has a chance to talk to him... not a good idea."
-
Takana nods, "Yeah, I know..."
Nikiri enters the room and sighs, "alright I'm back. So. Where were we."
-
Yori looks over, " um, you said we were gonna talk about something?"
Izanagi lets go and scootches away, " i'll... let you guys talk."
-
Nikiri sighs softly, "um yeah so... yeah you're father... corrin is... more than likely the boogeyman as we say at night. I honestly have no idea how or... anything really but because of a little issue takana had with his ears a while back helios discovered that takana is a changeling which is a type of demon that is in the same class as a boogeyman."
Takana frowns, "why can't we say it's name and what the fuck are you talking about."
Helios walks over, one hand on his hip, "the creature is strongest at night since that's when it hunts. Because of this it has impeccable hearing that can either hear a high pitch such as whistling and also its name is like its own calling card. If you say it's name when the sun has set or you whistle it will figure out your exact location. The main class it resides in is called a Shapeshifter, for the exact reason it's named. What subclass that demon is depends on the moon phases. If you are born on a full moon you are a Skin Walker. If you are born on the new moon you have a chance of being the boogeyman. Every moon phase in between that makes you a plain ol' changeling. Takana, Yori. Congrats. You two, as far as I'm aware, are the first ever half human half demon children. Wear that title with fear."
Takana turns pale, "i- I'm half demon?!"
-
Yori pales, " wh-what? no, that's not right. im just a human, that's it. seriously, there's nothing special about me."
Izanagi's eyes widen, " i... guess that explains the tail thing?"
-
Helios shrugs, "I'm a scientist so if it ain't fact I don't say it, unless it is prefaced with me saying it's just a theory or something. But it's fine. There are only two moon phases that are concerning while a lot of days where you can live your life pretending you never heard anything I said."
Takana finally speaks up, "you found out I was half demon that long ago and you didn't say anything?!"
Nikiri winces, "we weren't sure how you'd react. And to be fair the tail thing only happened because of the ears influencing your genetic instincts so if it weren't for the ears you probably would never have noticed anything was different."
-
Yori frowns, " i still think im not, i've never had anything out of the ordinary except the house thing. but who the heck knows why that happened. is... there a way to tell?"
-
Helios shakes his head, "I mean... I could take your blood sample and see if it is similar to takana's but that's just a half half thing, not a specific subclass."
-
Yori looks at Takana, " i... guess if we're both then we know that it... really was dad..."
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Takana growls, "why the fuck would he do this..."
Helios hums softly, "well.... in theory.... okay so... imagine this. You're a type of demon who is the epitome of greed. The demons naturally have a ranking system. And you feed off of misery. It would make sense for someone to want to be the highest rank and not have another demon try to out rank you so... having all the demons corralled in these districts make them easier to control. He's also in a weird way in charge of humans financially and all that. It's just curious as to how he managed to do all that....your father is obviously very good at hiding a lot."
Takana blinks, his eyes widening, "Touhou! I think he knows!"
Isabelle looks at takana, "you think touhou would know?"
Takana nods, "one time when I was young I was bored so I was asking touhou a lot of random questions and just being a lil shit and I remember... I asked him something... I can't remember what but he said that I shouldn't ask so many questions and, well of course I asked why and he said that the walls have ears and the windows have eyes and then he took me to the park..." takana looks down as the sadness sets in, "so... I mean it could be a coincidence but the fact that he would say that and he's been with the family before I was born and yet he looks like he hasn't aged a day and now with the house seemingly coming to life. And hell! The house even brought us to touhou in the first place!"
Helios hums softly, "that is.... interesting. Well, let's hope this little mouse pulls through because I have a lot of questions now. Anything else about the house?"
Isabelle looks at helios, "it talked, or... well the mirror got fogged up when yori was trying to clean touhou's back and words started appearing in the mirror, like someone was drawing them on. It told us that Zeus knew nikiri and that we had to get out."
-
Yori nods, " and the house attacked... the monster. like, a shelf slammed into him and then the floor took him out of the room. then the carpet gave me the key to takana's room? it was weird."
-
Isabelle pulls the video up on her phone and shows helios.
As soon as his eyes see the wendigo helios shivers a little, "oh wow.... the sketches that we have don't do this creature justice. That is... terrifying. Oh and look at that! When the bookcase slams into it you can actually see that a key gets flung out of it so that's where your key came in to play."
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Yori shudders, keeping his eyes away from the video. " So...what does that mean for us?"
-
Takana looks at yori, "i don't know. I'm concerned about touhou more than... our situation. "
Isabelle sighs softly, "for now we stay at my cottage until we get an update on touhou. And as far as the whole demon thing... as long as you don't tell anyone we can just pretend we never heard it. You're still you. "
-
Yori nods, " okay... Thanks Isabelle. In just kinda hoping I wake up and this was a really weird bad dream honestly."
-
Isabelle wraps her arms around yori, "it'll be okay yori. We'll figure this out."
The cook sighs softly, "well since I drove you guys to the 2nd district will you need a ride to this cottage then?"
Isabelle looks at the cook and frowns, "I guess. I left my car at the mansion but I don't know if it's safe to go back there."
-
Yori hugs her back, " ...can we ever go home now? Is that it?" He lets go and wipes at his eyes, " I hope mom will be okay..."
-
Isabelle frowns, "its just until we can figure out what is going on. I'm sure your mom will be fine. she is a strong, manipulative woman so im sure she'll be fine."
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Yori frowns, " but... If dad is that monster...he probably doesn't want us to know he's a monster. And the house said I had to learn to fight?"
-
Isabelle shakes her head, "You're not going to fight anyone. the house is haunted. thats all. Your mom is going to throw hands herself when she finds out your not in the house. This isnt some cartoon or a game."
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Yori frowns, " i doubt that was just the house being haunted. how many haunted houses talk to people and help them? And besides that mom left me so he could lock me up! that monster wanted to hurt us or lock us up. why would the house tell me i have to fight?"
-
isabelle sighs, "I dont know why the house told you to fight but until i get an actual, reasonable why you SHOULD fight you just arent going to. not if I suddenly have to be a real mother for you. regardless, Zeus. please bring us to the The Sparkling Noir please."
The cook nods, "alright lets get in the car guys."
Helios goes to his back door, "Come on, i'll lead you back to the gate."
-
Yori sighs, " i guess so..." he follows her.
Izanagi gives Takana a quick hug and grabs a pen from his pocket, writing his number on the back of Takana's hand. " there, i dunno why you haven;t texted me, but now you have my number. i'll have you know this is the lamest case for writing my number on a guy i've ever done. be careful."
-
takana chuckles, "Ah... dad uh... took my phone so im phoneless again. but as soon as i get a new phone i'll give you a text so you have my new number. I promise, if i had my phone i would have called you as soon as i was thrown in my prison cell."
He follows the others out until they get to the gate, helios chatting up the guards and laughs about some jokes as the others go back to the human side.
The cook unlocks his van and makes sure everyone is inside safely before heading to the vineyard
-
Izanagi sighs and heads back to Nikiri, " well, that was... interesting."
Yori gets in and buckles up.
-
nikiri nods, "Yup. not quite sure what arakan would think about this honestly. Still anger for being lied to? probably. guilt for sending takana back to a dangerous situation? ...less than likely maybe. who knows." nikiri goes over to izanagi, "Lets get you back home."
-
Izanagi grimaces, " yeah... also probably a lot of concern that the boogeyman now might have a reason to dislike our district?" He holds his arms out and makes grabbing hands with a grin, happy to be carried.
-
nikiri blinks before chuckling, "Alright.." he picks izanagi up again, "well to be fair, there might be more than we know. we just have to wait for that little demon to get better. he was kinda cute."
-
Izanagi pouts, " don;t tell me you actually think that little mouse is cuter than me."
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nikiri laughs softly, "no, no i dont. just wanted to tease you a little since you're making me carry you."
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Izanagi kicks his feet a bit, " well yeah, i don;t wanna step in that nasty sewer." he places a kiss onto Nikiri's cheek.
-
nikiri gets out of the sewer and closes the lid before heading back to the apartments, setting izanagi down, "Here we are."
-
Izanagi grins and kisses him again quick, " thank you~"
-
nikiri smiles, "of course. Do you feel better now that you got to see takana?"
-
Izanagi nods, " a little. I mean there was a whole lot else I found out that's made me more worried, but I hope they'll be okay."
-
nikiri nods, "Same. That whole house thing makes me nervous but i have no clue how to look something like that up. This is probably something thats been around for a lot longer than a few generations."
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " it's so weird that the house protected Yori. Have you ever heard of anything like that before?"
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nikiri shakes his head, "no i havent. The best bet we have at finding out is if we know an ancient demon which, thanks to the war, is unlikely. Or the mouse demon."
-
Izanagi sighs, " most of the oldest demons keep to themselves. Guess we'll just have to see if the mouse recovers."
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Nikiri nods, "I'm sure korri will let us know if anything happens..."
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Izanagi nods, " well you can stay here with me if you wanna."
A few days later Korri gently places a hand onto Touhous forehead, sighing in relief when she feels the fever has broken. " Finally... " She removes the wet fabric she'd kept on him to keep his temperature at safe levels and covers him with a dry blanket.
-
Touhou's face scrunches a little before he opens his eyes, blinking slowly as he starts to come to
-
She notices and walks in front of him, " take it easy, you've been out for a few days. You will be weak, and I don't suggest trying to get up or roll over just yet." She grabs a pad of paper she'd kept nearby for when he wakes and a pencil, gently setting it in easy reach for him.
-
Touhou watches korri carefully, eyes narrowing as he watches her.
He was intending to roll and run from wherever he was but he remembers clearly that he had crawled to a closet before passing out so...
He hesitantly grabs the pencil and begins writing, you know of my lack of tongue it seems. Where am i and who are you?
-
Korri smiles softly, " My name is Korri, I am mate to the leader of district 4, Ryokan. You are in district 4, in my clinic. You were badly injured, I have spent several days tending to your injuries. The life threatening ones anyway for the moment."
-
Touhou huffs, i dont understand. I was last in the kuroshiba residence. How did i get here? Explain everything.
-
She raises an eyebrow, " from what I understood, the young kuroshiba boys found out what their father is, and after a confrontation with him where due to the house itself getting involved they came out on top, they found you and brought you to me since human hospitals will treat you. The boys are alright, they are staying at a place the Isabelle girl owns to keep themselves safe."
-
Touhou's eyes widen and he does his best to sit up, the pain not showing to bother him. He's used to it, boys?? Plural? Takana and yori?! Is takana okay?! What about my-
He pauses and brings his hand up to his neck and frowns, confused about his missing collar
-
Korri gently places a hand on his shoulder, " easy does it. Yes, those boys. They are safe. Some minor injuries I saw, but nothing serious. Your collar is gone. You're free from your captor. And you are welcomed here."
-
Touhou frowns and moves away from her hand, if they know what their father is then i have to go to them! Please!
-
Korri pulls her hand back, " you're past the worst danger but you're far from recovered my dear. Besides that it's not so easy to come and go from the district. But if you need to speak with them, I can see what I can arrange. Please do settle down though, those injuries on your back were badly infected."
-
Touhou huffs softly, if it werent for the blood loss i would have been fine....but if you can get yori here or something as soon as possible then i wont be difficult for you.
-
" I will contact them, be patient." She pulls her phone out and texts Nikiri, can you get in touch with the kuroshiba boys and get them to meet us at Helios's place? Our little mouse has awoken and is quite insistent.
-
Nikiri looks at his phone and hums, "oh boy our little mouse is awake and kicking." He proceeds to text yori, having received his phone number the day prior thanks to takana getting a new phone, yori, your maid is awake and is demanding to see you and your brother
-
Yori checks his phone and blinks, " uh, Takana? Touhou wants to see us."
Korri sighs, looking at Touhou thoughtfully. " I will apply a painkilling poultice to your back so we can travel to our meeting place. No sudden movements alright? I don't want those scabs tearing open." She carefully applies the herbs to his back to numb it.
-
Touhou raises an eyebrow, no need to waste supplies on me. Pain is the least of my concerns
Takana sits up, "touhou! He's up?! Well let's go! Let's go!!"
-
Korri sighs, " you are my patient, and I intend to see you properly cared for. Now, where we're going must remain a secret, so if you could shift and hop into my bag here, I can fly us to the meeting place without you seeing where it is. Simply a safety thing."
Yori nods, " Isabelle can you take us to district 2 again?"
-
Isabelle nods, "sure, let's go."
Touhou nods and quickly pops into his mouse form, waiting for korri to put him in the bag because stubborn mouse is stubborn
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Korri grabs her bag and gently scoops him up, placing the mouse into the bag and closing it. She sets it down just as carefully before shifting and grabbing the bag, flying to the sewer, going in herself and closing it behind her before flying through.
Yori heads to the vehicle and buckles up, eager to get going.
-
Takana and isabelle get into the car and she heads back to the 2nd district.
Helios is at the gate again, waiting for them before bringing them back to his lab, "I do hope whatever is stopping you folks from using the 4th district is uh... fixed soon. Cuz every route taken through that sewer is just another opportunity for it to get found out."
Takana grumbles, "trust me if I could I would be using the 4th gate..."
-
Korri sets the bag down and shifts, opening the bag to allow Touhou out and settling into a seat. " The boys ought to be here shortly."
-
The mouse hops out of the bag, squeaking softly.
Helios opens the back door and let's them in
Takana runs in and sees korri. He blinks and frowns, looking around, "where-"
Touhou squeaks loudly before popping back into his normal for, "ah!"
Takana gasps and runs over to touhou, "I missed you so much! Thank god you're alive!"
Touhou wraps his arms around takana, a soft sob escapes his throat
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Yori watches and stays back, not having been as close to the maid, " um, I'm really glad you're okay..."
Korri looks at Takana, " gentle now, I've applied something to kill the pain, but his injuries still need time to heal."
-
Takana looks at korri and nods, "I haven't wrapped my arms around him just for that reason."
He looks back at touhou and hums softly, "it's good to see you nazrim. I'm so sorry you ended up in this state. I... I have to ask though... was it... was it Corrin? Did he put his hands on you?"
Touhou sniffles and pulls away so that he can wipe his eyes before nodding.
Takana growls softly, "that fucking bastard.... touhou... if you're well enough we have some important questions that need answers."
Touhou nods before looking around for some pen and paper
-
Korri pulls the pad and pencil from her bag, having ticking it in there with Touhou before they left, " here you are dear."
Yori settles into a seat, feeling out of place.
-
Touhou nods to korri as he takes the pen and paper before looking at both boys, tilting his head and ready for questions
Takana looks at yori, "you first?"
-
Yori blinks, " me? Um... Do you know why the house protected me?"
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Touhou blinks, turning pale, "are you sure about what you saw? It actually defended you against corrin?
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Yori tilts his head, " well I think so. A shelf attacked him, and the floorboards took him out of the room. And it lead me to you, and the mirror fogged up and talked to me."
-
Touhou hesitantly nods, have you heard of Tendrils of Darkness?
Takana blinks, "tendrils of darkness? No. That sounds like a good metal band though."
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Yori tilts his head, " I've never heard that before "
-
Touhou sighs softly before continuing to write, you know what a rat king is?
Takana makes a face, "you mean when a bunch of rats get their tails stuck together?"
Touhou nods, yeah. Tendrils of darkness is similar in the fact that it is a bunch of spirits that are stuck together
Takana blinks, "so... the house IS haunted?"
Touhou shakes his head, the only thing haunting that house is all the trauma. But if Tendrils of Darkness is summoned you can form a pact with it, like a contract, that is enforced. You have to tie the spirits to something though and... well.... this was so long ago that the only thing your father had to his name was a tiny, single bed log cabin. More like a shack I guess, but regardless. The original wood somewhere in that mansion has the contract written in the walls and as
Touhou grumbles and turns the page to start a new page, the years went by your father built more and more on the cabin, infecting the house with more of the spirits until about..... 75 years ago its the size it is today.
Takana blinks, reading all of it until he looks at touhou, "so... you just keeping making it sound like it's haunted."
-
Yori blinks, " so... He can control the house kinda? So since it defended me, does that mean Takana could do that too? It must be because we're related."
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Touhou shakes his head, no he doesnt control it. He cant demand it to gwt him ice tea. The contract states that as long as he can protect hia domain, his domain will protect him. If he cannot protect his domain then the domain will protect the next strongest kin.... so... since your father has been weakening and being more dependent on the misery of others to keep him alive he must have been weak enough that the house briefly went to protect the next strongest creature. However if corrin goes to... 'collect' more misery he will be stronger again and as the contract states it will protect him again.
Takana blinks, "that must be why the house told us to leave. It didn't want to be back under dads control and attack us."
Touhou nods
-
Yori frowns, " wait, the next strongest of kin? But that monster thing is way stronger than either me or Takana. So...why did it protect me? I'm just... normal."
-
Touhou frowns and let's out an exasperated sigh, you and takana are his kin. Takana was born on a waning crescent making him a changeling. You
Touhou pauses briefly, glancing up at yori and takana before continuing,
you, yori, are stronger than takana. What you are, demon wise, is stronger than a changeling and the house has recognized this.
-
Yori pales a bit, " I don't know what moon phase I was born in but i doubt I'm one of those, skin walker things. Besides, I've never done anything special, I'm not strong or anything like that. There must be a mistake. The house made a mistake and it was a one time thing."
-
Touhou shakes his head, the tendrils of darkness is never wrong. But dont worry. I made a promise to protect the household so thats what i have been doing and thats what i plan to continue to do. So give me back my collar and take me home.
Takana pales, "what?! No! Absolutely not! You almost died! I'm not putting your life in danger!"
-
Yori shakes his head, " no way! You've been there long enough, with him hurting you. You deserve to be happy too..."
Korri clears her throat, " I'm not certain if this would help away you, but the damage to your tongue is something I can fix. It's clearly very distressing to the boys you care for to think of you going back to such conditions."
-
Touhou huffs and pouts, pausing for a long time before continuing, while it would be nice to speak again it might anger corrin and i have to go back. I have stopped him from exposing himself and now look! Because i didnt heal fast enough i wasnt there to stop corrin from attacking you guys!
Isabelle blinks, frowning, "does he really... lose his temper that much? How many times?"
Touhou huffs, in the last 10 years it has been almost a weekly occurrence, even more so when takana left. He no longer has the misery of the war to feed off of so it causes him to lash out more, even though him lashing out just uses more energy...
Takana tsks softly, "it's almost like the only one who truly benefited from the war was him."
Touhou blinks and raises an eyebrow before slowly nodding in a 'duh' expression
-
Yori shakes his head " but...why do you have to go back? Do you really want to keep being hurt?"
-
Touhou sighs, of course i dont want to get hurt but... if anything happened to you guys and i wasnt there to stop it
then i'd feel guilty. As long as the house stands then I'll be fine so its not like you need to worry about me that much.
-
Yori shakes his head, " no! what he he kills you next time? even if he doesn;t, i can;t let you go back there knowing he's just gonna hurt you... i wouldn;t be able to live with myself... the house told me to fight and if i have to to try and stop you from going back then i will!"
-
Touhou huffs, you guys shouldnt be involved in this! I can handle it! I know what he's capable of! I was with him for most of his life so i know him better than anyoen else. Let me handle it.
Takana is quiet for a little bit before frowning, "how.... old are you."
Touhou freezes briefly before looking away, its not polite to ask someones age
-
Yori looks at Korri, " who can teach me how to fight? i don;t know if i can beat my dad but if that's what i need to do to keep him from going back there then i will."
Korri looks at him somewhat doubtfully, " well, since we don;t know what sort of shapeshifter you are, perhaps teaching you how to wield a weapon will be best for now. Nikiri is very skilled with a blade, perhaps you can convince him to teach you."
-
touhou whines loudly and quickly stands up, grabbing yori's arm and shaking his head in panic
Takana winces, not liking the idea of his brother fighting, "um okay here's an idea.... what if we dont go back to the house for a while? Isabelle's cottage is actually pretty big for just a 'cottage' and its honestly really nice. if we're there and not at the house then touhou doesnt have to go back in order to protect anyone, right? win win. he's not there and neither are we. How about that?"
-
Yori looks at Touhou then at Takana, " okay... but if he goes back to the house then im gonna try and get some fighting lessons! If he's gonna put himself in harms way to protect us then i can try to protect him..."
Korri chuckles softly, " well, looks like you have a choice to make, Touhou was it? Will you go with the boys, or will you say here? I'd prefer to be able to keep an eye on your injuries until they're a little more healed."
-
touhou looks a little relieved to know that yori wasnt, for now, going to try to fight. he looks at korri and tsks softly, i do not require anymore of your help
takana blinks and frowns, "Dont be like that to her. She's being incredibly kind doing all of this for us, for you, so the least you could do is not act like me. Besides," he places a hand on touhou's forehead, "you're looking a little pale. I think we've kept you long enough so go back with korri and get some rest okay?"
Touhou's jaw drops very briefly before he huffs at takana
Takana chuckles, "i'll see you again, dont you worry about that. and when you are COMPLETELY better you can be with us but until then i'd feel better if you were with an actual healer."
touhou's head drops as he gives up
-
Korri watches the exchange calmly, waiting until they're done, " you aren;t looking very good, i think you've strained yourself enough for having been out for several days. come now, lets get you back so you can rest, then we can see about getting some nutrition into you."
-
touhou sighs softly, promise me you two wont do anything stupid while im out, okay? I will do my best to 'behave' as you put it but in return i expect the same
Takana smiles, "We'll do our best. now go. i'll see ya later okay?"
Touhou nods before gently setting the notepad and pencil down and reverting back to his mouse form, squeaking softly
-
Yori nods, " i promise."
She carefully places him into the bag. " thank you again Helios. i will see what i can do to stop needing to use you as a meeting place." She shifts and grabs the bag, flying out.
Yori sighs, " well, im glad he's being taken care of at least."
-
takana nods, "yeah. I still have plenty of questions but i dont want to bombard him with a lot of shit..."
-
Yori makes sure they're well gone before letting out a long breath, " im just glad he bought that. i don;t want him to go back there, but i also don;t wanna get killed. because lets face it, i dunno what the house was thinking, but there's no way i can beat that thing."
-
takana looks at yori, "You're not fighting. thats final. there are plenty of strong demons that can fight if need be but you arent going to be one of them."
-
Yori huffs, " Im an adult too you know. And im allowed to make my own choices. what if im one of those... thingies too huh? shouldn;t i know how to control it?"
-
"yori. if you are a skinwalker or god forbid a wendigo you'd only be half of it and not a full demon so i dont feel comfortable with you trying anything, please. at least wait to see if the higher ranked demons can handle it first. thats kinda their job."
-
Yori huffs, " i don't want to, but i also don't need you telling me what i can and can;t do. i get enough of that from mom Makoto and dad!"
-
takana looks pretty hurt, "i... im not trying to be like any of them. I just get worried. this seems like its way over our heads. even i wouldnt want to fight that thing."
-
Yori sighs, " i don;t want to either. And i didn;t plan on it. it's just frustrating that everyone just wants to tell me how im supposed to be. Lets go home, or... to isabelles i guess. don;t really have a home anymore." he sighs and heads back the way they came.
-
takana looks down and follows yori out along with isabelle
touhou jumps out of the bag once they're back at korri's infirmary place and returns to normal
-
Korri shifts back and looks at Touhou, " come with me. we have a more comfortable bed you can stay in that isn't strictly for treating patients." she goes to a nearby door, " here you go, there's a bathroom, just a little ways down here. " she opens another door a short distance away to show a bathroom. " you should rest. when you wake up, we'll see about getting something into your system okay?"
Yori goes to the room he'd been staying in when they get there and closes the door.
-
touhou gives a numb nod and does what she says
Nikiri leans back in the chair and looks over at izanagi, "you bored?"
-
Korri gets him settled in the room, " sleep. you need it."
Izanagi nods, " yeah, kinda."
Arakan grits his teeth as he realizes something, and sets a brief text to Nikiri. we need to talk.
-
nikiri hears his phone go off and looks at it, "oh ho maybe a love letter from ko-" his eyes widen and he turns pale, "ahahahaaa..... welp. izanagi my time has come. dig me a grave if arakan is kind enough to leave me a body~"
sure sure sure ahahahahahah where do you want to meet up?
-
Izanagi pales. " oh no..."
come to my place. this isn't a conversation i want public. He sets his phone aside and sighs.
-
nikiri gets up and groans, "His. place. great. alright, no body for me then. cancel the grave." he goes over to izanagi and kisses him on the forehead, "be good and take care." he heads to arakans place
-
Izanagi whines, " don;t die please."
Arakan is hunched over as he sits, fingers laced and his lips against his hands as he taps his foot impatiently.
-
soon nikiri arrives and he is clearly nervous, "heeey arakan, good buddy who i've known since we were kids. whats up?"
-
Arakan looks over at him, eyes narrowed as he gets up. " You knew, didn't you? The entire fucking time."
-
Nikiri freezes and he clears his throat a little as he begins to sweat, "i- I did. yes."
-
Arakan growls, " you didn't think it was important that i should know that a fucking human was manipulating me for months?! did you think it was funny to watch me clueless as he learned our weaknesses?"
-
nikiri drops the nervous smile, his expression going somber, "i wouldnt use the word manipulation since that wasnt his intent so no, i didnt think to tell you."
-
Arakan's eyes flash, " that's not for you to decide! our entire district could be in danger now. War was inevitable before, but with the information he has, he can easily cripple us so that we have no chance... I trusted you, my mistake. One of your sisters will be given charge of relaying information until i can figure out what to do about you."
-
Nikiri snarls loudly, "there are more pressing matters at the moment than a damn war that we'd win anyway!"
-
Arakan's eyes narrow, " and please do tell me, what exactly those matters might be? since you've been keeping me so well informed lately."
-
nikiri sighs softly, "I have an informant who relays me kuroshiba information involving the human side which is something you have benefited from in the past. im sure this is how you probably realized I had been hiding something from you. regardless, shortly after you kicked takana out the shiba mansion was under attack by a confirmed wendigo."
-
Arakan crosses his arms, " and exactly when did this happen? did you plan to ever tell me or are you only telling me this now to cover your ass."
-
nikiri shrugs, "I figured you didnt care what happened to them so no, i didnt plan on telling you. From what I was told by Zeus Corrin threw Takana into a locked room and threatened to do the same to yori and isabelle and then...." nikiri looks a little uncomfortable, "apparently... corrin turned into a wendigo and went after them. The three managed to escape and are now hiding out in a different location. I always knew Corrin was an abusive and neglectful father but this was... the first incident i've heard of involving the wendigo. Isabelle managed to get footage too if you doubt me."
-
Arakan closes his eyes for a long moment, " you didn;t think that i might want to know of a wendigo sighting... i don;t give a fuck who it was against, that's information i should know! for future information, any demons that are higher than b class that are outside of the districts? i should know this. also, if the district is on fire, or flooding, also things i should know. anything, that might endanger my district? are things i should know!" He rubs the bridge of his nose, pacing. " i need to see that footage. then... im not sure what then. i still want to tear your antlers out."
-
Nikiri hums softly, "this also means that takana and is brother are the first halflings to exist. and if you want to see that video you're obviously going to have to let them in."
-
Arakan growls, " they're the first confirmed halflings. we all know there were always demons who didn;t follow the rules back in the day. though i don;t think those halflings survived long. And i'd need to let Isabelle in, at least long enough to get the phone. Do not attempt to try and twist my arm Nikiri, you're on thin ice as it is. How can i trust you to do what's right for the district after this?"
-
nikiri grumbles softly, "how can i trust that YOU are thinking about whats best for the district and not just being upset about being lied to? Aside from actually being human he was honest about mostly everything else."
-
Arakan snarls, " if he lies about the most basic parts of what he is, how the hell am i supposed to know what was true and what wasn't? he made me look like a fool! Allowed me to believe he was being bred for some human experiment. that actually happens to demons, and he just... used that as a way to get me to take care of him!"
-
nikiri growls, "He WAS kicked out for not wanting to have children YOU were the one that came to that conclusion on your own! And of course he wouldnt have told you! All you did was talk shit about them and all of the e rank demons told him how you hate humans! it only made sense for him to just survive before jumping ship!"
Nikiri gives an angry exhale from his nose, steaming coming out and his collar sparks just briefly
-
Arakan growls, " i made a logical conclusion based on what he told me. you know damn well there are demons we save from traffiking that actually were part of that. beyond that, it was a human. you never told me. Knowing that the son of the kuroshibas was in my district, is a tiny bit important."
-
"And what exactly would you have done if you heard his last name on day one? Sent him on his way to the main gate with a stern talking to? Kill him on the spot? Or sent him to be interrogated and leave him scared? With the way things went he was able to get a real clue about how his dad rules the districts and you saw it yourself. he was appalled and wanted change. hell he even protected izanagi! And yet all of that just doesnt matter to you, does it?"
-
Arakan growls, " and how much of everything else he told me lies? how much of his 'good deeds' that we thought were helping us just ploys to get us to let down our guard? i don;t know what i would have done, but it's still not your choice to make."
-
"That's just it though! You have such a negative view on all humans that your first conclusion to one lie is that EVERYTHING must have been a lie and a ploy! But at the same time you won't even TALk to him! I'm not saying get back together but at least fucking talk and get some proper god damn closure!"
-
Arakan growls, " i had the mess he left behind to clean up first. to make sure my district was safe. This discussion is going nowhere. i will get Isabelle to show me the video, and i will consider the situation from there."
-
Nikiri snorts, "you have your information from me. Can I leave now?"
-
Arakan growls, " what information you deigned to share with me. you may go. i'll decide how to deal with you later." He grabs his phone and texts Isabelle, i've been informed you have a video that might have some valuable information on it? i would like to see it. he sighs, rubbing his temples. what was he going to do?
-
Isabelle squeaks softly, "oh... um arakan messaged me."
Takana flinches and looks away.
Isabelle sighs, "he must have found out about the wendigo and wants to see the video... I'll uh... go on my own..."
She responds, yes sir i do have a video...i can meet you at ypur gate if you permit it
-
Arakan looks at it, i will open the barrier for you. i appreciate you being cooperative he gets up and heads for the gate.
-
Isabelle sighs and drives to the gate and waits for him.
She also gets the video up on her phone
-
Arakan lowers a chunk of the ice spikes so that she can come into the district once past the gates.
-
She gets right up to the gates and hands her phone to a guard, "give this to him."
The guard blinks in confusion before stepping into the demon district carefully and holds it out to arakan
-
Arakan eyes the guard and takes the phone, stepping away from the gate to watch the video. He frowns after watching it, and quickly sends it to himself before handing the phone back, " give this back to her."
-
The guard blinks and goes to the human side and hands it back to Isabelle.
She thanks him before looking at arakan, "is that all arakan? It's a long drive back to my vineyard so if I can be of anymore assistance I'd like to help now rather then make multiple trips."
-
He looks at her for a long moment, " there are probably things we should discuss, but it's not ideal to do so at the gate. There are quite a few things that have changed with... recent revelations."
-
Isabelle hums softly, "are you wishing to have these conversations now or at a later date that you are comfortable with."
-
" personally i'd prefer to wait, there was more information i got recently that i need to consider. but as you wish to deal with things now, i give you the option of discussing them now." He watches her carefully.
-
Isabelle shakes her head, "I'd prefer to go back home. Both boys aren't doing so well and I don't want to be away from them for long."
-
Arakan nods, " another time then perhaps. i have... a lot to think about and to try and untangle."
-
Isabelle nods, "please, take your time and... whether you believe me or not... I do apologize for not... being forthcoming." She gives arakan a bow before turning and heading to her car
-
Arakan waits and watches her leave, letting out a long breath when she's finally gone and walks back into the district, closing the gap he'd made.
-
Isabelle returns to the cottage, grabbing some fast food on the way, "I picked up McDonald's~♡ come and get it!"
-
Yori slowly comes out, " thanks Isabelle." he smiles, though he's not as cheerful as he usually is.
-
Isabelle nods, "you're welcome! I know I stocked the fridge and cupboards but I think it's also nice to have an easy day."
-
Yori nods, " i don;t really know how to cook. im realizing just how pathetic i am without dads money..." he scoffs a little. " sorry, i've just been thinking too much. thank you." he takes a burger some fries and a drink and heads for his room.
-
Isabelle hums softly, "that's how it goes unfortunately." She gets up and goes over to takana, "are you hungry? You should eat something."
Takana doesn't stop looking out the window, "I'm fine right now. I'll eat when I'm hungry. "
Isabelle frowns and nods before going back to the table and starts eating some food
-
Arakan paces at home, his mind going over everything over and over, and watching the video several times. He goes to the roof, staring out at that distant sliver of ocean on the horizon as he tries to calm the hurricane of emotions and thoughts that plagued him.
Izanagi waits worriedly, hoping Nikiri would come back safe.
-
Nikiri does come back, looking frazzled and nervous.
He goes over to izanagi and hugs him tightly, "man that was scary. I can't believe I actually raised my voice at him and lived. "
-
Izanagi jumps into his arms, " I didn't think you were gonna come back...you yelled at him?! Did you wanna die?!"
-
Nikiri sighs, "no of course not! I'm just... so tired of his attitude towards everything. It's frustrating. "
-
Izanagi frowns, " he didn;t get to meet many humans like you do. all he's ever known was humans killing the people he's supposed to protect..."
-
Nikiri huffs, "I know but... he was finally getting there. He was finally meeting some humans that could be corrected and were doing the right thing... i... guess i shouldn't have been too aggressive towards him but I was just so excited to finally heal some old scars and see everyone be better."
-
Izanagi looks down, " he's hurting. The person he held great affection for wasn't who he thought he was. Everything he was healing during that has been torn open and is now a raw wound. And he can't even properly grieve that, because he can't show weakness. he feels betrayed. I knew Takana was human and I felt betrayed too. Think of how much worse it must be for him. I think he really does love Takana, but now he must be questioning if it was ever real." He nuzzles Nikiri, " and I bet he feels betrayed by you too."
-
Nikiri snorts, "so, what, he pushes takana away and doesn't even try to talk to him? Takana really liked him too and... this is stupid. This whole thing is stupid. You saw takana. He was a mess."
-
Izanagi nods, " it is, im just saying i can see it." He sighs softly.
-
nikiri nods, "well... hopefully what has been broken can be fixed... although time will tell."
~~a week passes by~~
Touhou stretches a little, nothing hardcore but it is important for him to make sure his muscles(?) dont weaken from all the resting
Takana continues to stare out the bay window. Aside from a few hours of rest here or there and some food crammed into his mouth he hasnt really done much since
-
Arakan had kept mostly to himself, but with a sigh he looks at the small vial he'd collected and texts Nikiri, i need to know if i can still trust you.
-
Nikiri looks at the text, sighing softly, of course. I'm sorry... i was excited at the thought of life getting better and i got upset at the way things took a turn but... i still consider you my best friend...
-
Arakan sighs, then i need you to come here and do something so that i KNOW i can trust you.
-
Nikiri blinks and gets up, okay? I'll come right over then.
He sighs softly and heads over to arakans place
-
Arakan is waiting patiently for him, looking at the tiny vial worth thousands.
-
Nikiri cautiously enters the home, "uh hey. Long time no see bud."
-
Arakan glares at him, " yeah, for good reason. I need some answers, and i need to know for absolute certain that they're answered truthfully. I cannot be doubting myself anymore, not while still staying the heir to the district." He takes the vial and unstoppers it, carefully letting one drop fall into a glass of water before pushing it over to him.
-
Nikiri watches him do that, his face falling, "ah... that is... hurtful to see but I get it. It's warranted at this moment." He takes the cup and drinks all of it, just in case, and sets down the empty cup, "ask away. I don't masturbate to your mother by the way. Thought of it but would never."
-
Arakan sighs, " if i did not, i would still have doubts. and i need to get rid of those doubts if im going to be able to have the confidence i need to lead." he makes a face, " that's...something i did not need to know." he sighs looking at him for a long moment. " Has everything you've done regarding Takana been for the benefit of the district?"
-
Nikiri nods, "yes, including getting you laid."
-
Arakan blinks and rubs his temples, " damnit Nikiri. My sex life is not your concern. Moving on. Would you have told me if something he did had become a threat to the district?"
-
Nikiri nods, "yes I would have notified you immediately."
-
Arakan nods, " do you think he or the other two, Yori and Isabelle, pose a threat or have any ill intent?"
-
"Not at this time. Isabelle is perfectly fine and so is takana as a changeling. However, while yori doesn't have any ill intent and I don't think he'd want to actually hurt anyone, his genetic unknown between either wendigo or skin walker makes me want to keep a close eye on him."
-
Arakan nods slowly, " very well. but if you pull this bullshit on me again, i swear im going to break your antlers myself, got it?"
-
Nikiri nods, "understood. Do you have any other questions for me? I have to be truthful after all."
-
Arakan sighs, " i have no intention of abusing this. my only concern is for the district." he puts the top back on the vial and tucks it into a pocket. " though there's a few others i'd like to question with this, just to be sure. but i suppose that will have to wait. Im taking down the ice. the district is open to humans." he gets up and heads for the door.
-
Nikiri hums softly, "well good luck with whatever you plan to do."
He stands up, "oh by the way, corrin took takana's phone away before throwing him around so if he is one of those people you want to question then you'll need to message isabelle to get a hold of him."
-
Arakan sighs, " of course he did. Im... still not sure how i feel on that one. But i will let Isabelle know the district is now open again." He heads to the gates, taking a deep breath and concentrating, the ice spikes shuddering and slowly vanishing into the ground like they were never there to begin with. He then pulls out his phone to send a short text to Isabelle, the barrier is gone, the district is now open to outsiders.
-
Isabelle hums softly, thank you for the update. With all do respect i will wait until i can get back to my own home before setting anything in motion.
-
understandable. the option to visit beyond simply business matters is there, for you and others. He looks over the guards at the gate for a moment.
-
Most of them are keeping their eyes on arakan, unsure about what he'll do.
Isabelle gets up and gets her coat, "Zeus has been giving me updates about everything acting as normal at the mansion. Do you boys want to check it out and see if being at home is an option?"
-
Arakan looks at them for a long moment before snorting, " when is Curtis next working."
Yori pales a bit, " is... that a good idea? what if... what if dad tries to lock us up again?"
-
isabelle hums softly, "Well then we get creative. He already informed your mother that we were all fine so if he tries again what excuse would he have?"
One guard glares at him, "He's got the evening shift so he'll be in in a couple of hours, if you even know what time is."
-
Arakan rolls his eyes, " oh dear me, im afraid i don't however will i know when he gets here? perhaps i should just wait here until he gets here to ensure i don't miss him."
-
The guard glares, "get the fuck outta here you god damn shit Fer brains!"
-
Arakan's eyes flash dangerously and the wind picks up, " I suggest you watch your tone. As changes come it will be MY decisions that determine whether you remain as a gate guard or if you will be promoted into the new guard posts within the district."
-
Some of the guards grumble, obviously not threatened as they go back to their lunch
-
Arakan shakes his head and leaves the gates, " fucking ape descended morons..."
-
Touhou paces around his area, feeling restless and wanting to leave now that he was mostly better
-
Korri walks into her clinic, raising an eyebrow when she sees the mouse demon pacing, " i see you're feeling better. sit, let me take a look."
-
touhou sits as he's told, hoping behaving will get him the ability to leave
-
She goes behind him and lifts his shirt, humming as she looks over the injuries. " well these are healing up nicely. you're still a bit skinny, you should be eating more to recover the weight you lost. i know the food isn;t as good here but it's got the nutrients you need and that's what matters. Well, i think you've healed enough that if you'd like to, we can see about going about and about for a walk and some fresh air. i'll need to rig a fake collar on you temporarily, just something that'll pass at a glance. stop squirming, i know you're antsy but remember you made a deal with the boys. No fighting, in exchange for you not going back and endangering yourself. don't think i haven't seen which direction you've been looking."
-
His cheeks flush red, not liking being called out, i cant help it. I know that house better than anyone and this is the longest ive been outside of it. It makes me nervous
-
" I know sweetie, but you're safest here, away from that monster. the boys aren;t going to do anything to get into trouble, unless you insist on going back. they care for you and want to see you safe." Korri pulls his shirt back into place with a slight tug. " now, shall we see about something to suffice for a collar and then you can join me for a walk? the jackets we have are probably big for you, but they'll suffice."
-
do you have anything that isn't pants? I feel weird being in pants for the first time since i started being wirh corri
-
Korri blinks and chuckles, " well I suppose if we used a belt at the waist you might fit into one of my dresses. If izanagi was here he'd have some skirts I'm sure. I'll see if he has any spares." She leaves and comes back with a few simple dresses, " here, see if you can make any of these do. They're old but still in good shape. Just not suited to my station anymore."
-
Touhou takes the shortest one, adjusting the length with crimping and folding certain sections before tying a belt around his waist. He then puts a jacket, hiding the messy top from lack of boobs
-
She looks at him and nods, " alrighty." she pulls out a collar that looks real, including the larger section that would hold the electronic parts and puts it on him. " there, looks just like the real thing. obviously it wouldn;t hold up to a scan, so we'll just stay away from the gate. i don;t expect you'll want to be outside for long anyway, it's rather chilly." she smiles and heads for the door, not bothering with a jacket herself.
-
Touhou grabs his pen and paper and follows korri, curious about what a district even looks like
-
She starts walking, following the cleared pathways between deeper areas of snow. she heads towards the area with the most stores since that's the most cleared and there really isn;t a whole lot in the way of parks or other nice areas to walk.
-
Touhou looks around curiously, this place needs.... a lot of upgrades
-
Korri looks at the pad and laughs, " you're not wrong, but there's not much we can do about it. when we were brought here the buildings were already here and the walls were up. it's not as if we have the supplies to rebuild anything, it's difficult enough to simply get enough to feed everyone. all we can do is patch what we have the best we can, and just make do. i know eventually that won't be enough, but without the access to resources to improve things, how can we? the land we do have is no good for plants, full of rock and poor soil and chemicals from back when they built this place. It's not an easy life here, but it's all we have."
-
get rid of the wendigo and things will be easier. Then maybe i can see my family as well
-
She raises an eyebrow, " if it were that simple i would. please recall we only found out about it recently, and beyond that he's set things to exactly his ideal. those strong enough to oppose him cannot go to him, and if we did the humans would go into mass panic and slaughter our lower ranks."
-
he grows weak as he ages and he is running out of misery that was collected from the war. I worry if he isnt taken out soon he will grow desperate for more misery and cause a second war in order to extend his lifespan
-
Korri sighs, " well, as soon as i can find a way to deal with him without starting another war in the process of sacrificing my people i will certainly work on it. it's not so simple however."
-
unfortunately it is never simple. he puts the pad away and sighs softly
-
" life rarely is. perhaps we can lure him into here once more, if we had known when he came to get Takana, that would have been a perfect time to strike. im sure we could have managed to get him to show his true nature, and therefore give the humans a reason why we can kill him." she hums softly.
-
Touhou hums and nods. you guys have been separated from other demons as well. Different districts and all that.
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She nods, " indeed. now i know it was somewhat necessary with how our culture and ranking works, but completely cutting us off from each other is ridiculous. of course the whole thing is ridiculous, but you already know that."
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Touhou nods, at the very least the lack of cars around here is nice. The humans all have cars and its not something i like. Its way too noisy and smelly.
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Korri nods, " there are a few vehicles, but few and far between. it's not easy to get the fuel for them and to upkeep them."
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a fast demon is better for the environment anyway. Cars are too primitive and pose risks to the areas around them
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Korri chuckles, " true, but not everyone is a fast demon or has one they can use for transport."
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Touhou nods and just continues to observe the environment around him.
"Ah." After a while he looks up at korri, hungry.
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Korri blinks and chuckles, " well we can get something while we're out, or we can go back and get food. admittedly it's probably inferior to what you're used to either way. though the cafe has learned a few things from Takana."
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Touhou blinks curiously, takana worked at the cafe?
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She nods, " he was rather good at being a cook. best food i've ever tasted."
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Touhou drools a little and sighs, i dont mind where we get food. You may pick.
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Korri hums, " well we're here, so we may as well eat here." she heads into the cafe.
Izanagi bows when he sees Korri, " come in! we have an open table. " he blinks when he sees Touhou, " oh, and you too? sure. sit, i'll bring you the menu." he gras two menus and sets them in front of Korri and Touhou.
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Touhou has to work to keep his jaw from dropping, doesn't want to freak anyone out with his lack of tongue.
He gets to their seat and looks at everyone in their cute outfits, "ah."
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Izanagi notices how baggy Touhou's outfit looks, " wow, looks like that's a few sizes too big."
Korri nods, " it was a last minute thing, just an old dress of mine."
Izanagi blinks, " oh. well i think i have a few outfits that i go that are too small for me. i could drop them off after work."
" thank you, he dislikes regular pants from what i understand. A chai tea to start for me."
Izanagi nods and heads to put the drink order in, flouncing in his short skirt.
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just some hot green tea please. he holds the paper up for nagi to read before watching the demon bounce about, staring at the flowy skirt.
He looks back at korri, you mentioned something about a tongue for me. Is that still something i could ask from you
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Izanagi sees the note and nods.
Korri blinks, " ah, yes it is. i was under the impression you didn;t want to recover it in case you went back. Im warning you now though, it will not be a pleasant experience. it will be painful, it will take time, and it will be uncomfortable."
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you clearly can see my past scars and you know who ive spent most of my life with. Being in pain and being uncomfortable for a long time is all ive known.
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She hums softly, " be that as it may, it's a warning i must give no less. New flesh cannot grow on scar tissue, so it must be removed before regeneration can begin. thankfully for you, phoenixes are born for regeneration, and my blood can help regrow what has been lost."
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Touhou nods quickly, i would appreciate it a lot, please! It would be nice to have all of my tastebuds back. I only have about 10 percent of my ability to taste so good food has been a waste on me
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Korri nods, " very well, we can begin the process when we get back."
Izanagi comes back and sets a tea in front of each of them, " here you are. Do you know what you'd like to eat?"
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Touhou takes the tea and smiles when the warm cup takes the chill out of his fingers.
He hears the question and hums softly, a bowl of ramen would be fine please
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Korri thinks for a moment, " the curry." she takes a sip of her tea.
Izanagi nods and heads to the back to put the order in.
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Touhou does his best to drink his tea, it obviously looking weird since the tongue muscle does so much for the human body
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Arakan walks into the cafe, blinking when he sees his mother and the mouse demon from the video. He walks over and sits, " im surprised you're here mother."
Korri blinks, " Arakan! what a pleasant surprise, you've been so scarce lately. Touhou, this is my son, the heir to the district, Arakan. Arakan, this is Touhou, he's new here. we'll need to get everything... finalized at some point since i do think he intends to stay."
Arakan looks at Touhou for a long moment, " very well."
Izanagi brings out the two dishes, " Arakan? um, lemme get you a drink quick, i didn;t know you were joining them."
" Neither did i. Iced coffee."
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Touhou stares at arakan. Just. Fucking. Stares.
Until he finally gives an indignant scoff and writes in the notepad and pushes it for korri to read, this... is the one and only arakan?
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Arakan notices Touhou staring and raises an eyebrow.
Korri takes the notepad and blinks, " well, yes, as far as im aware anyway."
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he doesnt look like he's worth all of the heartache but what would i know.
He shakes his head and does his best to consume the ramen
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Korri sighs, " there's more to it than that, but i'll not get into it."
Arakan raises an eyebrow at his mother.
" nothing for you to fret over dear." She eats her meal delicately.
Arakan sighs, " i don't think i want to know. i have a few hours to kill at the moment, so i might as well eat too."
Izanagi sets Arakan's drink in front of him.
" Ramen, and red pepper."
Izanagi nods and goes to fetch it.
Korri looks at Touhou, " well, since it seems like you plan on staying, we ought to look into finding a place for you. Izanagi is down a roommate and works here, perhaps we can work with that."
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Touhou shakes his head, i only plan to stay until i get a tongue. After that i am going wherever takana goes so no need to do any of that paperwork
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Korri takes another sip of her tea, " well a demon out of the district won;t be taken well, though that Isabelle girl seems like a good enough person, perhaps you can stay with her. And i believe that where he will be, will likely be mostly here again before long."
Arakan does his best to ignore this conversation.
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Touhou scoffs, i doubt takana would want to come back over. He's safer at the cabin where he wont be sent back to his asshole of a father
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" True, but he has reasons to come back here, or probably will once things get cleared."
Arakan eats his food once it arrives, checking the time on his phone.
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Touhou huffs softly in doubt before finishing up the soup, having to tilt his head every so often since he doesn't have a tongue to push the food to his teeth to chew
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Korri finishes her meal and her tea, sighing softly.
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Touhou finishes his tea and sighs softly, thank you for bringing me here. It's lovely and everyone's outfits look cute.
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Korri smiles, " isn't it though? It was an idea we came up with to lift people's spirits a bit. Of course they don't have to wear the outfits If they really don't want to, but Izanagi enjoys it. We set to head back or would you like to walk some more?"
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Touhou nods, I'm getting tired so i wouldnt mind heading back
Curtis gets to his station and hums softly, "Ice is down... I guess that's an improvement."
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Korri nods, leaving money to cover their bill and getting up, " have a lovely afternoon Arakan." and she heads back.
Arakan sighs, eating the rest of his meal before he heads back to the gate.
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Touhou gives arakan another good glare before following korri
Curtis heard that arakan was looking for him so he sticks close to the gate, sipping from a capri sun
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Arakan notices him and stops several yards away so that the guards don't get defensive, " been awhile. meant to do this before, but then... things happened. I need a list of men that would be decent candidates for the guardposts that'll be constructed in the district. Not that one." he nods to the guy that has questioned his ability to tell time earlier.
Korri gets them home and starts prepping things, " you may as well rest for now since you said you were tired. i have tools to disinfect and things to get ready before such a procedure anyway."
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Touhou nods, i know I'll need a lot of rest for this. I appreciate you doing this for me.
Curtis nods, the drink pouch now empty so he pulls it out of his mouth, "how many? Admittedly we don't have too many guards at this gate that I would trust to not fuck up. Maybe 3 at most. If you need more than that I know of a couple of nicer guys in district 3 that I could ask for a transfer and introduce you if that's okay."
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Arakan hums softly, " i think they wanted to put up at least two posts, and we'll need enough for rotations. i'd say four is the absolute minimum to cover the hours the district will be open to humans and give them the ability to take days off. Met Davie the other day, he seems like a decent candidate as well, if overly naive."
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Curtis raises an eyebrow, "ah you already met Davie huh? Yeah he's one that I already thought of. He seems innocent at first but uh... I think he actually is someone with a... a demon fetish so just be careful about that."
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Arakan sighs, " lovely, i don;t think having someone overly obsessed with demons will help, but i'll keep an eye on things. if he can keep it in his pants during work then i don;t care what he does in his spare time. ask those others from district three if one or two of them want to transfer, obviously it's better if it's a voluntary post. Anything else i should be aware of?"
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Curtis shakes his head, "nope not that I'm aware of."
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Arakan nods, " alright then." he thinks for a moment, " im not sure you heard, there was... some things that happened. Takana doesn;t have a phone right now, and he's living somewhere else." he looks sideways at Curtis, " and im aware his deception."
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Curtis nods, "Yeah I heard from the guards that they got a good look of corrin making an example of takana before getting into his car. Sorry for not telling you. He kinda told me he'd tell my wife of my cheating if I spilled the beans."
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Arakan nods, " i didn;t expect you would, we are tentative allies at best after all. figured you should be aware regardless."
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Curtis nods, "I'm glad that I don't have any other secrets. I don't have a very good memory after all so lying isn't something I enjoy doing."
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Arakan nods, " good to know. i don;t particularly enjoy being lied to. well, with that dealt with, should i leave you my number so you can get in touch with me if you manage to set up introductions to those other guards that will hopefully transfer?"
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Curtis blinks, "uh sure yeah." He pulls out his phone, "ready when you are. "
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Arakan rattles his number off. " tht deals with that i suppose. now i've got other things to attend to... like making sure there's demon guard rotations to ensure the safety of the humans when we start letting them in. Neither side is liking this change very much." he rubs the bridge of his nose.
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Curtis puts the number in his cell phone before looking up at arakan, "ah that's a bit of a shame. I'd help you if I could with that but unfortunately I think the last thing that would be helpful is a human guard ordering demons to protect humans so I'm gonna stay put of that one."
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Arakan chuckles, " yeah... i'd advise not trying to do that if you want all parts to remain connected to you. you're not well loved among my people. hopefully time will ease the tensions, but for now i'll settle for some money to get brought in so that i can hopefully buy some of the supplies we've needed for years."
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Curtis shrugs, "you still have isabelle's contact. I'm sure she'd have no problem giving or lending money to you."
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Arakan looks at him for a long moment, " use your brain for a moment. And just what kind of message does that send to my district, to be reliant on a human. She may be a very kind human, but still a human. To owe her, for basic necessities. it's bad enough im brining humans into the district, and trying to improve relations with them, if my people thought for a moment that i was under her thumb, they would not stop until i was dead and a new family was leading."
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Curtis shrugs, "hey man, it was just a thought. No one but her and you has to know. Not that you have to do it but it was just a suggestion man."
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Arakan sighs, " if it were that easy i would consider it. But this human suddenly start coming around, and suddenly we have a bunch of funding? people will make the connection i assure you. regardless, i appreciate the attempt."
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Curtis shrugs, "well I know she also needs help as well. Regardless, if we're done here for now I do have to get back to my post before my crew thinks I have a fetish as well."
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" i know. but politics. these matters need to be handled carefully." he snorts softly, " as if i'd be interested in you. enjoy your shift."
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Curtis snorts, "that's why I'm saying I gotta leave asap. And no, I don't plan on enjoying my shift." He leaves back to his post
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Arakan shakes his head and heads back home.
Korri sets all the tools she'll need for Touhous tongue restoration out, making sure everything is well in order.
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Touhou is up and looks pretty nervous at the tools being laid out.
How in the world was he this terrified about this? He asked for it after all. It's not like it was corrin putting his head into the walls...
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Korri grabs a cup of tea she had brewed and sets it in front of him, " drink, it'll help dull the pain. i will be trimming away the scar tissue, and then applying my blood to the area to stop the bleeding and begin cell regeneration. then daily you'll need to drink more of my blood in order to keep the process going. with the size and complexity of the tongue, it'll probably take about a week to fully regrow. i can give you herbal mixes to help reduce the pain, but it will feel like the regenerating cells are aflame. that's just how phoenix regeneration is. but, once it's done, it will be as if you never lost it to begin with. we can begin whenever you are ready."
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Touhou keeps going paler as korri keeps talking. Damn, it sounds incredibly grotesque...
He hesitantly takes the cup, his hands shaking a little.
He sighs and tries his best to calm down before chugging the drink
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She watches and then hands over a device to keep his mouth open, " don;t need you biting me on reflex. i will be using my ability to slow your bloodflow and reduce pain as well. this part should be relatively mild. try to relax as much as possible, it won;t take me long." she takes a syringe and draws some of her own blood, putting it into a bowl with a small brush.
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Touhou sees the device and whines softly. He had to put this on too?? How was this more terrifying than dealing with corrin?
He grumbles softly and does his best to get the device in his mouth.
He hopes he gets a table to lie on or else he's going to pass out standing up
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Korri makes sure he has it in properly and gently pushes him towards the metal table where her supplies are, a bright light over it, " lie down. i know you're getting nervous, but the painkillers i've given you will mean it's not so bad. and i will continue to give you painkillers to keep it dulled." he grabs a forceps and a very sharp looking scissors, " do try not to move too much, i'd like to remove the scar tissue with as few of cuts as possible."
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all touhou can do is close his eyes tightly and breathe out his nose in a response.
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She focuses and slows the bloodflow to what's left of his tongue, numbing it at the same time. She then quickly gets to work grasping the thing and snipping bits of scar tissue off. every few snips she applies a brush of her blood to it, then continues on. After about 20 minutes of careful snipping and work, she sets her tools down, brushes one last bit of blood onto there and steps back, " you're done. drink the rest of this, and then we'll give you some more painkilling tea that'll put you to sleep and you can go rest." she hands him the bowl with the remainder of her blood and a cooled mug of herbal tea to drink.
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touhou slowly sits up and removes the device very carefully before taking the cup, looking pale when he realizes its blood. oh geeze gross...
he sighs softly and does what he's told, quickly forcing the blood down before grabbing the mug of tea and drinking that quickly
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Korri makes sure he downs all of it and then gently guides him to his room, " now we just wait and work on upkeep. the hardest part is over."
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touhou gently keeps a grip on korri as he walks back to his room. not out of weakness or the numbing tea but out of the sudden feeling of relief that the scariest part was over and his adrenaline crashing, "ah..." he wanted to just nap for the rest of his life after that
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Korri gently gets him to the room and to the bed. She places a small bell next to it, " ring that if you need me dear. Now sleep."
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touhou gives a small nod as he climbs into bed and takes the bell, holding it to his chest before he starts falling asleep
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Korri chuckles when she sees that, heading out fo the room and off to get some things done in earshot of the bell.
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after a few days takana sighs and sends a text to izanagi, ' hey finally got a new burner phone. save this number as the pink idiot, mkay?
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Izanagi glances at his phone and grins, well i only know one pink idiot so duh. how's it going?
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takana frowns, i'd like to say that it could be worse but im still feeling pretty rock bottom...
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Izanagi hums softly, thinking about Arakan?
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takana's eyes water and he sighs, it hurts a lot. i should have just told him sooner... i already planned to do so when things got better and when i thought maybe he liked humans more but... ugh this certainly wasnt how i wanted him to find out.
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Izanagi sighs, yeah things certainly didn;t go ideally. but hey, he found out Nikiri had known the entire time and didn;t kill him, even when Nikiri raised his voice at him. so... that's good. i think he's just got a lot going through his head. he did lower the ice barrier, so that's progress.
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Takana sniffles and wipes his eyes, i... i dont think he'd every want to hear from me but i wish i could give him an apology for lying to him... and then a slap for letting my dad take me back home. I'd rather arakan kill me then send me back to that bastard
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Izanagi snorts, maaaaaybe don;t slap him. but if it makes you feel any better, i'd say the fact that he's been so out of sorts would mean he still likes you. plus i think he invited Isabelle to come back, and kind of left it an open invitation. so i think that's about the best invitation you're gonna get
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Takana huffs, okay cool i get kicked out, sent back to my abusive dad, my little brother and isabelle nearly get killed by a monster and i get an 'open invitation'. Yeah. No thanks. I aint gonna go groveling to his feet for forgiveness. He doesnt get to just have his freak out and then say when we get to talk. He's a Fucking jerk.
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, and he was supposed to know that Isabelle and Yori were gonna get attacked? not like he could have denied the guys order to take you, not without severe repercussions for the district. And yeah he was kind of a jerk, but he also had just found out that the guy he was in love with, wasn;t who he thought he was.
-
i.... ugh. of course i want to apologize for not telling him... i've wanted to do that for months. I just also want something less informal of a open invitation. I want a proper, 'hey can we talk?' or something. this sucks.... im sorry...
takana grumbles and looks back out the window, "This fucking sucks...."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, aaaand how exactly did you expect him to give you that invitation anyway? you just got a phone, and he can;t exactly leave the district. Only contact he has is through Isabelle, and how can he know if you even want anything to do with him?
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takana huffs, well i expected isabelle to eventually tell me that he wanted to contact me. not that... i thought he actually would. honestly i thought he'd want nothing to do with me. he has every right to never want to see me again.
-
Izanagi smacks his face against his phone, and again, he has no idea if you want anything to do with him. so maybe... extend an olive branch? give him a chance to figure out who you really are and if you're actually into him? because if i was in his shoes, i'd be wondering if you ever actually liked me or if it was just another way to stay in the district, or something else. i dunno.
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i never intended on staying in the district. From the very beginning i always said how me being in his district was temporary. I'd rather just go curl up in a hole right now...
Isabelle comes back to the cabin and looks at takana, "Have you been at that window all day again? Dont you think... its time for a shower?"
Takana shrugs, "I havent really done anything to make sweat."
Isabelle's face falls, "oh god you need something to get your mind off of things..." she sighs, "I think maybe you'd feel a little better if you showered."
-
Izanagi growls, Then you don;t want to go back to him? then quit whining.
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takana'a eyes water and he starts sniffling, no i do but i- im sorry. i think im done with today... im going back to bed. sorry.
isabelle sees him starting to cry again and she sighs, "Give me that phone. you're done." she snatches the phone and puts it in her pocket, "I am begging you to shower. the bay window will still be here for you to look out of when you are clean."
-
Izanagi sighs, well if you're not gonna stay and he can;t leave, then what do you expect can be?
-
isabelle blinks and reads the message, sighing softly, hello izanagi. this is isabelle. i'm taking takana's phone away since he is starting to have another episode. I will... apparently have a talk with arakan soon and see if i cant get one of them to contact the other. I hope you are having an okay night.
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Izanagi blinks, oh hey Isabelle. Slap him for me will ya? He's being stubborn and dumb. And yeah, they're both being dumb. My night is okay, boring.
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Isabelle grins, i would, but i dont hit people. Sorry. I do give him quite a lecture though. How are you on rent? Need any cash flow to tide you over until we can get your roommate back home?
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Izanagi blinksIm good, i have all that Christmas money you gave me, hadn;t gotten around to spending it yet surprisingly enough. I'll be okay, just don;t get to have as many eat out meals and cute outfits to amke ends meet with my paychecks. And since you won;t hit him, maybe some cold water?
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i can do cold water. he needs a shower anyway. and... ugh a change of clothes...
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Izanagi snorts, dump him int he tub and hose him off, smelly boy
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if i was strong enough, i would. i also have other work to do now so i have to go. have a nice day!
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good luck with the brat. Izanagi sighs softly, what was he going to do about those two? though it wasn;t really his deal to deal with.
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isabelle pulls out her own phone, humming softly, mister arakan, when you have a moment i was wondering if we could talk
-
Arakan blinks as his phone buzzes and raises an eyebrow when he sees who it is, certainly. what did you need?
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it is just a conversation. i wish to further understand where everyone stands currently before i make some choices.
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Arakan raises an eyebrow. well, simply let me know when you wish to talk and i'll rearrange my schedule.
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mm whenever is most convenient for you. You are far busier than i so its only fair
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Arakan hums and checks over his schedule, i've got a few hours i can make sure stay open tomorrow afternoon.
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isabelle smiles, that sounds perfect. i'll see you at the gate tomorrow then
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I will see you then. he sighs and gets back to work to keep his mind busy.
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Isabelle goes about her day as usual
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The next day Arakan makes his way to the gate to wait for Isabelle, not really paying any attention to the guards.
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isabelle is already waiting, albeit not for long
Touhou stuffs his face in his pillow and grumbles softly. he hoped he would be able to keep his new tongue until he died because this whole process was driving him insane and he didnt want to do it again
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Arakan Waits until she's let in, " good to see you again. shall we find someplace we can talk?"
Korri brings in another cup of her blood for Touhou and painkilling medicine, setting them near him, " how are you feeling? only a few more days of this and we'll be done."
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touhou groggily looks up at her and grabs his notepad, the regrowth is itchy since its new and healing but i wasnt expecting that id already have... some tastebuds. new ones that are... stronger than the ones that i had left.
Isabelle nods, "yes of course. lead the way."
-
Korri chuckles softly, " yes, that does tend to happen. it'll dull down after a bit of time, but after not having those connections for such a long time your brain is hyper focused on these new connections. The tea should help with the itching a bit."
Arakan heads back to his place, knowing they can talk in private there. he leads her to quiet room where they can sit, " so, what do we need to discuss?"
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isabelle sets her things down and sighs softly, "i was just wondering if you... and takana are done. im having a difficult time convincing him to take a shower and eat and change clothes so i just... i needed to know what your feelings are before i try to direct him back to the demon district or start over with someone new. I completely understand if you're done with him and i dont blame you for your anger at all, he just cant sit on the window sill and stare outside every time it snows."
touhou nods and drinks the blood, his reaction to it getting worse now that he can taste it more. He sets the empty bowl down and gags before scrambling to drink the tea
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Arakan blinks, and sighs softly, " i... that's not a question that has a straightforward answer. though i suppose that implies at least that...that at least was genuine. I was much cared for him as i knew him, and still do. i just... i don;t know if the person i care for, is the person that he is. he lied to me about who and what he was, about several aspects of his life to line up with those lies, what else was false? how can i know how i feel about him when i never really knew him?"
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"ah well as far as i was aware he lied abut being a demon but i dont know of anything else. i think possibly the breeding thing but in all honesty he said you stumbled upon that and he just didnt correct you since it was easy to excuse why he, as a demon, would have been able to do so much in the human district. so... not the truth but not something he outright lied about but to be fair, this is what he told to me. I know he is hurting. a lot. i can tell you that he cared about you more than anyone else i know. If you wish to speak with him and either officially end things or patch things up i can give you his new number. oh. i currently have his new phone just because he was starting to cry again and i was trying to convince him to at least shower."
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Arakan lets a long breath out through his nose, eyes closed. " i... well i don;t know for sure, but i suppose in order to know for sure, i have to talk to him. Nikiri allowed me to question him while under the effects of Caladrius tears, and hopefully Takana will as well. As long as you're at it, will you? i will not abuse it, i just need to know that this isn;t a scheme to harm my people. and i need to be absolutely certain."
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isabelle nods, "please do. I have nothing to hide and this way you can feel more reassured by what i say."
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Arakan nods and gets a glass of water, pulling out the small vial and putting one drop into the glass, " here you are. the effects will only last about 10 minutes."
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isabelle calmly takes the cup and drinks the glass before setting it down, "ask away."
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Arakan takes a deep breath, "do you have any malicious intention towards the district or demons? Would you ever do something to harm the district or the demons unprovoked? Do you believe Takana has any ill intentions towards the district? is anything you are planning intended to harm the district?"
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"i have no malicious intent towards either of the two. I would never think to harm the district or the demons regardless of whether it was provoked or unprovoked. I dont believe takana has any ill intentions either. he doesnt think things through all the time and he tends to act before thinking so while that can cause problems i know it would never be on purpose. And nothing i have planned or what we've been working on has any malicious intent to harm the district. Admittedly, when takana first came to me about this districts problems i thought he only wanted my help because he was living here and any upgrades meant his living situation would also improve however... in our conversations and coming here from time to time i could tell that he was genuinely upset by the conditions that you and your people were forced to live by. Possibly even more guilty considering his family ties."
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Arakan lets out another breath and relaxes a little " thank you. that does put my mind at ease somewhat. Oh, as long as you're here, i may as well give you the forms you'll need to fill out to get some work passes for the demons you wanted to employ. assuming you still wanted to." he walks out of the room and comes back with several papers, setting them in front of her. " you will need to do one for each demon you plan to employ, once filled out i'll see about finding candidates to fill those spots. you've got a few minutes before those tears wear off so you should stay here until they do to avoid anyone abusing it on accident."
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Isabelle nods and takes the papers, gently putting them in her purse, "I'm glad that you seem to be more at ease. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
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Arakan thinks for a moment, " no... not that i can think of. everything seems to be going smoothly, relatively speaking, for opening day for the district. we've got a few humans guards that'll be posted within the district, and i will be assigning demons to work with them. so once Curtis figures who are the best choices i'll introduce them beforehand and go over protocol. but so far i don;t see any issues cropping up."
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She's quite for a moment before nodding, "okay well that's good. And takana? What do I tell him when I head back?"
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Arakan sighs, " that we need to talk. and i will need absolute truth." he lifts the bottle and tucks it back into his pocket. " i cannot be in doubt."
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isabelle nods, "That is what i'll tell him then. so... did you want him to contact you first or do you want to contact him when you have time?"
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Arakan sighs softly, " i... let him decide if and when he wishes to contact me. or we can simply arrange for you to bring him and his brother at some point for a visit if he cannot find the motivation for that. "
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isabelle nods, "i'll see what i can do. I'll even try to convince him to change his clothes to something that... hasnt been worn for over two weeks."
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He snorts softly, " we could have Curtis hose him down at the gate."
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Isabelle hums, "in this weather? He'll catch his death."
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Arakan nods, " true. well we'll see what we can do. worst case i can toss him into a shower here."
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Isabelle nods, "I'll be sure to bring a change of clothes then. No point in trying to get him in new clothes if he has yet to shower." She looks at the time, "am I alright to head out yet?"
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Arakan chuckles, " it effects everyone a little different, try lying."
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"I... love my husband." She blinks and turns red, "well I guess I can in fact lie again."
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Arakan blinks, and then chuckles, " Indigo would be thrilled to hear that. Alright, well if you're ready to go i can escort you to the gate."
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Isabelle keeps blushing, hearing that about indigo before nodding, "I am ready to go when you are."
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Arakan gets up and leads the way, " watch your step, we've cleared paths but there's not really many places we can put the snow."
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Isabelle nods, "Of course. I hope besides... all of this mess we have made, you have been well?"
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Arakan sighs softly, " overall yes, i suppose so. the information on... what Corrin is is... unsettling. but it's not a situation that can be dealt with easily. One benefit of me blocking off the district is there wasn;t anyone challenging me for a bit because they knew i wasn't about to go easy on anyone. so a little peace, many are unhappy with the changes that have been happening. Oh, my mother started the procedure several days ago to regrow Touhous tongue. he's doing well all things considered."
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isabelle nods, "Yes the information on corrin has... been very scary and we're not sure if going home is really an option with him there and my cabin is not an ideal living situation so it has bene tough. im sorry to hear about the resistance, although i do understand where they're coming from." she blinks, "Oh? thats good! admittedly i have never heard his voice before. I think corrin and takana are the only ones alive who have heard him talk so thats exciting. im hoping to ask him more questions since he has mentioned being around for a long time. if anyone knows corrins weaknesses it has got to be him, you know?"
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Arakan nods, " it's something we're thinking about how best to deal with. His existence is... undesirable. Which sounds harsh, but if you knew what his sort are capable of, you'd understand better. If he comes back to the district, i will try to kill him. that's the best outcome for everyone." he nods, " well, in a few days he ought to be fully healed and ready to start exercising his voice and getting his vocal cords back into condition."
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"from what i researched there is an urban legend about them being insatiable and greedy to the point of self destruction and... i guess it would make sense for corrin to want to be put in the position he is in. in a way he can control the humans in a way with a false sense of security and also control the demons in all 7 districts. "
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Arakan looks at her with a bit of surprise, " yes, that is correct. they also tend to be cruel, literally feeding off misery and hate. He's made himself a fine feasting ground."
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Isabelle sighs, "what a mess...I would prefer no one having to fight him but realistically if he gets in the way of our progress in the same fashion that he used to get yori and me in a locked room then something will have to be done about him..."
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Arakan shakes his head, " that's where you're being too soft hearted. If we wait until he becomes a true problem, then it will make things more difficult, if not impossible. He will gain more strength, and even my father and i working together may not be able to take him out. there's no room for hesitation in a situation like this."
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Isabelle hums softly, "touhou said he was getting weaker. The only way he'd get stronger I thought was if he successfully started another war but I suppose... making anyone miserable would help him. "
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" im not sure, but regardless i plan to take no chances that he'll get stronger." he stops near the gate.
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Isabelle stops briefly as well and gives arakan a bow, "thank you for meeting with me. I do appreciate your time."
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He nods, " well, it needed to be done. hopefully i will see you, and others, soon."
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Isabelle nods, "same. And I hope things go over well. I won't lie, I was a little jealous whenever I saw the way takana looked at you. At any rate, have a good day." She turns and leaves through the hate, getting to her car and heading out
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Arakan flushes a bit, " well, keep an open mind. perhaps there's someone who looks at you the same way."
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Isabelle gets back to the cottage and see takana in the same spot and she sighs, "hey..."
She walks over to the window and grabs a little bench to sit on before gently taking takana's hand, "I spoke with arakan. He... is hurt and confused by a lot of things that happened."
Takana sniffles and wipes his face, "it's my fault..."
Isabelle nods, "yes we all know. We have all made some mistakes but now we have to fix them. He is okay with meeting with you if you are okay with taking a liquid that makes you tell the truth, so he knows you're being honest with your answers when you two talk."
Takana flinches and he looks at Isabelle, "so he wants to interrogate me? Why? Why does he hate me so much!"
Isabelle sighs, "he doesn't hate you! He just has some questions and he wants answers to ensure his district is safe takana. He can't take any chances with his people."
Takana sniffles, huffing a little, "what if I have some questions? I didn't mean to lie to him but he very purposefully casted me aside."
Isabelle sighs, "would you like me to message him and see if he is also willing to take some of the water as well?"
Takana nods, "if he can have some after I answer his questions then I'll feel more comfortable."
Isabelle nods, "alright, I'll ask." She pulls out her phone, hello arakan, i know we just were talking but i am with takana now and... he is nervous about seeing you since he thinks you hate him but he does have his own questions. Would you be at all opposed to having some of that truth stuff yourself? He said it could even be after he answered your questions.
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Arakan blinks when he checks his phone, frowning, if he swears he will not abuse it, you saw for yourself I did not ask anything personal or untoward, and I would not for him either.
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this is why he said he could wait until after you finished your questions since you could ask him if he plans to abuse it while he's under the effects just for your ease of mind. Is this okay?
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Arakan sighs softly and rubs his temple, very well, this is an acceptable condition.
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Isabelle nods, okay, then whenever you're next available and are feeling up to it I can drag his butt over. He's just... staring out the window again so I'm sure he has plenty of time to make any meet-up work.
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Arakan checks his schedule, two days from now I can open up my afternoon. If that works for you.
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sounds good. Thank you for being open to all of this.
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Arakan sighs, I also want to see a conclusion, one way or another. he gets back to the things he needs to get done, trying to keep himself occupied for the next couple of days.
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Isabelle looks at takana, "you have 2 days to shower. You better do so."
Takana curls up against the window sill and sighs
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On the appointed day Arakan waits by the gate, looking bored but feeling his stomach twist.
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Touhou looks up at korri and opens his mouth so she can see his tongue progress.
Isabelle pulls up to the gate and opens takana's car door, grabbing his arm and pulling him out.
He has somewhat showered and has a fresh pair of clothes on, however instead of a coat he just has an oversized blanket around him.
She drags him to the gate and gets permission to go in with takana, "arakan! I got him to kinda shower so he at least doesn't stink."
Takana keeps his gaze to the ground, a small red rash under his eyes from constantly willing them with a dirty, scratchy sleeve.
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Korri uses a light to look carefully at the tongue, moving it from side to side with a wooden stick and to inspect the bottom. " Well, I don't see any raw spots left. You my dear, have a completely finished growing tongue. Now do take it easy for awhile, it'll take some time to build the muscles back up to their original strength and get your coordination with it back. But you may speak now."
Arakan sees him and sighs softly, " well at least that sounds like an improvement. Let's go get this done."
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Touhou smiles, "i..." his voice is softer than one would expect, "um... thhh... thank you."
He moves his mouth around, almost having issue getting used to the appendage inside
Isabelle drags takana after arakan. She planned to step out once they got somewhere to talk so that they could still have their privacy
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Korri nods, " you are very welcome my dear. I suggest you stay here awhile longer so we can make sure no complications arise, though I doubt they will."
Arakan leads the way back to his place, showing Isabelle a nice spot she can sit at while he and Takana talk and hoping she got the hint. He places two glasses of water on a table and pours a drop into one, setting it in front of Takana first. " When you're ready."
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Isabelle sits, where arakan wanted her to.
Takana shudders and takes the glass, sniffling before drinking it all
Touhou nods, "yes m..mmma'am."
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Arakan waits until he does before he starts his questions, " will you be sharing the information you learn from questioning me with anyone else? Do you plan to ask me any questions that will threaten the security of the district? Do you plan to ask me any questions that would threaten my position as the heir to the district? Were there any other lies you told me while you were in the district? Do you have any malicious intent towards the district? Would you do anything that would pose a threat to the district?" He takes a deep breath, hesitating, " was our relationship genuine? Did you use my feelings to manipulate me?"
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"No. No. No. Besides yori and I being demons and your assumption of me being a part of a breeding program, not that I am aware of. No. No."
Takana's eyes water and he sniffles, "i... loved you even when I told myself that I didn't. And I didn't use your feelings for manipulation."
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Arakan let's out a long breath and pulls the vial out, letting a drop fall into the glass and looking at it for a long moment before drinking.
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Takana waits and when he's ready he takes a deep breath, "if I had told you I was a human when we first met would you have had me removed from your district? Without listening to anything I had to say? If my dad shows up demanding me to go back home again will you force me to go with him? Was our relationship genuine? Did you even like me?"
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Arakan closes his eyes to think on the first one, " I like to think I would have heard you out, but back then, I probably would have had you removed. I had had no good experiences with humans before Isabelle, and you, though obviously I was not aware you were human. I will not send you back if your father comes back. If he dares step foot in my district knowing what he is, I will kill him. Yes our relationship was genuine, I have never felt this way for anyone before you and it scares me how much I care for you."
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Takana sniffles, "I'm... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, even if it did mean I would go back. I... was told that I would be a dead man if you found out I was human so... at the time my only concern was getting on my feet and leaving before anything else happened. I never had any intentions on forming any kind of relationships. Then the inspection happened and I was disturbed. Outraged. All I could think about was how horrible the whole situation was... I figured since going home to question my dad wasn't happening any time soon it would be better to understand the district more so I can find out what I can do to help and then we... we ended up..."
More tears fall down his face and he winces in pain when the salty tears run down his rashy cheeks, "we ended up enjoying each other's time and my guilt over not telling you increased and... I swear I wanted to tell you when things calmed down. I-i didn't wa-want you to find out like this."
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Arakan gets up and gently puts a cooled hand onto the rash, " we should see my mother for this... I... I'm sorry I sent you away with your father. I was hurt and confused, and since I thought you were both human, I had no standing against him, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. All I could think about was what else was a falsehood? Had I been so blind that I'd nearly brought ruin to my district because I wasn't able to keep it in my damn pants? I didn't know what to do, what to think, how to react, how to keep my people safe..."
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Takana whimpers before he chokes out a sob, "please... please don't send me back. I... I'd rather you kill me then send me back to him. He... the damn fucker ripped off my ears and I haven't been able to hear well since."
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Arakan growls, " I cannot speak anything but truth at the moment, and I meant it when I said I would kill him if he dares step back into this district. We will have my mother look at you and see what she can do about your hearing."
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Takana sniffles and shivers a little, "I'm sorry.... I love you... even when I tried not to. I'm so sorry. I miss living here and I miss my job and I miss seeing you everyday."
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Arakan hesitates before hugging Takana, " I missed you too, even when I wasn't sure I should. Let's go see Isabelle and my mother, we can talk about what to do from now on after."
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Takana nods and goes to wipe his eyes, wincing when he almost touches his skin, "i... wouldn't mind having my ears back... "
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Arakan places a kiss onto his forehead, " I'll text Nikiri and see what he can figure out for that. Come on." He gently pulls Takana up, heading past Isabelle and waving for her to follow as he heads to his mother's clinic. He sends a quick text to Nikiri, you were the one that got Takana those false ear things? He'd like another set if you can get one.
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Takana follows arakan, just thankful that he hadn't fucked everything up for good.
Isabelle blinks and gives a soft smile before getting up and following arakan.
Nikiri sees the text and hums softly, yes i can get him another pair. I'm assuming things are okay at the moment between you and him?
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Yes. bring them as soon as possible to Korri's clinic.
Korri looks over as they enter, " oh my, i didn;t expect to see you anytime soon. oh dear what happened to your face? and your head! your ears are all... jumbled. here, lets get you some cream for your face first..." she quickly grabs a jar and comes over, gently applying the cream to the rashes on his face.
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Takana does his best not to wince when she applies the cream, "I wiped my tears away with scratchy fabric which irritated my skin... and... when I refused to take off the ears by my father's insistence he... ripped them off himself. I thought they weren't suppose to come out without the ring to deactivate them but boy did he sure prove me wrong..."
Isabelle frowns, "I... thought you took them out yourself... I'm sorry for not asking."
Takana sighs, "it's fine. It's not the worse he's done."
Isabelle huffs, "it's NOT fine. You told me yourself that they connect to your spinal cord for proper nerve connection and blood flow. What if just ripping them out did damage to your spine? That's incredibly dangerous!"
Takana glances at her, "well that would have been damage he didn't mean to cause. He has done things with the full knowledge of what the damage is so I find those instances worse."
Isabelle shakes her head, "I find it all terrible. How on earth did your mother even marry that man? Kahana I understand since all she wants is makoto to take the company from him but I thought you said your mother loved him."
Takana looks down, "i... don't know. It was so long ago that I can't remember what either of them were like back then."
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She hums softly, " well we'll see what we can do to fix that. Changelings are very versatile, i believe it'll likely mend itself once you're comfortable and feel secure again. if not i'll see what i can do. speaking of mending, and speaking for that matter, i believe i have someone who might like to see you." She smiles and heads to Touhous room, knocking gently before opening it, " there are some people here you might like to see."
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Touhou blinks and tilts his head before getting up.
Takana blinks, "mending when I'm comfortable huh... that explains a lot."
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She walks back over, " well it's a theory, I haven't worked with any changelings so it's an untested one. As I said, we'll see. Anyway, Touhou, Takana is here."
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Touhou gasps and runs out of the room, smiling when he sees takana
Takana sees touhou and he instantly brightens up, "TOUHOU!" He runs over to the mousey demon and gives him and hug
Touhou hums softly and he returns the hug happily.
He pulls away a little so he can look up at takana, smiling still, "I cc-ccannn t-ttalk!"
Takana's eyes widen when he hears touhou's voice and he can't help but start tearing up again, "you... you can talk... oh my god you can talk! I haven't heard you speak since mother...." He can't bring himself to finish his sentence as he just hiccups softly, more tears and some soft whining, "touuuhooouuu!" He hugs the small demon tightly.
Touhou let's out a small squeak when takana hugs tighter. He chuckles and gently pats Takana's back.
Isabelle hums softly, "it sounds as though you're still sounding out the words as you speak. That means your tongue healed up pretty recently then?"
Touhou glances at Isabelle and nods.
Nikiri soon enters the clinic, whistling softly, "special delivery ~♡"
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Korri watches the two with a soft smile, looking at Isabelle, " i actually gave him the all clear shortly before you came. Everything looks completely healed, it'll just take him some time to get used to it again and build the strength and coordination back up." She blinks and looks over at Nikiri in surprise.
Arakan looks over, " that was quick. Appreciate it though."
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Isabelle nods to korri, "thank you. I know it must not have been easy but it clearly means a lot to both boys."
Nikiri holds the ears and ring out, "I'm just glad I can still get these."
Takana keeps hugging touhou until the little mouse taps on his shoulder, "sorry, sorry." He let's go, smiling softly, "I'm just overjoyed. "
Touhou chuckles softly, "sss-same"
Takana looks at nikiri and then the ears, taking them and gently putting them on.
The ears do their initial twitching as they calibrate before they relax.
Takana shivers a little and sighs in relief, "that is so much better... thank you."
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Korri nods, " it was worth it, to see my patient so happy. I'm only sorry it happened to begin with, whichever district he lived in prior failed him."
Arakan watches and nods when he seems to relax, " well we probably should wean you off those at some point and try to get you comfortable as you, and not as who you pretended to be, but for now I think this is needed "
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Takana's ears move back when he hears arakan and frowns, "is it... so bad? To not want to be who I am?"
Nikiri hums softly, "well you are a changeling technically. You could potentially make your own ears over time."
Takana looks at nikiri, "what? I can?"
Nikiri shrugs, "maybe."
Toujou looks at korri, "th-the last I wass nn-near d-demons wasth p-pre war."
Isabelle blinks, "was there districts before the war? "
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Arakan sighs, " well I'd like you to be happy as you, and not wish to be someone else just to fit in." He places a gentle kiss onto Takanas forehead.
Korri frowns, " not districts exactly, no. Instead I suppose I would have called them clans, or tribes? The ranking system was the same, but spread out more. A top ranking family would oversee a large territory, and withing that territory it was further split into sections. So within that territory, it would be split into say, 4-6 B ranked territories that each contained a few C rank territories. And in the C ranked territories there were households and all communities of e ranks that were organized by the d ranks, typically. So the top ranked Demons focused on the entire territory and making sure no rogue demons came and caused trouble, and made sure none of the demons below them abused their power. And if there were issues among the sections, there was a higher ranked demon who could mediate and settle trouble. It worked rather well. If the top demon was corrupt there were enough of the next rank down to take them out or drive them off if need be."
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Touhou nods to korri, "Yeah l-lllike that."
Isabelle blinks and nods, "interesting."
Takana blushes and sighs, "but...even though I am part human I'm also part changeling apparently so I'd like to keep the ears. Especially if I can go back to work. I don't want to weird out my coworkers by suddenly not having ears..."
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Arakan nods, " well for now, we can. Let's focus on getting your hearing back first. We'll think about the rest later. And we do have to decide if you wanted to move back into the district right away or lay low for a bit."
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Takana nods, "I do want to live here. As much as I get annoyed at him, I do miss izanagi."
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Arakan nods, " well, I see no reason why not then. I believe everything you left here is still there. I'm sure Izanagi will be happy to have you back."
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Takana smiles in relief, "I'm glad... thank you."
Nikiri hums softly, "well that at least takes care of you. What about your brother? Surely he isn't going to stay in your home with your father."
Takana's ears flatten, "i... don't know. The districts are already cramped so I don't want to bring yori in."
Isabelle frowns, "Yeah, and square footage isn't something that can be fixed by throwing money at it. I suppose for now he can stay at the home makoto and I reside in. It's not nearly as far as the vineyard but it's certainly not walking distance."
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Arakan sighs, " being that he's not human, and considering your father, he would be safest here. cramped or not. but that's a choice you guys need to make."
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Takana frowns, "he was still a little jumpy around demons since he really believed what Kahana told him. Not sure how he would react now but I do worry."
Nikiri snorts, "somehow I think he'd be a bit more respectful than you were when you first arrived."
Takana hisses at nikiri, "I'm an emotional dick! Leave me alone!"
Nikiri chuckles softly, "my point exactly." He blinks before looking at arakan, "damn if you did end up killing takana on that first day when he pissed you off that would have been terrible. His father would have definitely waged war."
Isabelle frowns, "takana you're terrible."
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Arakan shakes his head, " i would find it difficult to believe he could behave worse than you did. and yes, that would have been bad. though perhaps he would have shown his true colors then we could have dealt with him then."
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Takana grumbles softly.
Isabelle hums softly, "there are a couple of condemned houses across the street from the gates that no one has even thought about fixing up because... well it's close to the demon district. It's value is incredibly low as well for the same reason. Maybe I buy it and fix it up and yori stays there? That way he's right across the street to the entrance but he isn't taking up more space?"
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Arakan sighs, " i suppose. though if his father comes to get him i can't help him, no matter how close it is, because i can't leave. so that's a risk you take. unless he's in the district, i can't do jack shit to help him should things go south."
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Isabelle nods, "Yes I fully understand. I figured if he was across the street then he could at least run and pass through the gate but to be fair, it would be a few months before the home would even be ready so those few months he'd have to live in the district anyway while we waited"
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Arakan nods, " assuming the guards let him in, but that's a risk you guys have to decide if you want to take. it's not my choice. i'd offer to help fix the place up but... well, not only do we not have the skills, but we can't leave so that's going to be your deal. speaking of deals, hows the paperwork coming?"
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Isabelle nods and opens her bag, pulling out the paperwork, "it's done. I spent the better part of yesterday getting it done."
Takana blinks when the conversation shifts, "paperwork? For what?"
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Arakan takes the papers, looking them over, " Isabelle wishes to bring her vineyard into a more active production, and wishes to employ demons. this of course is the paperwork to get them passes so they can leave the district for work."
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Takana blinks and looks at Isabelle, "oh that's exciting. I know there's a demand and a wait list since you're the only one working and the vineyard takes a lot of manpower just to keep them healthy."
Isabelle nods, "I'm buying empty but good land from a neighbor of the vineyard and saplings for the new land and I'll need workers who are stronger than me. I'm more than happy to provide training and education. I also have the means to provide transportation now."
Takana blinks, "you've been busy."
Isabelle nods, "yes well I plan on making my own money soon and this way I can try to help stimulate a little cash flow to the district. Every little bit helps."
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Arakan nods, " well i'll see what i can do with only e ranks to work with, but hopefully things will relax over time and we can get some higher ranks out."
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Isabelle looks up at arakan, "I've been the only person doing the work all this time so if they are as strong or even a bit stronger than me then it will still be helpful."
Takana blinks, "what's the pay?"
Isabelle glances at takana, "I'll be paying a bit higher than if I was hiring humans for the simple fact that humans would get health insurance and... well insurance companies only work with human hospitals so at this time there isn't really a good way to give demons those benefits. In exchange they will be paid more and I have a very comprehensive pto and sick time plan to ensure they can have days off and not need to worry about their paychecks."
Takana blinks and nods, "that... makes sense."
Touhou also blinks, "generous."
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Arakan nods, " i think we can find some suitable candidates. i have a few in mind, but we'll see if they get approved by the humans. everything still has to get cleared by them regretfully."
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Isabelle nods, "sounds good. Keep me updated."
Nikiri yawns and stretches a little, "so are we good? What else needs to be figured out?"
Takana frowns, "yori will be sad if I don't go back to the cottage."
Nikiri frowns and hums softly, "my place has a shitton of rooms he could borrow until we get his living situation figured out if that helps."
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Arakan looks at Nikiri, " i suppose that's a decent idea."
Korri claps her hands together, " oh, speaking of good ideas, Nikiri your father should be getting a request to transfer within a few days. your mother will be free of him, and we don;t have to worry about him being inappropriate."
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Nikiri blinks and looks at korri, "o-oh? That's a pleasant surprise."
Takana blinks and nods, "thank you Nikiri. That's a nice offer. Just don't do anything to him."
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Korri waves a hand, " i spoke with your mother about it awhile ago, it just took longer than expected to arrange it. and of course im not doing anything to him, he's just going to be occupied there with some new jobs."
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Isabelle hums softly, "would you like me to call yori and see how he feels about the offer? He might need more than a day to bring over his essentials."
Takana looks at Isabelle, "please."
Isabelle nods and pulls out her phone, calling yori
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Yori blinks and answers his phone, " what's up?"
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Isabelle smiles, "hey arakan and takana have smoothed some things over and arakan thinks it would be safer for you and takana to stay in the demon district until they can figure out the whole corrin issue. Takana can stay with izanagi as roommates again and nikiri has been oh so kind to offer a room at his family home if that's okay with you?"
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Yori blinks, " uh, yeah I guess so. He seems okay. And it'll be nice to be near Takana. Will you be okay though? Dad might get mad at you. At least I don't have much to pack, since I didn't get a chance to grab anything from home really."
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Isabelle hums softly, "is there anything you really wanted at your place or could you be okay with me taking you shopping for some new sleepover items? "
Touhou perks up a little, "tell yori I said hi!!" He coughs a little from the outburst
Isabelle giggles, "touhou says hi. Oh! That's right, you might not know. Touhou's tongue is back so he can talk again."
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Yori hums, " well, honestly we got some of the basics, i just could use a few more sets of clothes. and i want to stay away from my dad more than i want my stuff so..." he blinks, " oh! that's awesome! say hi for me! or, i guess i can say hi myself when i get there?"
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Isabelle nods, "you most certainly could say hi. Are you back at the cottage? I'll come get you and do some quick shopping before coming back. "
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" yeah I'm at the cottage. There's not really much around here. I love you Izz but this is great land for a wine farm, not for entertainment. I'll see you soon."
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Isabelle gives a soft chuckle, "see you soon." She hangs up before looking at the two tall boys, "alright I'm off to go grab yori along with some essentials before coming back to the gate. Who is going to meet me there?"
Nikiri hums softly, "if arakan is okay with it then I'm more than happy to meet you at the gate since I'll be the one to bring yori to my home. Do you have any plans to enter yourself?"
Isabelle shakes her head, "probably not if I'm being honest. I should go home for the evening and put up with my husband so that his feelings aren't too hurt that I'm spending more time here than at home."
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Arakan nods, " very well, I leave that to you then. I will... Get Takana back home to Izanagi and get him settled back in. Bring his winter coat if he has one would you?" He holds a hand out to Takana.
-
Takana looks at touhou, "I'll see you later, okay?"
Touhou nods, "soundnnddnsss good." He smiles
Takana looks up at arakan and smiles before taking his hand
Isabelle heads out.
-
Arakan gently pulls him up and tucks the blanket around him tighter, " let's go." He heads to the apartment, knocking before he enters.
Izanagi looks up in confusion before his eyes widen "Takana?!"
-
Takana is giddy the entire trip over and he smiles at nagi, "nagiii~ hehe can't get rid of me that easily I guess."
-
Izanagi gets up and hugs him, then pulls away and gently smacks him over the head, " see? I told you that you were being dumb! Now look at how long it took for you to make up."
-
Takana whines when he gets smacked, "I couldn't help it I was depressed!"
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Izanagi huffs, " and if you hadn;t been stupid, you wouldn;t have been depressed, because it would have been solved super fast."
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Takana keeps whining, "but being depressed makes me stupid! Just be happy I'm home, I missed you damn it!"
-
" yeah i missed you too dummy." He hugs him again.
-
Takana happily hugs izanagi, "admit it. What you really miss was my cooking."
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Izanagi pouts, " hey, i am a complicate4d enough person to miss both your company and your cooking."
-
Takana chuckles, "I'm just teasing. But I do miss cooking. You think I can go back to working at all or do you have to talk to the manager first," he looks at arakan, "I'm not really sure what all happened here after I was gone."
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Arakan rubs the back of his neck, " i might have questioned a few of them, however i was not specific. i had no intention of causing further trouble with humans. i told the manager you were having family troubles and needed some time off, and may need to transfer districts. maybe take a day or two to let that rash heal up first though and settle back in."
-
Takana gives a small nod, "well... at least you didn't tell them I was human... and you weren't wrong either. I was technically having family issues." He gives a weak chuckle.
"As much as I don't want to say that I want my dad dead I do hope something terrible happens to him. The fucker lit a fat cigar just so he could put it out on my arm."
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Arakan's eyes flash dangerously, " i do hope he tried to come get you, because he will not leave my district alive if he does."
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Takana blinks and turns red, licking his lips, "it is extremely hot to hear you say that. "
-
Izanagi gets up and heads for his room, " nope."
Arakan snorts, " there's multiple reasons i want to kill him, but that is definitely now pretty high on my list." he gently takes Takana's arm and looks at it, frowning at the burn.
-
The burn is circular, bumpy, and slightly pink from the skin being new and scarred.
Long healed the best it could but it will forever be a scar.
Takana sighs, "dad was going to go after yori so I grabbed him through the little opening in the door to try to stop him and he did that. Not the worst thing he's done but it still fucking hurts. "
-
Arakan hums, " we can probably get something to help the scar diminish from my mother." he gently kisses the scar.
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Takana shudders softly, "here I am, doing my best to take things slow and respectfully in case I need to rebuild trust after what I've done and you're here saying hot things, looking like a snack, and doing sexy stuff and it's driving me crazy. "
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Arakan snorts softly, " i'll make it easy for you then, because regretfully i do have things to do. you get settled back in here, i'll see you later tonight." he places a quick kiss onto Takana's forehead.
-
Takana blushes and nods, "of course. Don't work too hard, okay?"
-
Arakan chuckles, " no promises, there's a lot to get done before we can just let humans walk in here. plus i need to get Isabelle some good employees. And just so you know, the main reason for the Caladrias tears was that so i knew i could trust you. i know you couldn;t lie, so my mind is at ease." he heads out to get things done.
Yori carries the bags of clothes and basic necessities as they head out of the store, " i think we got everything i should need. i guess i can ask you to get me something if i need it. promise you'll visit soon?"
-
Takana grumbles after arakan leaves, "the fact that he needed to use something that makes me unable to lie already shows a level of distrust..." He sighs and goes to his room, happy to see his things.
Isabelle smiles at yori, "I'll more than likely be making some form of contact with the district 3 times a week so of course I will visit. If you find that you need something don't hesitate to ask me. At least this way you can visit takana daily as well. I also have some cash to give you in case you are at the cafe or something." She has a few bags as well, including a box that she carries to the car before heading to the gate.
Nikiri hums softly as he waits at the gates. He already got the okay from his mother and a cozy room close to his own room set up and ready for yori including extra blankets in case.
-
Izanagi sticks his head out, " you kinda already lied to him though."
Yori blinks, " oh thanks. i guess using dads card isn;t a good idea here. didn;t even think about money much. I am glad i'll be able to spend more time with Takana!" He hops out and grabs a bunch of his bags, and a small dufflebag with what he'd had at Isabelles place, heading to the gate.
-
Takana looks at izanagi, "I know, that's why I want to try to rebuild that trust the old fashioned way, not the liquid that forces it way."
Isabelle stops at the gate and helps yori with his things before getting through the gate and meeting with nikiri, "thank you for waiting."
Nikiri hums and takes the items Isabelle had, "no worries. Gives mom some time to make sure the bedroom is good for our guest."
-
Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " so you're mad that after he made sure those were the only lies, he now trusts you again?"
Yori bows, " im sorry to put you guys to such trouble. thank you for letting me stay with you while we figure things out."
-
Takana stares at him for a minute before sighing, "sometimes i wonder if you think angry is my only emotion."
Nikiri smiles, "it's quite alright. In a way it's a win-win situation for everyone. My mother's family used to be known for protecting humans before the war, arakan wants to protect demons, both he and I consider the creature to be a sworn enemy and you want to be with your brother more so in the end everyone is happy."
Isabelle smiles at nikiri, "well regardless it's appreciated. If anything comes up and you or your family want some form of compensation or assistance with the sudden addition to the household please let me know and I can do that."
Nikiri shakes his head, "that won't be necessary but I thank you for the offer. Now, it looks like we'll have to make a quick stop to izanagi and takana's apartments to drop off takana's coat so we best be going."
Isabelle nods, "um, there's a brown box that goes to izanagi if you could please give it to him. I have yet to see a coat on him and if I have then it wasn't a very good one."
Nikiri nods, "how generous of you."
Isabelle hugs yori, "have a good night yori, I'll call you in the afternoon since you don't get up in the morning, okay?"
-
Izanagi tilts his head, " i mean you're angry a lot, but im just trying to make sense of it. okay, different wording then. you're upset because he made sure those were the only lies, and now that he knows they were, and the reasoning, he trusts you again. you're upset that he trusts you."
Yori pouts a bit as Isabelle talks about him like he's a kid she's dropping off, then hugs her, " thanks, gonna miss you. i'll talk to you then!"
-
isabelle nods and heads home.
Nikiri smiles at yori, "lets get going. sun sets early and id rather not be outside once its dark." he heads to the apartments.
Takana sighs softly, "not a lot of people have access to such magical items like a truth... whatever you called them. Its a pretty big deal to lie to your partner and its worse that he found out on his own instead of me telling him. humans consider something like that to be a big deal. And i do to. To heal from something like that all we can really do is try our best to be honest in the future and to rebuild trust in our partner that they wont lie again. Im not mad that he used the tear things, hell i made him use them too. It made him admit that if i was honest from the very beginning he would have immediately thrown me out instead of hearing me out but... I now have to make sure I show him that i have nothing else to lie about. Its not the past or the present, but the future in making sure he doesnt have to worry about whether im lying or not. His immediate trust is unusual for me. Hell curtis lied about his whole double life and having a wife and even though he came clean AFTER he got her pregnant it hurt a lot and im constantly second guessing anything he says to me now. to me I think, "he lied once he can lie again." so thats where i stand i think. I lied once, i could lie again. So... i dont know. I of course wouldnt lie to arakan now but its still weird for him to just... trust me again."
Takana thinks for a minute before looking bummed, "I think im really just confused."
-
Yori nods, " makes sense." He heads after Nikiri, a little slower with all the bags he has.
Izanagi sighs, " I guess that makes sense. Most of us don't get to use those either, Caladrius birds are rare, and a lot of them got taken by humans even before the war. But hey, he sees you had a really good reason for the lies you did tell, and he has faith in you now that it's all cleared. Isn't that good? There's no awkwardness and doubt between you two."
-
takana sighs, "it... should be good.... i dont know why i feel so hung up on proving that i dont plan to lie in the future."
nikiri glances at him, "do you need me to take more of those bags? most of my antler is back so any lightweight bags could even be hung up on those." he chuckles softly
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Izanagi gently pokes him, " well you can still prove it if you want to. though im not sure how you plan to prove it than just by... not lying."
Yori flushes a bit, " i don;t have any super light ones, sorry, i just kinda had to replace all of my clothes and stuff since i didn;t want to go back home... i don;t want to be more of a burden than im already gonna be."
-
nikiri hums, "nonsense. my younger siblings will be curious to meet you and my mother will be excited to have a second boy in the house." he bends down and grabs at least two more bags from yori, "it'll be easier once we drop off a couple of these items."
Takana sighs, "mm its all about just being honest. its hard to describe but eh. i'll figure it out."
-
Izanagi nods, " so stop worrying so much. and don;t be cranky, considering everything that happened, it all turned out pretty good."
Yori reluctantly lets him and keeps up easier, " are you really the only boy in your family?"
-
Takana nods, "I'm incredibly lucky all things considered. And I ain't cranky. I'm pouty but not cranky."
Nikiri nods, "aside from my father, yes. I'm the first born, there's a little over a dozen of us kids and I'm also the only boy. Most of my sisters who are old enough have moved out and rarely visit unless we need extra help."
They soon get to the apartments and nikiri just let's himself in, "helloooo~♡"
Takana looks over, "hey nikiri."
-
Yori blinks, " oh wow, that's a lot of siblings. i just have two older half brothers." he peeks around Nikiri and waves, " hi again Takana."
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Nikiri steps aside so yori isn't blocked by him, "takana I have your coat."
"Oooh!" Takana gets up and takes his coat from the pile before giving yori a one armed hug, "good to see you yori~"
-
Yori sets a handful of stuff down to return the one armed hug, " you just saw me this morning, though im glad you're looking a lot better."
Izanagi blinks, " is Yori gonna be staying with us?"
-
Takana smiles, "I showered. Also arakan and I are back together soooo yeah."
Nikiri shakes his head, "there's isn't enough space here so for the time being he will be staying in summer's old bedroom. We converted it to a guest last year but haven't actually had any guests so it works out for us. Oh also, Isabelle said this box is for you. Something about not seeing you in a good enough coat."
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Izanagi blinks and frowns, then tilts his head at the box, " huh?" he takes it and opens it, lifting the coat out, " oh my god it's so fucking cute! Nikiri look at this!" he holds it up to himself.
Yori frowns a bit, " is that... wise? after everything that happened? i mean, i know you were really upset when you guys weren't but... i dunno. sorry, im just worried."
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Nikiri blinks and smiles, "She does seem to know you're color. And it looks very warm."
Takana nods, "we had a very long talk. I think we'll be fine."
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Yori nods slowly, " okay... well, i hope it works out."
Izanagi hums, " this is so fucking cute. i gotta text her to thank her for it." He pulls out his phone, this coat is freaking adorable i love it! he quickly puts it on to try it out, twirling around to show it off.
-
Takana nods, "I'm doing my best and trying to take it slower just to make sure. I'm gonna be fine. I'm just glad I'm back here. I won't be at the cafe until my face clears up so you and I can hang out too- oh!" He looks at nikiri, worried, "will we need.... collars?"
Nikiri looks at takana and frowns, "hmm... I'm not entirely sure. On one hand you're living here as a citizen and technically you both are demons but on the other hand you are also... human and I'd rather not piss off your father anymore than necessary if he finds out you two are here with collars. Thankfully we just had our inspection last week so arakan has some time to get something together if need be. I'm sure he's already working on some form of paperwork for it but who is to say. These are odd times. At any rate, yori and I should get going. Sun is setting and if we have an agitated... creature of the night I'd rather not be out and about. Yori. Let's go."
-
Izanagi shrugs, " i have no idea if you guys will need collars or not. i guess if you leave the district during inspections you'll be fine without?"
Yori blinks and nods, " right, okay. lets go." he follows
-
Takana waves goodbye to yori, "have a good night!"
Nikiri leads yori back to his place
Takana looks at izanagi, "I guess. Would that make some of the demons here suspicious though? I'm fine wearing a collar, fake or real, if it helps keep the other demons that live here at ease or something."
-
Yori waves as he leaves.
Izanagi shrugs, " i dunno. guess that's up to Arakan to figure out?"
-
Takana nods, "Yeah I'm sure it's already crossed his mind." He looks at izanagi, "that coat IS super cute."
-
Izanagi shrugs then grins, " i know right? so fucking cute." he twirls again.
Yori sticks close to Nikiri as they head to his house, setting some of the bags down to give himself a break when they get inside, " chilly out there. brrr."
-
Nikiri closes the door behind him and sighs, "at least it's warm inside-"
Imogen runs down the stairs of their home, stopping a few feet away from yori. She smoothes out her shirt before giving yori a bow, "it is a pleasure to meet you yori! Welcome to my home! It is so exciting to have a human with us!" She straightens up and gives a big smile.
Nikiri yelps and almost drops what he was holding, "m-mother what on earth are you doing? You shouldn't run, especially down the stairs like that! What would korri say?!"
Imogen pants softly, her cheeks slightly dusty pink, "she'd raise an eyebrow, ask if I got it out of my system and then help me to a chair to sit... but I'm fine! We have a human! Oh I'm so excited!"
-
Yori's eyes widen, " oh um, hi? yes, that's me. or, at least half... not really sure what i am now... but im here?"
-
She holds her hand out for yori to take, "please let me show you to your room and then the rest of the-"
Nikiri huffs, "mom please rest for a moment. His room is next to mine so I can show him that at least. If he wants a full downstairs tour we can come back down after you've rested."
Imogen hesitates, frowning, "but i... I'm just trying to be a good host. It's been so long since I've been able to..." Her voice trails off and for a brief moment her eyelids flutter before she stumbles back.
Nikiri shrieks and sets the bags down quickly before moving behind his mother and catching her, "see! I told you that you had to rest."
He helps her to a nearby chair and gets her sitting upright.
Imogen groggily rubs her temples and sighs, "I'm sorry... It was just a little dizzy spell."
Nikiri sighs, "just rest for a moment. Take some medicine."
Imogen blinks, "oh right! That's what I forgot! I ran out."
Nikiri frowns, "oh dear. Well I should call korri for some more. When did you run out?"
"Yesterday."
Nikiri damn near shrieks, "mother!! You have to be better about taking the medicine!"
"I'm sorry to worry you. I thought I would be fine since your father left. I was kinda hoping he was the source of my problems." She giggles softly.
Nikiri grumbles and stands up, "you rest. I'll show yori the upstairs and while he gets settled I'm making a phone call to korri."
He looks at yori, "I'm so sorry." He picks up the items he sat down, "follow me please." He heads up the stairs
-
Yori watches with wide eyes and concern, " a-are you okay ma'am?" he watches and shakes his head, " you take care of her first, i can wait. really im okay."
-
Imogen gives yori a weak smile, "I'm fine really. Just a little anemia. Please make yourself at home."
-
Yori looks at Nikiri, " alright, fine then take me to my room quick so you can get back to her. im so sorry, i knew i was going to be a bother..."
-
Nikiri quickly leads yori to his room and sets down the luggage before turning to yori and huffing, "oi. You're not a bother. Cuz if you're a bother then so are my younger sisters and I know they are not bothers. You may see her stumble, slur her words, catch her sleeping in weird spots, and faint. All of these are due to her condition AND from not keeping up on her medicine."
Nikiri gently takes yori's chin and lifts his head so he can look right at him, "you're not automatically at fault for others actions. Understand?"
-
Yori is about to protest when suddenly his chin is lifted, " I...fine, but only so you stop wasting time on me and go take care of her. You said you were gonna call that Korri person?"
-
Nikiri tsks softly, "your confidence is trash. People aren't a waste dear. Get your room together how you wish. Bathroom is down the hall to your left. I'll be back."
His hand lingers on yori for a moment before he goes downstairs to check on his mother
-
Yori sticks his tongue out, " yeah but your mother needs you right now." He watches him go then starts fussing with things, not really sure what he wants. His mom has always arranged his room. He clumsily puts his clothes away, more than slightly crumpled, before sitting on the bed, looking around. He was gonna be there awhile, so better get used to it.
-
Nikiri checks on his mother before calling korri.
-
Korri blinks and picks up, " yes? Hopefully you're not bringing me more trouble. I just fixed up the last one." She chuckles softly.
-
Nikiri sighs, "I do apologize for bothering you so late. I just got back to the house with yori and mother ended up getting so excited that she had a faint spell. Upon telling her to take some medicine she states that she ran out yesterday and forgot to say something. She's sitting and seems chipper at the moment but if she's going to get excited like this I'd feel better if she had some medicine."
-
Korri sighs, " the silly woman, i should have guessed a guest would get her excitable. i have some ready to go, i'll bring it over and have a talk with her."
-
Nikiri nods, "thank you. I'll get her to her lounge chair in the meantime." He hangs up before going to Imogen, "korri is on her way. Please expect a soft chastising from her along with medicine."
Imogen sighs, "it was just a little bit of a dizzy spell."
Nikiri sighs, "a little dizzy spell here or there is still bad for your heart mother. And I'd feel better if you were just a bit more careful." He gently scoops her up and carries her out of the entry hallway and over to a side room where there are some fake plants and a bookshelf and a low, long plush chair, "here. Will you be okay here?"
Imogen nods, "yes nikiri, I'll be just fine thank you."
Nikiri nods and kisses her forehead, "don't do anything reckless."
He heads back upstairs and sighs, "alright, mother is in her chair and korri is coming over to tend to her. Yori! Everything is handled." He pokes his head in yoris room
-
Yori looks over, " oh, good. im glad. i've put away my stuff. well, my clothes anyway. so... yeah. it's a nice room" nothing like what he was used to, but still he wasn;t going to be ungrateful.
Korri hurries over and locates Imogen, walking over and handing her the medicine, " down the hatch. what were you thinking going an entire day without your medicine? i know you're excited to have a guest but you could have hurt yourself."
-
Imogen quickly takes the medication, sighing softly, "I'm sorry. It's just... so exciting to have a guest. This house feels empty. I mean, I know we have the littles still but all the kids except nikiri who are 18 and over have moved out, the teens are out daily for their training and having sleepovers with their friends so... it's just quiet."
Nikiri nods, "admittedly it's not a bad house. A bigger one then you can normally find in the district. Normally a c rank wouldn't even get a house this nice however we had a big family to accommodate and our abilities are useful enough that we are allowed such accommodations."
-
Korri smiles, " i know, but you still have to take care of yourself. you can;t take care of a guest if you yourself get hurt. I for one won;t allow him to stay here if it causes you more health slip-ups. perhaps if you want more noise i can see about taking you to the womens center now and then to see the littles there? Just so long as you keep your health in mind."
Yori nods, " yeah, it certainly seems like it's better than most of the places around, no offense. everything seems so... beaten up. anyway uh... so what do you guys do to keep busy around here? i guess maybe i should think about getting a job like takana or something."
-
Imogen squeaks, "ah no! No don't take him away! I'll do better about my health!"
Nikiri shrugs, "we don't have many demons who know how to do such fixing, nor do we have the materials or equipment. We make do with what we have. As for a job... I'm not entirely sure. We'll have to discuss it with arakan. We have a few e rank demons who are brave enough to go to the human district for work but not many want to handle that kind of abuse so.... yeah. It might take a few days to see if we have anything."
-
Yori blinks, " well i can go work in the human district, i mean i know im... technically half and half i guess, but i look human, and they don;t need to know im half. i dunno, im not really good at anything useful like Takana is, so im not sure what i could do."
Korri nods, " good. be sure that you do. now rest, let that medicine do it's work."
-
Imogen nods and leans back in her chair, "aye aye boss~" she giggles softly
Nikiri nods, "well you have a good last name that can get you probably any job in the human district. Although this is only if you want a job. I'm not sure how much money you plan to keep on you but the closest atm is going to be at the gate if your card still works. I know takana didn't have a debit card working when he came over but that was because of your mother and I can't see her doing that to you."
-
Yori nods, " but... is it a good idea for me to use my card? then wouldn't my dad know where i am? I don;t wanna put you guys in danger."
Korri shakes her head with a smile and settles into a chair nearby.
-
Nikiri shrugs, "use an atm in the human district then. "
Imogen shifts so she's on her side and she can look at korri, "thank you for being a dear friend of mine. I always feel grateful when you are at my side."
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Yori nods slowly, " alright... i can do that. i guess money isn;t an issue then. what do you guys do for fun around here? i noticed there's a lot of snow, so rollerblading and skateboarding are out."
Korri smiles, " anytime my dear."
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Nikiri frowns, "unfortunately we don't have much. There's a small shopping center but it doesn't have anything that's in fashion. Admittedly I am busy enough that I don't have time to do things other than eat, sleep, read and work. Maybe you could visit the cafe and ask the servers. Mina and kaeru are incredibly friendly and could help you out around the district since they know and like takana as well."
-
Yori nods, " alright. i, um, i was wondering if maybe... you could teach me how to fight? a little bit? I know you guys say you'll take care of it, but i can;t help but think about that the house told me i gotta learn how to fight."
-
Nikiri frowns and hesitantly looks away, "lower rank demons don't fight. They leave such things to the higher ranks. That being said none of us know if you have abilities or what they are of they do exist so I'm not really sure where to begin if I were to teach you."
-
Yori slowly nods, " okay... Korri mentioned something about learning to fight with a weapon at least and that you were really good at that. Supposedly im one of the other two types of shapeshifter, not a changeling. i dunno though, i've never done anything special. only time anything has ever been anything but just... regular is when the house protected me. and i still don;t even know why it did that. sorry, i don;t mean to put more onto you, it sounds like you're pretty busy."
-
Nikiri shrugs, "it's fine, you probably haven't done anything related to your other half because you lived as a human. Nothing in your life triggered your need for protection until you were attacked. There's no need to rush into learning to fight. Your maid can talk now, right? You can see what he knows. He was working for your family when you were born, right? Maybe he'd know more about that."
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Yori nods, " i guess so. i'll have to go talk to him tomorrow maybe. i just feel like i should do something useful."
-
Nikiri blinks before smiling, "and there's nothing wrong with that, just make sure you take your time with your decision making. Nothing has to happen right away. At any rate I should-"
Elyza runs into the room and grabs onto nikiri, "nii! Niiiiii!"
Nikiri jumps a little and looks down, "ah! Hey, this is a guest room Elyza. You have to ask before just coming in." He picks her up, "this is yori. He will be a guest for a little while so respect his space okay?"
Elyza blinks and looks at yori, blinking for a while until she sticks her hand in her mouth and turns her head away so she can squirm and whine, "noooo!"
Nikiri sighs softly, "you are in a mood today...."
-
Yori blinks and sighs, " yeah, i wouldn't be particularly happy about someone taking up my brothers time either. Hi, i hope we can maybe be friends?"
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Elyza twists to look back at yori, pouting.
Nikiri snorts before smiling, "oh, I know. Elyza. Yori is a boy like me so no boobs."
Elyza blinks and looks down at yori's chest and pulls her hand out of her mouth, "no?"
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Yori blinks and blushes, " wait she doesn;t like me because i don;t have boobs?"
-
Nikiri laughs, "no, more like you not having boobs will make her like you. She always gets cranky when mother or one of my sisters picks her up because the extra fat bags gets in her way."
Elyza reaches her hand out in a grabbing motion towards yori's chest
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Yori blinks, " uh, okay...." he walks closer so she can reach, holding his arms out hesitantly.
-
Elyza plants her hand right on yori's left chest and blinks when it hits solid skin and nothing squishy, "o-oh! A boy!" She then holds both of her arms out to yori so he can take her.
Nikiri makes a soft squeak, "elyza he is a guest don't make him hold you!"
-
Yori squeaks when he's groped, blushing, " it's okay, i offered. and i want to be useful." He takes her, grunting a bit at the weight.
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Nikiri blinks when he watches yori hold his youngest sister and he can't help but let his eyes linger before sighing, "well holding my sister is useful for her but you dont have to hold her. She's the youngest and... I think the most neglected so she gets clingy."
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Yori props her on his hip to take some of the weight off his arms, " well if I'm giving her attention then you don't have to worry so much about her, so you can get your stuff done. That's useful right? I mean I've never taken care of a kid, but your mom is around if I get too far in over my head."
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Nikiri hesitates before nodding, "okay I guess. It would help mother. Admittedly a lot of her attention is mainly on Phae because she has a growth issue with her antlers. We've tried to ease her into the idea of just not having antlers but she is desperate to have her own and it's tough cuz she gets these weird bouts of sickness and her antlers will break. We still haven't figured out why but korri has been trying to see if it has anything to do with mother's condition but it's hard when we don't really have the technology or the supplies to figure this kind of stuff out."
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Yori frowns, " I'm sorry to hear that... Um, I don't know anything about that stuff, but we've established I have money. I could try and buy some things that might help? I dunno."
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Nikiri sighs softly, "sorry to unload that on you but you dont have to do any of that. And in all honesty I have no idea what korri would even need. Thank you anyway."
Elyza happily clings to yori as she yawns
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Yori nods, " alright... well i do have internet on my phone, maybe we can try and look some things up. im sure any medical supplies would be helpful to her, even if it's not the stuff she needs specifically for Phae." He looks at Elyza, " are we getting tired?"
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Nikiri nods, "it's definitely something to look into." He smiles when elyza yawns, "maybe she was on a mood because she is tired."
Elyza snuggles against yori as she starts getting drowsy
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Yori chuckles, " I guess we should get her to bed then. It is getting late."
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Nikiri nods, "her bedroom is this way." He heads out of the guest room and goes down the hall until he gets to a smaller bedroom with a little bed and a bunch of messy crayons and papers and doodles, some of them cute with puffy clouds and sun's and her siblings and a very small few depicting angry stick figures with crude stick like guns and a messy scribble of red close to him
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Yori carries her down the hallway, " well if nothing else I'll build up some muscles carrying her around." He gently sets her in the bed and looks at the drawings, " oh..."
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Nikiri winces when he sees the unpleasant drawings and quickly flips them face down, "ahahaha... kids will draw... anything weird. Um so. " He nervously tucks elyza into the bed before gently placing a hand on yori's shoulder, "it IS getting late so I think I'm going to get some tea. Do you want anything before bed?"
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Yori shakes his head, " not your fault, I guess it makes sense. Um, no, I'm good. I can find my way back, goodnight." He heads for his room.
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Nikiri nods and heads down to the kitchen and starts to make some tea to help him fall asleep, half wondering if korri was still here.
He let's the kettle heat up and while waiting heads to wear he knew he put his mother.
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Yori heads to his room and flops onto the bed, laying there for a bit before pulling his phone out and playing some games to keep his mind busy.
Korri is still there, talking softly with Imogen, " well with the room you have here and his insistence that he wants to be near those boys, perhaps I should ask Touhou if he wants to come help out here. I know you have your hands full with the girls."
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Imogen hums softly, "touhou. That sounds like a funny name. And you said he was a mouse? I suppose from the sounds of it he raised the brothers so he'd know how to handle kids. I wouldn't mind. Maybe it would help yori not feel like a stranger here as well if he was with someone he knew more."
Nikiri smiles when he sees them, "hey I was about to make some tea for the evening. Nothing extravagant, just some chamomile to help wind down. Did either of you two care for some?"
Imogen looks at nikiri and nods, "a cup of tea sounds lovely for me. How about you korri?"
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Korri nods, " indeed. Oh, Nikiri." she smiles, " ah, sounds lovely, i will take some please. Anyway, i'll put the question to him tomorrow then."
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Nikiri nods, "perfect. I'll bring that out once it's done."
He heads back to the kitchen.
A very small and thin girl with one jagged antler peeks around the doorway to yori's room, trying to be sneaky but also wanting to see this supposed human.
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Yori groans as he fails a level, " augh this is hard... i suppose it wouldn;t be much fun if it was too easy though. hm, maybe if i...hm." He sets his phone down for a second and blinks as he sees her, "uh, hi?"
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Phae's eyes widen and she gasps softly before quickly taking a step back so yori can't see her
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Yori blinks, " oh, um, sorry..." he lowers his head and picks his phone back up to play his game some more.
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After a minute has passed she slowly moves closer to the door and peeks again, watching yori
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Yori doesn;t look up, " you can come in if you want."
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Phae squeaks and hides again, although after some deliberation she hesitantly gets close to the door and takes a step inside, "um... what are you playing?" Her voice is quiet and soft with a nervous tone
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" just a little strategy game. it's kind of like a 'find the hidden object' but you gotta interact with stuff to find certain things. wanna watch?" he looks up.
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She perks up a little, giving a little nod, "if that's okay."
She takes cautious steps over to yori, making sure if he makes any sudden movements she can flee
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Yori nods, " sure." he scoots over on the bed a bit so there's room for her, moving his phone so it would be between them. " see on this level, the pig is sleeping in the bed, but the item we need is his hat. if we plug his nose..." he presses on the pigs face and it sits up, " it gets up and we can take the hat! okay, next item... the phone. but the one we need is on, and this one is out of battery. what do you think we should do?"
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She climbs on the bed and looks at the phone, blinking, "ummm can you charge the phone and make it not dead?"
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Yori nods, " good idea. oh look, there\'s a charging cable, lets move that there and... it's charging! there we go! hm, there's a picture under that bird we need, but it doesn;t wanna move. oh, lets just put this tape in this tape player, and... that scared it off. awesome!" he grins.
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She blinks as she watches the screen, curious about the phone for a brief moment before looking at yori, her eyes tracking his expressions and appearance, "are you actually a human?"
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Yori blinks and rubs his head, " um, kind of? i always thought i was, but i guess i found out recently im only half?"
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"Oh. Maybe that explains why you're not so big and bulky like a human." She nods to herself, satisfied with her own conclusion
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Yori chuckles, " uh, also probably because im younger than most you've seen, and not military type. My name is Yori, what's yours?"
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"I'm Phaedra but everyone calls me phae. And um yeah I am not old enough to train with my siblings yet to be a part of the meetings so the only time I see humans is when they come in for an inspection. They're scary....but... you're not really scary so it's a little confusing."
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Yori frowns, " im sorry you have to deal with that. i didn;t know for a long time how bad it was. most humans aren;t like that. though some are."
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Phae shrugs, "mama just says not to trust humans unless she gives us the okay. And she said you were okay. I thought all humans looked bulky and big and weird but apparently not."
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Yori nods, " that makes a lot of sense..." he sighs, " though i guess im glad i don;t look bulky and big and weird?"
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Phae nods, "as far as being a human goes you look good!"
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Yori snorts, " thanks i guess? It's pretty late, shouldn;t you be in bed?"
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Phae pouts, "I get nervous sometimes at night. I don't like the dark."
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Yori blinks, " okay. well im not tired yet, i usually stay up kind of late. so you can stay in here for awhile if you want."
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Phae looks up at him, "really? Can i?"
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He nods, " i don't mind. maybe we should see about getting you a night light. i know mine helped me a lot as a kid."
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"What's a nightlight?"
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" well, its a little light you have that turns on when its dark, so its not totally dark in your room at night."
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Her eyes widen, "I want that!! I want that a lot!"
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Yori chuckles, " okay, i'll see about taking a trip out of the district and getting you one then. do you like stars?"
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Phae nods, "uh huh! I like that they hide during the day. It's funny."
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Yori grins, " alright, i think i know the perfect thing then. how many of your sisters do you think would also like a night light?"
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"Maybe elyza but... maybe that's it. The next closest in age isn't afraid of the dark and the rest of my siblings are older. Maybe Robin but she is scared of everything. Even IM more braver than her."
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Yori nods, " so three then. i just don;t want anyone to feel left out you know?"
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Phae nods, "is it different? The humans side?"
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Yori nods, " lots different. it's... it's not right how they treat you here. you guys barely seem to get enough to get by... im so sorry, i never knew before."
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Phae frowns and looks down, "I guess... I didn't really think that we had so little. I have never had anything more so I had nothing to compare it to. I always thought my family had it pretty good cuz we have a house that's standing and I have all of my family. Most demons don't have that."
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Yori nods, " yeah, i guess... i guess i kinda meant in general. im glad you guys are able to have that. sorry, im babbling and you're just a kid, you shouldn;t have to worry about this stuff."
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Phae reaches up and pats him on the head, "you have a lot of silly thoughts. It'll be okay."
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Yori blinks as he's patted on the head, then chuckles, " thanks. you're not wrong, i guess i just feel out of place with everything that's happened. it's been a lot lately. you're a good listener."
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Phae smiles and gives a soft giggle, "thanks! Admittedly this is one of the rare times I get to have a conversation with someone older than me. I'm sure you've heard by now that I have an illness. Everyone talks about it. And a lot of people pay attention to me but... I don't think they want to most of the time. And any conversation I have it's really just them telling me what to do. I feel like... if it weren't for this one thing... would anyone want to hang out with me. Is it really me they're paying attention to or my sickness. Have you ever felt like that?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, i think i know what you mean. i've never been sick, but my family has a lot of money. so people used to just hang out with me because i'd buy things for them. i don;t really think any of them were my friends though. im sorry you get sick, i hope you get better."
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Phae hums softly, "thanks... I do too..."
She's quiet for a little bit before her quiet voice speaks up again, "um... I don't have a use for money and umm you're nice to talk to so... do you think we could be friends?"
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Yori nods, " i'd like that. friends then?" he holds a hand out to shake hers.
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Phae blinks before giggling, "friends don't handshake silly!" She holds out her little hand, one pinky sticking out of her otherwise fisted hand, "they pinky promise!"
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Yori blinks then chuckles, " silly me. pinky promise." he hooks his pinky on hers.
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Phae gives a soft giggle, happy to have a friend who also isn't a family member!
She unhooks her pinky and proceeds to yawn, "okay... I'm getting tired now.... I should go to bed huh."
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Yori nods, " probably a good idea. have a good night. i should probably get to bed too, after all i have some night lights to hunt down tomorrow."
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She crawls off the bed and smiles at yori, "thank you for being nice. I wish more people were like you. G'night!" She scampers off to her room
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Yori waves, " right back at ya. goodnight." he waits until she's gone and gets ready for bed, wearing pajama pants an an oversized shirt, going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and whatnot before he goes back to his room.
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In the morning nikiri is already awake, getting his mother some tea, medicine, and some food.
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Korri sets a simple breakfast in front of Touhou, " so, I had an idea while talking to my dear friend Imogen last night. Yori is staying with her and her family, and well, it's a large family. They could use another set of hands that are used to taking care of children. And I bet Yori would feel more at home with a familiar face. It's completely your choice however."
Yori wakes up none too early, but earlier than normal having gone to bed at a reasonable time for once. He stumbles to the bathroom to shower and freshen up.
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touhou blinks and looks up at korri, "you... want to know if i want to live with a new family? I... Do i still get a room? I dont need something big but i dont want to sleep in a supply closet."
Rylie and Rae run downstairs, laughing and giggling, both talking in unison, "maaaa! we're leaving for our studies!"
imogen loks towards the door from the kitchen, "Okay behave!!"
Seraphi and Phae are also sitting at the table, idly chatting with each other.
Robin goes upstairs and goes to Elyza's room, helping her get ready, "come on, i gotta get you ready before im late."
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Korri hums, " well i'd have to ask to be absolutely certain, but i would assume you'd get a room, Imogen is a generous soul. if nothing else i would bet Yori would share a room with you before he'd let you sleep in a closet. and of course you don;t have to if you don't want to, i just thought you might like to be closer to Yori."
Yori gets dressed and kind of wanders, not really knowing where the kitchen is but being hungry.
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touhou nods, "i um... i wouldnt mind to be near someone more familiar, no offense."
Elyza squirms out of robins grasp and runs out of her room with only her underwear on, "NO!! DONT WANNA" she runs past yori
Robin flinches when elyza does her usual shrieking as she flees, "ah... no... i wish she wouldnt do that every morning..."
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Korri chuckles, " none taken, I thought you would."
Yori quickly crouches and puts an arm out to catch her, " hey hey now! What's the matter?"
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elyza whines and squirms in yori's arms, "dont wanna go! wanna go to bed!"
Robin goes to the hallway and squeaks when she sees yori. She takes a nervous step back, shaking a little, "u-um excuse me- um- sir I need um i need to get her dressed for her um playdate."
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Yori looks at Robin, " hold on a minute." He gently holds Elyza in front of him, " so why don;t you wanna go to a playdate?"
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elyza whines, "it cold outside! I wanna go back to bed!!"
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Yori hums, " it is pretty cold out. but you'll only be in the cold for a bit, and then you get to play with your friend, that sounds like fun right?"
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elyza sticks her tongue out, "no! no yucky. i hate the snow!"
Robin nervously looks at the time and back at elyza, "u-umm"
Nikiri glances at the time and hums softly, "Robin and elyza are going to be late. I'll be right back mother."
Imogen keeps sipping her tea, "mmhmm!"
Nikiri heads upstairs and blinks, "oh good morning yori. Elyza why arent you dressed...?"
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Yori looks up, " she's very unhappy about going out into the snow. how about this Elyza, if you get dressed and go to your play date, i'll have a surprise when you get home. you can only have it if you go to your playdates this winter though."
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elyza stops and blinks before looking up at yori, "surprise?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, but you gotta be a good girl or i'll take it back okay? so go get dressed."
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elyza pouts and shifts a little before sighing, "okay alright, fine." she walks back to her room.
Robin gives a soft sigh and nervously glances at yori before following elyza to get her dressed.
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Yori sighs, " well, bribery probably isn;t the best way to make her behave, but at least it worked?" he stands back up, " um, is there breakfast somewhere?"
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Nikiri nods, "yes of course. Sorry about elyza, winter is her least favorite season so she can get a little... ill mannered. And yes, breakfast. I can have something simple prepared here for you, or if you wish I'm sure the cafe will have something decent or um... I guess going to takana's is also an option if you want something better. Admittedly mother eats like a bird and the kids grab food on the go so I'm not much of a cook."
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " whatever is good. im gonna head out of the district to get some cash and things afterwards."
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nikiri gives a hesitant nod, "okay i can get some flavored oatmeal going but please, if you dont want to eat that then you dont have to. Takana got used to our food because he was creative enough to make it palatable while i cant do that unfortunately."
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Yori smiles, " it's okay, i can always get food while im out too. even a peice of toast is fine, i know you guys don;t have much, i don;t want to deprive you."
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nikiri hums softly, "Its less depriving and more of... quality i guess. i- i can do toast. do you want any margarine or preserves on it?"
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Yori nods, " preserves please. i guess i should try to get something like some fresh fruit for you guys too... i should get a toy wagon like Isabelle, that'll make it easier."
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nikiri nods, "follow me to the kitchen then." he smiles and heads down the stairs
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Yori nods, " 'kay. i didn;t know where it was." he follows after.
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nikiri nods, "yeah sorry, i know we wanted to give you a full tour of the house but plans tend to change faster than we care for." he enters the kitchen, "yori is awake mother."
Imogen sets her cup down and turns to smiles at yori, "good morning yori. I apologize for last night."
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Yori waves his hands, " it's no problem! things happen. im just glad you're okay."
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imogen hums softly, "As a host i must take care of my health to ensure i can take care of my guests so im still sorry that you had to see me like that. i hope you slept well at least."
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Yori nods, " i did, thank you." he looks around, " thank you for letting me stay here."
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imogen nods, "oh no need to thank me! I am very grateful to host a human, half or not. if there is anything else we can do for you please dont hesitate to ask."
nikiri sets a plate down with a couple slices of toast with some strawberry goo on it, "here you are yori."
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Yori nods, " alright. i just wanted to get some breakfast quick and then i wanted to head out of the district to get some things." he takes the plate, " thank you." and grabs a slice, biting into it.
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Robin soon comes down the stairs with Elyza, "Mom, Nikiri, im heading out with Elyza! i'll see you later!"
nikiri and imogen both call out, "okay be safe!"
imogen looks at yori and smiles, "well you just have a good time dear and be safe. oh! your little mousey maid is probably going to be staying here as well. korri mentioned him needing a more comfortable place to stay and I thought since you two know each other it would be good for both of you."
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Yori blinks in surprise, " oh! that would be awesome. is that okay?"
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Imogen nods, "we have one of the biggest homes in the district so I see it as a win-win. I get to meet another new friend, you get to be with some family, and we can still justify owning something so nice."
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Yori nods enthusiastically, " if that's not too much trouble that would be awesome!" He quickly finishes his toast, " I'll be back later today okay?"
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imogen nods, "Of course~ im usually home like, 90% of the time."
Nikiri looks at yori, "let me guide you to the gate. I'll feel better since its a bit of a walk. oh and also if its okay with you we should exchange numbers. this way when you come back to the gate i can make sure you get home safely."
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Yori nods, " yeah that's a good idea." he quickly rattles off his number, " you don't have to keep such a close eye on me though, you said you were really busy right?"
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Nikiri shrugs, "my work really begins when arakan notifies me in the mornings. Typically he brings takana and izanagi to work and then visits them after they get home. Obviously that hasn't happened in a while but my schedule has so far remained the same. Quiet in the morning, hectic until the evening. So I do have time to walk you to the gate."
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Yori nods, " well, lead the way then. i think i remember how to get there but it'll be nice to make sure i actually know." he checks to make sure he has his wallet before grabbing his coat.
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Nikiri nods, "of course." He turns to his mother and kisses her on the forehead, "I'll be back mother."
He turns and heads out the door, making sure yori is following
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Yori hurries after, " so I guess you and that Arakan person are close?"
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Nikiri nods, "yes. The cliche childhood friendship."
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Yori nods, " gotcha. do you think... he's safe for my brother to be around? i guess im just worried."
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Nikiri hums softly, "currently yes. In the beginning I was worried so I watched closer over takana to make sure your brother didn't do anything dumb. I legit believe he is the only living person who got away with telling Arakan to 'take a chill pill'.. that one... I'm surprised he survived."
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Yoris eyes widen, " that...does not sound like he's a safe person." He whines.
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Nikiri snorts, "well takana did do it in public. That's something you just don't do to a high ranking demon. It's humiliating for someone like him. But, that was their first time meeting. It's been half a year now. Arakan has calmed down and takana has been respectful. People change and grow constantly so I wouldn't worry about it."
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Yori sighs, " my brother does not like authority figures. But if you think it's safe now..."
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Nikiri nods, "of course. If anything our demon prince has warmed up considerably after enjoying takana's conpany."
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Yori frowns, " I guess that's good." He gets to the gate and pulls his pass out, " um, thanks for walking with me." He shows the pass at the gate.
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Nikiri takes a step back as the guard motions the demon to move away, "of course. Let me know when you are coming back and I'll stop by again."
The guard watches nikiri carefully before opening the gate for yori to come through
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" I will!" He heads through. " Thank you." He nods to the guard and starts walking to the nearest shopping mall, eager to get to work.
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A few hours later Nikiri sits at the booth at the cafe, flirting with izanagi
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Yori texts Nikiri while in a cab on teh way to the gate to let him know he was on his way back, giddy at all the yummy things he had, some games for himself, and the nightlights for the kids.
Izanagi happily flirts back, winking at Nikiri.
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Nikiri pauses in the middle of flirting to read the text, "oh! Gotta go!" He gets up, kisses izanagi on the forehead, "have a good day darling!"
He leaves to get to the gate
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Izanagi watches him leave with his mouth dropped open, not entirely sure what just happened.
Yori loads everything into the little wagon he got and pulls it to the gate, showing his pass to get in.
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Nikiri is waiting on the other side already, having rushed to get over.
The guard grumbles and let's yori through
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Yori pulls the wagon through and waves, " Nikiri! I got a bunch of good stuff." he pulls the wagon through the snow with some difficulty.
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Nikiri nods, "I see that. Did you have a good time?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, i think Phae and Elyza and maybe Robin are gonna be excited for what i got them. oh, plus i got you guys fresh fruits. I also got a switch since i had to leave mine at home, that way i have something to keep me occupied. plus i got extra controllers so we can all play."
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Nikiri blinks, "oh. That's kind of you. Let's get you back home so we can get this stuff put away."
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Yori nods, " well I have access to my dad's money, so might as well use it to help you guys out." He happily drags the wagon along
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Nikiri leads yori back to his place, "I'm surprised you even got something for Robin. I know she wasn't the most friendly this morning. She is terrified of everything and everyone."
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Yori shrugs, " when I talked to Phae last night, I asked who else might like a night light, and Phae said Robin might. So I got her one." He heads for the kitchen to unload the fruit and other foods.
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Nikiri hums, "ah yeah that would make sense. Yeah Robin is terrified of the dark... and humans and spiders, snakes, mice, rats, cats, dogs, loud noises, sudden movement. Everything scares her."
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Yori nods, " and Phae doesn't like the dark either. So night lights! I hope they like them. When do they get home?"
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Nikiri hums softly, "the twins won't be home thankfully so we won't have to hear their loud voices. And Robin said she'd be home before 5 with all three kids in tow."
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Yori nods, " I can't wait for them to see this." He grins. " Wanna set up the switch and play some Mario kart? If you're not busy."
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Nikiri blinks, "a game? I've never played a game before. Uh sure!" He smiles, "follow me to the living room."
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Yori nods, hurrying after him. " It's fun. You race each other and computer enemies."
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They get to the living room, a decent modernish TV sits on a stand, "you're in luck as well. We recently got this TV. Usually after the humans have Christmas is the best time to go dumpster diving for anything they threw out to make room for new items."
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Yori looks, " nice!" He quickly works on getting it set up, getting the controllers synced and handing one to Nikiri before getting the game going.
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Nikiri curiously watches yori set it up, even getting more confused when he's handed a remote, "what's this?"
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Yori blinks, " to play the game obviously. that'll control your character. here, lets pick this... and now we can pick our character. im gonna pick Link. so pick the avatar character you want, and then we can customize our vehicle to have better or worse properties in certain areas. acceleration is how fast you speed up, handling is how well the vehicle responds to turns and things, and speed is the maximum speed you can go. a balance is good, because if you're too fast with no handling you'll spin out of control, but if you have just handling but no speed, you'll be behind everyone and lose."
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Nikiri blinks as he listens, "fascinating!" He curiously pushes the joystick and perks up when he sees a different character pop up, "oh! I'm controlling something. Um..."
He picks Isabelle, "oh a little doggie! How cute! I'll play her!"
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Yori chuckles, and guides him on what parts for the vehicle he should pick before starting the game. " so the goal is to be the first across the finish line. if you get those question boxes, you get an item which can help you or sabotage your opponents."
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Nikiri nods, "understood!" He sits on the couch and starts playing with yori
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Yori gives him tips as they play, trying to make it more fair, laughing as they play.
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He nods and continues playing, enjoying something he's never seen before.
After a few hours the front door opens and Robin enters the house with the little girls, "alright now all of you go to your room and change into some warmer clothes while I get tea going." She shuts the door and shivers, "we're home!"
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Yori looks up and smiles, " oh they're home. lets finish this real quick." he beats Nikiri easily and sets the controller aside, " welcome back!"
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Nikiri's eyes widen when he's defeated easily and he's a little dumbfounded before hesitantly setting his controller down
Robin hears yori and grumbles softly. She heads to the kitchen.
Phea and Seraphi head to their rooms to warm up.
Elyza runs to where she hears yori, stopping when she sees him, "oh! Boy!"
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Yori snorts, " yeah, boy. i got you a surprise Elyza, were you a good girl so i can give it to you?"
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Elyza nods, looking determined, "yes! I was the best! Gift! Giftgiftgift!"
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Yori laughs softly, " and are you gonna be a good girl for the rest of the winter too? only good girls can keep this gift." he grabs the bag that the box is in.
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She nods and runs up to yori, grabbing his pants, "please please please! Elyza never got gift before!"
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Yori blinks, feeling his chest ache and hands her the bag, " well here you go, your first gift. open it up."
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elyza takes the bag with her little gremlin hands and excitedly opens it, pulling out the nightlight, "Oh wow!!" she blinks as she stares at it before looking at yori, "What is it?"
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Yori smiles, " it's special. i'll show you. lets take it to you room okay? can you show me where your room is?" he picks it up.
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elyza nods and takes yori's hand, "your memory must be baaad!" she starts clumsily walking up the stairs
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Yori chuckles softly and follows, " you were half asleep, and this is a new place. give me a break." once they get there he plugs it in and turns the light off in the room, " it'll be better tonight when it's really dark, but push this button here."
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elyza blinks and pushes the button curiously
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The night light turns on and a gently light shines out, the top very slowly rotating with patterns covering it, the effect being that galaxies and starts are projected on the walls and ceiling and bathe the room in a soft light.
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elyza stumbles back with a gasp before quickly turning around to look at her whole room. she smiles and gives an excited shriek, "MY ROOM IS THE OUTSIDE!!!"
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Yori laughs softly, " you can turn this on at night, and then it won't be so dark and scary. you can sleep surrounded by stars."
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Elyza gives another excited scream before she runs out of her room, "PHAEEE PHAE MY ROOM COME LOOK AT MY ROOM!!!"
Phae comes out of her room, looking down the hall, "what is going on?"
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Yori laughs softly, going and grabbing the other two boxes with night lights, " well elyza got hers first, but i didn;t forget i promised you one too. and one for Robin if she wants one. i was showing her the night light."
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phae blinks and goes to elyza's room, gasping softly, "oh wow... its beautiful... a-and i got one too?"
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Yori nods, handing her a box, " yup, just plug it in and press the button. easy as that."
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phae takes the box and looks at it briefly before smiling up at yori, "Thank you yori! I appreciate it a lot!" she hugs him
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Yori blinks, surprised by the sudden hug, then hugs her back, " yeah, no problem. you wanna tell Robin that i have one for her too? i don't think we've been introduced."
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Phae nods, "i'll try, she is scared of you i think. but then again she is afraid of everything." she sets the box down before running to go find robin.
Nikiri is in the hallway, against the wall trying not to show how much he is enjoying the scene
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Yori nods, " well i suppose that's why Phae said she'd maybe like the night light then huh." he sets the last box out to wait for her to bring Robin back.
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Phae soon comes back up the stairs with robin, "back!"
Robin looks incredibly nervous, "Phae id rather not."
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Yori smiles, " oh, so you're Robin. You don't have to stay, I just wanted to give you this." He scoots the box towards her and backs off so he doesn't get too close. " It's a night light, just like this one." He gestures to the walls and ceilings. " So it won't be so dark at night. Just plug it in and press the button. It's nice to meet you."
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Robin looks at yori and then at the box, and then up at yori again, "Why would you suddenly give me anything?"
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Yori blinks, " Phae said she didn't like the dark, so I wanted to help her. She said you might like one too."
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Robins eyes narrow, "it's not a bomb or some other device to kill me?"
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Yori blinks, staring at her for a long moment, " uh, no? it's... it's the same as this one." he points to the one that's on and lighting the room.
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Phae smiles up at Robin, "isn't it pretty!"
Robin huffs, "people don't just give things to others. Especially a human even if it's a half thing."
Nikiri steps inside the room and places a hand on robins shoulder, earning a squeak from her, "it's alright robin. Yori is a pretty decent human. After all arakan hasn't killed him." Joke. That's a joke.
Robin blinks, calming down a little, "I guess... you're not wrong."
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Yori's eyes widen, " is that a thing i have to worry about?!"
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Nikiri laughs softly, "unless you became a threat to the district he wouldn't do anything. You don't seem like the type to pull a Takana so don't worry. I was joking."
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Yori nods slowly, then looks at Robin, " i just wanted to do something nice, since you guys are letting me stay here..."
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Robin sighs softly and hesitantly takes the box, "um thanks. I guess. Have a good night." She turns and goes to her room.
Nikiri waits until Robin leaves and sighs, "sorry about Robin. She... doesn't trust a lot of people, especially humans. I think.. it's because she was like, 7 or 8 when we had our really rough couple of years. Inspections were bad and she was old enough to remember what was going on but young enough that she didn't know why. So... yeah. She kinda assumes the worst out of every situation. "
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Yori nods, " that okay. i hope it helps her regardless."
Korri calls up Imogen, humming softly.
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Imogen lazily grabs her phone and answers it, her voice sounding groggy from waking up, "hello~?"
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Korri smiles, " Imogen dear? i hope i didn;t wake you. i just had a quick question. i suspect i already know the answer, but just to put our little mouse friends mind at ease, you do plan to give him a bedroom to stay in, and you won;t expect him to stay in a supply closet?"
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Imogen blinks and sits up, "why.... would I make him stay in a supply closet? That's barbaric. Of course he's getting a room. He'll probably be in Rita's old room if anything. It's across the hall from yori's current room."
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Korri chuckles, " just checking. thank you. if you could have Nikiri come get him at some point that would be lovely, he's been having a bad case of cabin fever here."
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Imogen blinks and nods, "of course I can send nikiri out. Last I heard he was playing some silly game so I'm sure he has time to spare. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
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" no, that's all. just make sure you don't get over excited and take care of yourself." She covers the phone so she can talk to Touhou, " pack up what you have here, you'll be going to a new place shortly. and yes you get a room."
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Touhou gives an excited squeak before scurrying to his room for the small amount of items he has.
Imogen giggles, "I will do my best. Have a good day korri!"
She hangs up the phone and calls down the hall, "niiikiri!"
Nikiri hears his mother and sticks his head out of the room, "yes mom?"
Imogen stretches, "I need you to go to korri's infirmary and pick up touhou and bring him here!"
Nikiri nods, "will do, what room is he going in?"
"Rita's! That way he and yori will be close!"
Nikiri looks back at yori, "hey big favor to ask you."
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Korri smiles, " thank you my dear. " she tucks her phone into her pocket.
Yori looks at him, " yeah? what's up?"
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"The bedroom across the hall from yours will be touhou's room but it's not exactly ready yet. I was wondering if you'd be okay with getting the room ready? It really just needs a change of sheets, some dusting, and if anything personal is in it it'll need to be removed. If that can get done while I go get him I'd appreciate it a lot."
Phae smiles, "oh! I can help! I helped get your room ready so I know what to do to help!" She smiles at yori
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Yori is about to say he'd be happy to, but he'd probably make a mess of things, when Phae pipes in, " oh would you help me? i'd really appreciate that. yeah, i think i can manage with Phaes help."
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Nikiri nods and smiles at yori and phae, "thank you. You two are life savers for sure! I'll be back!"
He heads out.
Phae smiles at yori, "take my hand! I'll show you where we keep the clean linens!"
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Yori waves, " no problem! i hope." he takes her hand, " lead the way. and then you're gonna have to tell me where i need to put away any of the personal stuff in there."
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Phae nods, "Yeah! It'll be in the same closet!" She goes downstairs and opens a double door closet, one side full of different linens and on the other side there are different bins with each child's name on it, "most of the boxes are empty since my sister's are good about taking all of their stuff but just in case mama likes to keep them around."
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Yori nods, " okay. so, like one of each of these?" he points to a pile.
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Phae nods, "Yeah! Grab the one with stars! Those we recently cleaned so they'll be freshest! Oh but I'm not really good at making a bed so I hope you know how. Oh! Oh! That blanket up top is super cozy so grab that too! I can hold it!"
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Yori chuckles, " i'll try, i've never really made a bed before though." he pulls the blanket down and hands it to her before grabbing the sheets indicated.
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The blankets are big and even folded up neatly it ends up looking like a mess in her thin arms, "got it! We'll figure it out!" She awkwardly heads back upstairs, doing her best not to trip on any hanging blankets from her arms
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Yori laughs and piles his arms full, heading to the room. he pulls the old sheets off and sets them aside before struggling to get the mattress cover and fitted sheet on.
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Phae collects the used linens and carries them out of the room, "another new friend. This is the most activity we've had in the home for a while! "
Arakan will get a text from shiro today that will say, sorry for the lack of communication. Not much had happened that would need to be reported, however currently, something has happened that you should be aware of. May i come visit your district? I don't know if you know my brother's assistant and the 7th districts spy, bakemono, but they are the one with this info and they would accompany me to tell you since they won't tell me. I know bakemono's position makes this whole thing troublesome so i understand if you refuse and that is perfectly okay. If it helps, they promise not to do anything. They may still work for my brother but they have no desire to cause any harm to your district as long as takana is living in it. Thank you and have a good day.
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Yori smiles, " this will be exciting, i can;t wait to hear him talk!"
Arakan checks his phone and raises an eyebrow, well, good news for me then. yeah, we can arrange a meeting
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Phae laughs, "Yeah! "
Shiro sends another text, 'excellent. The cafe is a decent area, just let me know what works best for you
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Arakan sighs, i can make any day work, i know you two have to be careful getting here so when you can make it without raising suspicion.
Yori chuckles, " he couldn;t talk before, but Korri fixed him. that's why im excited to hear him talk." he looks at the rumpled sheets, " you know, he used to do this for me all the time, so he'll probably fix it."
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'i understand. My brother is supposed to be involved in a meeting with our parents in the morning, and then with some humans in the afternoon in a couple of days, thursday to be exact. Is that an okay time?
Phae smiles, "okay! Um do you wanna wipe down the surfaces to get the dust off while I take these sheets down to the laundry room?" She holds up some basic all purpose cleaner and paper towels, "I would but I'm not very tall."
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i'll make that work. see you then.
Yori nods, " i can do that! be careful not to trip, i can help carry them when im done if there's too much." he grabs the cleaner and spritzes down surfaces and wipes with the paper towels.
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Phae collects two whole blankets and huffs when she has to leave five behind, "i... I'll take a couple to start. If you get done before I come back then yeah I could use some help too." She waddles out of the room
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Yori nods, " alright!" he quickly works on trying to get the whole place cleaned up before she gets back so he can help. He does finish as she gets back, letting her take two blankets while he takes the other three, looking around them the best he can, " lead the way! i'll try to follow."
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Phae nods and scampers down the stairs to a laundry room, setting the sheets in the hamper, "I don't know how to use the washing machine though so we'll leave that to someone else."
Nikiri soon enters the home, holding the door open for touhou, "come on in. I'll show you to your room."
Touhou blinks and enters the home, curiously looking around
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Yori carefully goes down to the laundry room, " sounds like a good idea to me, i have no idea how to use it either. lets head back and make sure we get any of the personal items out of there." he heads back to the room, looking for anything that looks special and gathering it up.
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Phae nods and looks around the room, under the bed and in the closet, "um just some dresses. I can take those to the bin!"
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" awesome. i think that's everything then." he helps grab them and bring them to the bin, " which one?"
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Phae points to the top bin, "the one that says rita!"
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Yori pulls it down and puts what he has in it, then holds it so Phae and put her stuff in before putting it back, " i think we're done then, or at least except for the awful job i did on the bed. guess i'll have to ask him to teach me how to do that properly huh? lets head back, i bet your brother will be home any minute."
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Phae nods, "if he isn't home already." She smiles.
Nikiri looks at touhou and hums softly, "do you always wear such outfits?"
Touhou looks at nikiri and nods, "Yeah. It's what I'm used to."
Nikiri sighs, "well I dont see anymore clothes in your possession so it might be a good idea to have a shopping day sometime soon."
Touhou blinks before blushing, "korri gave me a set of pajamas...."
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, "you gonna wear the same pair every night? Our district doesn't have much for fashion but it does have some decent stuff. Izanagi knows where the cute clothes are so maybe you guys could have a shopping fun day?"
Touhou frowns, "i..I... don't really know izanagi that well..."
Nikiri shrugs, "well you gotta meet people some time. Anyways I should let yori know we're home." He looks towards the stairs, "we're home!!"
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Yori hears Nikiri yell and hurries to where he heard Nikiri, " hey! we got the room... mostly ready."
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Touhou brightens up when he sees yori, "yori!"
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Yori smiles, " you really can talk now...I'm so sorry I never knew...um, the bed is pretty messy. I tried but apparently I have no idea what I'm doing. Sorry. Your bedroom is gonna be close to mine though, so yeah. It's so good to see you."
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Touhou rubs his arm a little, "well I kinda kept such a thing a secret as well so please don't feel guilty. And don't worry about the bed, it's an easy fix. I'm glad to be near someone familiar. I missed you and takana."
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Yori sighs, " i know you did but still...anyway, come on, this will be your room." he leads the way, " and that one is where im staying."
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Touhou follows yori and blinks when he sees his decently sized bedroom, "i.... I couldn't possibly accept this. Its so big! I know I said I didn't want to sleep in a supply closet but I'd feel bad."
Nikiri follows up from behind and shrugs, "all of the rooms are the same size so there's nothing smaller we could give you even if we wanted to."
Touhou blinks and looks up at nikiri, "o-oh...I see. I just feel bad. I don't have any possessions to need something so big..."
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Yori tilts his head, " do... you want to share my room then? apparently this room isn't being used anyway so it's not like you're taking it from someone else."
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Touhou blinks and frowns, "i... don't know. You guys did work hard on getting my room ready. "
Nikiri shakes his head a little, "we also don't have spare cots or beds that can fit through the doorway. Trust me, you getting this room is the easiest way we can house you so don't fret too much. Now, you should at some point get some actual clothes."
Touhou blinks and pouts, "I am wearing clothes. "
Nikiri raises an eyebrow, "I wouldn't call what you're wearing actual clothes. "
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Yori runs to his room and grabs some of the cash he had gotten earlier, coming back and holding a wad out to Touhou, " here. I pulled a bunch of cash for my dad's account earlier when I was shopping. I know we didn't grab any of your stuff when we left...please get what you want."
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Touhou blinks when yori holds out the money and blinks in confusion, "I mean... my old uniform came with me. It was just trashed from how ripped up it was."
Nikiri leans against the wall, "so... you have no possessions."
Touhou looks at nikiri, "no. I had my uniform."
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Yori frowns, " well, then use this to get some clothes and personal stuff. Please?"
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Touhou stares at the money, suddenly becoming nervous, "i-i.. don't know if i.. I mean it's no big deal I can uh I mean I don't really even know where.. to ...um..."
Nikiri watches the exchange in amusement before looking at yori, "I have an idea. You should get to know the district better, as does touhou. And you two should get to know each other more now that you both have some freedom from your father. So I propose we pick up takana and then take a trip to the stores in the district. You both can familiarize with the area, get some shopping done, and also hang out. Izanagi may have to come as well since he knows where the good stuff is sold but I can come with and keep him in check from getting too excited."
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Yori blinks and looks at Nikiri, " sure, i think that's probably a good idea. It'll be okay Touhou, i just want to make sure you have a few outfits and basic things you need okay? you deserve to have things."
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Touhou blinks and nervously glances between nikiri and yori, "I um... I guess I'm more comfortable with that instead of just having currency."
Nikiri nods, "perfect! It's settled then."
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Yori nods enthusiastically, " alright! i do want you to have some just in case you're out and don;t have someone with to get it for you." he pulls out a few hundred dollars and hands it to Touhou. " oh!" he looks at Phae, " did you want to come with too? i don;t mean to make you feel excluded here."
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Phae shakes her head, "thanks but no thanks. I don't really like the stores."
Touhou looks at the cash and just stares at it, not knowing what to do with it.
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Yori puts the rest into his pocket, hoping Touhou follows suit. " alright, figured i'd make the offer anyway. thanks so much for helping me get Touhous room ready."
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Touhou sees yori put his money away and he blinks some more before searching his outfit for pockets.
He did get it from izanagi so he honestly wasn't sure if it had pockets.
He then remembered seeing izanagi pull something out of the outfit before handing it to him and it was in the chest area.
He gently pulls on the fabric to stretch out the chest area and-ah! A pocket! A weird spot for it but whatever.
He tucks the money inside the inner, hidden boob pocket and nods in content
Phae smiles, "I'm glad I could help!"
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Yori quickly tests Takana hey, we're gonna do some shopping to get Touhou some new clothes and stuff, will you come with? and see if Izanagi can come too
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Takana sees the text and hums, youre in luck. With me not working at the cafe it slowed down for izanagi to have a day off today. Let me ask.
"Hey nagi! You wanna go shopping with me, touhou, and yori?"
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Izanagi looks over, " sure, im always down for some shopping."
Yori smiles, " Takana is happy to, he's asking Izanagi right now."
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Takana smiles at izanagi "especially if you still have all that cash from isabelle." He responds back to the text,we going now and if so where do you want to meet up? We are a bit closer so you could always swing by and wed all go together but up to you
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Yori looks at Nikiri, " Izanagi will go. he's wondering how we should meet up, if we should meet there, or go get them first? probably safer to get them first right?"
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Nikiri nods, "yes it would be easier and safer if we stopped by the apartments first." He looks at touhou, "so you have a coat?"
Touhou shakes his head.
Nikiri hums softly before going to a nearby closet by the foyer and grabs a thicker kimono, "it's a little big but you can have mine. When we get to the mall we'll see if we can pick you up one."
Touhou frowns, "it's okay. I can't really feel the cold too much. Heat is hard for me but not the cold."
Nikiri shakes his head, "nope not gonna listen. You're gonna wear this until we can get you something warmer. You really should have pants."
Touhou grumbles softly at the pants comment.
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Yori frowns, " we just don;t want you to get sick, maybe we can find something longer that'll cover your legs? and some boots." we'll come get you. see you soon!
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Takan nods, we'll get ready.
He looks at izanagi, "they're gonna stop by and pick us up. I'm sure Nikiri will be with"
Touhou pouts a little before sighing.
Nikiri shakes his head before looking at yori, "get your coat and let's head out"
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Yori puts his coat on, " come on, we can get you some more dresses if you want."
Izanagi gets his cute new coat on and some leggings, grabbing some cash.
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Nikiri corrals touhou and yori out the door, heading to the apartments.
Touhou follows close to yori, looking around nervously.
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Yori let's himself be herded, looking around and jabbering to Touhou about random things. When they get to the apartment he hurries in, "Takana!"
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Takana eagerly hugs his brother, "yori!!!"
Nikiri shakes his head, "so much energy." He smiles at izanagi, "touhou doesn't have much for clothes but it appears he has your style so I'm glad you could come with since your expertise will be needed. Oh and a coat of some sort. Nothing fancy but just something so that I can take my coat back."
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Yori hugs him tightly.
Izanagi quickly looks and sees Touhou in Nikiri's kimono, his eyes narrowing for a split second before he smiles, "right, of course. here, this other Kimono you left here is a little shorter i think, we wouldn;t want him to trip over it now would we?" he grabs said Kimono and holds it out to Touhou.
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Touhou blinks and looks up at nikiri
Nikiri blinks, "not a bad idea."
Touhou nods and shrugs off the winter kimono and gives it back to nikiri before taking the other kimono from izanagi, "thank you."
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Izanagi smiles, he had hoped to get that one instead but at least Touhou wasn't wearing it. " we could leave that one here for now if you don;t wanna carry it."
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Nikiri raises an eye brow at izanagi, "I would prefer not this one as it is my winter kimono. It's thicker than all of others to help keep me warm. If you're that desperate for a scent I could leave behind the one I'm already wearing."
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Izanagi blushes, " it's fine, i just meant so you didn;t have to carry it, but if you wanna carry it go ahead. lets go ahead and get going."
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Nikiri hums and heads out with the boys in tow.
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Yori grabs Takana's hand and follows after Nikiri.
Izanagi walks between Nikiri and Touhou.
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Touhou hangs close to izanagi and hums softly, "thank you for allowing me to borrow an old outfit of yours izanagi. I do appreciate it. Hopefully I'll get some decent clothes and I'll be able to return your clothes. You're very kind."
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Izanagi shrugs, " it doesn;t fit me very well so you can keep it." he feels a bit guilty being called kind. " it was no big deal."
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Nikiri gets to the stores and glances at izanagi, "can I entrust touhou to you? He seems to like the same kind of clothing as you."
Takana smiles at yori, "let's go see what the stores have."
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Izanagi nods, " yeah i'll help him out." He gestures to Touhou and goes to the girls clothing section, " this is usually where i get my clothes. there's some pretty cute stuff. we can get Karim to adjust them if need be, you're kinda petite."
Yori nods and follows, " yeah!" he follows Takana.
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Nikiri watches the boys separate into different stores and he hums softly before following takana and yori to watch over.
Touhou nods, "this is exciting. I've never owned more than one outfit."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " really? wow. never? well, we're gonna change that." he pulls a few cute outfits off the rack, and a few that are still dresses, but plainer and sturdier. he hands them to Touhou and gently pushes him towards the changing rooms, " here, try these on."
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Touhou nods and goes to the fitting room. He slips off his clothes, his body riddled in old wounds not that izanagi was inside the room to see.
He changes into the cute outfits and aside from being baggy in some places he looked adorable in almost everything. Having grey hair and pale skin made almost everything look good on him.
He opens the door every time he changes into a new outfit to show izanagi to see what he thinks.
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Izanagi nods and claps at the outfits, " very cute! If you really like those ones that aren't fitted as well like I said, we can go see Karim. So do you like cute stuff or more functional dresses? Oh we should get you some leggings too, keep you warm in the winter."
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"I like them all. I like the cute ones for more fun days, and I could see myself using the more functional dresses for working days. I guess.... I don't wear pants. Never have so it feels weird. Hell even my pajama outfit I had was just a gown."
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" well you're gonna freeze your nuts off if you don;t wear something on your legs. we can get you a nightgown or two. i suppose we could go for some heavy petticoats to try and keep you warm, but leggings would be more effective." he grabs a long coat, " what about this for a coat?"
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Touhou hums softly, "to be fair, I seem to handle the cold better than those around me. It's the heat that I can't handle." He looks at the coat and tilts his head, "it's decent enough. A big waist belt that ends in a big bow in the back would make it perfect though. But then again I'm a sucker for big bows."
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Izanagi chuckles, " that would be cute, I'm not sure they sell anything like that here. Well, I know who we can ask. Okay, let's get you a couple night gowns. And maybe two pairs of leggings for you to try, don't hafta use them. Oh, underwear and socks, and some boots. That should cover you for now I think." He piles stuff in front of Touhou. " Here's the boots, try some on that you think you'd like, best to have at least one pair that goes up to mid calf in case of deep snow."
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Touhou makes soft eep sounds when he's handed a bunch of stuff.
He sets down some of the items and goes through the boots until he finds one that fits him. It's the smallest size they had but at least they have a pair, "I'm glad yori gave me some cash cuz this is a lot of stuff."
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Izanagi nods, " I figured they'd pay, they got the money. But you pretty much are starting from scratch so you need a good amount of stuff. Let's go buy this, then we can find them and see about seeing Karim for some fitting and maybe that belt you wanted."
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touhou hums softly, "admittedly it has been almost a century since the last time i spent money so this whole thing is very new to me. Corrin also never really let me own anything. But! i'm staying with nikiri's family and his mother is really kind. im hoping i can help her out with the kids so that Nikiri can have more time away from the house."
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izanagi perks a bit at the last bit, " that'll be nice, maybe I can get more time with him~" he hums happily, " well I'm sorry you dealt with that, but it's better now. Imogen, Nikiri mom, is a sweetheart and won't let you go without. Let's go find them."
Yori browses, " theres really not much is there?"
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Touhou gives a little nod, "I haven't officially met her yet but I'm excited to. I want to thank her for her kindness."
Takana shakes his head, "Yeah no. It's hard when human retailers would rather burn their clothes that don't sell rather than hand them to the demons to purchase. One of the many things Isabelle hopes gets corrected once humans start shopping here."
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Yori winces, " that's awful!"
Izanagi nods, " she'll probably tell you she's happy you're there. anyway." he locates the other and waves, " we got him outfitted! just need some adjustments. Can we go see Karim?"
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Takana looks over and nods, "of course!"
Touhou looks at yori, "um! I need to buy these things. Can you help me figure out how?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, the shopkeeper is over here i think." he leads the way and helps Touhou get everything onto the counter for the person to scan, then hands over enough money to cover the cost.
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Touhou watches curiously, the whole transaction including watching the cashier bag up the items, "fascinating. Thank you yori. I don't think I could ever repay your kindness."
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " just... try to be happy? to make up for a shitty life up until now? im not doing much really. come on, lets go to... whoever that was Izanagi mentioned."
Izanagi holds onto Nikiri's arm as they wait.
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Touhou gives a sweet smile, "I'm very happy right now. I can finally talk again." He goes over to nikiri and takana and izanagi.
Nikiri nods to the boys, "Karim's shop is this way." He heads to the store.
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Yori sticks close to Takana as they walk. " im glad you're happy Touhou. you deserve it."
Izanagi hangs onto Nikiri's arm.
Karims shop has many fancy outfits on display, more than usual as he's been building up his stock for the official opening of the district. The spidren looks over when he hears the door, " ah, Nikiri, and the pink haired one. welcome."
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Takana smiles at Karim, "hey it looks like you have quite a bit of stock going. Getting ready for the crowd of humans?"
Touhou blinks as he stares at the spider demon, tilting his head briefly before something sparkly catches his eyes and he fixates on that
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Karim nods, " indeed. if the demand is half as high as Isabelle claims it will be, i will be hard pressed to keep up with demand even with the backlog i've managed to make in the last several months. if it is not... well the gems can be removed, and the outfits can be altered to more useful functions fairly easily. So, what can i do for you?" he looks over Touhou curiously.
Izanagi grabs Touhous bag of stuff, " some of these need fitting, outfits for girls don;t work as well on guys. and he wanted a belt, with a big bow."
Karim takes the bag, laying the clothing out to study it, " altering can be done easily enough, i'll need more specific on the belt however." he pulls a measuring tape out, one set of arms pulling out a pad and paper while he quickly starts measuring Touhou.
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Touhou gives a soft squeak as he's measured, "um!" He blushes, "the petticoat I bought today is cute but I was um... wondering if adding a waist belt was possible? I feel like it would add contrast to the coat and give it more definition and um...! A big bow in the back because bows are cute. I- I have seen the kind of belts where the bow is preformed at the one of the ends of fabric and it just clips on if that's easier? I don't need the belt right away though if it also helps. It was just... something cute I thought of."
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Karim looks at him thoughtfully, " i can do that. wait here." he takes the clothes into the back and gets to work, and in a surprisingly short amount of time he comes back out and sets them in front of him, along with a belt with a bow firmly but subtly stitched to the belt and matching the petticoat. " try this on. i did attach it to the belt securely, but the fasteners are at the front for ease, while the bow is in back."
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Touhou gets the coat, and the bow belt on and it fits perfectly and is adorable.
He smiles and does a little twirl before looking up at Karim, "amazing!! I can see why Isabelle was so taken with your pieces! It's like working with a true mate craftsman. Thank you!"
He quickly looks at yori, "he needs money please! "
Takana can't help but smile and chuckle, "too cute. "
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Yori blinks and laughs softly, pulling out a chunk of cash and handing it over.
Karim bows at the waist, " i appreciate the compliment. thank you for your patronage." he tucks the money into a pocket. " if you desire something custom made, you know where to find me."
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Touhou nods, "yes! I will! Thank you thank you!" He smiles and gives another twirl to look get a good look at the bow.
Takana chuckles and shakes his head, "okay so going through the checklist you got some clothes that fit you thanks to Karim, you have socks and underwear. No pants because you are a pants pantsless heathen-"
Touhou gasps and looks at takana, "No! Not a heathen! I just don't like the feeling of something between my thighs!"
Takana's brain short circuits briefly before looking at izanagi, "don't say a word. Okay and I went and got you some bathroom goods. I think we got a good chunk of stuff to last you a little bit."
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Izanagi opens his mouth to say something before Takana cuts him off, and he pouts.
Yori nods, " i think that's good then. i can get other stuff if need be if we figure out he's missing things."
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Takana nods and looks at izanagi, "don't forget to gwt something cute for yourself. I'll even pay for it as a thank you for helping touhou out."
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Izanagi blinks, " really? i didn;t see anything i liked at the store." he looks around, his eyes landing on a super cute dress and he slowly points at it, looking at Takana with hope in his eyes.
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Takana laughs, "go for it. I grabbed my hidden cash from Isabelle before we left so I'm good for it. "
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Karim looks at it, quickly measures Izanagi, adjusts it to fit him, and hands it over, " here you are. Isabelle's friends discount, call it 30 and we're good. I do need to get back to work though, the silk won;t spin itself. i've had to buy silk from the other spidren in the district, i haven't been able to make enough to keep up with all the weaving i've been doing to prepare."
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Takana pays Karim and nods, "I wish there was some way we could help you with that process but working with silk is like an artform that I just don't have the skill for."
Nikiri hums softly, "well I'll corral these kids out of here then. Thank you Karim for your time. It's appreciated."
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Karim shakes his head, " I appreciate the offer but you are correct, there is little you could do to help. Perhaps making the dyes, but for now I cannot afford employees. If things go well, I will hire and train other spidren to make the fabric and dying it, which will free me to focus strictly on making the outfits."
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Takana nods, "and maybe someone to man the guests so you don't have to bother the Karen's when they eventually come. Have a good day!"
Nikiri starts walking away, "anything else to do here?"
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Karim hums, " we shall see. Farewell."
Yori shakes his head as they leave, " not that I can think of."
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Nikiri hums, "well it is getting dark so perhaps we should get everyone in their respective homes. "
Takana smiles at nikiri, "sounds good to me, it gets cold when the sun sets. "
((Hehehehehehe it's 4:20 lol I wish I was dead(not actually but I do hate my brain for not sleeping.) ))
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Yori nods, " sounds good. im sure Touhou wants to settle into his new place."
Izanagi hums happily with his new outfit in tow.
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Nikiri nods and heads back to the apartments to drop izanagi and takana off first
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Izanagi pecks Nikiri on the cheek, " visit me soon~"
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Nikiri nods, "I will when I have time. Have a good night boys."
Takana smiles and nods, "have a good night you guys." He gives touhou and yori a quick hug before heading inside.
Nikiri waits until izanagi and takana are inside before heading home with yori and touhou, holding some of touhou's stuff
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Izanagi waves, " good night!"
Yori hugs Takana real quick before leaving with Nikiri and Touhou. " this is gonna be great, we can actually hang out!"
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Touhou nods, "I'm glad to be in an environment that isn't so oppressive."
Nikiri gets to the house and opens the front door, holding it open so that touhou and yori and step inside.
His eyes glance outside, scanning his surroundings and making sure to be aware but not actively looking for anything
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Yori goes in, " i haven;t been here long, but Takana wouldn;t have let me stay here if they weren;t good people. im gonna play some mario kart, wanna join me?"
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Nikiri glances at yori, "I should check on mother. Phae might play with you or touhou." He closes the door
Touhou looks at yori, "I've never played but I will if you want me to."
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Yori nods, " alright." he looks at Touhou, "only if you wanna. you don;t hafta take orders anymore. but i wouldn't say no to some company if you wanted to."
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touhou nods, "I would enjoy doing something ive never done before."
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Yori smiles and leads the way, setting things up for them. he hesitates a bit, " can i... ask you some things?"
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touhou perks up a bit and nods, "Yes of course."
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Yori frowns, " i... i don;t even know where to start honestly. i want to know more about the house, and my dad.... nobody else can tell me it seems like. i don't know what i am, or how to find out, or what to do... the house told me to fight, but everyone else says not to. i just... i feel like i should be doing something. im just a dumb kid that doesn;t know anything about the world or how it works apparently, but i just feel.... stuck."
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touhou glances at Yori, frowning a little, "Im sorry to hear about your troubles. The house wants you to fight so you can claim it. It has a contract with Corrin that was forged shortly after he built the house. As long as he can protect it, it will protect him. If he cant protect it then it will either go back to whence it came or transfer itself and the contract to Corrin's strongest child. Of course its going to tell you to get strong and fight so it can keep surviving. its not the only way to take care of corrin though. Sure you could learn to fight and take him on, which is the quickest way to kill him but we can just as easily play the long game, let him get weaker and weaker until someone like arakan can take him down."
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Yori frowns, " isn't that dangerous though? it feels wrong to let them take this on when they really didn;t have any connection to it... and why am i the strongest child? im just... me."
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touhou is quiet for a really long time, looking at the controller in his hands, "you're a half demon with half of corrins dna. the contract is compatible with you. you are the house's best chance to survive."
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" but why me? Takana is way smarter and better than I am." He flops backwards, staring at the ceiling.
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touhou hums softly, "he is only a changeling and is not compatible with the darkness."
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Yori looks at him, " and I am? But...I've never done anything that's not just being a regular human before this "
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touhou sighs, "ignore the 'before this'. we're gonna focus on the now. and right now the house wants you as its next vessel and id rather you have a normal life if im being honest."
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Yori frowns, " but...what even is normal? Living at home with my father who's a monster and tried to attack me? My mom who left me with him when he wanted to lock me in my room... I've never been a normal kid, and now I know things will never really be normal. I don't even know what I am."
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"you're you. Yori. A nice young man who cares about others and wants to do good. "
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Yori sighs, " I'm a dumb adult who only has his monster of a dad's money and no real talents or skills of his own. I can't even make a bed."
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touhou frowns, "what can i do or say to brighten your spirits? i know you're upset and i can give you some time to think about things but moping around for too long isnt going to do any real good. I could always teach you how to be more self sufficient and if you really feel like you want to fight then, as long as you promise it'll only be for defending yourself, i can teach you how to fight since i know how it works."
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Yori looks at him, " actually knowing how to take care of myself is probably a good idea. And to defend myself. Though how can you teach me when we don't even know what I am?"
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touhou nervously looks down, "i... if you knew what you were, would it affect how you feel about this whole thing?"
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Yori blinks, " I dunno. But it doesn't really matter since we don't know anyway. I mean, I'd like to think that even if I'm the same thing as my dad that I wouldn't be like him... But I guess I have no idea how all that works."
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touhou raises an eyebrow, "it all depends on whether you were born on a new moon or not. i know corrin never paid attention to your birth but i did. if you really want to know i can tell you but if im being honest its pretty obvious."
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Yori blinks, " it's obvious? How? I e never like, changed my hair or anything, that's what skinwalkers do right? Change shape? And I know I've never looked like dad did. At least I've never seen myself look like that? How is this obvious?"
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"skinwalkers are a bit more complicated than that but just the fact that the contract specifies that it wants the creatures next of kin to take over should make it obvious. kin, not as in kid but as in kind. after all his type of creature are one of the few things that can even use and communicate tendrils of darkness. and you're half human raised in human environment. you've never HAD to fight for your life until you did. and when it happened the house responded. thats proof enough."
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Yori frowns, thinking, " so... im one of those thingies? you said you didn;t know what i was though."
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touhou grumbles, "i... lied. hoping youd just ignore the whole thing and just try to relax and not worry about it. you shouldnt worry about such an issue."
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Yori frowns, " of course im gonna worry, wouldn;t you worry if you'd been told you might be some sort of monster but weren;t sure?"
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touhou sighs, "i dont know. I was just hoping to protect you from all of this..."
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Yori frowns, " you don;t have to protect anyone... let alone me. im not special or anything."
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touhou shakes his head, "I made a promise to someone i cared deeply about that i would keep takana safe and anyone else who takana holds dear to him. you fall under that category so I want to keep you two safe. I will keep you two safe. its the only purpose i have now."
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Yori frowns, " but... you should live for yourself too. isn;t that a purpose? i know my dad has ruined most of your life, so why not enjoy it now that you're free?"
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touhou hums softly, "im not technically alive. he technically killed me shortly after i met him. he then used the tendrils of darkness to bring me back, keeping me animated as i am with his powers."
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Yori blinks, staring, then blinks again, " ....what?"
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touhou looks at him, "yeah, how else would i have been around for so long? it was a little after he added the second bedroom to his shack and I realized what he was when i discovered the tendrils. I panicked and tried to run and then everything went black. next thing i knew i watched pieces of my body being stitched together and i feel what the house feels so i know im connected to it in someway."
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Yori gapes, " i... i guess i didn;t realize that he'd been around so long. so... he killed you? that's... that's awful. im so sorry... can... is there a way i can fix it?"
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touhou blinks and gives a chuckle, "its fine, its fine. he's done worse so im not upset over it. if we had this conversation about a hundred years ago i might have other words but ive had plenty of time to think over my life so im just doing what i can to make the most out of it."
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Yoris eyes water, " you... you've been dealing with this for over 100 years!?"
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Touhou blinks, in confusion, "um... longer I guess. But it's fine, really!"
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Yori sighs, " you must have been through so much... i wish i could help you more."
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"Hey." Touhou wraps an arm around yori's shoulders, "I got to meet the most sincere and kind woman and I helped raised her son who was just as equally as kind to me. And then I helped him raise you. And while I know things are tough right now and you have a lot going on in your head the only thing I can think of that would help me is for you to be happy. Find happiness. Make the most out of your life and stay safe. That's all I ever wanted for you and takana. "
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Yori hesitates before leaning into him, " im sorry i spent so much of my life being scared of you...and i want to be happy, but i don't think i can be until this is all resolved. my father is making these people miserable for his own gain, and apparently even the strongest demons here can only oppose him if he gets really weak? if im the same thing as him, then... somehow... im the best bet as a defense against him or... or the best way to get rid of him."
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Touhou hums softly, "arakan isn't the strongest demon here. But at corrins current strength if several of the top leaders came together to fight him they'd have a shot. If it's only a 1 on 1 fight then corrin needs to get weaker. And he is. The best way to keep him from getting stronger is to make sure another war doesn't happen. That amount of misery would feed him well for another 50 or so years."
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Yori frowns, " but... i don't think he's just gonna stand by and let himself get weaker without a fight will he? that just sounds like a really uncertain plan, i mean it'd be great if it did work, but what if something happens? what if he manages to force a situation where he's not growing weaker, even if it's not a war. i know that there's no way a bunch of the leaders can come together, that's probably why they've been separated into different districts and not allowed to move around to begin with. I have to learn how to fight, because it sounds like i might be the last resort in order to not let him keep doing all this."
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Touhou sighs, "you're not wrong about the separation of the demons being a major issue. And yeah I know he wouldn't let himself get that weak. Especially without me being near him to give him misery he'll have to find a new target. A part of me hopes he wants to keep up with the human charade like he had been before takana left because even if I try to teach you how to use your powers it's going to take a while. A lot of meditation and finding yourself."
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Yori blinks, " that's okay, the sooner we start the better than right? hopefully i don;t ever need to use it, but if i gotta then i need to be able to right?"
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Touhou nods, "fine. I will teach you. It would be best anyway in case something happens to you that a human couldn't survive. I'd prefer to not have you harmed but if it happens and you pass out your demon half will take over and with no control or training could mean we'd have a mindless creature to worry about."
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Yori nods, " thank you! i'd rather not have to fight either but... im not selfish enough to do nothing when i could at least be ready to help maybe."
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Touhou sborts softly, "well you should be. The only parameters I want you fighting in is if you're defending yourself or takana. Anything else should be ignored."
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Yori wanted to respond but bite the retort back. If he protested, then Touhou wouldn't teach him. " so when can we start?" changing the subject was safer.
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Touhou glances out the window, "tomorrow if that's alright. No need to do such things in a house full of kids and it's too dark to go outside safely."
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Yori nods, " okay. tomorrow then." he turns the game off. " i think im gonna head to bed. have a good night."
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Touhou blinks before nodding, "alright. Get some rest."
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Yori nods, " you too." He heads to his room and settles in for the night.
The next morning he gets up and gets ready, heading to the kitchen and making himself some toast before sitting at the table, antsy.
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Imogen steps downstairs and goes to the kitchen, humming softly, "good morning my dear. And here I heard you weren't the kind to wake up before noon. What has you so early?"
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Yori ducks his head sheepishly, " oh, um usually i used to stay up gaming and whatnot, i don't have much of that here so... and Touhou told me we'd do something together today so i had trouble sleeping in."
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Imogen nods and smiles, "of course of course dear. It's nice to have some company this early."
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Yori smiles, " oh, um yesterday i got some fresh fruit and stuff for you guys? im not sure if you saw it. it's all for you, so um, enjoy? i also got pancake mix and some real maple syrup, thought maybe that would make a nice meal sometime?"
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Imogen blinks, "I did see it. I didn't want to assume any of that was for shares... and you don't have to buy all of that stuff for us. I appreciate it incredibly so but don't feel like you have to."
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " i know, but i figured i might as well get something everyone can enjoy. and since my dad has made a ton of money making you guys miserable, some of it might as well go to making you happier."
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Imogen gives a sweet smile, "you're very kind yori. I'm glad I could offer my home to you."
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" Im really only doing the minimum, i wish i could do more. after all, as you said you're being so generous as to open your home to me and allowing me to stay here."
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Imogen hums softly, "nonsense. I'm thankful to have another guest in my home. Its not often that these rooms get to have someone in them. I'm just sorry I caused quite a commotion the day you arrived. I was so excited but that's no excuse."
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Yori waves his hands, " it's fine! im glad it makes you happy to have me here, i just hope it doesn;t effect your health too much."
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Imogen shakes her head, "a lot of things affect my health so if it wouldn't be you one day it'd be something else the next. Besides if I had taken my medicine that korri makes for me then I would have been fine so it's not your fault. If anyone is to blame it'd be my husband."
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Yori frowns, " your husband makes you be ill? im sorry..."
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Imogen pauses briefly before humming, "I suppose that's the wrong thing to say I think. Hmm. I had a lot of kids as you can tell and unfortunately it has caused me to become ill so I seem to blame him quite a bit. With each kid I had I ended up getting sicker and sicker and it's something I wish my husband considered. "
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Yori nods slowly, " I guess that makes sense. I'm sorry. I hope you do get better eventually."
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Imogen shrugs, "it's less getting better and more of a learning to live around it. But that's quite alright. Just a nasty combo of anemia and high blood pressure."
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Yori nods slowly, " alright... can... can Korri get iron supplements here? i know those are supposed to help with anemia."
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Imogen shakes her head, "human made items don't come through the gate, even if they are important. Korri and a few others have come together to do their best in making a tea and some medicine that helps keep my heart from beating so fast and I just do my best to not move around so much since any usage of my body means my blood cells need to move oxygen faster which means increased heart rate. It also makes me very dizzy. Also our lackluster diet isn't helpful either."
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Yori frowns, " i'll see if i can get some. that's not right."
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Imogen shrugs, "your brother said the same thing to all the things he found out about as well. And don't feel like you must dear, I've lived with this issue for a while so it's fine."
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Yori shakes his head, " but it's not right! and i can get it so easily, so please let me help?"
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Imogen sighs softly, "if that is what you feel like you want to do then I won't stop you."
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Yori nods, " thank you." he finishes off his toast, then heads near Touhou's room to see if he's up.
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Touhou is awake and dressed, staring out his window
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Yori peers in, " oh hey, you're up. you okay?"
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Touhou looks back at yori and nods, "Yeah I'm fine. Just listening to the outside. Trying to sense if corrin is up to anything but I cant."
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Yori blinks, " you can do that? well, i was wondering if you were ready to start, if not i was gonna head out of the district."
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Touhou hums softly, "I am connected to the tendrils, which are connected to corrin. If I really tried I could enter his mind, however making such a connection would allow him entry into mine as well which is never a good thing. So I just feel out for him. It's enough of a bother where he knows I'm alive but doesn't know where and in return I know his approximate location and his mood. It's how I was able to do my best to avoid him when he was in a mood back home." He looks away from the window, glancing at yori, "I am good to start you in on the basics now that it's getting light out. I highly doubt any of these districts have a forest so maybe training outside the district would be a good idea. It'd be a shame to go a little too hard and accidentally reveal your location to your father while in the district."
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Yori blinks, " that's... crazy. and yeah, good idea. we should get some distance. i didn;t know that was a possible thing. um, i guess we'll just try and get you permission to leave, lemme see if i can find Nikiri, he said he wants to take me to and from the gate when i go." he texts the older man, Touhou and i gotta leave, can you take us to the gate?
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Touhou blinks and tilts his head, "permission? I was just going to go into my mouse form and hide somewhere in your clothes. But I suppose if you want to go that route then thats fine."
Nikiri looks at his phone, yeah i can but I'm not sure if they'll let touhou through. I'm not sure if his paperwork was done or not.
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Yori blinks, " oh, that works too. i didn;t think about that." i guess we can just sneak him out as a mouse too, i wasn;t thinking about that.
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Nikiri looks at his phone and frowns before stepping out of his room, half dressed, "what?!"
Thankfully it's his bottom half that is dressed, his bare chest and abs exposed.
Touhou hears nikiri's exclamation and blinks before looking at yori, "telling another demon that I plan on breaking some rules probably isn't the best... course of action."
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Yori blushes and turns away, " sorry! You're not collared yet though so it's not like they'd track you."
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Touhou hums softly, "my old collar wasn't your standard collar either so it's not like it would work here anyway."
Nikiri rubs his face and sighs softly, "just... don't get caught. And if anything happens you don't come from this district, okay? I don't want any heat on this district. Arakan doesn't need that right before we're going to be letting humans in."
Touhou blinks and nods, "understood."
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Yori nods, " we just don't wanna cause trouble... in any way. it's important i promise." he keeps his back to Nikiri, " so um, whenever you're ready to go. we can wait if need be."
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Nikiri sighs softly, "I'll uh. Finish getting dressed and then I can take you to the gate." He goes back into his room and closes the door
Touhou watches nikiri go into his room and looks back at yori, "why were you avoiding eye contact with the deer guy? You're both guys."
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Yori shakes his head, " i dunno! i've never really undressed around other guys or seen them undressed except like takana. It just felt... weird."
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Touhou raises an eyebrow, "nudity is a concern to you?"
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Yori shrugs, " i dunno, i guess im just not used to it... lets get ready to go okay? after we do the training i need to go get some vitamins from the store."
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Touhou nods, "of course. Look for a location that's woodsy and kinda creepy."
He shrinks down to his mouse form and stands on his back legs, looking up at yori
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Yori reaches down and picks him up, thinking for a moment before opening his coat and putting his hand to an inner pocket. " it's fluffy enough that unless you move a whole bunch it shouldn't be obvious."
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A soft, gentle squeak of confirmation can be heard as he settles in quietly.
Nikiri comes back out, now fully dressed. His antlers have grown about half the size they used to be, obviously still growing and now there are 5 charms in total dangling from a branching antlers, "ready when you are."
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Yori looks up at Nikiri, " im ready. lets go." he heads out the door, avoiding checking his pocket or look to make sure Touhou is okay even though the fact that the mouse was there made him want to.
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Nikiri leads him to the gate, keeping his eyes out just in case
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Yori goes to the gate and presents his pass, " i'd like to go out."
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The guard grumbles but has to let yori out
Nikiri, as usual, stands a few yards away so as to not irritate the guards any further
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Yori waves and then jogs away from the gate, pulling out his phone and looking up where there's a nearby forest and heading there. Once far enough away from the gate he opens his jacket, " if you wanna ride on my shoulder or something i don't mind, we're far enough that it should be safe."
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The mouse scampers out of yori's pocket and up the coat until he settles on yori's shoulder, making the classic motion of cleaning himself.
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Yori startles a bit when Touhou just jumps out, then smiles and keep going until they reach a park, heading off the trail into a secluded area. " Okay, I think I can find my way back, and I hope this is far enough."
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Touhou sniffs the air curiously and slips down yori's coat, running a few feet in the snowy grass before going back to his usual appearance, "no one is around so it will do. I'm going to teach you to evade first. And the best way to do that is to learn the creatures preferred method of hiding which is to become one with shadows."
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Yori nods, " okay..." Well it wasn't going to be something he could use to help with much bit it was a start. " So I can literally just... become a shadow? Like totally not even touchable?"
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touhou shakes his head, "still touchable if someone attacked you, but the whole point is you essentially disappearing from an enemy and using the shadows to leave. if you arent good enough at this technique you could still be seen and attacked."
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Yori blinks, " oh, so im still there and just look like a shadow?"
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touhou makes and 'eeehhh' gesture and sighs, "Its hard to explain. you'll get a better feel for it once you are able to do it yourself. If you can master it like your father then you should be able to hide and move without making a sound and your smell should be wiped away as well, and if someone shines light in the area you're in it will not reveal you. You can even removing the foreboding sense of dread that most have when they feel like they are being watched. your father likes to keep enough of him known so humans get that sense of dread because... well he's an asshole."
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Yori blinks, " okay... well, i guess we might as well start then. what do i do?"
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Touhou nods, "I want you to go into the forest just a little bit and meditate a little. See if you can hear the forest first. i know that sounds weird but just trust the process."
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Yori blinks and nods, " okay..." he heads in a bit and sits, feeling like that's probably easier, and closes his eyes, trying to just... reach out mentally.
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it takes a moment. probably a lot longer than yori would like and its hard to tell at first if the wind and rustling leaves is the forest or just another winter day.
However for a split moment, as the wind dies down yori can hear almost a soft whispering. Not near him, but all around him and not by one voice but by many.
As if a group of people were having a shushed conversation around him
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Yori was getting bored, but tried to focus harder, getting startled out of it when he hears whispers, looking around in alarm, " who's there?!"
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As soon as yori breaks his meditative state the whispers stop, the only thing being heard is a soft wind every so often.
Touhou blinks and places his hands on his hips, "let me guess, you heard the forest? Creepy isn't it."
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Yori looks over at him, " is that what it was? i swear i could hear voices..."
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Touhou nods, "Yeah that's the forest for ya. Full of annoying voices."
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Yori frowns, " so is that like, the trees or something?"
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Touhou nods, "some of the trees. Could be a couple of spirits in there as well but typically it's like, 80 percent the trees."
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Yori shakes his head, " so... is there like, important things i can learn from listening or is it just... background noise?"
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Touhou shakes his head, "it's an effect when using your abilities. Nothing more. Nothing less. I suppose in your case if you are using your powers and you DONT hear the sounds then... something else is also using their power. And since your father is the only other creature I know of I guess you could use that as a way of sensing his arrival. But... I mean the only time I'd want you to use your powers is if you are already in combat with him soooo.... yeah."
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Yori blinks, " okay so... it's not anything important, and im gonna hear it unless my dad is nearby also doing it?"
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Touhou nods, "yup! Your type of demon does fall under ghoul so ghostly shit is the norm."
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Yori blinks and nods, " okay... so... i guess i try to connect to the forest again?"
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Touhou nods, "yup. That is going to be a thing you'll need to do daily."
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Yori' face falls, " EVERY day? and... i have to leave the district every day to do it?"
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touhou shakes his head, "Once you make a proper connection and can do this piece properly you can do it back in the district. The main thing is to be able to make the connection and make sure it doesnt cost a lot of energy. once thats established you can do your meditation anywhere thats dark."
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Yori nods slowly, " okay..." he sighs and closes his eyes to try and reach out for that connection again.
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It doesn't take long for the whispers to come back to him.
Touhou watches and nods, "when you think you are ready start imagining yourself in the shadows. To not exist. You know you're doing it correctly when you notice you can't feel how cold it is."
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Yori nods, trying not to break the focus. the whispers waver for a moment but come back quickly. He waits for awhile, not sure what 'ready' was supposed to feel like, but after awhile he starts trying to imagine himself in the shadows, nothing happening for a long time before he realizes he's not feeling cold anymore.
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Touhou blinks as he watches yori fade and become harder to see in the dark, "damn in one day. He's good."
He bends down and grabs some snow, packing it into a ball and aims before whipping it at yori
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The snowball hits him and he pops back into visibility with a yelp, falling backwards onto his back in the snow, " what was that for?!"
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touhou snorts, "i can still sense you so i wanted to see how far you got. If youre going up against an enemy this will still try to strike you fyi so we need you to transition quicker and be able to move without breaking concentration."
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Yori scowls, " i just started today, gimme a break. im trying."
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Touhou shrugs, "you're progressing a lot faster than I thought you would, figured I'd see if you already made it to the part where it would go through you."
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Yori blinks, " but you just said it'd still hit me and i'd need to be able to move. did you just mean at that stage of like... becoming one with the shadows or whatever?"
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Touhou nods, "your father is able to slip into the shadows and move quickly from his original spot so if an enemy tries to attack the last spot they saw him in they'd miss. He then uses that opportunity to finish shifting into the shadows until he is actually one with the shadows and either leave or shift to a better location and strike his opponent. Once you strike though you leave the comfort of the shadows and are able to get hit again."
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Yori nods slowly, " that makes sense... Can we stop for today? I'm really cold and feel pretty drained."
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Touhou nods, "of course. Were you planning on doing that shopping still? Something about pills?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, some supplements to help the district. And Nikiri's mom. she has low iron but they can't get iron supplements... so im gonna get some. and some other vitamins, whatever she doesn;t use they can give to Korri for the people who need it most."
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Touhou tilts his head, "She seems to be lacking a lot of natural nutrition. I wonder if a one a day woman's gummy pack is beneficial for her. Or maybe even asking a lady at the pharmacy what her best thoughts were for vitamins for a mother who has hypertension and persistent anemia."
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Yori blinks, " that's probably a good idea. i was just gonna get a bunch and see what Korri thought was good but that works too."
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Touhou nods, "I wont be able to walk around as I am since I might get cursed at for no collar but I can go back to my mouse form."
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Yori nods, " yeah, back into the pocket then. i promise i'll be quick as i can."
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Touhou chuckles, "no rush. It's warm and dark." He quickly shifts back into his mouse form, quickly scurrying over to yori.
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Yori chuckles a bit and scoops him up, tucking him into the pocket before jogging out of the forest, not even noticing that he's much more sure of the path out than when he entered. He heads to the store and asks around, getting everything they suggest and then a bunch of other stuff before getting lunch and heading back to the district, bags of fast food in hand with his purchases as he lets Nikiri know he's back.
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Nikiri gets the text and hums softly and heads to the gate.
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Yori waits until he sees Nikiri on the other side before entering, lifting one hand with bags to wave. " Hey!"
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Nikiri waves a little and hums softly, "So he comes back. what are those bags?"
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Yori pouts, " of course I came back. And most of it is vitamins and supplements, some for your mother, and a bunch for anyone else that needs them. And lunch! Its just burger king, burgers and fries and some cans of soda since I couldn't carry the cups, but I got some for you and me, and some extras in case anyone else wanted any. They reheat decently so they can go in the fridge."
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nikiri blinks and tilts his head a little, "Whats... a burger king"
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Yori blinks, " oh, um it's a fast food place. Greasy and cheap but pretty good. You order food and you get it within a few minutes. Anyway you'll be able to try it since I got you some. Um, here." He sets a bag down and rummages in it before grabbing some fries, handing them to Nikiri, " they're good." He tucks one fry into his pocket for Touhou.
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The tiny mouse eagerly yanks the fry and uses his tiny hands to eat it.
Nikiri hums softly and munches on the fries, "interesting."
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Yori picks the bags back up and starts heading for Nikiri's place, " i asked some people who know about supplements better than me and they gave me some good suggestions for your mother, so hopefully this helps a little. i shoulda brought the wagon, these are heavy."
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Nikiri finishes the fries and grabs some of the bags from yori, "don't ever feel obligated to spend money on us. It's appreciated greatly, don't get me wrong, but it's not necessary. "
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Yori nods, " your mom said that too. it's my dads money anyway, so im just the medium between giving back some of what he took. so there." he lets Nikiri take some of the bags, " thanks."
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Nikiri nods, "you're welcome. And I guess that's fair. She raised me more than my father so I suppose we would share the same ideals."
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Yori chuckles, " makes sense." He hurries to the house and sets things down, pulling out lunch for him Nikiri and Touhou at least, with plenty still in the bags. He opens his jacket and gently scoops Touhou out and puts him on the floor. " I'm starved after all that, can't wait to dig into that burger."
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once touhou is on the floor he goes back to his normal form
Nikiri hums softly, "still not used to the fact that you can just do that."
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Yori grabs some different sodas from his bag and puts them on the table, grabbing one for himself and digging in, taking a giant bite from his burger.
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Nikiri pauses suddenly, his charms swaying back and forth as if a soft wind pushed against them.
He hums softly, "it seems as though Rin is visiting. That's good. It's been a few months since I've seen her."
Touhou sneaks some fries, nibbling on them.
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Yori looks at Touhou and gently shoves one of the burgers towards him, swallowing, " you can have one, and some fries. go ahead." he looks at Nikiri, blinking, " im guessing that's another sister? she can have some too, i got lots."
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Nikiri shakes his head, "She normally doesn't eat much. At least not at the moment. I think you met her before. She was the one who brought you here when you were lost right? When I was bed ridden."
Touhou quickly takes the burger and hops over to a dark corner and starts eating it quietly
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Yori was going to respond before Touhou takes it and scurries off, " um, you can eat at the table if you want? you don;t have to hide. there's fries and a soda too..." he looks back to Nikiri, " i don;t remember, a lot happened."
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Nikiri nods, "fair enough. She is a bit different now so I suppose it's good you can't remember."
The soft sound of the door opening and closing can be heard.
Rin clears her throat a little before sighing, "h-hello? I'm home!"
Nikiri peeks his head into the hallway, "in the kitchen rin. How are you doing? Has Joker been treating you well?"
Rin nods a little, "um yeah... it's been fine. Is mama home?"
Nikiri nods, "Yeah, she is in her room. Took her meds and went to nap before I left to pick up our guest."
Rin blinks, "o-oh. A guest? Is this a bad time?"
Nikiri shakes his head, "it's never a bad time. Are you hungry?"
Rin shakes her head, "not really...but thanks."
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Yori peeks around the corner and waves a little, " hi... i've got fast food, from outside the district if you want some? "
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Rin blinks, the right side of her face has a white line, barely noticeable, that runs from her hairline down her eye and ends at her jaw, "oh... the takana brother. um no thank you. I'm not very hungry but um thank you though."
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Yori blinks, " but french fries are really good. you should try it."
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Rin shakes her head, "um n-no no thank you. I kind of just want to see mother... I'm sure the kids will enjoy whatever food you have..." She turns and goes up the stairs to see Imogen.
Nikiri frowns as he watches her leave and gives a depressed sigh, "ah... I was hoping she'd eat something... she hasn't been the same since the 5th district was attacked. Korri said she's physically fine but that mentally she has a long way to go to heal."
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Yori looks at him, " im sorry that happened." he finishes off his meal and puts the rest into the fridge. he grabs one of the bags and pulls a few bottles of pills out, " um, here. womans one a day, some iron, and this one is for the high blood pressure, lot of the stuff in there helps for anxiety too so i didn't wanna overdo it. for your mom."
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Nikiri shrugs, "no need for apologies, it was bound to happen. The 5th, 6th, and definitely 7th district are not nearly as friendly as our district and we are not fighters so every time there is a meeting in those districts we run the chance of one of us being killed."
Nikiri blinks and looks at the pills, blinking, "oh um. That's way too kind of you. Do you mind at all if i ask korri to look at these medicines too? Not to take of course but it's something new she might be able to learn about and at the very least make sure that whatever is in here can work alongside mothers other medicine or not."
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Yori pushes the heavy bags of supplements into his hands, " they're all for Korri. for whoever needs them. and of course you can check with her first."
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Nikiri gives a sweet smile, "thank you yori. Is there anything I can do for you as a gesture of thanks? I really do appreciate all of this."
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Yori shakes his head, " not that i know of. I just hope it makes your mother feel better. I know I can't do much to help, but this is what I can do so...yeah. I know you're busy so I'll let you get going. Don't forget to have some lunch."
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Nikiri smiles, "if you ever have a request of me I will be happy to oblige." He ruffles the top of yori's head and gets some lunch together before looking back at yori, "I'll be out until late tonight. Mother is here, as well as your friend obviously, and rin. The kids will be home in a couple of hours with Robin as usual. If something happens you have my number, arakans number as well as korri's is on the fridge in case there is an emergency."
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Yori blushes a bit as his hair is ruffled, " I just need an escort to the gates every morning for awhile. I'll be fine, I'll make sure to call if something happens though."
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Nikiri nods, "and I'm more than happy to guide you. Have a good afternoon yori."
He heads out.
Touhou stands up and licks his lips and fingers, making sure to get every spec of food.
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Yori nods, " have a good afternoon." he goes to clean up his trash, " did you get enough Touhou?"
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Touhou nods, "yes it was adequate, thank you."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " do you need more? if you're still hungry there's more."
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Touhou blinks and also frowns, "no I'm content. Like i said the amount I had was adequate."
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" right...that makes it sound like you are being polite and it wasn't what you hoped for though."
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Touhou blinks and blushes, "oh! Um! Apologies! No I'm really grateful for the food and it was tasty."
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Yori blinks, " you're sure? You're not just saying that so I'm not upset?"
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Touhou shakes his head, "no! Honest! I- it's new for me. This... weird feeling of... being free yet not.... and eating and talking and tasting what I eat. I'm sorry if I'm just.... acting weird because of it..."
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Yori nods, " okay then. thank you for helping me today, hopefully i can do better tomorrow."
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Touhou gives a hesitant nod, "if it.. helps to know you are certainly getting the hang of it faster than I thought you would."
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Yori blinks, " that's good. at least im good at something, though im not sure i want it to be this. guess beggars can;t be choosers though. maybe i won;t have to leave the district to work on it for much longer then, i hate having to bother Nikiri to take me to the gate."
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Touhou shrugs, "wearing a collar would help in sure. But then the humans will be cruel to you once we past the gate."
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Yori nods, " assuming they even let me leave the district if i have a collar on. that's tricky."
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touhou nods, "All of it seems tricky. im hoping by the end of this week you can stay in the district when it comes to training."
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Yori perks up, " you think so? i'll work hard! i should get food first though next time, that made me really hungry."
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"Well it is tapping in to unchecked power that you normally don't seek out so I'm not surprised you got hungry."
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Yori nods, " i guess so. well, i'll remember to get something to snack on for tomorrow then to bring with. thank you for teaching me stuff!"
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Touhou nods, "well you are pretty adamant about learning to fight so I'd rather you learn a method that will actually work."
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Yori grins, " and apparently I'm decent at it. So after I learn the shadow thing, then what?"
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"you'll need to hold on to the shadow form. I'll use you as target practice and put you through some shit to keep you holding onto your form. Its important to keep that form up at all times. once i know you can keep that form i'll teach you how to tap in to your natural speed."
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Yori blinks, " woah...well, fingers crossed I'm good at that stuff too."
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Touhou shrugs, "I'll just keep using snowballs so no real damage there. I'd rather teach you to evade rather than fight. Your dad's full form sucks energy out of him that he can't afford to lose so even evading him will help, even if all you do is make him lose power until a full demon takes him out."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " well yeah im gonna learn that, but maybe i can learn more about how my form works after i learn evading well?"
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touhou tenses a little, "its best if you dont think about your form. everything you can do in the form you can do without using it."
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Yori blinks, " why? isn;t it part of me? shouldn't i know about something that is literally kind of what i am?"
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touhou sighs softly, "well its just... it feeds off of misery. it creates misery. it is a very negative presence that you dont need take on. Why do you think he barely uses it?"
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Yori nods, " okay... well i guess i can learn other sutff?"
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touhou nods, "Of course. if its needed i will teach you."
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Yori sighs, " and i guess you'll decide if it's needed or not. finally something i actually seem to be good at and i can;t even learn much about it."
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touhou scowls a little, "Enough of this self deprecating attitude of yours. you would never allow this from takana so why are you okay doing it to yourself? im teaching you what i think is the safest abilities that will satisfy your curiosity without destroying your humanity. Back in the day your father wasnt unlike you or Takana until he decided to actively use his form and powers more and more."
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Yori blinks, " how do you know? were you with him back then?"
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touhou sighs, "I was with him for far too long..."
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Yori sighs, " sorry, i guess it just feels nice to actually feel like im doing something well for once. i'll leave you be."
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touhou grumbles, "im fine with teaching you simple things that dont take your form. its things that require the demon form i dont want to teach you and i want you to spend some time with takana too. you guys are finally living in the same district again so you should enjoy this opportunity."
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Yori nods, " yeah yeah... i think i'll go see him, i've got nothing else to do today." he pulls his phone out to text takana, what are you up to?
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takana looks at his phone and hums, not much. arakana is doing important shit so he has tomorrow free for some random meeting. I tried to tell him i was important shit and he said not today i was. so... just laying on the couch. bored since 'nagi is at work.
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Yori laughs softly, " Takana is bored. i think i can make my way there by myself and be okay, im not leaving the district."
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Touhou nods, "alright. Be well and have fun."
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Yori nods, " i will!" he pulls his coat on and pulls the hood up over his ears, grabbing his switch and tucking it into the inner pocket before heading out, i'll be there soon!
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takana smiles, be safe! i'll wait for you!
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Yori hurries, trying to just get there without running into anyone. He sighs in relief when he gets there and opens the door, " Takana!"
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Takana is at the door as soon as it opens and he grabs yori into a big hug, "Yoriii!"
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Yori squeaks as he's squished, " mished you too." he managed to get out, hugging his brother back.
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takana chuckles and lets go, "Sorry, ive been so bored. im assuming you didnt see a demon out there watching the place did you? arakan used to always have someone watching the place if he wasnt around but that was before the little tiff that happened so i wasnt sure if that was a thing he started back up again or not."
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Tori blinks, " i didn;t see anyone, but i also wasn;t like, looking for anyone either. I got a switch, so if you wanna play on that we can. or we can do something else too, dunno what."
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Takana smiles, "oh hell yeah we- " He pauses a little and then frowns, looking over at the shitty little TV, "oh... I don't think this thing is new enough to work..."
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Yori blinks and looks at it, frowning, " um... it's an hdmi cord, can we plug it into your laptop?"
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Takana blinks and nods, "that's not a bad idea. Hold on." He gets up and goes to his room, grabbing the laptop and setting it down, "we can definitely try it."
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Yori grins and pulls out the stuff for the switch, plugging everything else in before he plugs the cord into the laptop.
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takana makes some tweaks in the laptop settings before the switch home screen pops up, "Ah it worked! perfect!"
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Yori grins, " awesome! yay it's been forever since we've played games together."
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takana chuckles and grabs a controller, "way too long. sorry about that. to think i tried to be a good college student."
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Yori sighs, " you did awesome. so i guess you've been pretty bored without Arakan spending time with you?"
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Takana sighs, "Yeah, normally I would have been at work and wouldn't notice the lack of attention but arakan wants to wait until my rash heals up more before I go back to work."
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Yori nods, " yeah, it does still look pretty bad. I guess if I saw a chef with that it'd probably put me off my food. It's better than it was though."
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Takana nods, "the heat and steam from cooking might irritate it too. Just all around a bad idea."
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Yori nods, " probably a good idea to stay home until it heals then... you're welcome to come to Nikiri's to hang out with me, they've got a tv that can handle the switch at least. and im sure Touhou would love to see you."
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takana perks up, "Oh! yeah! that sounds like it'd be a lot of fun!"
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Yori smiles, " awesome! maybe when he picks me up from the gate in the late morning we can swing by and grab you. i've been heading out of the district to do some shopping to get stuff in the mornings." technically true, just not the entire truth.
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takana nods, "fuck yeah! that sounds like a lot of fun!"
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Yori chuckles, " alright! if there's anything you want me to pick up while im out lemme know."
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takana hums softly, "i'll have to think about it. not sure at the moment."
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" yeah no worries, just figured i'd mention it. just text me if you think of things you want."
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takana nods, "Of course. although one of these days i wouldnt mind stepping out of the district once in a while. Arakan wants me to try living without my ears so itd be something to convince me to pop them off every now and then."
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Yori nods, " oh, yeah sure. i just have some other stuff i want to get done so maybe we can split up for a bit..." or maybe he would improve fast enough that he didn;t need to train in the forest soon and could take Takana then.
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Takana keeps playing, glancing at yori, "I'm assuming you still have access to the family funds? "
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Yori nods, " yeah, I've been going to different ATMs and pulling money when I go out. They haven't cut me off. So I guess dad isn't too mad yet?"
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Takana snorts softly, "or your mother is pissed off enough with the bs he pulled and refuses him to cut you off."
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Yori shrugs, " dunno... she's tried to get in touch a few times, but i haven;t really responded. i don;t know how after she just... left me with him to let him lock me up."
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Takana sighs, "she doesn't know he's a demon, nor would she believe us if we told her and he's the master of manipulation. Who knows what he told her."
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Yori looks down at his controller, " still... how do i know if i talk to her she won't tell him everything i tell her? i'd have to be so careful..."
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Takana shrugs, "sucks to say you cant be sure. you're not the type to not talk to her though so im sure she is insanely worried about you and pissed at dad. Not enough to divorce him since she wants makoto to take over the company."
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Yori nods, " yeah... i probably should talk to her. i just... i dunno, it feels different now, i used to think i could trust her. i mean she was controlling and smothering, but at least i knew she was doing what she thought was best. and she still is, but dad is getting so... erratic."
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takana shrugs, "its up to you, i wont make you talk to her if you dont want to. i dont know why he has to act the way he has been doing now and not much later in life, or never even. id say if you do talk to her maybe keep it on the phone or if you do meet up offer to do so away from the house without dad around."
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Yori nods, " i think i'll talk to her, but i don;t think im ready to see her in person. i don;t know if he'd convince ehr that it's best for him to go with or what but... im not ready yet."
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Takana nods, "that's fair. Well I'm here to support you with whatever you choose to do."
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Yori nods, " thanks... maybe i'll be ready to see her in person soon, but just not yet. anyway, it makes me happy you and i can hang out like this."
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Takana nods, "Yeah, I really did miss you. As sucky as this situation is I'm glad it has put you and I closer."
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Yori nods, "yeah, same" he leans over and rests his head on Takanas shoulder.
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Takana smiles softly and wraps his arm around yori, "I love ya bro."
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Yori smiles, " yeah, I love you too. Almost as much as I love kicking your butt!" He grins and wins with Takana distracted.
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Takana gasps softly and quickly removes his arm, "oh no the fuck you dont!" He quickly starts getting more into the game
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Yori laughs and gets back to playing, elbowing Takana now and then. After a few hours he sets the controller down, "let's take a break."
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Takana sets the controller down, " sure sure. What do you want to do?"
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Yori hums, " im getting kinda hungry?"
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Takana perks up, "oh! I did have arakan take me shopping last night so I could restock the kitchen after izanagi filled it with... cup ramen again. Thanks to Isabelle the district has finally had some in date food too."
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Yori blinks and chuckles, " he sounds like a handful. im glad you guys are able to get somewhat fresh food."
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Takana nods, "same. im glad to have a bit more freedom in what i make because im not dancing around bad produce. whatcha in the mood for?"
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Yori grimaces, " i feel so bad that they usually have to deal with that. oh i dunno, i had burgers earlier so im good with anything really."
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takana nods, "I honestly couldnt believe it until i was taken to their grocery store. its much better however it still pales in comparison to a human grocery store. its totally not fair." takana thinks for a minute before smiling, "I could make some homemade chicken alfredo?"
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Yori nods, " yeah...it's awful how they get treated." He perks up, " that sounds amazing!"
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Takana nods and smiles, "let me get started on that."
He heads to the kitchen and starts cooking
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Yori gets up and sits closer so they can keep chatting, " im glad you've been able to do so much cooking, i know how much you like doing that."
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Takana nods, "it's my top fave thing to do. And right after that is being able to talk to you. Aaaand then tinkering. Sometimes you're first on the list and then cooking but it depends on what I'm cooking." He chuckles and sticks his tongue out teasingly
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Yori sticks his tongue out in return, " meanie. how could you prefer cooking over your own brother?"
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Takana smiles softly and hums, "because my cooking feeds you. It feeds people and gives them nutrition in a way that they couldn't get before. And in a way when I cook or bake I think of my mother. So that's why. I love you both equally just in different ways."
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Yori nods, " well i certainly know why you like cooking so much here, these guys must think it's mana from the gods."
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Takana chuckles, "well I'm sure izanagi must think that."
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Yori laughs softly, " seems to. I mean I like some ramen myself but so much? Guess I can't say much though, I never did learn to cook for myself."
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Takana snorts, "you also had the chef cook for you. No one here has their own private chef."
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Yori blushes a bit, " it's not my fault i had a private chef. and maids... i can;t even make a bed properly." he groans a bit.
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Takana chuckles, "well now you live with touhou. He can teach you how to do maid stuff. I doubt that's his actual demon ability but honestly with how well he always cleaned I sometimes thought it was."
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Yori nods, " yeah.... I'm not sure what his ability is, besides turning into a mouse."
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Takana nods, "well at least he can talk now, so we can finally have a conversation with him."
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Yori nods, " yeah, i bet he'll be really excited to see you. he really likes it at Nikiri's."
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Takana nods, "he likes to work. He likes to feel needed and that what he does helps. And I think he'd be really good with kids since he raised me and helped me with you so nikiri having younger siblings will give him something to focus on as well."
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Yori nods, " yeah! those kids are pretty cool, they've seen a lot of awful things that no kid should, but they opened up to me pretty quick. well most of them anyway, one of them is scared of me, but they also said she's scared of everything so... yeah. it's been fun there."
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Takana blinks and hums softly, "afraid of... everything... ah that must be Robin."
He finishes cooking and gets a plate of food, setting it on the table, "here ya go." He sets down a fork and a bottle of water.
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Yori nods, " yeah, that's her name. she was even suspicious of the night lights i got her and a couple other of the kids."
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Takana nods, "Yeah its not just humans she's jumpy with. I've seen her sneeze once when visiting the cafe and arakan said bless you to her and she apologized 10 times for existing before running out of the building and going home."
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Yori blinks, " wow." he grabs a fork and digs in, taking a bite happily.
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Takana nods, "Yeah and arakan didn't even look confused either so this is a regular thing for her to do. I'm not sure what caused it all to happen but I'm sure it's some sort of horror story."
He plates up some for himself, turning the burner on low to keep it warm in case izanagi came home and wanted some
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Yori blinks, " well, i know the youngest was drawing soldiers with guns and blood and whatnot... so kids get to see some awful things pretty early here..."
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Takana nods, "Yeah everyone has to be there. No special treatments even for kids. I think the only nice thing they allow is a chair for nikiri's mom so she can sit while the inspection is happening."
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Yori shakes his head, " that's awful... i never knew it was like that. i bet most people don;t know about it either. what if we secretly filmed it sometime and leaked the footage? then people would see what it's really like."
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Takana nervously looks at yori, "i... I'm not sure how that would go entirely. Especially with this district only just getting permission for humans to cross over. I'd say maybe that's something to discuss with arakan since it's his district."
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Yori nods, " yeah, good point... It was an idea anyway." He eats slowly, enjoying the meal.
Izanagi comes in, taking his coat off as he heads for his room.
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Takana perks up a bit when izanagi comes back, "going to your room already? How was work?"
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" to put my coat up yeah. It's kinda slow with you gone. Means I gotta do deep cleaning. Arakan wants the place looking extra good for tomorrow I guess."
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Takana blinks and frowns, "extra good tomorrow? I wonder why. I certainly can't work tomorrow yet. Oh um! I have plenty of chicken alfredo on the pan if you want some. Should still be warm."
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Izanagi shrugs, " i dunno, im sure if it was important for us to know he'd have said something. i just know that's what he said to do." he perks up when he hears food, " chicken alfredo? that sounds amazing whatever it is."
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Takana smiles when izanagi perks up, "go get a plate of food. It's pasta with a white cheesy sauce and just some chicken. Nothing fancy or time consuming."
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Izanagi swallows, " nothing fancy he says. and real chicken too? not the canned stuff?" he hurries to the kitchen and serves up a plate, biting into it and sighing as the flavors hit his tongue.
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Takana chuckles, "thanks to Isabelle you guys have chicken. She couldn't get any fancy red meat but poultry is some of the cheaper meat so it's easier to get into the district."
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Izanagi makes a happy noise but doesn't talk since mouth full and not willing to empty it to talk.
Yori chuckles, " i think he approves."
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Takana chuckles and nods, "good. I'm glad."
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Izanagi sits and eats his, only waving to Yori to acknowledge his presence.
Yori looks outside and sighs, " it's getting dark, I guess I should get going..."
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Takana blinks and looks outside and frowns, "will you be okay alone? "
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Yori nods, " I'm sure I'll be okay. Nikiri said he'd be busy until late so I don't wanna pester him."
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Takana nods, "I guess. Otherwise we could both walk over and I could get a way home later or something. Oh. Maybe you could text nikiri and see if maybe he would be okay with swinging by and grabbing you when he's done?"
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Yori frowns, " I don't want you to be out there when it's even darker. I'll text him." He texts Nikiri, hey, would you mind picking me up from Takanas when you're done with whatever you're doing?
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Nikiri excuses himself for a moment to look at his phone, eyes widening, you left the house? Did you have anyone escort you? Are you okay??
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Yori blinks, "oops. Guess I freaked him out a bit. That's also why I didn't wanna bug him." I'm at Takanas and I'm just fine.
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Nikiri grumbles softly, i guess.... when you had left at whatever time there would have been light... and i would rather you get a an escort at night so... i'll be done in another few hours so if you can wait until im done i can swing by and grab you
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yeah it was plenty light out! Don't feel like you have to hurry, I'm good staying as long as needed" oh good, he's not completely freaking out since I made sure it was light out."
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takana nods, "Yay! I get to see you longer!" he grins
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Yori laughs, " yes you do."
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Takana gets up and takes his empty plate to the sink, "do you want to play some more games? Or I could play a movie on the laptop."
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Izanagi finishes his and takes his plate to the sink as well.
Yori hums, " a movie maybe? Kinda feeling movieish."
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takana nods, "sounds good! i can pop it up on the projector. izanagi, did you want to join us?"
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Izanagi plops onto the floor to get comfy, " sounds good to me."
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Takana gets a movie ready before settling on the couch
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Yori settles on the couch and pulls his legs up and wraps his arms around his knees.
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takana turns out the lights and happily sits next to his brother and starts watching the movie
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Yori also watches happily.
Izanagi has fallen asleep on the floor by the end of the movie.
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Nikiri gets out of his duties and heads to the apartments before stepping inside, "Hey, im here. ready to head home?"
Takana is just starting to put his laptop away, "ah hey nikiri."
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Yori had been nodding off a bit and looks up, yawning," oh hey. Yeah, I'm good. ' night Takana." He hugs his brother real quick before putting his coat on.
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takana returns the hug and gets up, "night yori. be good, stay safe."
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" I will." He heads out the door with Nikiri, yawning as they walk and wiping at his eyes, "mmmm sorry, movies make me tired "
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nikiri heads to their house, keeping yori close by. he chuckles and smiles, "Well im sure it will help you get to bed tonight. did you have fun?"
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Yori nods, " yeah! He makes the best food, and I haven't played games with him in forever. He was always busy with his college stuff... And my older brother just thinks I'm a pest so... It was nice spending time with him."
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nikiri sighs, "Well im glad you seemed to have fun. i do wish you hadnt walked around town alone though. you could have been hurt."
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Yori ducks his head a bit, " sorry... i knew you were busy and i didn;t want to bother you... i had a hood up, and it was light out and i went straight there."
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nikiri sighs softly, "yes but if anything happened to you i would be incredibly upset. i worry for your safety after all. im glad youre safe though."
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Yori blinks, " oh, sorry. um, i'll make sure and let you know next time, okay? then we can figure something out... i didn;t want to bother you, but i don;t wanna worry you either."
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nikiri chuckles softly, "we'll figure something out. i dont want you to feel limited while you stay here so i'll see what can be done so you have freedom but i dont worry so much."
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Yori nods, " mkay. if you think of something lemme know." he yawns again.
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nikiri blinks and chuckles, "We have a ways to walk so try not to fall asleep. if you get too tired i could always carry you. i do it for my siblings all the time."
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Yori blinks and blushes, " im fine, you don;t need to carry me. im not a little kid."
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nikiri shrugs, "Id carry arakan too on days where he's tired however he would probably try to turn me into a popsicle. I carry my mother all the time. There's nothing wrong with it when you're too tired to walk."
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Yori looks down, " it's embarrassing though. and anyway you already do so much."
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Nikiri hums softly, "I dont see how its embarrassing but if you truly do not wish for a lift then i will not press it further."
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Yori chuckles, " thanks. i guess i just want to be independent. i've always had everything done for me and i feel like a useless slug."
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nikiri blinks and glances at yori, "Mm. apologies then. i wasnt trying to imply a lack of independence on your part by offering a piggy back ride. T'was a simple gesture of kindness on my part. admittedly I myself tried to act a part i should not play a role in and it put arakan in a rough spot. i believe thats where you and i first met with me stuck in my bed healing."
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Yori waves his hands, " i know you're not trying to be mean or anything, i guess that's just me being insecure. i don;t wanna be seen as another kid for you to take care of. im sorry you got hurt..."
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Nikiri shrugs, "don't feel too bad over my past injuries. They are a result of me keeping your brother alive. I'm proud but it does remind me to stay humble."
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Yori blinks, " you got that protecting Takana? What happened?!"
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nikiri hums softly, "a demon from the 7th district snuck in looking to hurt anyone they came across. Arakan swiftly took care of him though and we havent had much issues with roaming demons since." he didnt want to spook yori too badly so its best if he kept some things vague
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Yori's eyes go wide and he scootches a little closer to Nikiri as they walk, not looking tired anymore as he looks around, " that's awful... im glad you were there, im not sure what i'd do if Takana had gotten hurt or... worse."
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Nikiri blinks when yori scootches closer, "ah no need to be afraid. we havent had much issues with demons in this district afterwards."
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Yori nods slowly, " yeah... but did you have many issues before that? who knows when something will happen again?"
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nikiri shrugs, "It does happen once in a blue moon however these were under rare circumstances. I assure you Arakan keeps this place incredibly secure considering we're pressed up against a couple of less than ideal districts."
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Yori sticks close to him, " great... im sure he does awesome, he's only one person though." and he'd only had one day of training so far and he definitely wasn;t ready to keep himself or anyone else safe yet.
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Nikiri snorts softly, "technically yes. He is one. But he is a strong high ranking demon. If it weren't for him or his goddess of a mother I wouldn't be alive today."
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Yori frowns, " but still he can't be everywhere at once or you wouldn't have been in danger to begin with."
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nikiri shrugs, "true. he was pretty far away at the time. He did get to me in less than 2 minutes. I could have also just not engaged with the battle and kept trying to flee. I also hadnt intended to fight either. it was just one of those moments where i knew i was fucked from the beginning so my only thought process was to keep the enemy entertained long enough for arakan to arrive before the other guy noticed where takana and izanagi had hid."
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Yori shudders, " that's terrifying..."
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Nikiri nods, "yeah its unfortunate but it hasnt happened since."
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Yori shakes his head, " it's amazing you're so calm about it even though you almost died. what if he hadn't gotten there so quickly? what if the other demon went for the kill right away?"
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Nikiri hums softly, "a lot of what if's. To be fair what's done is done and if I linger on the thought I'll cloud my focus. I did get the boys to a high enough roof that they should have had time to run inside and hide. If I had died then it would have been an inconvenience to the district being down one translator."
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Yori looks up at him quickly, " you're worth more than that! your sisters would be devastated, and your mother would be as well."
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Nikiri blinks before giving a soft smile, "yes I'm sure you're right about my family. I suppose living a life where anyone could die any day has made us a bit numb in some aspects."
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Yori winces slightly, " im sorry... i wish i could help change that more. it's awful, and i want to help..."
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Nikiri ruffles the top of yori's head, "it's alright. It's slowly being worked on. And when restrictions ease up in sure being able to help us will be easier."
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Yori sighs softly, normally he'd protest being treated like a kid but he felt like he was one at the moment. " at least i can use dads money to get you guys some basic stuff for now..."
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Nikiri nods, "yes and I appreciate it greatly. While you may feel like it's a small gesture it really is appreciated."
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Yori nods, " i know, it's all i can do, but im glad it's helping at least a little bit."
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"It is helping. Korri was pretty interested in the items you brought over."
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Yori perks up, " that's good. i hope those supplements help your mother feel better."
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"Agreed. It would be nice if our home wasn't cluttered with chairs just in case she collapses."
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Yori nods, " yeah..." he shivers, " how much further? it's dark, i can;t tell where we are."
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Nikiri nods, "just another block. Almost home."
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Yori nods, " 'kay. im glad you know your way so well. i don;t even recognize it with it being so dark. i knew exactly where i was earlier."
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nikiri nods, "one of the many reasons why i feel better with you having an escort home." He gets to their front door and opens it, letting yori in first
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Yori chuckles, " i was fine when it was light out, and i planned to leave while it was light out" he goes in and stomps the snow off his shoes, hanging his coat up.
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nikiri nods, "im just glad you're safe. As long as you stay safe i dont mind how you get around."
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Yori nods, " i don;t wanna worry you either. i'll be able to travel more safely soon i think, just... working on some stuff. but i'll be more careful and let you know where i am and where im going okay?"
-
nikiri nods, "that would make me feel better. thank you."
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " sorry for making you worry again. do you think Phae is still up? I wanted to see how the night light was doing for her."
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nikiri nods, "She might be up. go ahead and check. im going to see how mother is doing."
Touhou and Phae are up and are in her room with a coloring book
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Yori nods and hurries to her room, peeking in and blinking when he sees Touhou in there coloring, " oh hey. how's it going you two?"
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phae and touhou look up. phae gives a big smile and stands up, going over to yori, "welcome back yori!"
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Yori grins, " thanks. I wanted to ask how last night went with the night light? Did that work for you?"
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Phae gives a big smile, "It was so pretty and i fell asleep really quickly! thank you so much." she hugs yori's the best she can, her height not going past his waist so its like a thigh hug.
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Yori grins, " that's good, now you can get good sleep and not worry." He pats her head. " It should last a long time but just let me know if something happens to it so I can get a new bulb or replace it or whatever."
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She pulls away a little so that she can nod without her antlers bumping against yori, "okay!"
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Yori kneels down and gives her a quick hug on her own level, " alright. it's pretty late, and im tired so im gonna head to bed okay? Don;t keep Touhou up too late."
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phae smiles, "okay! goodnight!"
touhou watches the interaction
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Yori waves to Touhou and heads to bed.
Arakan gets ready in the morning and makes sure everything is as ready as possible, pacing as he waits for this meeting.
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In the morning once the cafe opens Shiro and Bakemono enter the cafe and they pick a spot in the corner
-
Arakan keeps an eye out for them and once he sees Shiro and his companion he walks over, sitting across from them. " good to see you two both made it."
Izanagi starts to flounce over before he sees how serious they look, " um, can i get you guys some drinks?"
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Shiro nods to arakan, "Yes i am glad too." he glances at Izanagi and blushes, "um oolong tea please."
Bakemono looks izanagi up and down and hums softly, "How about some of your-" he cuts off when Shiro pinches him, causing him to yelp, "OW."
Shiro gives Bakemono a cold glare, "you promised me you would behave, including jokes. so dont even." he looks back at izanagi apologetically, "Sorry, a black tea for him please."
Bakemono grumbles and looks away, out the window, since shiro did make bakemono sit on the inside, thus somewhat trapping the demon from doing too much.
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Izanagi blinks then Shiro blushes, then when Bakemono is prevented from flirting. " ooookay..."
" Coffee, black." Arakan eyes the two of them a bit warily.
Izanagi nods, " i'll be right back with that." he hurries off, giving the order to Hikari and scribbling his number onto a napkin again to give to Shiro for a second time with 'call me<3" in hopes that the other gets the hint. He makes sure that napkin goes under Shiros drink when he brings the drinks for everyone back.
Arakan waits until Izanagi brings them their drinks, " don;t come back to the table unless i call for you, understood?"
Izanagi's eyes widen, " y-yes sir." and scurries off.
-
Shiro sighs softly although he doesnt stop being so tense. He glances at Bakemono and frowns, "Well... tell him what you need to say."
Bakemono groans softly and grabs his cup of tea, taking a sip, "I am Koshi's right hand man. I normally follow his every command. However some things have come to light and I am now on thin ice with him. That being said I still dont plan on telling you anything extra about him since he is still my boss. Normally when he sends demons over to a district its always the usual three of someone loud and takes the spotlight, someone who does their best work at night and quietly, and then me. To take pictures, observe how the district reacts to the other two's presence, and to pounce however i seem fit. You have seen me before, you just didnt know it was me since i am a skin walker so my form changes every time i enter the district or stay close to the gate. Including that redhead with the camera you saw when that little kuroshiba princess left your district. We made eye contact and your instincts are good since you shielded Takana from my view as he was originally my target."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow as he listens, " I haven't asked you for any information, you came here to tell me things. though i do have to wonder, you're telling me this because... why?
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Bakemono grumbles softly, "Because i discovered that Takana is my cousin and so i told Koshi that i refuse to do any task that involves this district. As long as Takana is in here i wont attack because i dont want him harmed. This unfortunately backfired stupendously as he got into contact with my aunt, the 6th district leader, Persephone for help because she couldnt give two shits about takana being related to her. So in a way im apologizing for accidentally getting a second strong skin walker involved. She is a lot stronger than me, a lot more vicious, and i didnt mean to do that. I just wanted takana safe since i dont have much for family anymore."
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Arakan hums softly, " noted." he debates for a moment before looking at Bakemono, " you have another family member here as well, Takana's half brother. also related through their father." he takes a sip of his coffee, watching for the others reaction.
-
bakemono waves his hand dismissively, "yeah i know. yori kuroshiba. I'll worry about him once i figure out what half he has whether thats like takana, me, or Corrin. For now i just keep a casual eye on him and not my actual focus."
Shiro sips from his tea, noticing the napkin and blushing before quietly going back to his tea
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " despite being related you're not concerned about him, interesting. Well, i obviously plan to do my best to keep them both safe here, however anything you can do to help me locate and possibly disable Phersephone, the safe the two of them will be. If im forced to wait until she makes her move i may have little choice but to kill her."
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bakemono shakes his head, "She hasnt left her district yet. But she and koshi communicate a lot so i have been getting nervous. And the only reason why im not too concerned is because i have a hunch as to what yori may be, no proof just a hunch, and if im correct then i dont need to worry about him."
-
Arakan nods, " very well. a heads up to when she does leave her district would be appreciated. Bakemono, would you mind if i spoke to Shiro alone for a moment?"
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Shiro tenses a little, "um... Bakemono can you promise me you'll behave?"
Bakemono groans softly, "Oh come on i only have like, two demons' dna from this district."
Shiro huffs, "Two is too many already. I brought you here with trust in mind so please dont touch anyone."
The skin walker groans even louder and chugs his tea, "Fine, get out of the booth so i can get out."
Shiro hesitantly moves out of the booth so bakemono can get out.
bakemono gets out and huffs, "I'll be outside against the glass so you can see me i guess." he steps out and does what he's told
Shiro sits back down and sighs, keeping an eye on bakemono, "Im sorry about him. he refused to tell me what he wanted to say back home otherwise i would have just relayed the information."
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Arakan waits until he's gone before nodding, " understandable. As much as i hate the idea of adding more onto my plate at the moment, Disposing of Koshi would solve the issue that is being presented here, and discussing the slaughter of his boss i doubt would have gone over well with him. Have you made any headway into figuring out a way to get him here so that he can be dealt with?"
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Shiro shakes his head, "unfortunately there isn't much in getting him to leave his district. I do know he's trying to get a ball like get together in the works for his birthday coming up. He's been working hard on wearing the humans down to allowing him this event since he would plan on inviting each of the districts leaders and any guest the leader would like to bring. It would be the first time in a long time that any leaders actually got to be in the same room so the higher up humans are pretty nervous to give him the okay."
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Arakan perks a bit at that, " interesting.... a little more high profile than i'd like, but an opportunity no less. However, i may have an idea. Do you recall the Kuroshiba princess Bakemono mentioned? She's a very prominent figure, and tends to set the trends for style. she wore an outfit created by a very talented Spidren that lives here. It's a long shot, but perhaps he might be persuaded to come here to get a custom made outfit for his party, only the best of the best after all for his birthday. Worth a try anyway." he sees the Ink on the napkin Shiro has, " he's persistent, if you wish for him to stop bothering you i can tell him so."
-
Shiro listens intently to what arakan says, blinking in confusion at the end until he realizes that arakan is talking about the note.
Shiro blushes and clears his throat, "I um... I guess it's fine. I just don't really know what he's doing. Get my attention I guess but I don't know why. I don't really know him so I don't know what he wants."
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Arakan snorts softly, " I can easily tell you what he wants. He wants to get into your pants. Or rather for you to get into his. If you showed the slightest hint you were interested he'd probably go down on you in the back room. Not that I'm saying do that, he's supposed to be working, not flirting. Regardless, he's a low grade incubus, his motivations are not complicated or difficult to guess."
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shiro blinks before his eyes widen and his whole face turns bright red. He stammers a little bit, clearly unsure as to how to respond before clearing his throat, "a-ah i uh i um... i see. I have never um... had anyone interested in me before for... obvious reasons."
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Arakan snorts, " you're going to be in a lot of trouble if you get like this every time a demon tries to get into your pants, because if we do succeed in making you leader, it's going to happen a lot."
-
Shiro hesitantly rubs his hands before taking a shaky sip from his tea, "I guess I never thought of that... admittedly I don't think I'd want a partner anyway. At least not one that would give me kids. I'd worry about our family tradition. I wouldn't want a child that would be expected to kill their own parents... I guess that's something I'll need to look into on my own. If there is anyway that power can be transferred without such barbaric rules to it."
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Arakan nods slowly, " can't say i blame you there. i don't envy your position. you're going to have a rough time adjusting from being a nobody to having all eyes on your at all times. everything you do has to have potential consequences considered. Anyway, i suggest not calling of texting that number unless you want a barrage of nude photos. He's not subtle, if he wasn;t at work i have no doubt he'd be in your lap right now. If i wasn;t here he might do it anyway. See if you can get your hands on that magazine with Isabelle on the cover and leave it where your brother will see it."
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Shiro hesitantly nods and sighs, "I'll do my best to get the magazine... if i cant well.... i mean if he can even have his weird ball you would get an invitation to it so at least there's that but i'll see what i can do. I dont even know why he wants to have such a silly get together. None of the other leaders except for Persephone like him. The fifth district leader used to be on his side however from what i heard there has been a change in power and so Koshi lost that support."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed, i'd prefer not to fight at a large gathering with likely a great deal of human firepower directed at it, but i'll use that if needed. you and Bakemono ought to get going before your absence is noticed."
-
Shiro nods, "of course. And honestly I'd feel better getting bakemono out of your district. He's dangerous as it is..."
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Arakan glances at the demon, " so long as he's in my sight i know i could deal with him before he causes too much trouble, but i'll be happier with him gone. At least we seem to have a bit of a leash on him with his blood relation to Takana."
-
Shiro nods, "Yes it seems bakemono wishes to keep takana safe. I wish you the best and I'll keep you updated when i can." shiro stands up and puts money on the table for his and bakemono's tea because he isnt a thief
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Arakan nods, " we can use that if need be, though i'd rather keep him out of it as much as possible." he raises an eyebrow, " you don't need to pay, you're my guests here."
-
shiro blinks and looks at arakan, "its no problem. I ordered tea here so i should pay for what i used."
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Arakan shrugs, " very well." he tosses money down to cover his own and heads out.
Izanagi waits until Arakan leaves and sidles over to Shiro, " hey~"
-
Shiro blinks and looks down at Izanagi and turns bright red, "Oh um... h-hello there."
-
Izanagi smiles, " Hi handsome. So i was wondering if you could help with a problem i have with my phone..."
-
Shiro blinks curiously, "an issue on your phone? Oh dear that's unfortunate. Um. What seems to be the issue?"
-
Izanagi grins, " your number isn't in it~"
-
Shiro blinks and tilts his head, "oh i never heard of that being an issue before. What do you think is causing it?"
Bakemono glances back into the cafe when his partner doesnt come back out
-
Izanagi blinks, staring at him for a long moment, " oh wow, you're... a bit slow huh? im asking for your number. Because im hitting on you. Because i think you're cute."
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Shiro's eyes widen and his face turns bright red before he quickly straightens his back, "AH. UM."
Bakemono blinks and hums softly as he watches. He cant help but chuckle and meanders back inside and over to the two, "less slow and more unused to eyes on him. I should warn you he is a virgin but thankfully he does have a large cock."
Shiro whips his head to look at bakemono and panics, "Hey! Dont talk like that!"
-
Izanagi licks his lips, " virgins can be taught, and i like the sound of that~ seriously though, call me?" he quickly grabs Shiros collar and pulls him down to give him a kiss on the lips.
-
Shiro's eyes widen when he's suddenly kissed and there's an obvious warm heat in the kiss that shiro isnt even aware of
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Izanagi pulls away and licks his lips, " ooo, that was nice. I'd offer more but Arakan would get mad at me if i played hooky from work."
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Shiro is a little stunned and flustered as he just stares
Bakemono raises an eyebrow and glances down at Shiros sweatpants before chuckling, "yeeeah I should get him home. I'll do my best to get him to text you but to be honest his confidence ain't great. Bai cutie!" He grabs Shiro's arm and drags him away
-
Izanagi waves, " Byeeeeeeeee!" he gets back to work, whistling.
-
Bakemono goes back to the district with Shiro
Shiro is incredibly flustered still
-
Arakan heads to Takanas apartment, knocking before heading in.
Yori is out in the forest training with Touhou again.
-
Takana looks over and blinks before smiling, "hey! what are you doing here? not that i mind at all. Ive been bored out of my mind."
-
Arakan chuckles, " i cleared a good portion of my day for a meeting that took far less time than expected, so i have a couple hours free."
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Takana goes over to arakan and smiles, "really? I'm glad you're spending it with me then. Are you hungry at all? I can make you some spicy curry since it's been a while."
-
Arakan blinks, " i didn;t come here to make you cook for me, though if you wanted to it's hard to say no to that offer."
-
"No I know you didn't but I'm sure you've pushed so many things around in your schedule you didn't even think of setting some time aside for food and it's not good for you to skip meals." Takana pats arakan on the shoulder before going to the kitchen and getting the food cooking.
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Arakan rubs the back of his neck, " i had some breakfast, and coffee. besides i've skipped way more than just one meal before and been fine. im made of tougher stuff than a human is."
-
Takana tsks softly, "as long a you and I are together in going to feed you tasty food. It's really the only thing I can do. "
-
Arakan smirks a little, " that's definitely not the only thing you can do."
-
Takana blushes and continues cooking, "let's not rile the cook up until after they're done in the kitchen. I'd hate to get distracted while cooking."
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Arakan chuckles, " what? you have many talents, like how you fixed up that laptop to project movies." he keeps his voice innocent.
-
Takana grumbles softly, "playing innocent are we? " he's not upset but he can't help but act out a little. He was trying to behave but all he could think about was sex
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Arakan laughs, " i never said what you were good at, you jumped to conclusions all on your own."
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Takana grumbles and finishes making the curry and sets a plate and fork full of spicy food in front of arakan, "here. Eat up so you got some good food in you and then I wanna cuddle."
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Arakan obediently picks up his fork, " not hungry yourself?" he starts eating, humming softly in appreciation.
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Takana shrugs, "I ate a little bit ago already and I haven't been doing much to make me get an appetite."
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" Fair" Arakan murmurs around a mouthful, quickly eating his meal. He places the plate into the sink when he's done and heads into the bathroom to brush his teeth quick.
-
while arakan is brushing his teeth takana takes this moment to quickly wash his plate just so there's less dishes to worry about later
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Arakan cleans his mouth thoroughly to make sure no oils from the spice remain to potentially harm Takana, then heads back to the couch to sit.
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Takana finishes up with the dishes and washes his hands thoroughly before going over to the couch and sitting down next to him, "so what was the meeting about?"
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Arakan hums softly, " just some leader stuff. it's best if you don't know too much." he gently kisses Takana on the cheek.
-
Takana blinks and frowns, "okay. If you say so." he's quiet for a moment before glancing back up at arakan, "How's my face? it's looking pretty good right? No more rash."
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Arakan gently grabs Takanas chin and turns his face so he can look properly, " it's improved greatly. I still see a little redness though, so best to wait until it's completely healed."
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Takana blushes since he's now looking straight at arakan's beautiful face, "fuck i could stare at you all day."
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Arakan blinks and chuckles, " okay?" He gently pecks him on the lips before letting his chin go.
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Takana shudders softly and quickly deepens the kiss, not feeling satisfied with a simple peck.
-
Arakan makes a startled noise as the peck quickly turns into a deep kiss from Takana, put an arm around the other as he leans into the kiss to return it.
-
takana keeps the kiss going for a little bit before pulling away, "sorry. its just been a while and i really like kissing you."
-
Arakan shifts so he's turned towards Takana properly, and leans in to resume the kiss, gently putting a hand onto Takana's thigh to caress it.
-
Takana shudders softly when arakan starts kissing him again, blushing when he feels the demons hand on his thigh.
He can't help but bring his left hand down to arakan's crotch, rubbing the man through the fabric of his pants
-
Arakan inhales sharply when he feels the pressure through his pants, growling softly, " rapidly approaching the point of no return." he warns gently, giving Takana an out.
-
Takana gives a little cocky grin, "you say that as if your dick hasn't been balls deep inside of me already."
-
Arakan growls softly and pins Takana down onto the couch, nipping his neck gently but not enough to leave a mark, " tempting little imp."
-
Takana gives a soft yelp but it quickly switches to soft laughter, "can't help it. I miss you so much."
-
Arakan kisses down his neck tenderly, " i've only been away for a few days, i can't help that this was important."
-
Takana gives a breathy chuckle, "mmmyes. I DID miss your company however what I meant was this," his hand reaches down and gives arakan's dick a gentle squeeze and stroke, "I've been trying so hard not to immediately jump you after so long but I'm weak when it comes to you."
-
Arakans breath intakes sharply as he's caressed, " that would be interesting to see."
-
Takana licks his lips, "yes well stop teasing me with kisses and touching and get your dick inside of me."
-
Arakan shudders a bit, " and if i don't?"
-
Takana gives a low, throaty growl, "then I will be inclined to take it from you myself if you consent to that sort of thing."
-
Arakan chuckles softly, " from anyone else? i'd kill them. from you? you have my permission."
-
Takana grins and licks his lips, "hearing that I'm the only who can do this to you is hot, no lie."
He pushes himself up and gently pushes arakan onto his back
-
Arakan hums softly, " you're the only one i permit many such liberties to." he lets himself be pushed onto his back, looking up at Takana and letting his tongue flick out to wet his lips. " im all yours."
-
Takana reaches underneath the couch and pulls out a bottle of lube, "as much as I hate to say it, you and I aren't the only ones who fuck on this couch."
He happily pulls arakans pants and underwear off and squeezes some of izanagis lube into the palm of his hand to warm it up before spreading it across arakans dick and stroking the shaft
-
Arakan makes a bit of a face, " i should know this, but seeing you pull that out from under there just makes it weirder. but honestly im too turned on to care that much. In this case, im almost glad he's such a fucking horndog."
-
Takana nods as he continues to work arakan's dick with his hand, bringing his lips up to the tip and licking it
-
Arakan inhales sharply, dick twitching in Takana's hand, leaking drops of precum already.
-
Once takana is satisfied with the amount of lube coating arakans dick he scoots up so he's straddling the demons waist, "a part of me is very thankful that I have been quietly masturbating that last couple of days."
He reaches back and carefully lines arakans cock up with his ass before gently lowering himself down, taking little pauses every so often as arakan stretches his muscles.
He gives a soft sigh once he's fully seated and arakan is all the way inside of him.
-
Arakan lifts his head to look at him, his face flushing, " you what?" then feels Takana's warm heat start enveloping him, cutting off any further thought about that as he groans, grabbing Takana's hip to steady the other.
-
His whole body trembles slightly as it adjusts to the pressure of arakan inside of him, "you heard me." He gives a breathless chuckle and once he feels like he's relaxed enough to continue he places his hands anywhere he can to get some leverage before slowly lifting his hips until just the head of arakans dick is in him and then he lowers himself again
-
Arakan shudders a bit, licking his lips, " Insatiable... were you imagining it was me inside of you while you did it?" He watches Takana, eyes partly lidded.
-
Takana snorts softly, "well I mean I tried. However it was hard to pretend my fingers were your dick for obvious reasons."
He quickens his pace a little bit, finding a steady rhythm.
-
Arakan pants softly, " maybe we'll have to see about where Izanagi gets his toys, i have no idea how he's managed to get any."
-
"I'd rather not. It was embarrassing enough going lingerie shopping with him so unless you want to ask it ain't happening."
As his speed increases he feels his arms ache from awkwardly holding onto parts of the couch so he instead decides to not sit upright and instead let himself hover over arakan more and place his hands on the demons chest for support
-
Arakan grasps Takana's hips to help him with each movement to take the strain off him, " i have to admit though, that lingerie is fucking hot. the first time i saw you in it, it took all my self control to keep from throwing you down and fucking you."
-
Takana raises an eyebrow and gives a little smirk, "o-oh yeah? I kinda wished you did. I felt very not sexy at the time and wouldn't have minded knowing you were using all of your self control."
He starts panting as he gets close, his movements becoming more erratic.
-
Arakan groans softly, " if- ah, if i had indulged, it would have been detrimental to the work i had to.... fuck, ah, do the next day. it really was incredibly sexy." his breathing gets heavier, and he starts bucking his hips up a little to meet Takana's movements as he pulls the other male down onto his dick.
Yori smiles at Nikiri as they head to Takana's place, " so i went ahead and got some really yummy food while i was out that we can just reheat so Takana doesn;t feel like he needs to cook. i know he's been really bored so i appreciate you letting him come over so he can spend time with me and Touhou!"
-
Nikiri nods and smiles at yori, "it's no problem at all, I'm glad you can make plans with him to hang out." He enters the main building and heads up the stairs.
Takana gasps loudly, the gasp evolving to a throaty moan, "it- ah! Still would have meant a-a lot to me at the time~!"
He straightens up and grabs his dick, stroking it, "fuck! Fuck I'm gonna cum~ cumming~!!" His muscles clench tightly around arakans dick as he cums, his jizz coating arakans chest.
Nikiri opens the door to the apartment, immediately freezing when he sees the two going at it, not expecting that AT ALL.
-
Arakan growls deeply and slams Takana down hard onto him, holding the others hips tightly as he spills his load into Takana.
Yori walks in with Nikiri, " Tak-" he freezes at the sight, face quickly going bright red as he sees his brother riding Arakan. "a-ah."
-
Takana pants softly as he catches his breath. He hears a bit of movement and looks over, blinking until his brain registers nikiri and yori are right there.
His face turns bright red and he quickly grabs a nearby blanket and covers himself with it, "UM. HI. Holy shit is it that time already?! Yori I'm so sorry just uh! Just give me two minutes and um! A-arakan help me get up."
Nikiri slowly brings his hand over yori's eyes, "you two are almost as bad as izanagi..."
-
Arakan quickly lifts himself to look over and grabs a pillow to cover their hips, " i uh. hey now, nobody asked you two to come in without knocking or anything." he scowls a bit, lifting Takana off him and setting him down, quickly trying to regain his composure despite having no pants on. There was a blanket from him usually sleeping on the couch and he wraps that around Takana real quick before grabbing his underwear and pants, pulling them on quickly.
-
Nikiri shrugs, "figured it was safe with izanagi still at work."
Takana scrambles for his underwear and pants, slipping them on and standing up, "sorry! So sorry!"
-
Arakan sighs, " Sue me for having a little bit of time free for once." he goes into the bathroom, cleaning up.
Yori is still just in shock, bright red and happily hiding behind Nikiri's hand.
-
Nikiri blinks, "no need for the sour attitude my dear leader. You just got laid, you should be happy not grouchy. Besides you two are healthy adult men. Being sexually active is perfectly normal~"
Takana can feel arakans cum wanting to leak out and he shivers a little, "um... one-one moment." He goes to his room, closes the door, undresses again and grabs some tissues.
He cleans himself out the best he can before getting a new pair of pants and stepping out of his room and going to the kitchen sink and starts washing his hands.
A tiny mouse peeks out from yori's pocket.
-
Yori turns brighter red as Nikiri starts this, " u-um, I can wait outside!" He darts out of the apartment.
Arakan looks at Nikiri with a cold glare, " the last thing I need is sexual advice from you." He looks at Takana, leaning in to whisper, " are you alright? If you want to shower quick they will wait."
-
Takana huffs at arakan, "I'm fine thank you. I'm more concerned about my brother at the moment." His ears droop when yori runs out of the apartment.
Nikiri huffs softly, "I don't know why I'm getting attitude here. It was an honest miscalculated mistake that I'd never tell anyone about nor am I shaming anyone about." Nikiri grumbles softly, looking genuinely miffed.
-
Arakan rubs his temple, " if I had known he planned to visit I would have been more cautious." He hesitates before going closer to Nikiri and putting a hand on his shoulder, leaning in close and keeping his voice low, " by the way...keep a close eye on Yori. I have reason to believe he may be the worst case scenario. So long as he remains unaware we should not have a problem. I do not want to need to eliminate the boy."
Yori leans against the building outside, clearly flustered.
-
Takana nervously leaves the apartment to find his brother, "yori? I'm sorry..."
Nikiri raises an eyebrow at arakan, "eliminate? That's a bit harsh... I understand your concerns and while I'd hate to assume that hes...the boogeyman I'd rather concentrate on corrin being the main threat. And at this time yori despises his father. I'll keep an eye out just in case however this could be an opportunity to have a powerful ally...IF he's what you think he is."
A tiny grey mouse whom was quickly enough to fall out of yori's pocket before the boy ran watches the two demons carefully, ears twitching as it huddles behind a mug of coffee that sat out on the counter.
-
Aakan sighs, " obviously that's a route i'd rather not take. but we also only know rumors of their strength, which appear to be true, and seeing as he's young he's probably strong. im not certain if he reaches his full strength i can beat him if it comes down to that. and just because he seems to be on our side does not guarantee he's safe to be around. you remember there used to be plenty of demon species that were unable to control their instincts and their other half, we don't know much about how much control he'll have. Im just saying, we need to be careful, there are too many unknowns in this situation, and that's dangerous. I will do what is safest for this district no matter what that is."
Yori looks over, " o-oh, hey. im sorry, i should have knocked. i was just excited."
-
Nikiri sighs softly, "yes I'm well aware what you'll do for your district even if it means killing the brother of the person you claim you love...how romantic."
Takana frowns, "no I'm sorry... I should have kept my eyes on the time. I'm so sorry."
-
Arakan snarls, " so what, you think that just because im in love with Takana i should let the district fall apart? know your place, this is why i am next in line while your family simply support, how can you possibly understand the decisions i have to make. Even if it makes Takana hate me, if i need to do it to protect the district i will, that is my duty. you act as if i enjoy killing and hurting people."
Yori rubs the back of his neck, " it's okay, you're just... doing things with the person you like in the privacy of your own home. there isn;t anything wrong with that."
-
Nikiri bristles at arakans comments, "what the hell has gotten into you? I DO know my place thank you very much. I have never wanted your position, I'm just saying that all of your decisions have been clear cut, black and white, solutions and I just want you to consider the outcome of what you think is best for the district. It is a HARD decision that I will support you in but I am simply concerned of how this would impact the district in the long run. Both with your attitude about it and the clear fact that yori is probably the one person that could take out his own father which would help us out immensely. The death of this dictator by the hands of another human is a better pill for the humans to swallow than a demon." He huffs softly, "now I didn't come here to pick a fight with you. That's the last thing I want right now. I just came here to escort the brothers to my place for a hang out so I will excuse myself and take my leave. "
He turns and starts heading out.
The gray mouse scampers across the counter to follow nikiri
Takana sighs, "Yeah but I know it doesn't make you comfortable so I should have been better. Let's just stop talking about it. Pretend it never happened, okay? "
-
Arakan growls, " Of course im considering all the outcomes! why the hell do you think i asked you to keep an eye on him instead of simply dealing with the problem before it becomes an issue?" he shakes his head, pacing.
Yri nods, " i will be attempting to."
-
Nikiri smiles at yori and takana, "shall we head out?"
Takana's ears droop and he nods, "Yeah i... I'm fine with that."
The gray mouse goes over to yori and hides in the kids clothes
-
Yori blinks, " but you... you just... i... okay, um, lets go." he shakes his head, confused.
-
Nikiri nods, "perfect let's go." He guides the group back to his house
-
Yori follows after, holding the bags of food close. " i, um. i picked up some stuff so you wouldn;t have to cook. I wanted you to be able to just relax." he peeks at his brother.
-
Takana smiles at yori, "thank you yori. I appreciate it a lot."
-
Yori nods, " yeah..." he keeps quiet, not really sure how to deal with things now. Takana said to forget about it then seemed upset when he agreed, what was he supposed to say? sexual stuff had always seemed so... terrifying, what if he did something to make mom mad like Takana had? he didn;t want to get in more trouble, he knew he was an adult and this was illogical but he couldn;t help it.
-
Touhou slips back into yoris shirt pocket.
Takana stares at the ground, feeling awkward as they walked.
After a while nikiri stops at his front door and opens it, "alright, hear we are."
-
Yori reaches into his pocket, not having noticed Touhou going missing at any point, and gently scoops him up and sets him down on the floor.
-
The mouse hops a bit away before turning back to his more human form.
He gives nikiri a quick cold glance before looking at yori and takana.
Takana blinks and blushes a little, assuming touhou must have also been present during his moment, "um hey touhou. It's good to see you again."
Nikiri notices the look he got from touhou and blinks
-
Yori goes to his room, " so, um, this is the room I'm staying in, and Touhou is over here in this one, so we're right next to each other if we want to talk or something. Oh I should put this in the fridge." He hurries to the kitchen to put the food he'd gotten away for now.
-
Takana smiles at touhou, "so how have things been? Enjoying your time away from the mansion?"
Touhou gives a hesitant nod, "for the most part. The mother and younger children are very innocent and loving. Something much different than what I'm used to."
-
Yori comes back, " i um, i have the switch if we wanna play anything. otherwise im not sure what we should do. maybe just go sit in the living room and talk?"
-
touhou blinks and looks excited, "Mario party?"
-
Yori blinks and looks at Touhou before laughing, " mario party it is then."
-
phae runs down the stairs and skids to a stop near them, "Me too?"
Bakemono walks down the main hall of the yomu home feeling agitated at best. He had mixed feelings about Shiro's plan to get koshi killed. He grew up with koshi after all, brought in to the household by Mirai shortly after he had killed his own parents.
His job since then was to protect Koshi and be a friend to him, but koshi keeps doing things that make him and the people of this district uncomfortable. The E ranks are already gone, Koshi has a ton of meetings with humans in secret, and now the mad man is bringing Mistress Persephone into the picture.
He enters the main throne and grimaces when he sees Koshi and Persephone already talking, "ah... Auntie is... already here..."
Koshi turns to look at Bakemono and grins, "Welcome back home Bamo~! You're just in time, Mistress Persephone was just informing me of some interesting information."
Persephone stays standing still, not at all bothered by the baby that just entered the room, "...yes.... I am surprised Koshi that you were not made aware of Takana's connection to our family. Or of Yori's presence at all despite my nephew working for you. That seems like information that should have been mentioned immediately."
Bakemono sighs softly, trying to hide the fact that he was sweating bullets, "I didnt see how that information was important. I DID tell you my lord that i didnt want you to go after him so i guess now you know why. as for yori he was only a recent addition."
Koshi waves his hand dismissively, "all information is important unless i say otherwise. But thats a punishment for another day. If anything him being related just makes me more interested! After all, family should stick together so he would do better here. although if you really dont want me to go after takana i could try to invest more in yori."
Persephone shakes her head, "That would be unwise. Yori is a sleeper wendigo. when put into mortal danger he could awaken and that is something that could end your life. However Takana is nothing more than a mere changeling so going after him would be safer for you. Also, if you succeed in mating with him then when he gets close to labor we can induce him on a specific day to ensure you the sub type that you want. A wendigo child with your family's powers would be a strong and unstoppable leader."
Koshi nods, "Perfect! its settled then! Persephone, im counting on you."
Bakemono flinches and pales, "You cant be serious right now. Auntie you cant just do that!"
Persephone glares at Bakemono and her shape changes into a male demon that no one has seen before. He slams his hands onto the floor and within seconds a sigil forms on the ground, surrounding bakemono.
Bakemono sees the sigil and his eyes widen and when he tries to take a step out he feels himself being electrocuted and he cant help but shriek in pain.
Koshi blinks before giving an excited expression, "Oooh~ a barrier! So cool! well i guess that punishment is happening today."
Persephone goes back into her normal form and glances at Koshi, "I'll be back. and when i am i will be successful." She turns and walks out of the room.
Koshi smiles at bakemono, "I guess this means i'll be getting my bride soon. wont this be exciting?"
Bakemono glares at koshi, rubbing his sore arm.
-
Yori smiles, " certainly! the more the merrier." He gets the game set up and passes controllers out.
Arakan gets to the rest of the work he has scheduled for the day, feeling uneasy.
-
Koshi laughs softly before turning around, " welp, im going to go rub my success in my fathers face~ have fun being grounded Bakemono~!" he leaves the room
bakemono growls softly. he didnt have arakans number... or shiro's for that matter. he just had to wait and hope the little worm showed up and could alert others.
Persephone gets close to the 4th district and hums softly as she thinks about what form to take. she had quite a few that called this place home thanks to her lower rank civilians enjoying a quiet vacation here or there. she allows it as long as they come back with some dna she can take.
She thinks back to her previous, brief investigation she made here and after going through her options she quietly slips into the district, her form changing into Izanagi, wearing a slutty maid outfit.
Izanagi glances around before heading to the Okuya residence
-
Yori laughs as they play, giving pointers to Phae and Touhou since they're new to the game.
-
Takana, touhou, and phae all have a great time playing with yori
Izanagi gets to the Okuya's residence and happily knocks on the door.
Nikiri blinks and heads to the door and opens it, "oh! Um. Hey nagi. What are you doing here? You should have like, another hour on your shift."
Izanagi hums softly, "Yeah some weird stuff happened again so we were told to go home and arakan told me to swing by and pick up takana and he'd meet us back at the apartment to discuss some things."
Nikiri blinks and moves so izanagi can step inside, "oh? I'm surprised he didn't just come and grab takana himself."
Izanagi steps inside and gives nikiri a soft kiss, "maybe he was gonna but I insisted instead~ just so I can come see you for a little bit."
Nikiri chuckles softly, "I know I've been busy but I didn't think I was so preoccupied that you'd get this desperate."
Izanagi grins and pulls away, "you'd be amazed at what I'd do for some good company!"
Takana hears izanagi and blinks. He gets up and goes over to the foyer, "hey nagi! What brings you here?"
Izanagi locks his eyes on to takana, "hey. I came to come bring you home. Arakans orders."
Takana blinks, frowning, "thats... weird. Did something happen? Why isn't he bringing me home?"
Izanagi shrugs, "something did happen but there's no immediate danger so I offered to come get you. That way I could also see nikiri!" He smiles.
Takana's ears droop a little, "I see. Um. Let me grab my coat and then we'll go home."
-
Yori frowns, " but... he hasn;t even been here that long. Can;t you ask and see if he can stay until alter and you can walk him home?" he looks at Nikiri.
-
Izanagi shakes his head, "sorry, I know you haven't been here long but arakans orders are something you can't ignore or question. It's just for today. You can always see him tomorrow."
Takana sighs softly, "izanagi isn't wrong." He gives yori a small smile, "sorry yori. We can hang out tomorrow. I can come over earlier to make up for it."
-
Yori sighs, " okay... it's fine. we can pick you up and the way home again. be careful..."
-
Takana pats yori on the shoulder, giving an apologetic smile before grabbing his coat and putting his shoes on, "alright, let's head out."
Izanagi nods and heads out with takana.
Nikiri sighs and frowns, shutting the door, "sorry about the play date being cut short."
Touhou grumbles softly, "it'd be nice to know what happened."
Nikiri nods, "yeah... I know arakan and I are having a childish fight right now but he should still update me." He pulls out his phone, "let me figure out what is going on through his head." He dials arakans number.
Izanagi heads in a different direction.
Takana blinks "don't we normally go left?"
Izanagi glances back at takana, "this is a faster way."
Takana shrugs, "alright, as long as you know the way."
-
Arakan glances at his phone and frowns, " excuse me for a minute." he gets up and leaves the room for a second where he was talking to a higher ranking demon about the new guard jobs coming up with the district opening, answering the phone, " what? did something happen?"
-
Nikiri blinks and frowns, "I should be asking you that. What happened? Izanagi told me you had him come by and take takana home already. Your orders."
-
Arakan frowns, " what? i gave no such orders... we need to block the gates out of the district, get out there and try to find him, he's probably not far yet. Be careful, do not engage, call me if you find him." he hangs up and heads out of the building, quickly glancing at the other demon, " this meeting is being postponed." He runs to the front gate, calling on other demons to cover the other gates and inform him the moment Takana is spotted.
-
Nikiri hums softly and hangs up the phone, giving a small 'fuck me' nod before looking at the others, "um. Stay here. I have to go out and track takana down real quick."
Shiro takes a peek in to the throne room and gasps softly, "bakemono?!" He hisses softly and quietly runs into the room and over to him, stopping just shy of the barrier, "wha?! What happened? What is this?"
Bakemono snarls, "if you have that bastards number I suggest you text him and tell him that my aunt is already on the move."
Shiro flicnhes and hastily pulls out his phone, "i-ill let him know-"
"Good. Now get out of here before your brother comes back. I don't want him seeing me talk to you."
Shiro nods and hesitantly leaves the room, texting arakan, 'bakemono is trapped in a confined barrier. He says his aunt is already on the move. I am sorry for not letting you know sooner. I only just found out.
Izanagi stops by a nearby building, eyes narrow as he watches the gates, and the demons that surround it.
Shit... was she too slow?
Takana blinks and frowns, "um... nagi? I know I'm directionally challenged but even I know we're nowhere near the apartments. What's going on?"
Izanagi snarls softly. Being discovered is not something she wanted so soon but it looks like she has no choice, "what's going on? You're being kidnapped sweetheart."
Persephone changes back onto her normal form, looking back at takana, "but if it makes you feel any better we ARE related."
Takana's eyes widen and he pales, watching his 'friend' change into a 6' 8" woman with terrifying eyes, "OH SHIT."
Persephone wastes no time in grabbing takana slamming him into the ground, knocking him out, "what a weakling."
-
Arakan prowls the district, searching for Takana himself now that he had demons at each of the gates. he glances at his phone and texts back a brief message, so that's who it is. Takana is missing, the district is under lockdown, but she hasn't shown up at the gates yet.
-
Persephone quickly changes to a spider demon, using webbing to wrap Takana up tightly in a cocoon and tying him to her back before skiddering along the dark side of the buildings, watching the fencing to find an opening she can use.
Nikiri bounces around the alleys, trying to locate anything weird.
Persephone slows down as she carefully notes a drop in temperature. She should just fucking toss this body over the fence and then sneak over later....
-
Arakan scans the fences from a roof nearby and spots an unfamiliar demon with a bundle on it's back. He quickly leaps down and the moment his feet touch the ground ice erupts from all around, quickly forming a dome that encases both him and the spider demon in the area to prevent them escaping. Arakan glares at Persephone, " You can give up. Give me Takana back, and i might let you leave here alive."
-
Persephone tsks softly, watching arakan carefully, "give him back? And why would I do that? He's my nephew after all, maybe I would like him to live with his family where he belongs instead of trapped in your shitty district."
-
Arakan watches her carefully, " isn;t that something for him to decide? we know what he is, and accept him. he has chosen so far to stay here, it's not up to you to make that choice for him."
-
Persephone snarls softly, "you expect me to believe that bullshit? For one thing changelings haven't been accepted by any demon since I was a child, why start now? Furthermore he's only here because you filled his brain with pathetic emotions that will only cause him anguish later on. You have no balls to properly court him despite reaping the benefits like the scum that you are."
Nikiri lands on a nearby roof and spots the dome and the spider like demon inside along with arakan. He lowers himself and watches, knowing jumping in would be stupid at the moment
-
Arakan crosses his arms, " i will court him properly when the time is right, you're in no position to tell me how to lead my district. I highly doubt kidnapping him will make him any too fond of you."
Ryokan snarls as he charges into sight of the dome, eyes narrowing as he spots his son and the intruder inside. how fucking DARE she comes to his district and try to take one of his people? he didn't even care who it was or why, this was HIS territory. he reaches the dome and breaks directly through it with a burst of flame, eyes locking on the spider demon, " Persephone."
Arakan grins, icing the hole his father had made back over.
-
Persephone was about to respond to arakan, however the sudden addition to the dome causes her attention to immediately lock onto ryokan instead, "Ryo. Been a while. Wish I could have met your son in better circumstances but a job is a job. You understand don't you? Besides the only person I want is a family member. That has to account for something."
She really didn't want to fight ryokan. The tangled mess of string that connected them as kids was long severed but Persephone still remembered how fighting ryokan, even if it was practice, never worked in her favor.
-
Ryokan snorts, " if he's your family then you needn't have him bundled like a sack of potatoes and be taking him unconcious. Besides, i really don;t give a flying fuck what your relationship is to him, i don't even give a shit who he is. you're in my district, Persephone. You entered my district without my permission, and tried to take one of my people. Do you really think im going to let that slight go unanswered? Not a fucking chance." he snarls and charges at her, leaping to where she is and slashing with claws extending out, heat radiating from him.
Arakan watches, ready to jump in if the opportunity arises, but also knowing he was the support in this fight, his father was the lead.
-
Persephone's eyes widen and she quickly dodges, taking the opportunity to skitter up the side of the dome until she gets to the top and sticking the wrapped up body on the 'ceiling' of the dome so takana is safe before turning her head so she's facing the ground and takes a deep breath before breathing out, releasing a thick purple fog, hoping the paralysis gas slows down ryokan.
-
Ryokan snorts and a massive burst of flames barrels towards her, burning the fog away as he lunges for another slash at her.
Arakan slowly starts making the ice creep over Takana, trying to avoid catching Persephone's attention as he walls his lover off.
-
Persephone just barely gets away from the slash, landing at the edge of the dome with cuts on her arm.
She quickly transforms into a different demon with light blue hair and eyes and blue freckles and slams her hands against the ground, water seeping through the cracks at first however gravel and dirt break away quickly as she starts flooding the dome with as much rapid waters as she can.
It only takes mere seconds for the dome to be 3/4 full of water.
-
Arakan quickly focuses on the water, jumping up and grabbing onto the top of the dome and freezing the water.
Ryokan also leaps up to the top and hangs on, knowing this is his sons domain, " foolish woman, did you forget there are two of us here?"
Arakan breaks a small hole in the ice to shout through, " Nikiri! Grab Takana!" he finishes covering Takana on the inside and pulls the ice away on top so Takana would be laying in a small depression in the ice.
-
Nikiri flinches hearing his name and immediately appears next to the rolled up body, picking it up gently and jumping back, away from the fighting.
Persephone gives an aggravated sigh, "I didn't forget. I just needed a bit more distance from you."
As she says that her skin turns blue, her hair dripping and in a split second the body turns into water, flowing down the gaps of the ice where a body once was until it absorbs into the ground, leaving the district entirely.
-
Ryokan snarls and Arakan quickly encases himself in ice as flames blast through the dome, evaporating most of the water and melting the majority of the ice. Ryokan bellows, " Get back here coward!"
Arakan drops his ice shield, deciding it was a good time to leave his father to burn out his rage. He quickly locates Nikiri and climbs up to him, " you got him? is he alright?"
-
Nikiri had started taking the front of the webbing off, "we need to take him to your mother i was about to take the rest of the silk off but do you see inside towards the back of his head? its sticky and there's a tint of red. If he has a head wound then removing the silk might reopen it and cause him to bleed more. I- I'm so sorry. she copied izanagi perfectly, even down to his scent so i didnt think it was a skin walker."
-
Arakan peers at Takana's head, " i'll get him to her. i've got it from here. Leave my father be, he'll settle down after he destroys some more pavement. As for what happened... i want to be mad but i also know it's not your fault. We'll discuss precautionary measures for the future later." He carefully scoops Takana up and heads for his mothers clinic.
Ryokan roars as he blasts fire at the cracks where Persephone vanished.
-
nikiri watches arakan leave and sighs softly. He hesitantly glances at ryokan and makes sure he keeps his distance, not wanting to deal with him
Takana shudders when he feels himself moved around, the fresh air hitting his face causing his face to scrunch a bit, "nng."
-
Arakan shushes Takana softly, " i've got you." he picks up the pace until they get to his mothers, where she quickly leads him to a table. She gently pulls the silk away from the back of the head and lays her hand on it, coolness radiating from her hand to soothe the area as she takes stock.
After awhile longer Ryokan stops, panting softly at the exertion before heading home.
-
Nikiri gives a soft sigh when ryokan leaves and he heads home himself knowing yori and touhou are probably freaked out. He did say he had to chase down takana and then just left.
He steps inside his home, "I'm back..."
Takana's eyes flutter very briefly, the lights of the room being too bright for him, "ugh. Fuck. Where..."
-
Yori was sitting near the front door and quickly stands up, " you're back! is takana okay?!"
Korri places her other hand on his forehead, " hush, you've been injured. you're in my clinic. stay still." She carefully lifts his head to look at the damage, " you'll be alright, though she did leave some cracks. since this is a head injury im going to use my blood to help the cracks seal faster. this will burn." She uses a syringe to draw some of her blood, lifting his head so she can carefully apply small amounts to the areas under the skin where she sees the cracks.
-
Nikiri looks at yori and nods, "we have takana back and he's with arakans mother for a head injury but he should be fine. I'm sorry.... i... the izanagi that showed up was not actually izanagi."
Touhou bristles a little, "skin walker."
Nikiri blinks at touhou before nodding, "um yes. Specifically the leader of the 6th district Persephone. I should have been more diligent and questioned arakan before letting them leave... that's on me."
Touhou frowns, "you two had a fight just prior before so it's understandable that you'd assume arakan wouldn't want to talk to and instead just take care of the issue."
Nikiri frowns and rubs his arm, "I shouldn't assume. No matter how much we fight he is supposed to be able to rely on me and I'm supposed to be able to make things easier for him..."
He huffs softly and tries to push down his feelings for now. This isn't about him right now, "regardless, takana is back and is being taken care of and Persephone is gone for now."
Takana grunts softly, "explains why my head is killing me..."
-
Korri chuckles softly, " indeed. but you're safe and that's what matters most."
Arakan watches carefully, eyes locked on Takana in concern. He should be making announcements to the district and easing their fears, but he couldn;t seem to make himself go.
Yori frowns and shakes his head, " you couldn;t have known... im just glad he's safe. thank you so much for calling arakan to double check."
-
Takana sighs softly, "is arakan okay? I think I heard yelling earlier but I was so disoriented I couldn't figure out what was going on."
He was keeping his eyes closed so he hadn't actually looked at his lover yet.
Nikiri looks at yori and nods, "I'm just glad I did. I don't want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't."
Touhou sighs, "skin walkers need DNA though to make a perfect copy. How would she have acquired-"
Nikiri snorts and cuts him off, "if she isn't picky about what the DNA is then it is actually very easy for her to get a... sample of izanagi. There's probably leftovers of him all over town."
Touhou's eyes widen and he turns bright red.
-
Arakan speaks up, his voice quiet, " im here. she didn't lay a hand on me even once. Once Father showed up she was more focused on getting away."
Korri looks up briefly at her son, " he'll be fine. you have duties to attend to. Remember, we musn't allow our emotions to get in the way of our responsibilities."
Arakan grits his teeth before standing, " you're right. i leave him in your capable hands."
Yori also turns bright red and covers his ears, " ahhhhh i don;t want to hear this!"
-
Takana hums softly, "I was wondering who that other voice belonged to. Sorry you had to rescue me again. I'll be alright though. I'm already feeling a lot better now that I'm no longer a silk mummy."
Nikiri chuckles softly, "sorry sorry, I won't go on. I myself don't like talking about such things excessively. Anyway, how are you two feeling? Anything I can do to help pass the time until we hear from takana?"
-
Arakan nods, " my father does not often engage in the day to day matters. i... i will be back soon. im just glad you're safe." he quickly heads out, making his way to where he can use to speaker system. " lockdown is canceled, the issue has been resolved. please return to normal activities."
Yori slowly uncovers his ears and peeks an eye open, " um... i dunno... can we go see him?"
-
Nikiri blinks and sighs softly, "i... can ask. If korri's work is already done and he just has to rest then I'm sure it's fine."
He pulls out his phone and texts korri, 'how is takana? His brother and touhou are worried and want to see him so i told them i would ask if that was okay. I dont want a crowded room to hinder you so dont hesitate to say no.
Takana sighs softly after arakan leaves, "I feel like an idiot..."
-
Korri finishes injected her blood into the back of his head and wraps his head up before laying it back down, " how so?" she hears her phone buzz and picks it up, he had some minor cracking in his skull, which has been taken care of. he will need to stay here for today, but he can have visitors.
-
Takana grumbles softly, "whoever that chick was got me damn near the fence on the opposite side of where my home is and I didn't even fucking question it until the izanagi she was pretending to be started acting weird. It's no wonder I had my own personal guard growing up. I am way too easy to kidnap."
Nikiri looks at the others, "takana is on bed rest but he can have visitors. Follow me." Nikiri heads out
-
Korri snorts, " skinwalkers are notoriously difficult to identify if you're not actively looking for them, and even then. that's one reason why there's so much mistrust about them. it's not your fault, although your lack of directional sense leaves something to be desired." she sets a cup of water next to him. " lets get you propped up, apparently you'll have some visitors shortly." she gently helps him sit up and props some pillows behind him. " if you get tired tell me at once."
Yori brightens, " thank you!" he quickly hurries after, " come on Touhou!"
-
Takana does his best to carefully help korri get him in the upright position, "ah right. Concussion so sleeping is bad right now... I'm sure it's yori and touhou."
Touhou turns into his mouse form and quickly jumps into yoris clothes.
Nikiri quickly leads yori to korri's infirmary
-
Yori blinks as Touhou does so, having assumed the other would just stay as himself since they weren;t leaving the district, but shrugs and hurries along to see Takana.
Korri chuckles softly, " you're correct on both counts. i'd rather not give you any stimulants to keep you awake but i will if needed. Let me know if you need anything, there's some water just to the right of you."
-
Takana was about to nod, but decided against it, "I don't suppose these lights dim at all. I know I probably shouldn't be in the dark since it would be too tempting to sleep but I think the concussion is making me sensitive to the lights."
-
Korri nods and gets up, dimming the lights a little, " is that better?"
-
Takana gives a loud sigh of relief, "oh gosh that's so much better."
Nikiri soon arrives at the infirmary, "helllooooo~♡ where is the most beautiful healer in the world?"
-
Korri looks over towards the voice, amused, " right in the clinic as usual, happily married, and dealing with a concussed patient so volume control would be appreciated."
Yori peeks around Nikiri and sees Takana, running over. He wanted to yell but he heard Korri and keeps his voice low as he gets close, " are you okay? im so sorry."
-
Takana mouths a silent thank you to korri before looking at yori, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Hey no need to apologize."
Nikiri chuckles, "well if the marriage starts to get rocky I'll be here."
A joke as always. He knew they would be happily married for a long time.
-
Korri smiles softly at him before stepping away to let them talk, " I'm a Phoenix not a cougar my dear. I saw you in diapers."
Yori sighs, " I wish I was stronger, then maybe I could have helped... I should have gone home with you or something."
-
takana huffs, "dont even start with that. we could play the blame game all god damn day but it doesnt help anything now. im just glad im safe and im glad i seem to be the only injured person here."
nikiri chuckles and follows her, "If anything you're a time vampire. you havent aged at all since the diaper days."
-
Yori grumbles a bit but sits next to Takana, " how's your head? What happened?"
Korri snorts softly, " Typical for a demon who has regenerative abilities. Don't forget I changed those diapers, I've seen what you have to see." She quipps. " On a more serious note, we will need to figure out a way to prevent this happening again. We know they're targeting Takana, but why?"
-
takana hums, "Aside from being concussed im fine. i followed whoever that person was until they started to not act like izanagi. then when she turned back to herself i barely had time to react before she knocked my ass out. its a little blurry after that... i could tell i was tied up somehow but everything was dark and i was so dizzy from being jostled around."
nikiri shakes his head, "For once i have no answers. hell i dont even know who that lady was. i think your husband called her persephone but i was pretty high up on a roof away from the fight so im probably the last person who knows anything. when your son inevitably arrives you could probably get more answers from him." nikiri grumbles softly, not meeting korri's eyes
-
Yori stares wide eyed, " that must have been awful..."
Korri nods, " indeed. he ought to be back shortly... speak of the devil."
Arakan walks in, a quick motion of his hand casting the snow from his shoes. He looks up and sees Yori with Takana, hesitating before he notices his mother looking at him and walks over, nodding to Nikiri, " i see his brother wanted to see him."
-
Takana chuckles softly, "it was but it's over now. I'm just glad it was me and not you. I'd definitely would have done something stupid if it meant keeping you safe."
Nikiri hums softly, "of course. They have a healthy relationship so it would only be natural that they want to be by each other. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll wait outside until it's time to take yori home."
He takes a step back and heads outside.
-
Arakan watches him go, " i'll need to speak with him about how to prevent this happening in the future."
Korri nods, " indeed. he seems to be miffed at you."
Arakan sighs, " i don't want to get into it. I don't know though, perhaps im putting too much onto his shoulders. perhaps i need to find someone else to be my second."
Korri raises an eyebrow, " that bad? well we'll see. now, care to give me the details? what you know anyway."
Arakan quickly gives her the series of events, and she hums softly, " So Persephone wanted to take him. i doubt it was just because he's family, because you'd think she'd at least attempt to ask him before resorting to kidnapping him."
Arakan nods, " yeah... i need to look into it further."
Yori pouts, " don;t say that! i wanted to do something stupid but i knew i'd just get in the way."
-
Takana snorts, "that's why I'm glad it was me. You're a lot smarter than me and know when not to get yourself involved."
-
Yori huffs, " for now maybe...oh! Touhou came with to see you, but he went into my pocket and hasn;t come out. i dunno why." He opens his pocket to look in at the mouse.
-
Touhou peeks out and a soft squeak can be heard before he starts cleaning himself off.
Takana blinks, "it's funny to see him like that."
Touhou jumps out of the pocket and hits the floor.with a thud before turning back into his normal form, "apologies. It's warmer in the pocket."
-
Yori chuckles, " oh i don;t mind, i was kind of surprised you changed and caught a ride instead of just coming with normally but it doesn;t bother me. i just wanted to make sure you get to see Takana too. and that i didn;t accidentally squish you. i need to find something i can put in my pocket to make it less flexible so i can;t hurt you."
Arakan hesitates before heading to the door, stepping out and not looking at Nikiri, " i was thinking of implementing a passcode system since they are clearly after Takana. there will be times im not able to escort him directly myself every time, and having this code would let us know the person with it is the real thing and not a copy. though it'll probably need to be changed regularly."
-
Touhou glances at yori, "if I have a choice between running or catching a ride I'd rather have the ride."
Takana chuckles, "that sounds about right."
Nikiri nods, "sounds reasonable. If it helps to know kaeru's mother, the maiden of that little shrine, can make mirror like glass that shoes someone's true self so that could be something to look into as well. If you don't have time to reach out to her then I can send Luna to do so."
-
Arakan blinks, " i was not aware of that. please have Luna look into getting a few of those made."
Yori chuckles, " can;t say i blame you."
-
Nikiri looks out towards the street, "it's the only reason why kaeru works at the cafe. It takes a lot of money to upkeep the shrine which fuels her mother's ability. Luna will check in first thing in the morning."
He tightens his kimono, doing his best to keep the chill out.
-
Arakan sighs, " i'll go see how my father is so you can go back inside. if you catch a cold over an argument then you're being stupid." he heads back in, and then through the clinic to another area of the house.
-
Nikiri huffs softly once arakan is gone, "you always think I'm stupid." He grumbles softly before heading back inside but just enough to keep warm.
Takana keeps talking with yori, "we'll just have to have an even bigger get together once I'm better to make up for today."
-
Yori blinks and realizes they never got to make the food, " aw and i got stuff from one of the restaurants you like for dinner too. i'll just have to get it again for next time so you can enjoy it."
-
Takana smiles, "aw damn. Well share it with touhou and next time we'll have a feast. Thank you though, that sounds like it was going to be really fun. "
-
Yori nods, " i was gonna try anyway."
Korri walks in, noting Nikiri sulking by the door, " Takana, how are you feeling? you look alert, but i have to check."
-
Takana smiles at korri, "I feel fine. Maybe a bit of a headache but that's normal I'm sure. "
-
Korri nods, " good." she walks over to Nikiri, keeping her voice low, " care to tell me what happened between you and Arakan?"
-
Nikiri sighs softly, also keeping his voice low, "he told me to keep an eye on yori in case he ends up being a threat that needs to be killed. I did not take that too well for multiple reasons and called him out on it and he snapped back telling me to know my place along with a comment about my family only being a support to yours. And I as always am a sniveling little bitch baby when it comes to my family so we are not getting along at the moment. Doesn't matter. Luna is quiet and obeys without question so she'll be a much better tagalong than me. She didn't grow up with him so as far as she's concerned there is no blurry lines of giving advice as a friend versus giving advice as an advisor so it's perfect."
-
Korri looks at him in surprise, " oh my, that's a rather extreme reaction for that. i wonder what's gotten into him... that and then i had to remind him he had to reassure the district after the lockdown. He didn't want to leave Takana's side. perhaps it's been too much for him lately, i'll see if Ryokan can;t take over some of the day to day things and give him a break. perhaps the stress is too much...When i was able to conceive him despite all the odds i felt like it was fate, and didn;t feel the need for more children, perhaps that was a mistake. you've given me a great deal to think about." She sighs softly.
-
Nikiri frowns and looks away, a bit of guilt eats at him, "I'm sure that not necessary. Our fight happened a few hours ago so I'm sure arakan was only distracted because of the fact that for the first time I snapped at him and the words I used to call him out were rather harsh after all so once this fight gets pushed to the side he'll get over it."
He looks like he wants to say more. To vent. But he keeps his words brief.
-
Korri smiles and reaches up to pat him on the shoulder, " you're young yet, he needs to be able to be rational regardless of the circumstances if he'd going to lead, especially with the changes he's making. im certain he didn't mean to offend your family's values when he told you such a thing, it must have weighed heavily on his mind. but regardless, he ought to have considered the implications of such a thing, even if it is indeed something he needs to consider. sometimes the burden of knowledge must be solely a leaders, not shared even with those he's closest to."
-
Nikiri gives a defeated sigh, "I'll... talk to him and try to speak to him as an adult and apologize. If he's better afterward than do not feel the need to speak with him after. If he's still acting weird after then..." nikiri gives another sigh, this time with a 'I don't know' shrug, "I started his weird behavior, might as well give me a chance to correct it myself."
-
Korri raises an eyebrow and looks at him, " very well. thank you for being there for him." she smiles sweetly.
-
Nikiri gives a hesitant nod, "every good leader needs someone they can rely on or else you end up like district 7 and 6."
-
Korri nods, " indeed. he has to face a great deal of pressure every day, please try not to be too upset with him."
-
Nikiri grumbles softly, "he could have just stuck an ice spike through me. That would have hurt a lot less."
-
She raises an eyebrow, " you said you had not been very kind yourself either. you're both young men with strong opinions."
-
Nikiri groans softly, "Yeah but I didn't bring you or ryokan into the arguement. He brought in my family which he knows is a point of contention for me."
-
She nods, " which was wrong of him. you have to remember as well that bringing the question of his leadership is going to be touchy for him as well. i have no doubt there's always a voice in his mind telling him he's not doing well enough, and to hear it echoed, well it may have hurt him more than he'd let on."
-
"I didn't bring his leadership into question though. At least that's not what I said. He... could have taken my words and twisted them to his narrative but I was not speaking to him as my leader but rather my friend. Which is probably another reason why Luna might be a better option for him than me. She may not have the knowledge of the human district like I do but her lack of feelings will be less of a hassle for arakan."
-
She raises an eyebrow, " he mentioned an unpleasant option that may need to happen, and you were harsh to him about it, though i don't know exactly what you said. that sounds like questioning his judgement to me. im not saying you were wrong mind you."
-
Nikiri holds his hands up in defense, "questioning his judgement and questioning his leadership is not the same thing because as I said earlier I was speaking to him as a friend and not him being my leader because we were in private. So again, Luna would be better than i."
-
She sighs, " well i still don't know exactly what was said so it's difficult for me to accurately sort the situation. regardless, you both hurt each other."
-
"I doubt your opinion would change much if you were there. You'd still tell me that I called his leadership into question and that we both hurt each other. Regardless, I'll still be the bigger person and apologize to him if that makes him feel better."
-
Korri smiles and gives him a quick peck on the cheek, " good. i'll consider myself satisfied with that for now, and there's your reward in advance."
-
Nikiri's eyes widen and he turns bright red when she does kiss him on the cheek, not ever expecting her to do that.
-
Korri chuckles at the look on his face, " alright, i'd probably better go check on the boys." she heads back over to Takana and the others, " how are we doing?"
-
Takana smiles at korri, "ah I'm pretty okay I think. I have been drinking a lot of water and talking to yori and touhou has been helping me stay awake. I mean, I don't feel tired at the moment but it's easier to fall asleep when you're bored."
-
Korri nods, " that's fair. perhaps the boys should stay the night here to help keep you awake then? I can keep an eye on them if you'd like to go home for now Nikiri. i've got some cots we can set up."
Yori blinsk and looks at Nikiri, " is that okay?"
-
Nikiri relaxes and smiles at yori, "of course that's fine. I know it's a little last minute so we didn't bring much so I don't mind making a quick errand to pick anything up that you boys might want for the night?"
Touhou jumps up a little, "the food yori bought!"
-
Yori blinks as he looks at Toihou and laughs a little, " yeah, if Miss Korri has something we can heat it at?"
She nods, " indeed i do."
Yori smiles, " please? oh, and maybe the game system if she has a tv so we can keep Takana awake with games? or at least a deck of cards."
She chuckles, " i think we can manage that. sounds like you three are going to have a fun night."
-
Nikiri chuckles, "I'll be back shortly. If you think of anything else just text it to me." He heads out
Touhou smiles happily, "yay food!"
-
Yori nods, " thank you!"
Korri chuckles, " somehow i feel liek this is going to be one of the boys sleepovers all over again. i'll get things set up in another room." she leaves to get things arranged in the livingroom so they can settle in and be comfy, and they have beds for when Takana can sleep.
-
Takana chuckles, "I don't think we've ever had sleepovers before. This is actually kind of fun. Thank you korri."
It doesn't take long for nikiri to come back. He brought some bed time supplies for the boys and the bags of food and drinks yori bought, "I'm back~"
-
She soon comes back, " alright, everything is set up. Takana, can you walk?"
Yori looks over at Nikiri when he gest back, " awesome! thank you so much, you're the best! wanna stay for food? i got enough for you too."
-
nikiri smiles and shakes his head, "i have some things to take care of at the moment so i must head out, thank you though. you boys have a good time, okay?"
-
Yori droops a bit, " aw. alright. thank you so much."
Korri chuckles, " be safe Nikiri. Alright boys, this way." she ushers them to where she set up where they'd stay for the night.
-
Takana carefully gets up with touhou's help just in case, "Bye nikiri!"
Nikiri waves to them before heading out
-
Korri leads them to the living room where a few cots are set up with the tv in front of the couch. " in a few hours you boys will be good to sleep if you like once i check his head again, but this is far enough that unless you're super loud, you're not going to bother anyone else in the house so have fun. i'll heat this food up for you." she takes it and heads to get it ready to go.
Yori grins and starts setting up the game, " this is gonna be so fun!"
-
takana chuckles, "A silver lining to my concussion."
Touhou snorts, "You always try to see the best in a bad situation."
-
Yori chuckles, " the only silver lining. i'd far rather have just enjoyed all this at Nikiri's place and not had the whole kidnapping thing." he passes out the controllers.
Korri comes back and sets food in front of them. " alright, i'll be just in the next room over for the next few hours, then i'll be in to check on you, and then you boys are on your own for the night."
-
takana smiles at korri, "Sounds good. thank you again. this means a lot to us."
Touhou happily takes the controller and also starts munching some food
-
Yori sets up a game and digs into his food when it's not his turn.
Korri goes into the next room over and settles down with a tattered book.
-
nikiri sits down at his desk and sighs softly. he pulls out his phone to text arakan, your mother wishes we have an adult conversation or else she will be quite upset. your call on when, just know your mother already gave me an incentive to speak with you so i can not except no for an answer.
-
Arakan had finished talking to his father and was setting in his room to get some rest when his phone buzzes, raising an eyebrow at the text. okay...? It's late, can we talk in the morning? if you really have to now i guess we can talk tonight.
-
like i said, your call on when.
-
Arakan snorts, i have a bit of time free in the morning. we can talk then. he just wanted to sleep right now, it had been a hell of a day.
-
takana drinks some more water and munches on some food in between turns, "dont you DARE take my star!"
-
Yori snickers, " but it's just begging me to. besides, that's kind of the name of the game isn;t it?"
-
touhou blinks and looks at yori, "I thought it was called Mario Party?"
Takana laughs
-
Yori looks at Touhou for a second, confused, then snickers, " it's a saying, it means that's the goal."
-
touhou's eyes widen and he blushes, "o-oh. how embarrassing."
takana shakes his head, "its alright. you havent had the opportunities to play in the past."
-
Yori grins, " it's fine!"
After a few hours Korri comes in, " alright, time to check on Takana." she gently looks at the back of his head and looks at him from a few angles, " i see no internal swelling, and it looks like the cracks have sealed up nicely. alright, you boys are set to go to bed whenever you want to. You can call Arakan from your phone if you need something, otherwise im going to bed. sleep is the best thing for you right now so don;t stay up too late."
-
takana smiles up at korri, "Okay, thanks again, have a good night."
Touhou yawns loudly and rubs his sleepy eyes
-
Korri nods, " have a good night boys." she heads to bed.
Yori yawns, " i kinda wanna go to bed not gonna lie."
-
takana chuckles, "you two get some rest. I'll probably sleep in a little bit."
-
Yori nods, " okay... don;t stay up too late." he crawls under the blankets and gets comfy.
-
touhou makes almost a nest out of his blankets and curls up to get as warm as possible
Takana smiles at yori, "I wont." he pulls out his phone and texts arakan, i dont know if you're in bed yet but your ma gave me the all clear so im hitting the hay soon. Thank you for the rescue and have a good night. Love you.
-
Arakan glances at his phone, good, im glad you're not badly hurt. love you too.
-
Takana can't help but smile at the text, mostly focusing on the 'love you too' bit.
He settles in and drifts to sleep
-
In the morning Yori is still crashed, dead asleep.
Korri gets up and peeks in on the boys, making sure they're alright.
Arakan gets up and freshens up for the morning, heading to the kitchen to grab some food.
-
Takana is still asleep as well, still recovering from the previous days excitement.
Touhou is already up, diligently folding his blankets until they are a perfect square
-
Korri chuckles, " you don;t have to do that dear. are you hungry? i can;t offer anything as appealing as what you brought last night, but what we have you're welcome to."
-
Touhou blushes a little and clears his throat, "I uh... cleaning is all I really know so I just wanted to help in some way. As for food I'll take literally anything that isn't gruel."
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Korri snorts, " well regretfully a lot of what we have is things that don't perish easily like that. Oh, i think we did get a few eggs this last shipment, if i recall Takana made something with bread coated in eggs. i'll have to ask him when he wakes up."
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Touhou perks up and sets a blanket down before going over to takana and poking him
Takana makes a soft grunt and goes to swat whatever is touching him
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Korri snorts, " come on, i'll get you a snack until he wakes up. we have some oranges that are decent."
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Touhou blinks and looks at her and gets up, going over to her, "Alright."
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Korri goes to the kitchen, grabbing a couple oranges that are slightly soft but not too bad and hands them to Touhou.
Arakan glances up and nods while he eats.
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touhou takes them, "thank you miss korri." his eyes land on arakan and he makes a 'oh you're here' face before quickly smiling back up at korri, "I appreciate it."
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Arakan blinks and gives a 'wtf' look.
Korri blinks, " um, you're very welcome."
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touhou goes back to where yori and takana are, not wanting to breathe the same air as arakan
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Yori is just starting to wake up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
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Touhou goes back over to takana and pokes his cheek.
Takana shifts in his sleep before his face scrunches and he huffs, "okay... I'm up..." He opens his eyes slowly, "...hi touhou."
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Yori chuckles a bit, " someone's perky this morning. sleep okay Touhou?"
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Touhou looks at yori and nods, "very well. It's not often I got to sleep near others."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " would you sleep better if you slept in my room? i don;t mind if it'd be helpful."
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Touhou's eyes widen slightly before nervously looking away, "thank you for the offer however I'll be fine."
Takana sits up and stretches, giving a big yawn, "what a hectic day yesterday was. Fucking drained me of my energy."
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Yori blinks and frowns, " okay... if you say so." he looks over at Takana, " no kidding, im just glad its over..."
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Takana smiles at yori and chuckles, "same!"
Touhou looks at takana, "hungry."
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Korri walks in, " Sorry to bother you when you first wake up Takana, im afraid i put the idea in his head you might be able to help with something more suitable to your palates. we got some eggs for once and if i recall you made a dish with bread coated in egg?"
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Takana perks up a bit and smiles at korri, "oh french toast. Yeah I can make something like that if you don't mind me using your kitchen."
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Korri nods, " certainly you may. apologies for asking you to do that when you've just been injured, i'd make them if i knew how. i was just a little girl last time we had fresh eggs." she leads the way to the kitchen.
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Takana smiles and follows her, "well considering I'd still have a cracked skull if it weren't for you treating me we can say me making breakfast is a thank you. They're pretty easy to make so if you want I could show you how."
Touhou excitedly follows takana
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Korri smiles, " that would be lovely, i think it seems like we'll be able to get eggs more often so it'll be a lovely treat now and then." she pulls out eggs and bread, setting them onto the counter.
Yori sees them both going and scrambles out of bed to follow after.
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Takana nods, "do we got any cinnamon by chance?"
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Korri blinks, " oh, yes i think there's a little somewhere..." she rummages through a cupboard and pulls out a small container. " here you are."
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Takana nods and takes it, "thank you." He starts getting the batter going for French toast
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Korri pulls a chair over to watch.
Arakan finishes off his breakfast, " have fun you guys." he gets up, waves to Takana and heads out, texting Nikiri, im up and avaliable when you are.
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Takana smiles at arakan and waves, "bye!♡" He looks at korri, "okay so this is basically the base. You can add other things to it like maybe vanilla or a different spice but this is the base ingredients. Your bread is a little stale which is actually perfect for French toast. It's a good way to use up stale bread so nothing is wasted. If you're using fresh bread then I suggest adding a tablespoon of flour. Not a lot, you still want to be able to dunk the bread but just adding a bit of flour will make sure the bread doesn't get mushy."
He happily dunks the bread thoroughly before plopping it on the pan.
Nikiri glances at his phone and he huffs. The amount of anxiety that was piling up inside him was making him want to vomit, so am i. Where would yyou like to meet? I dont care where as long as it is somewhere we can talk as friends.
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Korri snorts, " this is the freshest bread i've had in a long time, so no need to worry about that." she watches, " seems simple enough."
Arakan sighs, private then? Takana and Izanagi's apartment should be empty soon after Izanagi goes to work.
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Takana nods, "it's not hard to make your own bread. It's the rising that takes the longest. I could show you that as well some time if you're interested."
Touhou also watches takana excitedly, "you're really patient and nice, im surprised you don't hold a class or something about cooking. You even have valuable insight on reusing things so nothing goes to waste in a creative way that could be helpful as this district gets access to more food items."
Takana looks at touhou and blushes, "i... don't know about that..."
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Korri gently places her hand on his back, " that's not a bad idea, we've been so limited in our food options for so long many of us have lost those skills. if things do improve where we have better access to things, it would be extremely helpful to teach demons how to make the most of what we're getting."
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Takana looks at korri and turns even more red, "ahhh... well...um... I have never taught anyone anything so i-"
Touhou frowns, "what are you talking about? You taught me sign language."
Takana's ears move back, "okay but that's different touhou. You are family and I was a lot younger. This would be to strangers so I can't help but be nervous. But... it would be nice if more demons could make good food." He chuckles, "we might lose some customers though if they can make good food too."
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Korri snorts, " i doubt you'll be turning the district into chefs anytime soon, but increasing the quality of food even a little and making more out of less is exceedingly valuable. if you're nervous being in front of a crowd we can start small, perhaps the ladies from the shelter?"
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Takana perks up a bit, "oh! Yeah! I have met them before so it should be fine."
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Korri nods, " and if you can teach them well enough, then they can teach others."
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Takana nods, "and I'm sure that having something to do, something to give back to the community, would make the ladies feel better."
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Korri nods, " indeed, and since they can;t work regular jobs with the kids, this will give them something they're able to do and still take care of the children. all around a fantastic idea."
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Takana smiles, "Yeah. I think I like that idea."
Nikiri makes a slow walk to the apartments when he knows izamagi should be at work.
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Korri smiles, " good. we'll try and make that work then." she gently pats his head.
Arakan walks briskly to the apartment and sits on the couch inside, waiting.
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Takana smiles at the touch. He plops down several plates of French toast down, ready for feasting, "foods ready."
After a few minutes nikiri enters the apartment and goes over to the living room, not making direct eye contact with arakan
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Yori grins, " awesome! thank you!"
Korri puts a bottle of fake syrup out and glasses of water, " enjoy boys."
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Touhou quickly starts digging in to his food.
takana also happily takes a bite
Nikiri sighs softly, "first of all I apologize for making a comment about about the choice of actions you chose to disclose with me. It was never a comment about your leadership necessarily since we were in this private dwelling where i thought our conversation was more friend to friend rather than advisor to leader. That was my mistake and it wont happen again."
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Arakan blinks and hesitates, " i appreciate you clarifying that. As it was a matter i needed to think on as a leader, i did indeed take it that way. i should not have brought your family into the matter, it was immature of me, and disrespected the family that has served ours faithfully during my fathers reign."
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Nikiri is still for a moment before giving a little nod, "I do appreciate that. You of all people know how I am when it comes to my family so... I was honestly planning on leaving the district all together or else I'd punch you in the face. As a friend." He grins a little.
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Arakan snorts, " you leave the district and leave your mother to take care of the family herself? I can't see it. Regardless I lashed out and that was wrong of me, regardless how I felt about what you said. It doesn't help that you brought Takana into it, and I know I can't give him what he deserves right now."
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Nikiri hesitates a little before sighing, "Luna was set to take over meetings if necessary and I have a cousin in the 3rd district that was more than happy to trade places with and watch over mother for a little bit so... yes. I was.. am ready to leave if need be. And I shouldn't have brought him into it but you were talking about killing his brother. That's serious. That would cause us to lose takana and isabelle thus ending a potential ally for our district. I freaked."
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Arakan rubs his temples, " I'm aware. We're not talking about a human though, we're talking about a wendigo. We have no idea if he changes if he have control or not. If he starts killing people...I may not have a choice."
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Nikiri sighs, "and I believe there is always a different choice. He may be HALF wendigo but he is also half human and I feel like if you really wanted more information you would talk to their mouse friend since they have already mentioned being corrins slave for over 200 years. But from the looks of it he doesn't like you very much."
-
Arakan sighs, " we'll see. If he loses control and kills people...I can't just do nothing. As for their mouse friend, I've hardly spoken to him so no idea why."
-
Nikiri snorts softly, "probably because he feels like he must protect the kids and you are currently 2 for 2 on his radar. But as much as I want to argue about the circumstances involving yori I'd rather us be friends. And for us to stay friends I think it's best if I let you in on things that I know and have kept quiet about."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " two for two? I mean I guess Takana and I had that fallout but what else is there? " He blinks, " you've been keeping secrets?" He frowns, thinking back on their discussion with the caladiums tears.
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Nikiri glances at arakan, "you didn't notice the mouse casually hiding behind a box of cereal on the counter when we had our arguement? That's unlike you. And yes I have but not about what's in this district, just about what I know about the humans. It was originally a program to help me guide you as a leader without you knowing about certain things involving the humans and I was sworn secrecy but at this point I doubt you'd tell anyone that I broke some rules of a no longer existing contract."
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Arakan sighs, " well fuck. No, I've had a lot on my mind, particularly that day. After that... Situation can you blame me for being a bit off my game? As of I'd go tattling to some humans I don't even know who they are?"
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Nikiri shrugs, "you could also inform your parents which also is a no no. Regardless..." He sits on the couch next to arakan, "remember when we were really young like.. 12 I think and you were really busy and we didn't hang out for that whole month?"
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Arakan rubs his temple, " ugh, kind of? i don't even remember we didn't hang out, things were just a blur of lessons and training. but i suppose yeah, i don't remember you being there. i barely had time to think that month."
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Nikiri nods, "well... because of my mother's side being who they are, our family line not having abilities that can do anything, and everyone knowing I'd grow up to be your advisor I was allowed to do something no other demon could do. Go to the human district with some guards and experience how human society operates."
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Arakan tenses, " interesting. i was unaware such a thing had ever happened. I wonder if they thought they would try and groom you so you'd pull the strings behind me for them." he muses.
-
Nikiri snorts softly, "no. They didn't want the next leader that they had to deal with to be like your father. They didn't want you to know anything but they also didn't want you to be stubborn during meetings. They figured I could keep you from doing something foolish. So for a month I was led to the gates by my parents, 5 guards signed me out and brought me everywhere to see how humans behaved. Then just before sunset I was brought back to my parents and they did a thorough check to make sure I didn't have any injuries. I did learn some things. Probably not what they wanted me to learn but I'm the kind of person that is better at finding out what I'm not being shown."
-
Arakan crosses his arms, " interesting. i won't lie, im a little envious. not that you had to deal with the humans of course, but being able to see things outside these walls."
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Nikiri sighs, "it was clean, modern, and put together but it was suffocating if I'm being honest. But I did end up learning something very important. Everything that the every day human does and consumes on a content level is controlled by their government. Tiny humans who go to school stand up every morning and recite some weird pledge to a piece of fabric and are forced to sit in uncomfortable seats all while learning during ungodly early hours. And the history books are all false. Putting demons in a bad light... I asked where the school sources their materials and I was told that public schools are funded by the government so I didn't question it further. Then I was showed around some private schools and they were learning the same things so I asked about their source materials and lo and behold the private schools are funded by government officials so... the government."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow, " what in the actual hell? they recite a pledge to some fabric? i knew they were given shit information since Takana told me, though i suspected that was probably the case prior, just had no idea how bad it was. sounds like this government shit thing needs to be gotten rid of. at least among us a bad leader can be gotten rid of by their own district if the demons band together, or by another leader if need be. or used to anyway before we were separated."
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"That's not all. Their news stations are controlled by the government as well. We were walking down the sidewalk to our next destination and there was a store with some tvs in the window and the news was on it and I couldn't help but stop and watch a little bit since I was curious about how humans got their information. They were talking about an incident we had a few days prior. You remember right? That little girl who didn't show any signs of having abilities. She was only 8 and she caught a cold, started sneezing and all of a sudden blue fire was coming out of her mouth with every sneeze and it caught fire to some flammable items. I wasn't there but I had heard she was a blubbering mess. Not feeling good from being sick, then she can't help but use powers which causes her to be shocked, things are set on fire and she thinks she's in trouble and is going to be taken away. I felt for her. I know it caused enough smoke for the humans to see so yeah. A news piece was done on the smoke but it was an entirely different story. An anarchist running around setting things on fire and we decided to let some things burn because we didn't know how to put it out. I was bewildered when I heard that and the humans around me were too but for different reasons. Stories like that made them think we were wild. Like we didn't know water put out fires. It was ridiculous, it's a no wonder humans thought we couldn't do anything civil."
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Arakan stares at him incredulously, " you're joking right? Please tell me you're joking. Fucks sake ... They think we're no more than animals, don't even know how to put out a fire. As if my father or I couldn't do it with the wave of a hand." He shakes his head.
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Nikiri shakes his head, "not joking. It was an eye opening realization. From school all the way to adulthood humans are told false stories about us and since they are not allowed to enter our district they had no reason to think they were being lied to. It's why when takana first came here I was excited. I thought we finally had a chance for a human to see what's really going on. No government controlling the narrative. It's also why I insisted on being in charge of him when he first came here."
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Arakan snarls softly, " I doubt they'll be happy that the district is being opened to her man visitors soon then. I was already taking steps to make sure they'd be safe but I need to be even more careful. I wouldn't put it past them to arrange for a human to be killed, or try to set up a situation where a demon feels threatened. Then they'd have a reason for a war again."
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Nikiri shrugs, "this was also roughly a decade ago. A shame my parents stopped allowing me to go. It wasn't bad. Weird but my information is dated now."
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" they had good reason im sure." Arakan sighs, " regardless, im certain you could ask Yori and get more recent information easily. he seems like he'd be easy to get information from." he rubs his temples again, " anything else i should know?"
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nikiri hums softly, "I have direct connections to helios in the sewer system and he is the cat ear creator."
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Arakan stares at him for a long minute, " i... he's living in the sewers? wait, our district connects to theirs through the sewers?"
-
nikiri nods, "Yup. its closed off by a grate system but he can open it briefly when he knows im coming over. the 2nd district sewers is much cleaner than ours so its less of 'living' and more of, he has a secret lab down there in secret. The sewers are deep underground to the point that the collars gps system is stuck thinking we're just standing near a building so they dont register that we are out of bounds."
-
Arakan shakes his head, processing this information, " interesting. Anything else you wish to share?"
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nikiri hums softly, "mmm.... im not sure. the program was cut short when i came home with bruises and my parents immediately shut it down... and helios would be terrified to find out you know of his lab but i think it'd be a good opportunity for you and him to talk since he knows a lot since district 2 gets a lot less restrictions. networking is good. also your mom kissed me on my cheek for this and i am never washing my face again."
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arakan hums, " makes sense. bastards, hurting a child... Yes, i think i do need to arrange a meeting with Helios at some point, i'll have to check my schedule. Oh? did she now. how generous. which cheek was it?"
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nikiri hums, "Actually i got hit by a car. but regardless, um this side, " he points to his left cheek, "It was amazing~"
-
Arakan leans in to look, humming softly for a moment before grabbing Nikiris face in his hands and planting a smooch onto his left cheek before letting go with a grin.
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nikiri gives a surprised yelp and stumbles back, looking horrified, "you- why would you do that?! You ruined her kiss spot!"
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Arakan smirks, " that's the idea, now you can wash your face you nasty ass. plus good luck ever getting anyone to believe you."
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nikiri looks flabbergasted before looking disgusted, "damn it arakan, i wanted to keep that on me for a while."
-
Arakan chuckles, " you can keep it, it's still there, but mine is too now."
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nikiri snorts softly, "I dont want yours." he sighs softly, "So are we good now? Friends again?"
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Arakan nods, " yeah, friends. lets attempt to not repeat this one."
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Nikiri relaxes a little and sighs, "I'd rather not repeat it either. If you plan to see helios then give me a heads up so I can alert him to expect company otherwise you won't be able to get through the gate."
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Arakan nods, " right, i've got to check on things. not to mention i postponed meetings yesterday thanks to that incident. lots to catch up on today. make sure Takana gets back to his apartment safely? oh, and code phrase for safety...hm, something that doesn;t seem ridiculously out of place but unusual enough that it wouldn;t typically come up in ordinary conversation.." he tips his head back to look at the ceiling, " maybe...something like 'did Izanagi ask you about the oranges?' i dunno."
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Nikiri shrugs, "we'll figure out the code words. Thankfully Luna is getting some sort of mirror from kaeru's mother today so that can help. Maybe helios might have some other ideas as well."
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Arakan nods, " very well. can you make sure the boys get home safely?"
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Nikiri nods, "of course! I would be more than happy to."
-
Arakan nods, " alright." he checks his phone and grimaces, " i've got some things to deal with. the opening of the district is approaching rapidly and i feel woefully unprepared despite everything."
-
Nikiri also grimaces, "I'm so happy I'm not you right now. Well good luck."
-
Arakan gives him a wry look, " jee, thanks. im going to need it." he shakes his head and gets up, heading to meet with the demons he plans to pair with the human guards, and have them meet with the humans that will be guards before the district opens so they can be somewhat associated with each other.
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Davie is definitely the friendliest guard there.
The other guards, while being kind, are not nearly as hyper as Davie
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Indigo and Kaiten are both there among others, trying to seem u threatening and approachable. Indigo smiles, " oh, I can't do anything too crazy, I was selected because my abilities are more defensive than offensive. I can disable troublemakers without long term harm."
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The guards do settle a little, not because of indigo's assurance but rather Davie's... intrusive and intimate behavior that isn't getting him killed.
They figure as long as they act more professional than him odds were good that they'd be fine
Davie gasps softly as he gets close to indigo, "your hair! It's amazing! You must have an amazing diet right now! How are you getting your metals?"
-
Indigo blinks, surprised that a human would know about that particular quirk. " Ah, the lovely miss Isabelle Kuroshiba saw the sad state i was in a few months ago and took pity on my family and i and have supplied us with an honestly embarassing amount of minerals and metals. But i've been trying to use the refined feathers and gems that we've been producing to purchase rough gem scraps and scrap metal to refine so that we can pay her back eventually. For those of you who aren;t as knowledgeable, I am an Alicanto, and part of my diet includes metals and minerals of various sorts. our bodies process and separate these minerals, and the byproduct is produced in our hair, typically metals form into metallic feathers, " he lifts a silver feather to tilt it and let the light catch it, " and minerals form new and nearly always perfect gems with no flaws as drops." he parts his hair a bit to reveal a few hanging drops of various colors. " in the old days often new mines were found by hiring an Alicano to sniff out veins of metals and minerals, as i can smell them quite clearly and distinctly. i can smell the gold on the chips in your phones, and if im not mistaken, the silver plating on your pocketwatch." he nods to one of the men.
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Davie licks his lips a little, "you're a handsome alicanto that's for sure. Although I'm not sure why she would help out so much when there is nothing here for her. Just really shows how on the rocks her relationship is with her husband." He snorts softly and looks away, crossing his arms
-
Indigo looks sharply at Davie, " she's a wonderful and generous woman, who's seen how we've been treated and has already made improvements to our lives. Without her help, opening the district would not be possible. Moving on...Kaiten?"
Kaiten waves, " I'm a chimera, basically any blended demon is considered such, including the heir to our district, Arakan." Arakan nods, " but in some cases groups of demons lived close enough and were friendly enough with each other that crossing was fairly frequent. In such cases chimera groups with similar features popped up, and you get chimeras like me where my family and I have been a distinct variety of chimera for generations. I'm the strongest among the ones chosen here, so that means if Arakan isn't around, I'm in command if shit hits the fan. So despite that my strength can be lethal to humans, I will only use my full strength to defend from any possible skirmishes with demons."
Indigo looks to Arakan who nods again. Indigo clears his throat, "so, we are the demons you'll be working with, we will be working closely together to ensure no harm comes to anyone, demons and humans alike. So please feel comfortable asking any questions you may have."
-
davie blinks, obviously taken aback by a demon praising a human, especially a member of the kuroshiba family
-
Several of the demons split off to try and chat with different guards, building a rapport.
Indigo steps off to talk with Davie, " so, Arakan has told me i'll be teamed with you. So, you seem oddly excited to be here, though admittedly it's nice to not have a gun shoved in my face."
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Davie nods, "uh yeah I had a much different upbringing than most. Do you... like Isabelle? I never met a demon that liked the kuroshiba's so that threw me off guard."
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Indigo smiles, " she has done a great deal for our district already, and for my family, despite having no obligation to do so. i owe her a great deal. She's a truly kind hearted human, and i feel honored to know her."
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Davie raises an eyebrow, "riiight.... sounds like you like like her. Does that mean any forms of flirting won't work on you? I'd rather know now then try and get nowhere."
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Indigo blushes, " I...do enjoy her company. But I would never make a move on a woman who did not want my advances, and she has stated she is loyal to her husband... As for you flirting, I believe that's why I was assigned to you. I have no interest in men."
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Davie snorts softly, "she's probably loyal because anything less is humiliating to the company. At any rate it's a shame you're not interested. You're extremely attractive."
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" I'll thank you not to insult her please. From what she's told me, she truly loves the man she married. I appreciate the compliment, but I see why I was assigned to you. We need your focus on work, there will be opportunities to meet a potential romantic partner if things go well."
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Davie waves his hand dismissively, "less insulting her and more insulting the company. Right. Job. You have my attention in regards to work."
Luna gently drops from a nearby roof in front of a tiny home that is oddly decorated with trinkets and broken knick knacks. She gently knocks on the door.
A woman in 40's opens the door, green hair and green eyes, large boobs and plenty more decorative items in her hair, "ahhh~♡ hello little deer. What brings you to the hikigaeru shrine?"
Luna keeps her eyes only on the woman's face, "are you able to create a mirror that shows all?"
The woman blinks, "oh? A Revelation Mirror? My goodness no one has asked that of me before."
Lunas face falls, "so you dont..."
The woman hums, "didn't say that. My mother taught me but it was her and my grandmother who created most of them during the war. They were the best items to tell if we had a traitorous shapeshifter in our army."
"During the war? Do you know if there are any out there?"
"No... when we lost the war they were all taken. The jewels were ripped out and the glass was smashed..." She leans against the doorway, "if you're asking about the mirror because you need one I can technically make it if I had the materials."
Luna nods, "my brother requested it to help with arakan dealing with some... difficult demons coming to our district."
Ms. Hikigaeru nods softly, "shapeshifters are a hell of a parasite. Tell you what, if you can get me the items I need then I'll see what I can do about getting one made. It's been decades so I'm a little rusty but if it's to help our leader then I'll do my best." She steps inside for a brief moment to grab a pen and notepad and starts writing some things on it, "your best bet is to find indigo for some of these since they're jewels. If he can't get them for you then I'm sure he knows a little sapphire who can." She rips the sheet of paper off and hands it to Luna, "good luck little deer."
Luna takes the list, gives the woman a little bow of thanks before leaving.
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Indigo looks at him for a long moment, " very well. i can't say im terribly fond of that company either. anyway, yes, we have a job to do. i know you're used to being kind of demons but if an issue comes up with a demon child, i need you to let me handle it. you handle humans, i handle demons. at least to start. it's going to take time to build trust. Arakan has said if the first several days go well, then guards like you may take turns taking lunch breaks and walking around the permitted area as well."
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Davie blinks and frowns, "wait seriously? I cant-" He stops himself and shakes his head, "ah no you're right. Sorry i... I am used to being able to help the kids at my old district but... that's because they knew me since I was a kid. This is a new district... I'll keep that in mind... continue. "
-
Indigo nods, " it's good to see you want to help, but things are different here. Humans are feared by children, and if you did try to help one you'd not only terrify them, but you'd likely have a freaked out parent getting protective. Maybe things will change, but this is the safest way right now. Top priority is to make sure nobody gets hurt."
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Davie nods and gives a weak chuckle, "compared to district 1 its a LOT different. Won't lie, the fact that I can't just pick up a kid and play airplane with them makes me homesick for my district." He sighs softly, "but... yeah... safety is important."
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Indigo looks at him sadly, " I hope eventually the work we put in here will change things so that children no longer fear humans. You are doing important work, and I thank you for being here."
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davie nods, "id like them to not fear humans as well. dont get me wrong, I dont trust humans at all so i cant say much but at least i dont fear them."
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Indigo nods, " well, i appreciate the work you'll do for us. i would like for my sister to be able to grow up without fear. though it may be too late for her trauma, at least perhaps the next generation can live without that fear."
-
davie nods, "thats all i can really help with it seems. just make things better for the next generation."
Luna jumps up onto a utility pole and looks around the streets, grumbling when she doesnt see any shiny bird. she huffs and closes her eyes, 'has anyone seen Indigo?'
Summer chimes in 'Nope!'
Then Katie 'I've been in distrct 5 all day'
Rins voice pops in 'I've been home with mother'
Rita 'He's not at the cafe!'
Kacie 'sorry love, im in district 1 for a meeting'
suddenly a tiny voice pops in, 'i want chocolate...'
Luna's eyes widen and her connect stops briefly. did she just.... hear elyza? Not even the twins are able to tap into the connection yet, 'Elyza??'
elyza's voice comes in again. 'hewwwo!! echo!!'
suddeny all of the other siblings are suddenly spazzing in the connection and luna has to end the connection quickly or else she'd get a headache
-
Indigo nods," I'll tell you what, you focus on work while we're working , and I'll think about anyone I know that might be interested. I'd introduce you to izanagi but if what you're wearing is anything to go by, you're also a receiver, not a giver."
Arakan steps forward, " alright, I told Curtis I'd keep this relatively short, you all did well. Be ready to report for inner district guard duty. Dismissed."
Indigo glances at Arakan before looking back at Davie, " see you in a few days." he heads out of the building with the others.
-
Davie stares at indigo, blinking in utter confusion until a light bulb goes off in his head and he turns bright red, "oh shit you can smell that?! Oh fuck- oh shit! I didn't realize stainless steel was a- fuck!" He panics and takes a step back, now completely embarrassed.
Luna feels a small tug in the connection and sighs softly, letting it gently open up to whoever was trying to get her attention, 'yes?'
Nikiri's voice comes through, although it's soft, 'hey you okay? I know all of the noise can get to you.'
'yeah, I'm fine. So elyza officially is the youngest okuya to be able to tap into the connection successfully huh.'
'she sure is. Strongest connection we ever had. Thats good. Not even the twins can make a connection yet. You were asking about indigo earlier, correct?'
'yeah for that little side quest you sent me on'
'i see. He may actually be with arakan at the shopping center but i dont know for how long. Go ahead and get over there, I'll text arakan and see if he is still with indigo and if so to hold him there until you arrive. Its important so i know he wont be in too much of a mood.'
'understood. Also dont forget. It was my initial connection which means its finally my turn to tell arakan the news.
'HA! alright alright I'll keep my mouth shut on that.
Luna ends the connection and opens her eyes. She looks around on the tall post before jumping off and heading to the shopping center.
Nikiri pulls out his phone and quickly texts arakan, 'hey luna is heading to the shopping center for indigo if hes still there. She needs to speak with him in order to get that mirror so if hes still with you id appreciate it if you could keep him there a bit longer. Not sure how long you planned for that guard thing to happen'
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Indigo chuckles, " yeah i can smell it. im not going to tell anyone though, it's not my business." he pats Davie on the shoulder.
Arakan reads the text and walks over to Indigo, " hey, Luna needs to speak with you so stay here until she arrives." he notices Davie bright red and raises an eyebrow before shaking his head, " nevermind, don't want to know." he steps away to talk with another demon.
Indigo blinks, " Luna huh? one of the Okuyas. wonder what she needs me for. Anyway, while it's uncommon, you'd be surprised what people wear when people can't see it. more common than you'd think."
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Davie whines, "it's not about adults finding out but you said you had a sister! Younger right?! I can't wear such things if kids find out! That's inappropriate!"
Luna soon enters the mall and looks around until she sees arakan and the others.
She sees indigo talking to a human and she hesitates before deciding to stay off to the side. If arakan approaches her first then she'll share the blessing news of elyza already getting her abilities, if the human leaves then she'll speak with indigo.
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Indigo chuckles, " calm down, her sense of smell isn;t as refined yet. Iron and steel is harder for us to detect, precious metals and minerals are more appealing. besides, she's not going to understand what it's for."
Arakan spots her off to the side and walks over, "Luna, good to see you. Indigo should be finished soon, im glad he's getting along with the human so well."
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Davie gives a pathetic sigh, "i-i guess...I just... I'm very protective of kids. I don't want to do anything that could potentially make a kid upset..."
Luna nods to arakan, "it's good to see you as well sir." She hesitates a little,
Arakan, growing up with the okuya family, would be one of the few demons in the district to notice that slight tilt in her posture, the small tint of blush on her cheeks and her raised eyebrows would indicate that she is excited about something and wishes to share the news
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Indigo blinks and smiles, " you're a good kid, im sure it'll be alright. i have a particularly good nose, and it's faint for me. you won;t upset her with what you're wearing." He ruffles Davies hair, " anyway, i'll think about people who might be a decent match for you, though Izanagi might be the better one. he knows just about every bisexual or gay male in the district."
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " something good happen? you seem excited."
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Davie nods, "o-okay. If I do do something wrong please let me know. Um. I have to get going. Thank you for working with me."
Luna nods, "elyza has intercepted our family connections and can now communicate with us mentally despite only being 6! It's incredible!"
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Indigo nods, " indeed i shall. i look forward to working with you." he heads over to wait patiently for Arakan and Luna to finish speaking.
Arakan blinks, " already? if i recall... the twins can't yet, and they're older than she is. she's certainly proving precocious."
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Luna nods, "the twins, Phaedra, AND Seraphi. And he first words in the tether was that she wanted chocolate. " Luna can't help but smile.
She sees indigo and her anxiety kicks in and just as fast as she smiled, she quickly let her face relax and stand up straight.
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Arakan chuckles, " maybe i can see if some can be brought in as a treat for her for such excellence then."
Indigo bows to Luna, " a pleasure as always."
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Luna nods to arakan, "thank you for keeping indigo nearby for me. And yes, elyza would be thrilled. Have a good day."
She looks at indigo, a little taken aback that anyone would bow to her.
She thinks to herself that telling indigo he doesn't have to bow to her is also rude, especially in front of arakan, "lady Izumi is going to construct an item for arakan however in order to do so she needs some jewels."
She holds out the list for indigo to take, "she said if you can't get the items then she knows you have someone who can."
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Arakan nods, " you as well." he makes sure all the humans are safely escorted back to the gate.
Indigo blinks and takes the list, " i'll see what i can do. hm, some of these were favorites so they might be gone, though we should have drops forming if we don;t have any ready at the moment. I think between what we have at home and what i have growing in my hair we have everything, if you don't mind coming with we can get that all together so you can get that dealt with? best to handle this as quickly as possible since it's for Arakan."
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Luna nods, "of course. I'm more than happy to do whatever is necessary."
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Indigo chuckles, " it's not like im going to eat you. alright then." he heads back to his place, pulling the containers of minerals down from a place Sapphire can't get to and setting them on the table. He looks over the list and start picking gems out, " do they need to be a certain size?"
A small hand slowly creeps over the edge of the table and reaches for one of the gems.
" Sapphire, you're not sneaky. those are for our guest."
The hand quickly retreats and a small voice pipes up plaintively, " but they smell yummy...."
" you had some this morning, we can't just eat them all at once."
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Luna shakes her head, "Izumi did not mention size. She is a wise woman so I'm sure she would have had the forethought to inform me of specifics. The note does say she wants all the opals she can get her hands on. If you can't then I'm sure Isabelle could bring some. I know she would help with anything if you asked her."
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Indigo blushes, " I'm not sure about that, but she is a generous woman." He quickly picks out all the opals, only having 3 of them, " apologies, they're a favorite of my mother's. Seems my sister has probably been dipping into the as well. Here's a couple of each of those others on the list, I will contact Isabelle about the opals. If she needs anything else let me know." He swiftly bundles them up into a cloth and hands them over. He then grabs a gem from the container and passes it to Sapphire who squeals and runs off, stuffing it into her mouth.
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Luna shrugs, "she seems to like you enough. Although I will say, as a fellow girl, invite her here. I'm sure hanging out with you is better than being home alone, especially since takana and yori are the only people she had and now they are living in this district."
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Indigo blinks, " very well, i will take your advice. i'll get these opals to Izumi as soon as i have them."
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luna nods, "i appreciate your help in this matter. I should get going. the household is... celebrating elyza getting her abilities despite being 6. everyone is pretty excited."
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Indigo blinks, " oh congratulations. im afraid we don;t have much but here, " he pulls another gem out, one that looks particularly pretty and holds it out, " i know it's not the same treat for her as it is for you but i hope she enjoys it?"
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Luna blinks and takes the gem, "oh um. Thank you, I know elyza will love it. Um. You don't have to though. I know these gems are needed for your family."
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Indigo smiles, " we've been eating well, one gem will hardly make or break us. it's a special occasion after all. now off with you, go celebrate. i'll get those opals as soon as i can."
-
luna nods, "Thank you, have a good day." she gives a little bow to him before heading off back home
-
" you as well." Indigo sees her to the door, and pulls out his phone, texting Isabelle, i hate to bother you, but apparently some more opals are needed for a certain item Arakan needs, i was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to bring us some more? I would be honored if you'd come spend the afternoon at my family house.
-
isabelle looks up from the dining table, her eyes focusing on her phone when she hears it buzzes. she wipes her eyes and grabs her phone, reading it, oh its never a bother. is there anything else i can get for you or your family?
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no no, we're fine. if it weren't important i wouldn't trouble you. if you do have an afternoon free i'd love to have you for an afternoon for some tea? he would get some from the naga, he knew she liked the tea from her shop.
-
im free today, tomorrow, the next day... um any day that works for you.
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Indigo blinks, tomorrow works just fine if that works for you.
-
isabelle nods, um yeah that is fine. any time specific? otherwise i can just be over around noon or so
-
that'll be just fine for me. i look forward to seeing you.
-
yes, same. thank you.
she sets her phone down and gets up, heading to her bedroom. it used to be one of the many guest rooms but now... she felt safer sleeping away from where her husband slept if and when he came home
-
Indigo sets to cleaning up the house with a spring in his step.
Yori tries to meditate in his room, not wanting to bug Nikiri about going out of the district.
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Nikiri is home and is gently tossing Elyza in the air, smiling every time she squeals in joy, "Look at you being an over achiever! you had no right!" he laughs softly
Elyza laughs and shrieks happily, enjoying the attention she's getting from her big brother, her older sisters who came home, and her mother.
Phae stays in her room, pouting a little while her sister seraphi idly plays with a broken toy, "Phae its no big deal. we'll all get our powers some day."
Touhou is with yori, although he peaks out from the room into the corridor at the scene of so many deer in elyza's room
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After awhile Yori figures he's done enough for the day and also peeks out, before going to Phae's room, " hey, you alright?"
-
seraphi looks over at yori, "She's just upset that Elyza is progressing faster than expected."
phae huffs, "its not fair..."
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Yori plops down to sit cross legged on the floor, " seems like she gets all the attention huh? it can really suck when you feel overlooked."
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phea wipes her face, "she keeps doing everything better than us and its just frustrating."
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Yori scoots closer, " you know, i always felt the same way with Takana. yeah he's older than i am, but i never lived up to the things he was able to do even when i reached the same age he did them at. i still feel that way sometimes, like im just not good enough. But, everyone is different. life isn't a contest against other people. there's always gonna be someone out there that can do things better, and measuring yourself against others will just make you frustrated and sad. So instead, you only look at yourself. life is a race against yourself, with the goal to be a little better, to learn a little more, every single day. because you are the only person you have any control over."
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phae's eyes are watery and she looks at yori, sniffling, "Um. can i have a hug?"
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Yori nods, " of course. hugs are always free." he opens his arms.
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Phae gets off her bed and goes over to yori and hugs him
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Yori hugs her, squeezing just a bit, " you're a good friend, don't forget that."
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Phae nods and after a while she pulls away and wipes her eyes, "thank you. You are too."
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Yori nods, " thanks. do you wanna play some video games with me? you can play too Seraphi if you want."
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Phae nods, "um yeah!"
Seraphi blinks and looks up, "video games?"
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Yori nods, " yeah, it's from the human district. you can control little characters on the tv. come on." he heads to the livingroom, " what do you wanna play Phae?"
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Phae throws her arms in the air, "mario kart!"
Seraphi blinks and follows
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Yori laughs, " mario kart works." He hands controllers to each of the girls and turns the system on, " so, we pick characters, and the goal is to get across the finish line faster than everyone else. it'll take a bit to get the hang of it."
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Phae happily plops onto the couch, feeling a lot better.
Seraphi blinks and sits next to her sister
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Yori talks Seraphi through picking a character and car, and how to play.
Arakan recalls he had wanted to text Shiro, now that the chaos was over. Shiro, do you know what her reason for being here was? also, Bakemono. He was detained forcibly yes? You may offer him sanctum here, however it would be under the condition he swear himself to me. I don;t expect him to go against your brother, only to not betray me. delete this after you read it.
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Shiro reads the message and frowns.
He still hasn't entered the throne room again to see if bakemono was released, but he knew persephone failed her mission given the screaming match happening in the throne room.
He sighs softly before responding, I have no idea. I was only in the throne room for a second when I found bakemono in a barrier and he pretty much told me to text you and to get the hell out of the room before my brother came back. I'll inform you once I get a chance to speak with him again. Can't right now. My brother and his aunt are in the throne room now having a screaming match and I'd rather not be a punching bag right now. I am glad she failed though. Have a nice day
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as am i. i would appreciate an update when you are able. Arakan pockets his phone, sighing. well, it had only happened the day before, it would have taken time for Persephone to get back.
-
Shiro sighs softly and creeps closer to the doorway into the throne room, listening to Persephone's screeching. he quietly presses the record button on his phone in case.
Persephone slams koshi into the floor as hard as she could, practically spitting as she yells at him, "-AND YOU DIDNT THINK TO TELL ME?! YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE JUST WALTZED MY ASS INTO THAT DISTRICT IF I HAD AN INKLING THAT RYOKAN WAS STILL IN CHARGE?!"
Koshi gives a pained cough and he keeps himself as still as possible, "n-no! Bakemono told me that he only saw arakan running around."
Bakemono watches, sitting on the floor, still stuck in the barrier, "yeah. thats exactly what i said. i saw arakan running around the district. I never said he was the leader."
Persephone snarls and punches Koshi across the face, "PATHETIC. Consider my owing you completed regardless of whether i was successful or NOT. You're lucky i dont kill you now as long as you are already lying on the ground. Your brother may be an oddity however he is not nearly so foolish. he would be a better leader than you." she stands up and snarls, removing the barrier on bakemono, "The last thing I want is to fuck with ryokan so the next time you come begging me for help you better make sure you have all of your information."
-
Arakan hurries around the district, trying to make sure everything is in place for when it opens.
Yori keeps playing with the girls, making sure to give himself handicaps so they have a better chance.
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shiro steps away from the doorway and quickly heads to his room, sending arakan the recording.
Bakemono grumbles and quickly scatters from the room, not wanting to deal with his aunt
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Arakan blinks and excuses him to listen to the recording, humming softly in thought, " i wonder what he did that she owed him... at least i know she fears my father. so long as he's still willing to act, she'll hesitate to return." if you get a chance, please relay my offer to bakemono. if it's safe to do so of course.
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it takes a few hours for arakan to get a response, 'oi icy prince. its bakemono. i'll give the shit heads phone back once im done addressing your 'offer'. first of all, the reason why persephone came to kidnap your boytoy was because he is weak enough to control yet with his unique background can have an induced pregnancy to ensure the child is born a wendigo which would be a terrifying combo with koshi's family powers. Given the recent failure that my aunt faced i can say with confidence she wont be kidnapping takana with the intentions of handing him over to Koshi so at least there is that. As for joining your little weenie hut junior i will have to pass. I am to lead koshi to victory regardless of whether i want to or not. 'Sides. unlike the maggot over here I can actually get close to koshi. something that might provide use in the future. have a pleasant life.
-
Arakan snorts softly, if you wish to stay by the side of someone who watched you be imprisoned without a single care for you, so be it. makes no difference to me. thank you for the information at least.
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shiro takes his phone back from bakemono and waits until bakemono leaves before responding, sorry for bakemono's rude words. he wouldnt talk to me, just told me to hand over my phone for a second. he isnt lying, he has a seal on his hand that is connected to our mother that keeps bakemono in check. i havent seen it actually used but bakemono also hasnt done anything to warrant mother to use the seal. having him in your district would be a danger to you
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Arakan blinks, ah, that would explain it. well, worth a try.
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shiro sighs, i suppose thats another reason to take my brother out. he's out of the picture and i take over from my parents and bakemono wont have to worry about any seal
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Arakan hums, yeah, that would be ideal. well, guess we're waiting for the ball still. good luck.
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well my brother is injured now and has a damaged pride right now so maybe i could stop by your district sometime and grab one of those magazines to set up your plan of trapping him?
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Arakan smiles, yeah, that'd work. the4 district opens in two days, soon i have no doubt Karim will be making the hottest clothing, if what Isabelle has been saying the clamor has been is true. the article from when she was on the cover would be good, but i bet they'll run another article in a day or two once everyone is here trying to buy an outfit.
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Shiro nods, sounds perfect. is there a good day to come by or should i just plan on coming by in the next day or so?
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Arakan hums, come in 4 days, that'll give it enough time for the district to have the opening, and hopefully a magazine to take the story and get it to really boom.
it needs to be irresistable.
-
understood. i'll let you know when i am heading in your district so you are not caught unaware. thank you for allowing me entry.
-
Arakan smiles, see you in 4 days then. good luck, and stay safe. delete these messages.
-
shiro nods, of course.
-
The next day Indigo hurries to the gates to wait for Isabelle, waving to the guards to try and be friendly even though not all of them were inner district quality.
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the guards grumble at indigo however with isabelle already waiting by the gate they dare not say anything.
After turning in her proper paperwork isabelle enters the demon district, her little red wagon being dragged behind her, filled with more metals and gems for indigo
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Indigo steps forward to take the wagon once she's in the district, " you didn;t need to bring so much, the opals were all that were needed. it's appreciated of course, but you are really being too generous. thank you by the way, for being willing to bring those on such short notice."
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isabelle nods and smiles, "yes well im just glad to be of some help." she rubs her wrists a little now that indigo has the wagon
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Indigo chuckles softly, " some help? the district is opening tomorrow, and that's all thanks to you. you have been very helpful." he sends a quick text to Nikiri to let him know the opals can be picked up at anytime, or he'd drop them off that evening. " my home isn't as nice as what you're used to, but i hope it will suffice." he leads the way to a somewhat dilapidated house, opening the door to allow her in, leading into a livingroom with an old couch and some chairs. " please have a seat."
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isabelle happily sits, "its quite alright. i care more about the people in a home rather than what a home looks like."
nikiri looks at the text and nods, i have some time in the next hour
-
Indigo smiles, " well i hope my family is satisfactory. my parents and eldest brother are out, however one of my brothers and my little sister are home. speaking of which, i'd better make sure at least the opals are put up or she'll try to snag some." He chuckles and fishes that container out, placing it up out of the way. He quickly gets some tea going.
A little girl with bright metallic feathers in her hair peeks around a doorway, eyes wide.
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isabelle hums happily, "If they are anything like you then im sure they are absolutely lovely. Thank you for allowing me to visit, with takana and yori living here now i... its been a little lonely, i wont lie."
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Indigo brings the tea out and sets a cup in front of her, " have you spoken to them? i doubt they'd let you be lonely if they were aware. im sure they're simply adjusting to things here. regardless you're welcome here anytime. i do have to do my part for the district opening, im assigned to help with working with some of the human guards. but the dsitrict isn't set to be open all day, im sure we can work around it."
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Isabelle hums softly, "thank you for the tea. And... no. I haven't mentioned anything to yori and takana. I... I didn't want to be a bother. "
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Indigo tsks, " Isabelle, I have not known your family long but I can tell you those boys would far rather you tell them. They love you, they want you to be happy."
A little hand slowly reaches out from behind the couch towards the wagon next to Isabelle.
-
isabelle sighs, "I guess.. its just hard for me since i have always been told-" isabelle's eyes catch the sight of the little land and she blinks as she watches, "um... well i did bring those metals as a gift for the whole family so there is no need to be sneaky little one."
-
The hand vanishes with a small yelp, and Indigo chuckles softly. " she's shy, and knows she's had plenty today. but i suppose since we have company, treats are acceptable." Indigo takes a small bowl and puts a handful of various gems and metals into it, " we need to be polite and thank the wonderful lady who brought us these treats though, okay? come on, i know mother taught you better than that."
After a moment the little girl comes out from behind the couch, " tank you for the treats..."
" This is my little sister Sapphire, we usually just call her Saph or Saphy. Say hello To Isabelle, she's the reason we get such wonderful treats."
Sapphire peers up at Isabelle shly, " Hello..."
-
isabelle gives a soft smile and a little wave to the girl, "Hello Sapphire. Its a pleasure to meet you."
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Sapphire nods, then looks at her brother who chuckles and gives the little girl the bowl, and she lets out a squeal of delight before running off with it. she doesn't make it far before she trips and the gems go flying from the bowl.
Indigo pales, " Saph!" he hurries over.
-
Isabelle flinches when sapphire hits the ground and she stands up, hesitating to rush over because, well, she's a human, "oh dear! Is she alright?"
-
Indigo helps her up and checks her over, her sniffling. He sighs, trying to take a look as the little girl squirms and fusses. He scoops her up and goes over to Isabelle, " would you hold onto her? she's being wiggly, and i want to check her knee, it looks like it got scraped up a bit. you can give her gems to keep her happy." he passes her to Isabelle and goes to grab a rag and some hot water, kneeling in front of Isabelle as he carefully cleans the knee so he can get a better look, " it's alright saphy, just a little scratch."
-
Isabelle blinks and sits down, gently holding sapphire and handing her some gems from the bowl, "here you go darling. It'll be alright. You have a wonderful brother who can make your owies go away like magic."
-
Sapphire squirms a bit at first, but when given treats she forgets all her pain and tears and happily crunches, kicking her feet a little which does not help. Indigo chuckles and holds her leg still, wiping away the little bit of blood and looking close at the scratch, " looks like she just scarped it a bit, no splinters, no real cuts. she'll be right as rain in no time at all. not gonna waste a bandage, she'll just pull it off anyway." he wipes it one more time to make sure all the dirt is gone before setting the rag aside and smiling up at Isabelle from where he's kneeling, " thank you, looks like you two are set to be best friends. well, as long as you have gems to give her anyway." he says wryly, " she's easily bribed, as most children are."
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Isabelle smiles down at indigo, "as long as she isn't afraid... I did worry at first so I'm glad. I'd even give her my padparadscha sapphire if it meant she'd like me."
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Indigo chuckles, " she's spoiled enough, she doesn't need that. She was just shy at first, thankfully she's still too young to understand much of what she's seen during inspections. plus those are always men."
Sapphire looks up at Isabelle, " is the yummy smelling gem on your neckwace the pad uh, padshura sapire?"
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Isabelle smiles at sapphire and nods, "the pinky one, yes. It... doesn't really mean anything to me now though."
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Indigo frowns, " im sorry to hear that." he's still looking up at her, and blushes slightly when he realizes how close he is. he clears his throat and stands up, " anyway, sorry for the trouble, she gets a little excitable sometimes."
Sapphire looks at the necklace, " it's pwetty."
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Isabelle smiles at indigo, "it's no trouble at all. It's nice having a little kid on my lap. I never thought I would be able to experience this."
She looks at sapphire, "it is, isn't it."
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Indigo frowns, " im sorry to hear that. you're welcome to come play with her anytime, my brother and i watch her a lot during the day while our parents are working, and my eldest brother has his own wife now so it's just me and my second oldest brother to watch her. im sure she'd love someone new to hang out with, especially another girl."
Sapphire looks at Indigo and then at Isabelle, " can we play games?"
-
Isabelle's eyes widen and she looks up at indigo, "can i?" She looks down at sapphire, "i would LOVE to play games with you."
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Indigo smiles, " absolutely you can. Saph, why don;t we go show her your toys?" he gets up.
Saph squeals in excitement and hopds off Isabelles lap.
" No running!"
Saphhire, who was just about to run to her room, looks sheepish and walks to one fo the rooms, clearly shared with one of her brothers. she goes to a small bin with some very worn looking toys, and a doll made from some tied scraps of cloth. " this is Opal! she's my bestest friend." she holds up the doll proudly.
Indigo smiles and sits on the larger bed, " this is our room. i made that doll for her, it's not much but she loves it at least. You can draw with her too."
Saphhire grabs a chunk of charcoal and some scraps of paper, slightly stained pieces of paper bags and starts scribbling with the charcoal.
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Isabelle follows and curiously watches sapphire play with her things, "oh my. A little artist in the making I see. I am too but I mainly use paints." She knnels down next to sapphire
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Saph looks up, " paints?"
Indigo sighs, " such luxuries aren't able to be gotten. If I could get her real crayons she'd love it I'm sure, but charcoal at least we can make."
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Isabelle smiles at sapphire, "liquid color put on paper and then you wait for it to dry."
She glances at indigo, "heavens I have a lot of art supplies that I haven't touched in a while. Maybe next time I come over I could bring a few for shares."
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Her eyes widen, " colors? I waaaaaant!"
Indigo blinks, " you don't need to, they must be expensive, and you already give us so much. Saph, mind your manners."
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Isabelle shakes her head, "like I said, I haven't touched them, and after a while they can go bad if they're not used. My art isn't great anyway so might as well give them to someone who can use them."
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Indigo looks at her for awhile, " I sincerely doubt your art isn't very good. But if it makes you happy to bring the supplies here and play with Sapphire, then I am happy to let you. Clean paper is also not easy to get, which you'll need if you two are going to be painting up a storm."
Sapphire squeals excitedly, " colors!"
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Isabelle nods, "paper is easy for me to get, don't worry about that. And... I'm sure my skills aren't terrible... I'm just not allowed to hang my art up. I get an art room but in return I am to cover my work in some sheets once they dry and keep them in my art room. Makoto doesn't like what I paint."
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Indigo frowns, " I don't feel it's my place to speak I'll of your husband, but I'm sorry he doesn't see what a gem he has in you. You're kind, and caring, and personally one of the finest people I've ever met. I mean every word and more that a gentleman shouldn't say to a married woman."
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Isabelle's eyes widen slightly and her face turns bright red, "o-oh um..."
She isn't too sure what to say. Takana and yori tell her kind things all the time but this was different.
It was hard to deny that for the first time her heart skipped a beat, "well... give it a while and you can try to woo me again as a single woman. Until then by law I am a loyal wife."
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Indigo blinks and his eyes widen as he grins, " and if it ever becomes appropriate to do so, I will gladly. Until then, I am simply an admirer." He gives a sweeping bow, as well as he can sitting on the bed anyway.
Sapphire looks at them skeptically, but decides to just keep scribbling.
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Isabelle sighs, "I don't know what you see in me. I'm a human, you know who my father is, and I am unable to have kids. I should be pretty worthless to you. "
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Indigo raises an eyebrow, " you are not your father, your species is not something I care about, and your worth is not measured by what you can give me."
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She just stares at him a little bit before sighing, "you really are the opposite of my husband."
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Indigo snorts, " i should hope so, he sounds like a dick."
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Isabelle cant help but giggle softly before looking away, "you're not wrong."
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Indigo smiles, " that is a beautiful sound. Anyway, have you eaten lunch? we can go to the C-A-F-E if you're hungry."
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Isabelle glances between sapphire and indigo, "ah i havent eaten."
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Indigo chuckles, " alright, then we can go to the cafe."
Sapphire gasps, " CAFE!!!! YAY!" she squeals and scrambles to her feet.
" No running!" Indigo scolds, shaking his head. He holds his hand out to Isabelle to help her up, " shall we?"
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isabelle smiles when she sees sapphire get excited and takes indigo's hand, "That sounds lovely."
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Indigo helps her up before letting go, not wanting to be improper. " we save it for special occasions. i think this counts. she loves eating at the cafe."
Sapphire does grabby hands at Indigo, who takes her hand. She looks at Isabelle for a moment before doing grabby hand with her free hand at her.
Indigo blinks, " oh, Saph you just met her, don;t be demanding."
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isabelle cant help but smile and take sapphire's hand, "I dont mind at all. its not like i'll get to do this often. Like you said, its a special occasion."
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Indigo smiles, " well then, looks like you get all the treats today Saphy." he heads out of the house and to the cafe.
Sapphire giggles as she skips between them, lifting her feet to hang off the ground, her brother hoisting her up when she does that.
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isabelle also lifts sapphire, enjoying herself more than she has in a while
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Indigo chuckles, smiling ear to ear at the sight of Isabelle and Sapphire having so much fun.
Sapphire is having a blast, squealing and giggling the whole way.
Indigo lets go of her hand to open the door when they get to the cafe to let both girls inside first.
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Isabelle gives a quick thanks to indigo before ushering sapphire inside, "What are you going to get sapphire?"
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" wamen oodles!" she grins up at Isabelle.
Indigo chuckles, " their ramen is fantastic. even without Takana cooking it it's still pretty good. hm, im debating between that and the curry myself."
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isabelle nods to indigo, "yeah he had been telling me how hard he had been training the chef on how to make those two items. seems like it was a good idea since its been a while since takana has been able to come back."
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Indigo nods, " im not certain of the entire situation but i know some things happened. He'll be back in the kitchen when Arakan decides it's okay to do so im sure."
One of the staff leads them to a table, getting them some water to start, " anything to drink?"
" Juice!"
Indigo chuckles, " yes, some juice for Sapphire if you have it. i'll take some chai tea. Isabelle?"
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isabelle sits down and hums softly, "A chai actually sounds really nice as well. I'll have that."
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The server nods and leaves, coming back after a bit and placing the drinks in front of them.
Sapphire carefully grabs her glass and pulls it to the edge of the table, tilting it so she can get her mouth on it and slurping some juice.
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isabelle happily sips her drink, humming softly, "i havent been here often but i do love this place."
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Indigo nods, " same. It's a bit pricey to come too often."
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"i cant wait for the day when this district has a secure economy so this place isnt considered pricey. you said the district is opening up soon?"
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indigo nods, " tomorrow in fact. im assigned to partner one of the human guards. he's not scared of me, or any demon it seems really. if anything he's too friendly... but at least he backed down when i told him i wasn't into males." He reaches over and supports Sapphires cup before it tips over too far and spills.
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isabelle blushes a little, "oh... oh my i see. well as long as he tries to stay safe."
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Indigo nods, " i think that's why i was assigned to him. for one im not interested, and therefore will not be tempted into fooling around while working, and secondary i've gotten a good amount of exposure to humans through Takana and you, and have a better understanding of how to deal with them. and lastly, of course i can incapacitate enemies without really hurting them. So i think im going to have my work cut out for me keeping him on task, but i told him i'd think about who i may know that might be interested if he focused on work so that might keep him on task."
The server comes back, " do you know what you'd like to eat?"
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isabelle was listening to indigo so when the server arrives she cant help but give a startled squeak, "oh my, my apologies. I was way too focused on our conversation. um. i know what i want if you and sapphire are ready?"
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Indigo chuckles softly as Isabelle startles, " yes, Both Sapphire and i will have the ramen please? no spice at all for hers please."
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Isabelle nods, "I'll also have the ramen please, no heat for me either please, thank you."
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The server nods and writes it down before heading back to put the order in.
Indigo smiles at Isabelle, " i'd invite you to the district tomorrow to keep you company, but since i'll need to be working at the guard post, and it's the first day where people will be let in, and no doubt be swarming Karims shop since they've been clamoring to get in, it's probably going to be pretty crazy here. though im sure the boys would love to see you again."
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Isabelle nods, "I wouldn't mind being able to watch the grand opening and also, hopefully, set an example of how someone should carry themselves in the store but I might just be in the way and I wouldn't want that... please let me know if it goes well. Instruct this guard of yours to not hesitate to take names of any human who is acting obscene. I know a lot of high society women and if any act out I can at least publicly shame them. I have dirt on just about every one thanks to the gossipy nature of the ladies so I can at least make sure they think twice if they wish to keep their pristine image."
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Indigo chuckles, " well i doubt you'll be in the way. of course you're more than welcome to be here for the grand opening."
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isabelle nods, "If its not trouble I would love to be able to see the event."
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Indigo smiles, " then by all means, you're more than welcome to come."
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Isabelle nods and smiles, "I look forward to seeing how it'll all go."
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Indigo nods, " as do i. this first day is all important. if a human gets hurt, the humans will see us as savages and the idea a failure. and if a demon gets hurt, the demons will see it as a bad idea to trust the humans. Arakan i know is extremely on edge trying to ensure everyone is safe and all goes perfectly."
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isabelle nods, "Well hopefully my presence will be enough to keep the humans in check."
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" we can hope."
The server comes back and sets three bowls of ramen down, one with a few chili flakes in it for Indigo.
Indigo smiles, " thank you."
Sapphire clumsily scoops a few noodles onto her fork and placing her face near the bowl, manages to get them into her mouth.
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isabelle smiles at the server, "Thank you very much."
She carefully watches sapphire eat just in case
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Indigo slurps some of his own noodles, keeping a close eye on his sister as she eats.
Sapphire manages to eat with only a little broth getting spilled on the table.
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Isabelle enjoys her ramen, which is normally messy and slurpy however even she can make it look elegant
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Sapphire manages to eat most of her ramen without making a mess, and Indigo helps her at the end when she wants to drink some of the broth. He finishes his bowl and then when she's done he goes ahead and finishes hers, since she had eaten most of the noodles out anyway. Sapphire looks at Indigo, " can i have dessert?"
Indigo ruffles her hair, " that's a bit expensive hon, how about you have a few more gems when we get home okay?"
Sapphire sighs, " okay...."
-
Isabelle glances at indigo, frowning a little.
She would love to offer to pay but would that be undermining indigo's answer to his sister?
"I-if money is an issue then I can cover. Why hold onto it when I can give good memories for others."
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indigo blinks and looks at her, with a little frown, " you don't need to do that, you already give us so much."
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Isabelle blinks and blushes a little, "i... I've hardly given much.... um... but i... it's not often I can make kids happy so if a treat or two when I'm around puts a smile on sapphires face then I'd find a way to give her treats every day." She gives a soft smile
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Indigo feels his heart skip a beat and clears his throat, looking away to hide a blush, " well, if the lady wants to have dessert, i hardly think it'd be appropriate for me to tell you no."
Sapphire looks between them, " you two act funny, like Cobalt and Jade when he started bringing her home."
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Isabelle gives a soft giggle to sapphires comment, "adults do act funny, don't they? Why don't we pick out a desert?"
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Sapphire squeals happily and scoots off her chair, running to the display where most of the desserts are contained.
" No running!" Indigo chuckles and shakes his head, getting up to follow.
Sapphire presses her face against the glass.
Indigo gently scolds her, " now remember, we don;t put our faces on the glass, it makes the glass dirty. im sorry, can i have a wipe to clean that?" he looks at an employee who hands him a wipe and he cleans the glass.
Sapphire watches and looks at the treats, " i want... i want that." she points to a cookies and cream pie.
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Isabelle nods to sapphire, "sure, we'll get that." She looks at indigo, "she sure is excitable. Was there anything you wanted?"
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Indigo hums softly, " she's the first girl after three boys, she's been a little spoiled. also she came well after we did, mother thought she wouldn;t have any more children after me, apparently she had difficulty with me. anyway, i think i'll have a blueberry muffin if that's alright with you?"
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Isabelle nods, "I see... um yeah that's fine of course." She smiles at the employee and orders the pie slice for sapphire and two blueberry muffins for her and indigo
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Sapphie squealed happily.
Indigo smiles, " thank you. now the question is eat it here, or head back to my place so little miss can take a nap after she eats? she has a habit of getting sleepy after lunch."
Sapphire pouts, " nu-uh! im not a baby, i don;t need a nap!"
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Isabelle smiles, "there is nothing wrong with a nap after lunch. I myself take naps all the time. I'm fine with eating here or going back to the house."
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Sapphire pouts still, " nu-uh..."
Indigo looks at his little sister wryly, " we'd better pay our bill and go home, she's starting to get a little cranky it seems."
" nu-uh!"
-
isabelle nods and pulls out her wallet, "of course." she quickly goes to pay before quickly coming back, "lets get going, shall we?"
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Indigo quickly fishing out his wallet and holds some money out to her, " i didn;t mean you had to pay for the whole thing. here, this should cover lunch."
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Isabelle glances at the cash and hums softly, smiling, "ah. How about next time we go out and it's just the two of us you can take care of the bill. Sound fair?"
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Indigo blinks, then grins, " well, how can I refuse that kind of request? Next time then." He pockets the money and Sapphire holds her arms out to him, " up." He chuckles and picks her up, letting her rest on his shoulder, putting one arm under her butt and grabbing the bag with their desserts. "After you."
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Isabelle nods and opens the door for indigo since his arms are full
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Indigo smiles at her, " thanks." and heads through, heading back home. Sapphire rests her head on his shoulder, eyes drooping a bit.
-
Isabelle follows alongside indigo, "I did enjoy that quite a bit. Thank you." She makes sure her voice is low so as to know wake the child
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Indigo smiles at her, also keeping his voice low, " im glad, it's been very nice having you here. I do enjoy spending time with you."
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Isabelle nods, "I do seem to find myself smiling when I'm here. It used to not be like that but.. things change. People change."
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Indigo chuckles, " well, that can be a good thing sometimes. other times... not so much. people change over time, and sometimes... people grow in different directions. but sometimes that just means you're growing towards someone else who is reaching for the same ray of sunshine as you too." he uses his hip to open the door to his home and hold it open for Isabelle.
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Isabelle sighs, "I never thought I would be the kind of person to reach for the sunshine. I was content where I was... at least I thought I was." She goes inside
-
" everyone deserves to be able to reach for sunshine, no matter who or where they are. everyone deserves a chance at being happy." he walks to his bedroom and carefully lays sapphire down on her bed and tucks her in, coming back and putting the desserts in the fridge.
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Isabelle shrugs, "I always assumed I was like one of my many shaded plants that didn't need sun." She shakes her head, "ah but enough of this sun talk. It's confusing. I'm fine."
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Indigo looks at her for a moment, " alright. But if you're not fine, you don't need to pretend here with me. It's okay to not be okay, whatever is the matter, I'm here for you."
-
isabelle feels her chest ache and she gives a hesitant nod, "I... am fine. Content. for the moment... but i'll keep what you said in mind."
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Indigo nods, " alright. And don't take that as me being forward either, I can be for you as a friend just as well as I could more. Now...some tea?"
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isabelle nods and smiles, "some tea would be lovely, thank you."
-
Indigo enjoyed some tea with Isabelle until Sapphire woke from her nap, at which time they had their dessert and played awhile longer before Indigo escorted Isabelle to the gate for the night. The next morning was hectic as demons scrambled to be ready for the opening, Arakan at watch near the gate and Indigo tense at his new post with Davie.
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Isabelle finishes getting ready, wearing a pristine baby blue off the shoulder dress with a matching ascot and 2" heels.
She closes the door to her bedroom and starts walking towards the kitchen where her purse is.
Makoto waits for her as he stands in the kitchen, arms crossed and an already sour expression, "Where do you think you're going this early?"
Isabelle grabs her purse, not making eye contact, "Out. Why are you even home this late? Shouldn't you be at the office already? Or did you not get your bedroom set up there yet?"
Makoto snarls and quickly steps in front of the door, blocking isabelle's way out, "The fucking disrespect coming from you has GOT to STOP."
Isabelle blinks for a split second before she glares at Makoto, "From me? from ME?! You have treated me poorly since the moment we said I do and it has only gotten worse after my infertility issues. You put me down at every conversation, we dont even sleep in the same room and even though this is MY house ALL of my things are pushed into ONE room where you cant see it! I am tired of living this way! Now MOVE. I have somewhere to be!"
Makoto throws his hands in the air, "This is exactly what i am talking about! You were fine with all of this happening and you never said anything before until you started hanging out with those monsters! they poisoned your br-"
"Dont speak ill about them! They didnt poison me at all! If anything they helped me realize that I was allowing you to abuse me because I was too scared to think no one else would ever love me. But what you and I have isnt love at ALL. If anyone around here is a monster its YOU!"
Makoto tenses up at suddenly being called a monster and before he could stop himself he punches isabelle across the face, watching in satisfaction as she hits the ground hard, "Fine then. if im such a monster then you should have known that was coming. Stay the fuck home. " he glances at the time, "Fuck I have a meeting." he grabs his coat and keys and heads out.
Isabelle waits until she hears him leave before shakily getting to her feet. She stumbles to their bathroom and she cant help but wince at the bruise forming on her upper cheek. It wasnt her nose or her lip so no blood but the shiner she was gonna get from this was probably going to last a while...
She grabs her make up bag, something she rarely uses except for some lipgloss, and begins the tedious process of gently applying make to her face to hide the bruising.
It stung so bad and she wanted to cry but she didnt have time...
She finishes up, deciding she did a decent enough job and heads out to the gates, observing the large amount of woman, her peers, that already were waiting to be allowed in.
The normally smiley, silly, and flirty Davie was waiting with a stern and serious expression, standing still and vigilant
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Arakan waits until it seems as calm as it would get and everyone was in their positions before nodding subtly to Curtis.to give him the cue they were ready.
Indigo has his eyes on the crowd, trying to both do his job and yet subtly watching for Isabelle as well.
-
Curtis sees Arakan's nod and hesitantly opens the gates for the woman, albeit he still has to make sure they have their papers, letting them in one at a time as they are approved.
Isabelle steps out of her car and grabs her special badge that lets her in and out as she pleases, she spent a lot of money on it, and she lines up with the other woman
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Indigo smiles winningly at the women as they file in, " welcome, please stay within the marked areas, and don't hesitate to come to one of the guard posts if you have any questions or concerns. Enjoy your visit."
Arakan stays back, watching over the proceedings with sharp eyes, alert for any problems.
-
Isabelle finally gets her chance to enter the district and she relaxes a little now that she is somewhere where her husband cant be
the woman look a little nervous but they follow proper instructions
-
Indigo smiles at the women, taking care to appear friendly. He spots Isabelle and his face lights up from polite friendliness to actual excitement. " Isabelle!" He waves.
Kaiten waves at the women and points at the ground where arrows are marked leading towards Karims shop, " you are welcome to shop elsewhere of course, but I've been told most of you are here to visit the seamster Karim. Follow these arrows and you'll be there in just a couple minutes."
-
isabelle hears her name and her head whips around to look at Indigo. She blinks and gives a small smile, anything wider hurt, and she gives a small wave.
The woman who had not noticed isabelle in the back notice her now and they are very quick to suddenly act more relaxed and secure. They follow the arrows respectfully
-
Indigo smiles, not close enough to see her well, and unwilling to leave his post and his responsibility.
Karim paces his shop, his best pieces displayed at the front and rows of unique outfits hanging on display, every rack full as he'd been working his ass off to be ready.
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The girls gasp at how beautiful the clothes are and quickly start shopping.
Isabelle waits until she knows the woman are behaving while shopping before going over to indigo, "The woman seem to be behaving better than i thought which is a good thing."
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Karim relaxes when the women behave and busies himself helping them find exactly what they want and making sure it's a perfect fit.
Indigo nods, " it bodes well." He looks at her, then frowns. He lifts his hand to cup her chin gently as he looks at her face, " you're wearing makeup...your eye. Are you alright?"
-
isabelle flinches when indigo brings his hand up and she tries to quickly look away, "I-its a special occasion so um make up should be expected and i just didnt sleep well last night! thats all."
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Indigos eyes darken when she flinches away from him, " if that were the case, you would not have responded with fear of me just now. Who hit you." The metallic feathers start to lift on his head.
-
isabelle pales a little and glances around, "I-indigo we're in public right now, this really isnt a conversation to have out here."
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Indigo blinks, glances around, then opens the guard post and gently pushes her in. He then shoves Davie out considerably less gently, " need this for a minute. Out."
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davie gives a soft yelp but lets himself be scooted out, "Ack! rude."
isabelle makes soft squeak sounds when she's brought inside the post, looking nervous
-
Indigo leans in to look carefully, " I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to see...does it hurt badly? I can have someone take my post so I can take you to Korri, she'll be able to help."
-
Isabelle does her best not to wince, "um. It does hurt... a lot actually. I think it was a punch and not a slap." Her eyes water a little, "I'm sorry... i... maybe I shouldn't have come. I was so excited to but makoto said I shouldn't because it's disrespectful to him and I told him he had no right to say that after the years he spent being disrespectful to me. We yelled at each other... he called you guys monsters and I snapped... I got so angry and for the first time I snapped at him. Told him if anyone was a monster on this planet then it was him. Next thing I knew I was on the ground. He left to go to work and i..." her voice trembles and she sniffles as tears just fall down her face, "he's never di-did that be-before but i- I also never stood up to him and i... he told me to stay home and I didn't. I still came here and now I'm too afraid to go home in case he gets home first and sees I left anyway. I'm sorry... I'm sorry I pulled you away from your post maybe I should just go home."
Her tears reveal more deep bruising on her right cheek
-
Indigo cups her unbruised cheek, looking more torn between being upset for her and being absolutely furious, " shhhh it's okay...you didn't do anything wrong. If it wouldn't be a death sentence for me I'd go find him and beat his sorry ass within an inch of his life! What a disgusting despicable excuse for a person! You're okay, we'll take care of you." He pulls her into a gentle hug, then grabs one of the walkies they had been given to communicate. " Arakan? Can I have a word real quick?"
Arakan blinks and goes over, " what's...." He peers in and sees Isabelle, " well I know you didn't do that. Get her to my mother. I'll stay here with Davie while I call in a replacement."
Indigo looks at Arakan with pure gratitude, "thank you." He grabs his jacket and wraps it around Isabelle, pulling the hood up to shield her face and avoid unwanted attention. " Come on." He ushers her out and towards the clinic.
-
Isabelle keeps her head low, feeling absolute shameful that arakan or anyone else could see her in her state.
She follows along with indigo as she starts feeling a little numb to her surroundings.
-
Indigo goes to the clinic and frowns when she's not there, seeing a note left that she's at the Okuya household to find her there. He ushers her towards that destination, " she's not here but she always leaves a note to let patients know where she is." He knocks at the Okuya door once they arrive.
Korri looks over when she hears the knock, " you have a visitor apparently."
-
Imogen blinks, "oh my. So early in the day too?"
Nikiri heads to the door, "coming!" He opens the door and blinks, "oh! Indigo? I thought you'd be at the-" His eyes land on Isabelle and he blinks more, his voice trailing a bit before stepping to the side, "korri is in the kitchen, to the left."
-
Indigo nods, " my thanks." he quickly leads Isabelle to Korri.
Korri sits up, " if you left your post for this it must be important." she doesn;t bother taking the hood off, " oh dear, well i can certainly take some of the sting off and help reduce the swelling. Nikiri! would you mind going and getting the salve for me that's in my middle shelf unit, top shelf, green lid." she clicks her tongue, " now Isabelle, who did this?"
Indigo speaks up for her, " her husband did it." his voice dripping with hatred, " he punched her for daring to have a life besides being his quiet little wife that he hides in a corner."
Yori who had been meditating, feels the room go ice cold as he hears those words with his enhanced hearing. He quickly scrambles to his feet, eyes starting to glow slightly as he grits his teeth, " sounds like i need to make a visit home to talk to my brother..."
-
Isabelle shudders a little, "i-its fine it's just a little bruise. I just- had a moment of weakness and made it sound worse than it is." There were too many people around her and she was starting to feel panicked. She just wanted to hide. Maybe she shouldn't have even come?
Touhou, in his room, can feel a dark presence and he looks around. This didn't feel like the malice that corrin gave off. This was something stronger. He gets up and follows the tug of dark energy and blinks when he sees yori, "what's wrong?"
-
" nonsense, i can tell this was a nasty hit." Korri takes the salve when it arrives and gently starts applying it to Isabelles face, " it's alright, you're safe here. If what happened is true you are welcome to stay as long as needed, we'll not throw you back into the wolves den. Nikiri? some tea please?"
Yori growls, " my fucking brother is what happened. i could hear the conversation happening in the house, that fucker hit Isabelle!" he heads for the door, " i need to see her."
Indigo rushes to get the tea, beating Nikiri to it and helping himself to their kitchen, he didn;t care if it was rude right now. He soon brings a cup to Isabelle, " here..."
-
Nikiri backs out of the kitchen once the salve is delivered since it seems that indigo needed to do things for Isabelle.
Imogen nods, "I do have a few more rooms here and yori is here as well as touhou so at least people you're familiar are here." Imogen stands up and takes a few steps back out of the kitchen, making sure Isabelle doesn't feel crowded.
Touhou blinks some more, "um well it sounds like she is downstairs."
Isabelle hesitantly takes the cup and mutters a soft thanks, "I just... I feel awful for showing this incident... I'm normally stronger than this..."
-
Indigo grabs her chin gently but firmly and lifts her face so he can look into her eyes, " now you look at me. this is not something you NEED to be strong about. this is straight up abusive behavior, and i don't want you to have to be strong about getting smacked in the face by some inbred cretin. you're allowed to have emotions, you're allowed to be upset. you're allowed to be human. And i know i shouldn't say this because you're still married, but i love ALL of you. you are amazing. And i would give anything to be able to stand by your side." he lets go and holds the cup of tea to her, gently cupping her back and guiding her to a seat, " now let me take care of you, please."
Yori nods, " yeah..." he heads out of his room and heads downstairs.
Korri had backed up after applying the salve to give them some room
-
Isabelle let's indigo lead her to a seat and she blinks a little. Hearing the word love caused her to freeze mentally, thinking about the last time makoto said those words to her.... she couldn't recall...
She looks up at indigo and motions for him to get closer to her
-
Indigo blinks and leans in, " yes?"
-
Isabelle sets her cup down so she can gently cups indigo's face and bringing him closer before placing her lips on his.
It's not a deep kiss, just a peck, before pulling away, blushing, "i... was hoping to divorce my husband later in the year so I could make sure the media couldn't try to blame your district in some way however my safety is more important so I'll serve him divorce papers tomorrow and afterwards w-would you like to go on a date with me?"
-
Indigos eyes widen and he stays leaned over after she lets go with his mouth gaping open like a fish on land, opening and closing his mouth as he tries to comprehend what just happened. " i uh." he shakes his head to clear it, " i was not expecting that. I would be honored to go on a real date with you at any time or place of your choosing." he frowns after a moment, " are you certain you ought to go see him already tomorrow? im worried for your safety... you can stay here, Imogen has already offered you a place to stay here with Yori and the little mouse demon. i'd be lying if i said i wasn't concerned about you getting anywhere near that brute again."
-
"I will stay here tonight, however in the morning I will head out to my lawyer and get the papers together and she'll come with me to serve him."
She hums softly as her brain switches gears and she starts fumbling with her purse, pulling out her make up remover wipes, "let's get this make up off and take some pictures of my face before the bruising and swelling goes away. It'll be good documentation and the media will eat up an abusive kuroshiba family member that no one should even consider the district in the equation."
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Indigo blinks and smiles, " yes ma'am." he takes one of the wipes and very gently wipes the makeup away, " you know, you don't need this stuff to look gorgeous."
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Isabelle hums softly, "oh I know. If I had my make up pallete you would see just how untouched it is. Today it was just to try to hide the bruise."
Touhou gets downstairs and he can hear the conversation, curious as to why Isabelle sounds upbeat if she was supposedly hit
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Indigo chuckles, " there's the lovely woman i fell for. i have no doubt you'll show him what you're made of." his phone rings and he grabs it, " Kyan? Oh! yeah sure, we're at the Okuya house, that'll be no problem. yeah. thanks a lot, i know it's short notice. i appreciate it. yeah, see you in a bit." he hangs up, " so my brother who was watching Saph got called by Arakan who explained the situation, so he's going to take over guard duty for me, and we'll watch Saphy. that alright?"
Yori was also waiting, not wanting to butt in but also wanting to talk to Isabelle.
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Isabelle nods, "Yeah that's fine. Is my make up off?" She turns a bit and reaches for her phone, her eyes catching yori in her peripheral, "oh uh! He-hello yori."
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Yori tries to duck back, " oh, uh, hi. um, i heard your voice. you sounded like you were upset.... makoto did that didn;t he?"
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Isabelle gives a sad smile, "he uh... yeah. I called him out for the first time so he did... this. It's okay-i mean, it's not. It isn't okay, but it's okay in the sense that I already have an exit plan. I was already planning on divorcing makoto so I guess I'm just expediting the process. Oh but um! I'll be spending the night here so you and I can finally hang out for a little bit. I have missed you and takana so much."
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Yori blinks, " well...okay. but only because you're gonna deal with it and you're staying here tonight. lemme text takana to let him know you're here." hey, Isabelle is staying the night here for reasons that my brother is a jackass. come hang?
Indigo chuckles, " you'd better take those pictures while you have the chance."
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Takana reads the texts and huffs oh great, do i even want to know? Also I'll need an escort to your place. I'm sure arakan would freak if i just left and walked over by myself, especially after what happened a few days ago
Isabelle nods and grabs her phone, making sure the lighting is perfect before taking pictures of herself
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probably not. I'll ask Nikiri.
Yori looks at Nikiri, " can you please bring Takana over? Maybe to spend the night?"
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Nikiri looks at yori and nods, "sure. I'll get going right away. " He heads out.
Touhou keeps his eyes on yori
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Yori has calmed down considerably, he'd let Isabelle deal with things since he wanted to stay to keep her company. Plus she was gonna divorce the asshole. He goes and hugs her, " you deserve better than my stupid brother."
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Isabelle hugs yori, "he wasn't always so cruel so my judgment was a little clouded. I can't excuse hitting someone for no reason though."
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Yori nods, " he wasn;t super awful before... he's definitely gotten worse. regardless, you deserve so much better." he lets go, " do you want me to go get some overnight stuff for you?"
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Isabelle nods, "that would be great thank you." She pulls out her keys and hands them to yori, "take the car, it's parked right outside the gate. Password to the house is your birthday."
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Yori takes the keys and blinks, " my birthday, really? alright, i'll be back." and if he gets a chance to punch his brother all the better. he sends a quick text to Nikiri, im gonna go get some stuff for Isabelle, i'll be back later okay? with all the guard stuff for the humans i should be fine going to the gates.
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Nikiri sees the text and frowns, at least curtis is at the main gate. Please be careful and dont do anything dangerous
Touhou frowns and goes mouse form, running to yoris pants and cling to them
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of course! Yori waves to Isabelle and heads out, heading to the gate and showing his own papers before getting into her vehicle and driving it to her place carefully. he knew how to drive, his mother just usually insisted on him being driven. he types in the code to get in once he's at her place, going inside and to her room. He pulls down a suitcase and puts a couple days worth of clothes in there.
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During the car ride touhou was able to climb up to yori's body and onto his shoulder, staying put while yori grabs things.
He does survey the house as yori moves around, eyes narrowing as he notices how the air feels stagnant.
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Yori looks around the house, almost pouting that his brother didn;t come home for him to give him a piece of his mind. but he shouldn't go looking for trouble, he should let Isabelle handle it. He sighs, " well, guess we better head back then huh." he heads for the vehicle with the suitcase.
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Once in the vehicle touhou hops into the passenger seat and returns to his usual form, "Isabelle did mention him going to work... I don't want to throw any alarms up but that whole house reeks of your fathers malice. My worry is that he is corrupting makoto to make Isabelle miserable because he lost me as his source of food. Getting her away from the human district will be good for her."
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Yori nods, " yeah... i was hoping he'd come back anyway." he blinks, " really? well... i guess that makes sense... but he never treated her right to begin with so i still don't care. there's no excuse to hit her." he starts the car.
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Touhou shrugs, "I know he was never great to her, and you're absolutely right about him hitting her bit your father can take whatever hatred in someone's heart and increase it ten fold. And it's a good thing makoto wasn't home. Just you hearing that Isabelle got hit sparked something in you. It was massive. Oppressing. Not like your dad's energy. I don't know if all wendigo energy is the same or different based on the person but yours was certainly different."
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Yori blinks, " really? it felt different? weird... i'll admit i really wanted to punch him, how could he hurt her? she's always been so kind and sweet to everyone... it pisses me off."
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Touhou sighs, "I understand your anger. It is very well placed. I'm just saying you should be careful, stay calm, and remember that there could be consequences if you let your anger take over like that."
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Yori nods slowly, " okay... i'll try. but hey, at least im not going to go looking for him?"
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Touhou sighs, "yes I am thankful that you are not going after him considering that's part of why I followed you out."
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Yori frowns and looks at him, " oh... i guess that makes sense." he sighs softly. " At least Isabelle thought i could go get her clothes without screwing things up..."
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Touhou blinks and looks at yori, "screwing up? This has nothing to do with screwing up. This has everything to do without a power no one understands unleashing itself in a way that could harm you since you're not a full demon."
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Yori huffs, " and what would you have done if it had?"
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touhou frowns, "I would pin you down and do my best to bring you back to your senses. at least i would try and talk to you about anything that seems important enough to you that you would calm down. I AM connected to your dad so i do have access to some of his abilities. it just means that afterwards we have to bail because he'd have my location."
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Yori nods slowly, " alright...i suppose as long as we're out we should pick up some food huh?" he switches the subject, still feeling frustrated just that he's unable to handle things himself. He drives to a fast food place and orders a bunch of stuff to bring back.
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touhou looks down at his lap and frowns, letting the awkward silence fill the space in the car
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Yori places a container of fries into Touhous lap and sets the rest of the bags in the backseat before heading back to the district. " finish up what you're gonna before we go back in. we don;t want anyone to see you."
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Touhou gives a numb nod and starts munching on the fries
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After awhile Yori stops before they get into sight of the gate, " alright, fries back in the bag, we gotta sneak you in."
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Touhou nods and dumps the rest of the fries in his mouth, chewing quickly and coughing a little from how fast he inhaled his container of fries.
Once he's done being a pig he quickly shifts into his mouse form and darts into yori's clothes
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Yori laughs softly and parks the car back where it was, grabbing all the stuff and heading for the gate. He shows his pass and goes through, heading back to Nikiri's place.
Kyan drops Sapphire off with Indigo, quickly passing the little girl to her brother before going to take his place at the guard hut with Davie, therefore freeing Arakan.
Indigo props Sapphire at his hip and carries her over to Isabelle, " look here, we can play with Auntie Isabelle again today!"
Sapphire smiles up at Isabelle, " Izzy!"
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Isabelle smiles at sapphire, "well hello again sapphire! It's so good to see you again!"
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Sapphire leans towards her and makes grabby hands.
Indigo chuckles, " looks like she wants you to hold her. demanding little thing."
Yori makes his way to Nikiri's house and goes in, " i got food! and some clothes and stuff Isabelle."
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Isabelle hums softly, "I'm just surprised she isn't shocked about my bruise. Whatever korri put on must be helping a lot." She happily takes sapphire.
Nikiri was back at the house as well, with takana, "welcome back!"
Takana is fretting over Isabelle as well
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Sapphire squeals happily and clings to her.
Indigo chuckles, "yeah it looks a lot better already. though it's probably just more likely she's a spoiled little imp who is more concerned with playing with her new friend."
Yori smiles, " Hey takana. i got takeout for everyone." he sets Isabelles suitcase down.
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Isabelle giggles when sapphire clings to her, absolutely loving having the child.
She smiles at yori, "thank you yori for getting my things. I appreciate it a lot."
Takana looks at yori and whines, "he actually hit her?! That's so fuc-"
Isabelle quickly looks at takana, "-hey! Language!"
Takana yelps and ducks his head a little, "sorry. T-thats so... messed up. "
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Yori nods, " yeah, I was kinda hoping he'd be home so I could deck him but he wasn't. Oh, I got a kids meal for the kid too so she should get a toy."
Sapphire quickly looks over, " toy? I waaaant the toy!" She looks up at Isabelle with puppy eyes.
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Isabelle smiles at sapphire, "oh don't look at me. Yori is the one who has it." She goes over to yori, "sapphire, this is a member of my family, yori. He has the food and the toy."
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Sapphire clings to Isabelle, looking at Yori warily. " want toy."
Indigo looks at his little sister, " manners..."
"...want toy please."
Yori snorts softly, " i got happy meals for Nikiri's younger sisters too, in case they wanted them. figured the food will get eaten at some point and be appreciated." he pulls out one of the happy meals and takes the toy out, handing it to Sapphire, " there."
Sapphire takes it and squeals.
"manners!"
Sapphire looks at her brother, then at Yori, " thank you." she waves the little beanie baby around.
Yori grins, " you're welcome. im putting the food in the kitchen, i'll put hers to the side so we know which one lacks a toy." he goes and sets the bags in the kitchen. He also fishes Touhou out and sets him down on the floor before grabbing out a burger and fries for himself.
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Isabelle is still smiling until she sees the mouse and she takes a step back, "why do you have a mouse?!"
Takana looks over, then at the mouse, "ah. That's touhou. He... for some odd reason prefers to be a mouse and cling to people rather than actually walk or run alongside someone."
The mouse sniffs the air and takes a few steps before plopping on its side, its belly extended a little from too much food.
Nikiri blinks and chuckles, "I think the kid is in a food coma."
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Yori blinks, " oh, yeah he came with me. he prefers to hitch a ride. i gave him some fries and he snarfed them down in the car. guess it's a bit much for his other form?" he gently scoops Touhou back up and shakes his head, " i'll get him settled in his room." he heads into the room and grabs a towel, making a little nest and plopping Touhou into it, covering him with a corner. " there."
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Yori isn't a mouse expert but even he can tell that Touhou looks quite comfortable as the little mouse snuggles into the nest and he starts cleaning himself, making soft squeak sounds as he does so.
Isabelle sighs softly, "right... touhou is a mouse... I keep forgetting that..."
Takans looks at Isabelle, "to be fair you weren't at the mansion often enough to see touhou go into his animal form when the air ducts need to be cleaned."
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Yori chuckles, " alright, you be comfy." he heads back out to finish his burger.
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Isabelle munches on a burger as she holds sapphire as she starts feeling hungry. She normally doesn't eat such foods since makoto would comment on her weight but clearly she doesn't plan on restricting herself on old standards now, "what do you wanna do today sapphire?"
Imogen had gone back to chatting with korri, her mood significantly more cheerful hearing the house full of chatter.
Nikiri smiles at Takana, "maybe one of these days you and yori can go on a shopping spree in the human district and pick up items to keep yourselves entertained. I know our district doesn't have much for crafts or fun things so now that this house is filling up mother is gonna want to keep everyone entertained."
Takana chuckles, "Yeah I have been meaning to do a shopping spree with him. Maybe on a day that Isabelle is here so we can borrow her car so we don't have to limit ourselves with what we can carry."
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Sapphire thinks for a moment, " i wanna....i wanna draw." she looks at Isabelles fries curiously, " what's those?"
Yori nods, " yeah... i've been getting as much stuff as i can but i can only carry so much."
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Isabelle hums softly, "these are called French fries. They are a very rare treat that should be consumed sparingly. Would you like to try some?" She holds the container out for sapphire
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Sapphire nods and grabs one, stuffing it into her mouth. " Her eyes widen a bit, " yummy!"
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Isabelle hums softly, "then you can eat them for me. Just this time though. Not even humans eat this often."
Or at least they shouldnt but Isabelle wondered if this fast food was still more nutritious then some of the foods the demon district had to eat
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Yori looks over, " i did get her a happy meal, she's got fries and chicken nuggets for herself."
Sapphire stuffs another fry into her mouth, " mmmm!"
Indigo takes some of the food and looks it over before taking a bite of a burger, covering his mouth and swallowing before his eyes widen " oh, oh wow. that's, really greasy, but really good."
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isabelle looks at indigo and hums softly, "Can you take her while i go look for her food? And yeah its pretty unhealthy if you eat it all the time but its fast and cheap and fast and it tastes really good."
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Indigo gently takes Sapphire, " you had me at 'cheap' and 'tastes good'" he chuckles softly. " food is food, maybe humans need to worry about healthy and unhealthy but im just grateful for what we get."
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isabelle hums softly and digs through the bags before pulling out the kids meal with the missing toy since sapphire already has it, "Thats what i sort of thought but didnt want to say anything." she opens the little container of chikkie nugs and holds it out to sapphire, "Want to try a chicken nugget?"
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Indigo chuckles, though it sounds a bit sad this time, " just how it is... but it could be worse."
Sapphire takes it and sniffs it before taking a little nibble, making a pleased noise and munching it.
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isabelle glances at indigo, "And thats why we're working hard to fixing it."
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Indigo nods, taking another bite of his burger and chewing slowly as he savors it.
Yori finishes his meal and tosses the wrappers in the trash, looking for Nikiri, " hey, there's food if you want it, and meals for your sisters too."
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nikiri glances at yori before smiling, "You really dont have to get us food all the time yori. It's appreciated though."
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Yori smiles, " yeah but i feel useful this way. plus it's on my dads dime so...all i gotta do is carry it all."
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nikiri snorts softly, "Your fathers dime? Well why did you say so." he chuckles softly and ruffles the top of yori's head
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Yori chuckles as his hair gets ruffled, " i mean everything i buy i've bought with money pulled from my parents account."
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nikiri shrugs, "I dont assume to know whose money you've spent as its not my business."
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Yori shrugs, " i don;t have any money of my own so... dads it is."
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nikiri hums, "again, didnt know that. i do now though."
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Yori kicks at the ground, " yeah... i never really got good at anything. anyway... um, help yourself?" he heads over to takana, " good to see you."
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takana still looks a little upset but he is calming down, "I... want to kick makoto's butt...other than that its good to see you too."
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Yori chuckles, " trust me, i do too. but at least she's gonna divorce his sorry ass so... bright side?"
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takana nods, "im glad that this is only the first time it was physical and isabelle has enough support to leave after that..."
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Yori nods, " for sure. speaking of support... look at the lovebirds." he snickers a bit and looks back at Isabelle and Indigo who are eating and chatting while they feed Sapphire.
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takana glances over at the two, humming softly, "Yeah they do seem to like each other. Been a while since i last saw her smile like that."
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Yori nods, " yeah. if he makes her happy and treats her well, then i'll allow it."
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takana snorts softly, "she certainly seems to enjoy having a child to hold."
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Yori nods, " yeah... i know she wants to be a mom so badly. I guess at least she can mother Indigos sister anyway?"
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Takana nods, "Yeah which I'm sure sapphire doesn't mind at all. Just means she has another person who can love her and give her toys."
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Yori chuckles, " that girl is gonna be so spoiled. and she'll have a human she knows who's safe and not someone to be afraid of. though hopefully that doesn't turn out bad, like deer that get used to people feeding them so they aren;t afraid and get shot easily."
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Takana snorts, "funny thing to say considering nikiri and his family are all deer demons that assist others including humans."
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Yori blinks then chuckles, " oh right. oops."
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nikiri hums as he listens to the boys, "we're perytons technically."
Takana blinks and looks at nikiri, "Oh yeah. i thought you were just a deer until you went into your full form to keep izanagi and me safe from that sulpher guy. I was pretty taken aback to see you with wings."
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Yori looks at him and blinks, " you can have wings? Aw... That sounds so cool."
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nikiri sighs, "its hard to remember that we do honestly. its been so long since i was in my full form and it didnt come without its consequences."
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Yori frowns, " oh right...I'm sorry... it's not right, that's part of who you are right? The collars seem so cruel."
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nikiri blinks and looks at yori before smiling a little and ruffling the top of his head again, "Its quite alright. it hurts and its annoying but its not like such insignificant things can actually stop me from using my other form."
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Yori lets him ruffle his hair, " but... it shouldn't have to hurt to be able to be part of yourself."
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nikiri hums, "You're right that it shouldnt but there's not much that can currently be done about it. I appreciate your concern though."
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Yori sighs, " right...anyway, i guess we can play some games and let Isabelle have her time with Sapphire."
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takana nods, "Yeah that sounds alright."
Rin comes home with the kids, phae, seraphi, and elyza. she stops mid step in the home as she sees all the people, feeling a little panicked over all the people.
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Yori sees her and gives a little wave, " hey. i know there's a lot going on, but there's food in the kitchen, you can grab food and eat it in your room if you wanna get away from the crowd. there's food for all of you, the ones in the red boxes are for the kids."
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Nikiri looks over and smiles at Rin, "ah so you're back! Sorry for the commotion. Um. Some things happened today so we ended up getting a little bit of a full house. Are you hungry?"
Rin looks away, "i- I'm fine... thank you though."
The little girls blink, seraphi speaking first, "there's a lot of people here today."
Elyza does a little hop over to the bags of food, "red boxes?"
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Yori quickly goes to the bags and grabs a burger and some fries, holding it out to Rin, " here. go on, it's really good." he puts it into her hands and goes to hand a happy meal to Elyza, " here you go." he takes another and gives it to Serpahi, " and you too."
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rin tries not to flinch when yori quickly approaches her, only holding the food because she didnt want it to fall on the floor
phae goes up to yori, "me too?"
Seraphi and elyza blink at the odd shaped box, elyza quickly ripping it open like an animal and quickly scarfing down the fries
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Yori nods, " of course!" He gives Phae one of the bright boxes too. " they each have a toy as well! the kids meals that is. i know all these people make you uncomfortable Rin, go ahead." he gently nudges her in the direction of her room.
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this time rin does flinch, quickly moving away from Yori, "Dont touch me." she huffs and sets the food back on the table before going to her room.
Nikiri was just about to warn yori however his sister snaps before nikiri can even react. He frowns softly and sighs, "She really hasnt been the same since district 5's attack..."
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Yori flinches, " sorry... i just thought maybe getting her out of the situation that made her uncomfortable would help..."
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seraphi sighs as well and pats yori on his leg, "Dont let her get to you. she doesnt let anyone get too close to her anymore. she was injured really badly by another demon and even though aunty korri was able to heal everything, including her eyeball, she still is having issues."
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Yori smiles a bit at Seraphi, " thanks for letting me know, im sorry that happened. i hope things get better for her. Anyway, why don;t you see what toy you got?"
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seraphi nods and starts digging until she finds her little beanie baby, "oh its new!"
nikiri gives an apologetic smile to yori, "im... sorry about rin. she seems to have some serious ptsd and therapists arent really something our district has even though almost all of the citizens could use one. but seraphi is correct, rin wont even let me near her ..."
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Yori nods, " brand new just for you." He looks at Nikiri, " no kidding...you'd think they'd at least spring for a therapist for one of their translators. I think it'd take an army of therapists to make a dent here. It's not your fault, I'll try to keep in mind that she's dealing with trauma."
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Nikiri sighs, "we tried. They said since it was a demon who attacked it was a demon issue only. We even told them that if it wasn't for Rin acting so quickly the humans that were at the meeting would have died so she should at least be given some sort of help for her bravery." Nikiri looks a little sad as he glances away, "the higher ups in charge of the guards is the one who made the final ruling that we should be grateful that they weren't going to impose harsher restrictions on all of the districts after such an event so we... backed down after that response."
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Yori gapes, " what? they're just threatening you guys because one guy did bad things?! that's... that's awful..."
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Nikiri shrugs, "that's just how they are. A part of us knew we wouldn't get anything out of it but I at least wanted to try. She'd never raise her voice so if I had to for her I would. I'm the only big brother after all."
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Yori nods numbly, " maybe... maybe i can try and hire someone. now that the district is open if i offer enough money maybe someone will come in and talk to her..."
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Nikiri shakes his head, "that's a sweet offer but there is no need. I'm sure there aren't any therapists willing to come speak to any demon and if there is I'd worry whether they were going to be genuine or just try to gas light us and take your money and run. Thank you though."
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Yori sighs, " maybe once things get more normalized here... then maybe. besides, it's my dads money so i don;t mind wasting it..."
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Nikiri hums softly, "you keep saying it's your father's money... just be careful he doesn't cut you off."
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Yori nods, " I don't think he will, he got really mad when my mom cut Takana off. Plus my mom would freak out."
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Nikiri shrugs, "he is supposed to be a master at manipulation so I just worry. Plus helping find something to keep you preoccupied can help forget how bad this district is sometimes."
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Yori nods a bit, " but im not good at anything. Takana learned a bunch of stuff, but my mom just had the servants do everything for me. i barely know how to make a bed." he sighs.
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Nikiri hums softly, "what's stopping you from learning things now?"
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Yori rubs the back of his neck, " nothing, im trying. but im not really... good at anything. i certainly don;t know enough about anything useful to be able to work a job at it. unless skateboarding or rollerskating or surfing is a job, which i doubt."
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Nikiri hums softly, "well much like exercise you don't get muscles overnight just like you don't get perfect at something overnight. Life is full of trial and error and regardless of age we're all learning and growing. You can just find some new hobbies and enjoy life until you find something you're passionate about and want to pursue. Just don't say you're not good at anything."
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Yori snorts, " but it's true. so how do i go about it then, finding a way to do things so that im okay at them and can work? i honestly have no idea where to start. what can i even do here? I'd be nervous working outside te district, what if dad comes to my workplace to find me?"
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Nikiri sighs softly and pats yori on the head, "what can you think of that would genuinely make you happy? If you can't
answer that then maybe it's a sign you need to think about what you want. Do some reflecting."
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Yori sighs softly, " i don;t know. how can i be happy with anything knowing how fucked up everything is here? for the people i care about."
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Nikiri shrugs, "you're just going to have to. If it helps you could always ask Isabelle. She makes active steps for the better of our district all the time it seems so I'm sure she'll have an idea. I'd say to ask arakan but uh... he'd just tell you that the biggest way you can help is to stay out of the way and I know that's not helpful."
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Yori nods, " yeah... im not famous like she is though. and we were just saying to be careful about dads money. this is frustrating. i'll talk to her when she's not busy though and see if there's something useful i can do."
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Nikiri snorts, "I wasn't talking about asking Isabelle how you can spend your dad's money. I was really thinking if she needs an extra hand with what she does."
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Yori shrugs, " but most of the things she's been doing that's really been useful has cost money hasn;t it? like bringing all the dirt and stuff in for planting crops. and getting better food into the district. money is the main factor with that. unless you meant her vineyard, i guess i can like, haul stuff around and do manual labor?"
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Nikiri hums, "yes you certainly could do that. Oh! Say I was going to have a friend of mine make something for you but it requires your neck measurements. You don't mind, do you?"
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Yori blinks and tilts his head, " um, okay? Yeah, go ahead? Can I ask what for?"
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Nikiri takes a bit of thread and gently wraps it around yoris neck briefly before marking the length needed and pulling away, "a collar. One very specific for you since you go in and out of the district. You'll be able to remove it and it will give off the same signal as all of our other collars but other than that it won't have anything else in it. Just something to give me peace of mind if you need to be more active in the district and this way when we have an inspection you won't get harassed by the guards. Don't fret over it, my friend is a genius and is the person responsible for takana's ears."
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Yori blinks, " oh, right. shouldn't Takana have one too? And is that the guy who let us go through his place to bring Touhou to the district?"
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Nikiri nods, "we already have takana's measurements from when he wore an actual collar so I don't need his. And yes that is the same guy."
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Yori nods, " thank you, i know it worries you when i go out and about. if this helps put your mind at ease then i'll wear it."
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Nikiri nods, "it means demons won't bother you thinking you're human."
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Yori nods, " yeah... thankfully it's been cold so i've just worn a scarf usually and nobody messes with me, but i guess that'd be weird when it gets warm. thanks."
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"Also the inspections would be a bit of a hassle. Hopefully you're first inspection will be... less traumatizing than takana's."
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Yori nods, " i hope all the changes won;t make things harder at the inspection. i kinda just want to not be in the district for it."
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Nikiri nods, "yes and that's absolutely fair. We usually get a heads up so when we do I'll let you know so you can make plans to be out of the district if that's what you wish."
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Yori nods, " thanks! Go get some food before it gets cold, I'm gonna go see how Isabelle is." He heads over to Isabelle, sitting next to her.
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Isabelle is sitting with sapphire still in her lap, her face a little flushed because she can't stop smiling and laughing at sapphires shenanigans.
When yori sits down next to her she gives him a genuine smile.
A few days go by, the opening of the district goes by with no complications, Takana could start working at the cafe again, and isabelle handed makoto divorce papers at her residence with her attorney and a guard present.
She informed him he had 30 days to pack his belongings and move out as per their states law. It was a good thing Isabelle brought her own guard because in a fit of fury makoto lunged at her, shocking both her and the attorney but not the guard who quickly tackled the man to the ground and the police getting a call.
Plenty of magazines came out featuring Isabelle and the district opening 'succes' followed by another magazine article of the arrest of Makoto however he was only in holding before quickly getting bailed out by his mother.
While he only spent a few hours behind bars it still put him in a terrible spotlight, the magazine cover having a hilarious picture of makoto in cuffs getting shoved into a police car.
Isabelle happily brought both magazines to arakan, the district opening one for shiro and the one with makotos arrest picture to just chuckle at.
-
Indigo enjoys his time with her, loving seeing her so happy with his sister. The next day after he had arranged for a babysitter for sapphire so his brother could take his guard posting again to take Isabelle on that date he'd promised, enjoying a nice time at the cafe just the two of them and taking a walk into the greenhouse which was arguably one of the nicest areas of the district right now, not to mention warmer than outside. He was trying at least, with what little he had to work with.
Arakan takes the magazines, looking at the on with Isabelle first and nodding in approval, " if we've got a shot at this working, this should do it. thank you for going above and beyond for this, especially with what he did that same morning." he does look at the one with Makoto and chuckles a bit, " seeing as he's been eagerly making our lives more difficult, it's very satisfying to see him being given a taste of his own medicine, even if it was short lived." he hands the Makoto one back. " Shiro should be coming in today, so i'll get this to him when he does."
-
She takes the other magazine back and smiles, "no need to mention that day. The only reason I postponed my initial divorce was because it was too close to the district opening however his sudden physical actions... while distressing, was the perfect set of events to keep the press salivating over it."
She tucks her things away in her briefcase and closes it, "and while his jail time was short lived the repercussions will have a ripple effect amongst the public and his reputation is a bit tarnished. Something that is needed if we are to help change the publics view of your district."
-
Arakan nods, " it is fortunate in a way, though regrettable you needed to be attacked for it. I'm glad it was not worse however."
-
Isabelle sighs softly, "a high percentage of woman are murdered by their husband's so a simple punch is nothing in comparison. I'm just sorry that you had to see me in such a way."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " like you asked him to hit you? no apology needed, it was not your doing in any way, and it was even beneficial in the long run. there's no reason for me to think any less of you over the situation. though i'd appreciate if you didn;t steal Indigo away from guard duty quite so often." he grins at her a bit to show he's teasing.
-
Isabelle blushes a little and looks away, "I admit, me taking him out on a date the other day was all me. I couldn't help myself. It's been a long time since I was taken out on a date. Luckily for you I didn't come here today to steal him away from work."
-
Arakan chuckles, " soon i'll be able to let him go more often, i do approve of the match by the way. he's just good with humans, so he's been important to me to have at guard duty. As the guards get more comfortable, and humans get more comfortable, i'll be able to have a larger number of them so they can switch out more often. then you can steal him away all you like."
-
Isabelle hums softly and rubs her arm, "I'm glad you approve. Admittedly... I was very skeptical of indigo in general. I thought it was too coincidental what with him being an alicanto and my mother's mining site becoming my property once she passes. That and the way Indigo acted around me... it felt at first that he was being a try hard to get in my good graces so that he could claim something that is important to them." She looks up at arakan, "however it seems as though my initial concern and assumptions were unfair and biased. I'll have to have this conversation with him as well so that I may apologize to him. "
-
Arakan blinks, " well, i didn;t know that your family owned mines, and that information isn't readily available here, we're too stupid to need any of that after all, so i doubt he even knew that. as for him trying too hard, it's their culture to honor women, so he simply was following that. I don;t think he'll be offended considering everything you were going through."
-
Isabelle nods, "and I didn't know in the beginning that you weren't allowed information. It doesn't make you guys stupid...despite what some humans might say. But yes, his initial vibe was something that made me immediately put walls up because of my experiences. I feel better about the relationship now, of course, but back then it really annoyed me."
-
Arakan chuckles, " i know you know we're not stupid, i was mostly being cynical. He of course has adapted, because honoring women also means treating them how they're comfortable being treated, even if that doesn;t always align with what he knows to be proper behavior. At first he was assigned to you as a guard, so having a comfortable relationship was important to that, but he does genuinely like you. you're a good human, i hope you know that."
-
Isabelle sighs softly, "I try to be a decent person... I think having a father like mine helps you realize from a young age that monsters can be anyone. Oh. Before I forget, there is a shipment coming in at the end of the week for the market."
She opens her briefcase again and pulls out a sheet of paper with an inventory list, "there is a few bags of gems, one bag has Karims name on it for his dresses and the others go to indigo. Then there are a few crates of something extra I paid for. It's for the kids of the district and whoever else may be interested. It's art supplies. Paper, crayons, pencils, paints of all kinds. It's an add on gift that was too heavy to carry so the driver agreed to just bring it over with the rest of the usual supply."
-
Arakan listens carefully to her list of things, taking the paper, " art supplies? I mean I'm sure the kids will enjoy it, but are you sure? That's probably costing you quite a bit. Karim will I believe be paying you back for the gems shortly, he raked in quite the hoard from what I understand, though he hasn't said exactly how much. And Indigo I believe also wishes to start trying to export their hair gems and feathers to start a cycle so they can afford their own scrap metal and gems instead of relying so much on your generosity."
-
Isabelle nods, "I'm positive about the art supplies. For sapphire and all of the other kids that can't draw a rainbow with actual colors. I sold off a large sum of my jewelry since it was mostly gifts from Makoto that I don't want to look at anymore so that money will pad my pocket for some fun for a while."
-
Arakan hums softly, " not to mention you'll get a good price from Karim that will help keep you flush too. And Indigo doesn't need premium cut gemstones, if we can get discards from gem cutting, flawed rejects, and such, then he can give back perfect gems in turn. It's an excellent trade. I'll have to arrange a day to ration out the art supplies. You're welcome to join for that, I'm sure the kids will be excited."
-
Isabelle nods, "I would love to. I would love the kids to know that... while they shouldn't trust every human I am at least a safe person."
-
Arakan nods, " we'll work on that, especially since I have a feeling you'll be spending more time here. I wish he could go to spend time with you as well but that's how it is."
-
Isabelle smiles, "it's alright. On days where indigo is busy I can still come over and play with sapphire."
-
Arakan nods, " indeed, I'm sure her brothers are happy for a bit of a break, and she gets a new playmate. You're welcome to be here anytime you like, I like having a heads-up so I can keep an eye out for danger, but if you've got that hairpin I gave you you know how you can get help if something happens." He reads over the inventory sheet, " looks like you managed to convince them to send us some good stuff again. That'll help."
-
Isabelle nods, "last week I did some scouting for the companies who gave us the bare minimum, giving them some offers that were very valuable for their company. Then I spoke with the driver who makes those deliveries to find out how we can provide a better connection and have a much more pleasant friendship. Lo and behold I discovered he has been stressed out over the medical bills his family racked up from his wife having an auto immune disease so I offered to pay the collections and in return he focuses on deliveries for me. This is just the start but hopefully in a few weeks we can see a much more full truck with slightly better quality items. I hope you don't mind that I did some things behind the scenes. Between takana and yori living here and my ex spending almost 24 hours a day at the office I had an interesting few weeks of near isolation to plan."
-
Arakan blinks, " you've been busy. I'll admit it makes me nervous to be so indebted to one person, especially a human, but that's a long ingrained mindset. I know you're not going to pull shit with it. Anything that improves our quality of life for my people I'm grateful for."
-
Isabelle nods, "as much as I can say not to worry about I know it would be hard for you to do so I'll tell you to think about it like this, I'm trying to make an area that I will be spending a lot of time in feel a bit more like home for me. As selfish as it sounds it at least is partially true. At any rate, I have to go to indigo's family home. I promised sapphire a play date today."
-
Arakan nods, " trust me, it's something I'm already working on. And that makes sense, making this place more livable for yourself. Alright, get to it. I'm sure she's anxiously awaiting you."
-
Isabelle nods to arakan, "have a good day arakan. " She turns and heads for indigo's home, knocking on the front door, "hello. I'm here. "
-
Kyan opens the door, " ah, Indigo's flame. Hello again, we met briefly. Sapphire has been fussing, she'll be excited you're finally here." he steps aside and a squeal is heard as Sapphire runs to Isabelle and hugs her legs, " Izzy!"
-
Isabelle blushes a little at being called indigo's flame and she clears her throat a little, "hello kyan." When sapphire runs out and hugs her legs she excitedly pucks her up and hugs her, "hello sapphire! Oh I have been so excited to see you!"
-
Kyan places a quick peck onto Sapphires forehead, " alright ladies, have fun. im going to work on some stuff in Cobalts and mines room, door will be open, just come get me if you need anything. help yourself to whatever in the kitchen."
-
After a few hours the scene changes over to the cafe as Shiro hesitantly steps inside.
He had already given arakan the heads up that he would be at the cafe and that he wasn't in any rush.
He wanted to enjoy his time a little bit while he was away from district 7.
He was cleaned up and had a fresh pair of clothes on, his shirt being a light sky blue button up with the sleeves rolled up just past his elbows and black slacks.
The buttons of his shirt looked like they were fighting for their lives against shiro's chest.
-
Izanagi glances over to see who had just come in and then takes another look, gaping as he looks shiro up and down, swallowing hard. damnit, he told himself he wouldn;t fawn over the man since he never called him back! He groans softly to himself before going to take his order, " hello, can i get you anything?" like a blowjob? me bent over a counter in the back? fuck goddamnit.
-
When shiro sees its izanagi he quickly stands up, looking down at the smaller demon who only comes to about his collar bone, "oh good! It is you! I wanted to apologize for not messaging you. I.. I still don't understand why you want my attention but that doesn't give me a right to ignore you. So please accept my apology!"
-
Izanagi gapes a bit, staring at the very nice chest right in front of him for a moment before realizing what he was doing, " Apology? oh! uh, accepted i guess? i mean it's not much of an apology if you keep doing it. Also, you're hot? so... reason enough?"
-
Shiro blushes and nervously looks away, "you're one of the rare few people who don't throw rotten food at me or curse me out or call me a maggot so i... wasn't sure what you wanted. Even now I don't know how I even could..." Shiro stammers a little, "I felt like an in person apology was better than over text so I was too nervous to message you until I DID apologize."
-
Izanagi slowly raises an eyebrow, " how you could what? have a relationship? it's easy, dick, meet ass. or mouth, or whatever. we're less trashy here than your home district."
-
Shiro slowly sits back down in his seat and sighs, "I... don't know... how one has... intercourse. I've never even touched myself but I know that's what you want from me, right? "
-
Izanagi's eyes widen, " seriously? you've never even jacked off? you poor man...you're smoking hot too, how is it that someone hasn't ridden you like a damn stallion because hot damn! And i mean yeah, i love sex. But then im an incubus so... kinda a given there."
-
Shiro looks down, "well I'm not supposed to be alive. My very existence should be something that destroys my families very tradition. I don't even know how I made it past being an infant. Everyone prefers me dead so... why WOULD anyone want me?"
-
Izanagi rolls his eyes, " okay, so that's your family thing. i get it. but we're not that dumb here. you're a studmuffin, and you seem like a sweet guy. what's not to like? seriously, if i wasn;t at work, i'd take you home right now and show you a good time. as it is im seriously considering taking you into the back room."
-
Shiro looks up at izanagi, "well my brother is out of commission for a few days so I have time. Obviously not now since I'm waiting for arakan and I don't want to get you in trouble but I wouldn't mind getting to know you. You know as a... proper apology."
-
Izanagi blinks, then grins, " well well! no complaints here~ i think im gonna tell Takana to go stay the night at his brothers, that way you and i have the place to ourselves. sounds like a good way to apologize to me~"
-
Shiro gives a hesitant nod, "you... may need to guide me but hopefully I will be a decent enough partner. "
-
Izanagi pecks him on the cheek, " you'll do fine, besides teaching can be fun too. Anyway, anything i can get you to drink while you wait for mr party pooper ice man?"
-
Shiro nods, "oh yes please. A black tea with a little bit of sugar please."
-
" sure thing." he goes to put the order in, a new hop in his step.
Arakan comes in about a half hour later, glancing around and spotting Shiro, walking over and sitting across from him, setting the magazine in front of him, " sorry to make you wait, had some things that couldn't wait i had to deal with. here's the magazine."
-
Shiro takes the magazine and smiles, "ah. Thank you so much arakan. I do appreciate this."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow, " you're doing me a favor getting that to him to ideally face him on my turf, not his. Plus he's been making things worse for us for awhile, and after that last stunt with Takana it's personal. I'll enjoy killing him. Anyway, I've got things to take care of unless you had something else you needed?"
-
Shiro shakes his head, "if it's alright with you I plan on enjoying my time here for a little bit as long as my brother is still too injured to notice my absence. I'm not sure how often I'll get the chance to enjoy a much nicer district."
-
Arakan raises an eyebrow but shrugs, " permission granted. Stay as long as you like. Might help you gain a little confidence."
-
Shiro smiles at arakan, "thank you. I do hope everything works out for the better. The other districts don't deserve to deal with my brother's antics."
-
Arakan nods, " yeah, he needs to go. you still need some time to get the attitude you'll need to lead, but you'll be a helluva lot better than he is. Anyway, im off, enjoy your stay. If you need a place to stay just let me know, we do have a spare room."
-
Shiro nods, "have a good day and I'll keep what you said in mind."
-
Arakan nods and heads out. After the workday is done Izanagi eagerly locates Shiro and texts Takana, can you go spend the night with Yori pleeeeeeeeease?
-
Takana looks at his phone and blinks, ah... you having another booty call night?
-
Izaangi grins, fuck yeah i am, and it's that shiro guy i've been trying to get to call me for forever.
-
alright, alright. I'll find somewhere to go.
He starts packing some clothes and texts yori, hey, izanagi is going to have a fling tonight. Can i stay over at the okuya house with you tonight?
-
Yori blinks, yeah of course, anytime.
Izanagi hangs onto Shiros arm, " those muscles~ you work out?"
-
Shiro blinks, "oh uh no. It is my father's genetics."
Takana hums softly, perfect. Can i request one of the okuya's to escort me then?
-
Yori walks until he finds Nikiri, " hey, can you go grab Takana? apparently Izanagi is kicking him out of the apartment for the night."
Izanagi purrs a little, " me likey. So, besides moping around and not texting people who give you their number, what does a hunk like you do in your spare time?"
-
Nikiri hums softly, "I do remember that Shiro demon visiting today so maybe nagi-chan finally convinced him for a night of debauchery. Fair enough. I'll be back soon." He heads out.
Shiro blinks and he thinks about it before stating in an innocent and matter of fact voice, "I usually hide from my family so they don't attack me and also gather information on my district so if I find anything dangerous I can let your district leader know."
-
Yori blushes a bit, " oh. right. um, thanks."
Izanagi blinks, thinking for a moment, " so you're a spy. sexy." he gets to the apartment and opens the door, " it's not much, but this is my place."
-
Shiro blinks and looks around, "it's small but somehow it feels warmer than my place. Everything is steel and hard and dark at my family's home."
-
Izanagi makes a face, " oh gross. yeah, no. the building may be borderline falling apart but at least it's got some paint and a window that's mostly intact. That's Takana's room, so we're not going in there, and this is my room!" he opens the door to his room.
-
Shiro curiously looks around, "I see. It's nice that you both have your own rooms."
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah... i had to get rid of a bunch of stuff when he moved in, because i stored a bunch of shit in there, but it happens. kinda my fault for buying that amazing outfit that month. Worth it though!" he flings open his closet to display what few sex toys he has, and all the adorable frilly outfits he's got.
-
Shiro's eyes follow every movement izanagi makes and he blushes when sees the closet, "o-oh my..."
-
Izanagi grins, " any of these in specific you'd like to see me in~?"
-
Shiro blinks and shrugs, "not in particular? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you look great in all of your outfits but I'm more than content to just spend time with you. "
-
Izanagi snorts, " alright. well then... lets start here!" he pushes Shiro back onto the bed and jumps onto him, straddling him, " this shirt needs to come off."
-
Shiro gives a flustered squeak and the sudden movement causes one of Shiro's shirt buttons to finally give up and pop off, flying past izanagi.
-
Izanagi ducks and looks over his shoulder to see where it went, " damn." he quickly unbuttons the rest and smushes his face into Shiros chest, trying and failing to wrap his arms around the others chest, " mmmmm titties."
-
Shiro blushes and tenses when nagi hugs him, "um... c-can I hug you?"
-
Izanagi lifts his face up and blinks, "uh, yeah. Sure? Long as I can keep enjoying these titties."
-
Shiro takes a deep breath and, trembling slightly, wraps his arms around izanagi in a tight but gentle hug.
He shivers a little as he looks up at the ceiling, "this... is my first hug. It's warm. "
-
Izanagi blinks, " wait, really? Damn...you poor thing. Yeah, hugs are nice." He sighs a bit, and decides horny can wait. " Lemme go for a sec." He gets off and gently tugs Shiro under the covers with him, getting comfy cuddling in the bed.
-
Shiro blinks and follows izanagi's leaf the entire time until they are under the covers.
It was a lot for Shiro to take in between being on an actual bed, having covers on him, and having izanagi's warmth as they cuddled.
His eyes water for a moment before he pulls izanagi into another hug, "thank you... you are incredibly kind."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " naw I'm just a decent person. We can just stay like this for awhile if you want. So, favorite food? I personally adore ramen,Takana makes amazing ramen. I mean he makes amazing food in general but still."
-
Shiro blinks, "I like the food you bring me at the cafe. I don't know what any of it is called though. Our district just has simple bread and broths and... potatoes. Not much gets through our district. Sometimes meat of my brother kills someone."
-
Izanagi makes a face, " oh, that's so gross! you guys eat each other? christ... not much used to get through here, it's only recently things have improved. most of our meat used to be organ meats. i mean they're fine, but they can be really strong and chewy. the actual stuff is so much better. maybe once things get better here, we can try and do the same things for the other districts. now you ask a question."
-
Shiro hums, "Yeah our area is terrible since my brother took over. Um... what is your favorite color?"
-
Izanagi hums softly," um, i think blue. light blue, like the sky. how about you?"
-
Shiro hums softly, "Green. I think green is such an underappreciated color."
-
Izanagi smiles, " green is good too. like leaves and grass." he nuzzles Shiro's chest, nipping at the skin gently.
-
Shiro hums, "Yeah. I've dreamed of being able to smell a flower at some point in my life."
He blushes a little when he feels izanagi nipping at his chest.
-
Izanagi hums softly, " well, we can go to the greenhouse sometime if you want. it's not fun flowers, but some of the crops are usually blooming. it's winter so that's about the best we'll get." he nips down Shiros chest and keeps going lower, crawling under the covers as he gets down to Shiros navel, placing a kiss onto his skin. " ready to feel good?"
-
shiro blinks and blushes a little as he lifts the covers to look at izanagi, "I mean i was already feeling good."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " you've never felt anything like this before~" He pulls down the front of Shiros pants to get to his prize and his eye go wide, " oh my god it's beautiful." he takes it in his hands and does his best to wrap his hands around it, taking the tip into his mouth and swirling his tongue around the slit.
-
Shiro gasps softly and turns even more red, his girthy cock quickly twitching to life
-
Izanagi hums happily and twists his hands at the base, taking as much into his mouth as he can and pumping his head on and off it, eyes flicking up to meet Shiros, half lidded in bliss.
-
shiro has one arm, covering his eyes while the other is keeping him somewhat upright, "h-how can you do this so well? I-it feels incredible!"
-
Izanagi pops his mouth off with a satisfying slurp, " practice makes perfect~ and I love dick." He latches back on eagerly, letting Shiros shaft go with one hand to start massaging his ballsack.
-
shiro gives a low and throaty moan, beads of precum oozing from his tip
-
Izanagi laps the precum up without hesitation, humming softly in appreciation. He pulls off and dips lower, taking Shiros balls into his mouth and suckling on those while he uses his hands to jack him off.
-
Shiro gasps loudly and cries out as he cums, his dick showing no sign of stopping
-
Izanagi keeps stroking him, ensuring he enjoys his first orgasm as much as possible. When it's done he tosses the covers off to avoid them getting more nasty, some cum in his hair as he grabs a towel to mop up the mess.
-
Shiro shudders and takes a moment to breathe softly before blinking and sitting up, "that was incred- oh!"
He sees izanagi and the mess he made and he frowns, "I'm sorry, do you need help getting that out of your hair?"
-
Izanagi looks up, " hm? oh, it's all good, we can shower later. a mess is expected. I guess you enjoyed yourself then to judge by that." he chuckles and wiggles the towel.
-
Shiro moves so he's on his knees and takes the towel from izanagi before using it gently on any spots that were missed, "I have never felt so good before. You are amazing." He gives izanagi a warm smile
-
Izanagi chuckles softly, " you're so silly. now you see why i like sex so much. now, we can go for round two, in which case i need to grab some lube to prep myself for that, or change the sheets, shower and come back to just cuddle some."
-
Shiro gently cups izanagi's face before kissing him passionately, "as long as it's you I'm fine with anything."
-
Izanagi's eyes widen as Shiro smooches him, melting into it and kissing back, scootching closer to climb into Shiros lap.
-
Shiro pulls izanagi into his lap, his strong arms holding the smaller demon close as he goes back to kissing him
-
Izanagi groans softly, grinding his groin into Shiros as he enjoys the kiss, nibbling on Shiros lip and opening his mouth to let Shiro have full access.
-
Shiro's dick is still rock hard, pressed against the both of them.
He hesitates when izanagi opens his mouth, before pulling away, "a-am I kissing correctly?"
-
Izanagi nods, " very well, keep going. after all, im hard too~" he pulls shiros face close again and sticks his tongue into Shiros mouth to tangle with the bigger demons.
-
Shiro gasps softly, his eyes widen briefly before his body shivers and he follows what izanagi is doing, kissing back greedily
-
Izanagi reaches down and pulls his own dick out, grasping both their dicks against each other and jacking them together, struggling to get his hand around both of them and stroke them at the same time.
-
Shiro shivers and instinctively he hovers his over izanagi's before gently grabbing nagi's hand and also their dicks, since his hand is bigger, following the same stroking movement
-
Izanagi jolts a bit at the grab and moans into Shiros mouth, eagerly picking up the pace as he feels his smaller member engulfed in the larger mans grip, " aaaaaahnnnnn feels good~"
-
Shiro breaks the kiss, "good. Good. I ah- I want you to feel good."
He strokes even faster.
-
Izanagi chuckles a little breathlessly, " mission succeeded~ahhhh your cock feels sooooon big against mine, I bet it's going to feel absolutely amazing inside of me~"
-
Shiro shivers a little, "d-dont say things like that, you'll make me cum again."
-
Izanagi licks his lips, " and who said that's a bad thing? Mmmm' cum for me, I wanna feel your massive cock twitch against mine."
-
"Hhng!" Shiro's breath hitches and his cock does indeed throb and twitch as he unloads another stream of hot thick cum between the two
-
Izanagi cries out as he feels Shiros grip tighten and the spasms of the larger mans member against him, also cumming. he pants softly, resting his forehead against shiros chest, " mmmmm~"
-
He holds the back of izanagi's head against him gently, kissing the top of his head
-
Izanagi chuckles softly, " you're so silly. sweet, but silly. When i catch my breath we can get the sheets changed and take a shower. since this is your first time i should probably let you have a break, we can go more later tonight or in the morning. sound good?"
-
Shiro tilts izanagi's head a little so he can lean down and bury his face into nagi's neck and kisses the skin, nipping it softly, "I want to continue. I've never had someone be so nice to me before and now all I want to do is make you feel amazing."
-
Izanagi shudders a bit, " well well, don;t have to twist my arm to get me to agree to that offer~when you're done with my neck there i can get some lube and start working on stretching myself out, as much as i want you in me right now, it's gonna take a few minutes."
-
Shiro nods and after a few more kisses he let's go of izanagi, "please let me know if I can be of any help during the process."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " will do, but for you you can just enjoy the view." he grabs a bottle of lube and tosses his pants and undies to the side, getting on all fours with his ass facing Shiro. He squirts a generous amount onto his hand and reaches back, slowly starting to finger himself.
-
Shiro watches closely, looking slightly flustered when izanagi's ass is presented to him, "oh is that where I'll be putting my um, my dick?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, and if you thought it was good before, you're gonna be sent to a wonderland of bliss when you feel this~" He scissors his fingers open to start stretching the muscle.
-
Shiro shudders softly and starts stroking himself, letting his dick twitch back to life eagerly
-
Izanagi sticks another finger in, thrusting it into himself with a moan. He twists them around before adding yet another, 4 fingers stretching him open as he fucks himself with his hand, his cock dripping precum with excitement.
-
Shiro swallows hard as he watches, patiently waiting for izanagi to give him the go ahead.
-
Izanagi stretches himself for a bit longer before pulling his hand away, turning around and squirting a generous amount of lube onto his hand and coating Shiros dick, " lay on your back, you're bigger than most guys i've been with so i'd like to take it slow.
-
Shiro hesitantly nods and lays down on his back
-
Izanagi climbs onto him and reaches back, grabbing Shiros cock and lining it up with his entrance before easing himself back onto it. After a long moment of the tip pressing against his entrance, it finally relents and he sinks back, about a quarter of the way onto the others member. He gasps softly, moaning softly as he stays still for a moment, " aaaahhh fuck~ you're so big~"
-
Shiro grips the bed sheet tightly to keep himself still, fighting the urge to grab nagi's hips and slam into him, "a-ah- i- I want to slam into you so badly! "
-
Izanagi pants softly, " you're doing great, sorry to make you-ah, wait, but i also don't wanna get ripped up."he eases himself back further, slowly swallowing Shiro until he's fully seated on the other, groaning softly, " oh by the gods it's amazing."
-
"I don't want to hurt you either." He slowly brings his hands up to izanagi's outer thighs, rubbing them in a soft circular motion, "it IS amazing. You're amazing."
-
Izanagi just rests for a minute, fully seated onto Shiro, " mmmm i appreciate that. i told you sex was amazing. alright... i think we can start moving." he lifts his hips until Shiro is about halfway out before easing back down again, starting a slow pace to begin with.
-
Shiro's 8 pack abs is a great sturdy surface for izanagi to put his hands on, "fuck you feel so good."
-
Izanagi pants softly as he moves up and down, " ah~ im so full~ you're hitting every single spot in me~ ah, fuck, mmmm Shiro." he speeds up a bit bouncing on the others groin.
-
Shiro groans loudly and bites his lip a little, his fingers digging a little into izanagi's thighs, "gods its so hot and tight."
-
Izanagi chuckles breathlessly, "yeah~ well why don't you go ahead and move those hips big boy, come claim this hot tight ass for yourself~"
-
Shiro shivers and looks at izanagi, "i-i can move my hips? You're okay with that?"
-
Izanagi nods, " yeah, im stretched out enough, i'll be fine. Actually..." He lifts himself off, shiro sliding out of him with a wet pop. He positions himself with his ass facing Shiro again, on all fours, " here. now you can take me~ don;t hold back, i can take it~"
-
Shiros dick throbs slightly when izanagi pulls off of him and his breath hitches a little as the cooler air makes contact with his sensitive skin.
He sits up and licks his lips as izanagi gets into his new position before kneeling behind him and gently pushing the head back inside of nagi
-
Izanagi moans softly as he's filled again, looking back at Shiro.over his shoulder, " you feel so good. Come on, I want all of you, please~"
-
Shiro looks a little cautious and worried but only because he doesn't want to hurt izanagi, "alright, I uh I'm gonna start pushing."
He grabs izanagi's hips and slowly pushes himself all the way into izanagi
-
Izanagi moans as Shiro pushes in, shoving himself back onto Shiro to get him all the way in towards the end when the man wasn't moving fast enough for him, " Ahn~fuck me! bang me like a damn drum! i want you so deep inside me i can taste it!"
-
Shiro blinks, "oh my. You certainly have a lot of passion for what we are about to do."
He starts thrusting into izanagi, going slowly on purpose while holding izanagi's hips tighter, not wanting the other to try to speed things up, "just focus on feeling your muscles stretch for my cock please."
-
Izanagi whines softly, frustrated at the pace and being unable to move it faster. " You feel so big but I want more! Please, faster!"
-
Shiro hums softly and goes a wee bit faster, "I suppose since you did say please."
He runs one hand down izanagi's spine, "you're so amazing. "
-
Izanagi shudders at the touch down his spine, " you're such a tease! you feel so good though, i swear i can feel every vein and when you're all the way in me im so full and it's so hot~"
-
Shiro bends over briefly to drag his tongue up izanagi's back before kissing his shoulder, "I'm glad you can feel me."
He starts thrusting faster, at an actual decent speed
-
Izanagi moans as Shiro licks his back, " aaaaahn~" and when Shiro speeds up he pants softly as his body gets jolted forward with each thrust, " yes~! gods, oh~ ah, ah ah!" he pushes back with each thrust to maximize the depth and impact of each one, dripping pre onto the sheets below them.
-
Shiro straightens his back and licks his lips as he goes even a bit faster, the sound of skin slapping against skin echoes in the bedroom
-
Izanagi cries out with each thrust, dropping down onto his forearms to bury his face into the sheets, " ah-i ah-can't-ah! gonna-ah-gonna cum!"
-
Shiro slams hard into izanagi as he thrusts, reaching around and grabbing the other demons dick, stroking it
-
The extra stimulation has Izanagi writhing under the other as he almost immediately orgasms, spilling his load into Shiros hand as he clenches around the other in spasms, crying out in pleasure.
-
Shiro grunts when he feels izanagi's muscles squeeze him and milk him for his cum as he orgasms as well, panting softly as he finally begins to calm down
-
Iznagi shudders as he feels the warmth fill him, groaning softly and wiggling against Shiro. He looks back over his shoulder, " mmmm that was fantastic. you may not be experienced but damn the enthusiasm makes up for it~"
-
Shiro sighs softly and he pushes back any hair that was in his face, "I only had such enthusiasm because you're my partner. Are you okay? Do you need me to do anything for afterwards?" He begins to pull out of izanagi carefully
-
Izanagi snorts softly, " uh huh, right. sex is good, it's okay. it'd be good even if it wasn't me. i do appreciate the flattery though." he shudders when Shiro pulls out and feels the fluid dribbling out of him. " mmmm~ grab that towel for me please. We'll need to get a shower, though i need a minute, my legs feel a little wobbly. that means it was good though."
-
Shiro looks to where nagi points and grabs the towel and hands it to izanagi, "here you are. I can carry you as well if needed."
-
Izanagi wipes up the cum dripping out of him, " hm, tempting. sure, why not, we can get a good shower and get cleaned up." he holds his arms out grinning.
-
Shiro smiles and very gently picks izanagi up bridal style and brings him to the bathroom, "I still can't believe ypu guys get running water. That's incredible."
-
Izanagi blinks, " i mean it's unreliable and doesn;t stay hot for long, but do you guys have to like, haul your own water from wells or something? that's insane." he wraps his arms around Shiros neck and kicks his feet slighty.
-
Shiro shrugs and gently sets izanagi down in the bathroom, on the toilet seat so he's not standing, "uh well... we rely on jugs of water from a nearby spring that isn't contaminated for drinking and everyone washes when it rains. Regardless it's not important. How does the shower work? Just gotta turn a knob or something?"
-
Izanagi makes a face, " wow, they really set you guys up as savages huh? yeah, turn that knob that's about waist height about three quarters of the way, that'll be warm water. then you grab that little thing sticking off the spout the water comes out of and pull it up, that'll switch it from that faucet down there to the showerhead."
-
Shiro sighs, "it's one of the MANY reasons why I wish to take over. I know my district deserves so much better. But in order to do that my brother needs to be out of the picture and I'll need a monogamous mate... it'll be tough but I'll figure it out."
He gets the water going and checks the temp briefly before picking up izanagi and bringing him into the shower, "here we are."
-
Izanagi sighs, " well, I'm sure once you take over you'll have demons falling over each other to have you for a mate, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. And I know Arakan is working on trying to figure out how to get rid of your brother. If anyone can do it, it's him. After all, look at all the amazing changes he's managed to bring here." Izanagi perches on the side of the tub and tips his head under the water, working on getting the cum out of his hair first.
-
Shiro nods and gently washes nagi's hair, "if anyone deserves to take out my brother it is arakan. He is simply amazing. As for the mates... i dont know about that... I may earn some resistance amongst my people since everyone knows i shouldnt even breathe. It is unfortunate."
-
Izanagi blinks when Shiro starts working on his hair, " oh, thank you. i mean... your family does the whole 'power transfer on death' stuff right? once that happens they can't really deny that you're the new heir. and if they do, kick their butts. Arakan has to kick some butts sometimes, after all hellhounds and ice phoenixes are supposed to be genetically incompatible. He wasn;t supposed to exist naturally, and since they didn;t seek aid in conception, some people question if he's legit, and challenge him over it. a butt kicking fixes that."
-
Shiro sighs, "i... I know I just... all of our citizens are c or b rank since my brother killed the weaker demons and I just... as someone who was born without strength I'm nervous about fighting. I don't even know what powers my family has and as for the transfer on death thing, I'm gonna end it. I don't want my child to have to kill their parents in order to have strength. I feel like tradition is just an old person's routine and if we're going to start fresh then I'm doing away with it. The transfer of power is something that can be taken away and given at any point in time but the killing aspect is the idea the the power can not be taken away when you're the leader but that means there is no trust between child and parent."
-
Izanagi blinks, " so your parents could just take the power back once your brother is dead? That's not good."
-
Shiro sighs, "they are a stickler for tradition however in hoping to talk some sense into them. I'm sure if I promise to kill them and I already have a mate they will relent to save face and claim that my life was a giant test of will and I blah blah blah. Mother had a hell of a time being pregnant and has adamantly refused to have another child so if they want to continue their line they have no choice but to accept me finally."
-
Izanagi hums, " well, sounds like you gotta find a mate then. the people in your district are jerks so i suppose you should probably be spending your time here out looking for someone good instead of goofing around here with me. don;t get me wrong, im enjoying my time, but im not so selfish as to keep you to myself when this might be your best chance."
-
Shiro washes izanagi's back and hums softly, "i mean... you're the only one who's been kind to me and you have been literally been all of my firsts..."
-
Izanagi chuckles softly, " i mean, you gotta have some skill to impress a new mate with. it's just sex. wait, you're not... i mean, we've barely talked. and im e rank, you probably should have at least a c ranked mate if you want your parents to go for this whole thing. you barely know me. you're just confused because when i see a hot ass i go for it, yeah i was nice to you but lots of people are nice here."
-
Shiro sighs softly, "I'll keep what you said in mind as things do tend to change but understand that at this moment I have never felt so calm before. Oh and rank doesn't matter. After all my brother has tried to kidnap your friend takana twice now for the same thing."
-
Izanagi sighs, " yeah but Takana is a changeling. and he knows lots of stuff about the human world. all i can do is sway human emotions a tiny bit, and im not even allowed to do that. My best skill is a killer blowjob." he lifts his fist to his open mouth a few times and laughs.
-
Shiro nods, "I'm aware of what he is. That played a major decision for my brother. Force a child in him and then induce him on the night of a new moon to ensure the child is a wendigo. A terrifying fate I'm sure. And you are more than just a killer blowjob." He chuckles and finishes cleaning izanagi, "there we are. Let's get you dried off and into some warm clothes."
-
Izanagi shudders, " see? there was a specific reason he wanted him, i don;t have anything special like that. hell, if i did have kids, it might cause trouble because they might be stronger incubus bloodlines. there's a reason basically all the incubus and succubus were killed off, they caused too much trouble with the humans." he chuckles softly, " you're right, im a killer blowjob and a godly ass." he slaps his own ass and laughs, " oh, gonna carry me to bed and get me tucked in daddy? i think i can manage now, my legs are feeling stronger. and i gotta change the sheets, no sense in sleeping in cum if we just showered."
-
Shiro hums softly, "you're special enough for me." He turns off the water and grabs a towel, wrapping it around izanagi and drying him off, "I will carry you anywhere you wish."
He lifts izanagi up and carries him back to the bedroom, setting him down gently so that the demon is standing before going over to the bed and taking the sheets off, "where are your spare sheets? I'll make the bed for you."
-
Izanagi yelps a bit as he's scooped up again, wrapping his arms around Shiros neck to steady himself, " you're silly. all i did was have sex with you." he shakes his head and points to the closet, " second from the bottom drawer. you have to lift the drawer a little when you pull it out or it sticks. He stands, wobbling a little and putting a hand on the wall to steady himself as he makes his way to grab a set of clean clothes.
-
Shiro toses the dirty sheets on the ground for now before going to the drawer and following izanagi's instructions and pulling out a clean pair of sheets.
He happily makes the bed, fluffing it up a little, before going over to izanagi picking him up again and setting him down on the clean bed, "let me."
He walks back to where izanagi was heading to and finds the clean clothes, grabbing some and going back over to the smaller demon.
-
Izanagi squeaks but doesn;t bother resisting, letting himself be plopped onto the bed. " you're too silly." he does get dressed though. " so, you're welcome to spend the night, i make no promises i'll resist fooling around. but then you should meet other people tomorrow. you'll see, im definitely not the best candidate."
-
Shiro kisses izanagi on the lips, "let's not worry about tomorrow and just focus on tonight."
-
Izanagi blushes, " alright alright." he shuts the light off and crawls under the covers, lifting the covers for Shiro to join him.
-
Shiro climbs in to bed, not even bothering to put on his underwear since he was sure some more fooling around was going to happen
-
Izanagi scoots close in and rests his head into Shiros chest, " mmmmm tiddies."
-
Shiro chuckles softly and hugs izanagi close to him.
-
Izanagi squeaks when he's squished close and bit and nestles in, groping Shiros manboob a bit as he nuzzles it. " you have a very nice chest."
-
"Thank you. Get some rest." Shiro smiles and kisses the top of nagi's head.
In the morning Shiro is already awake despite spending half the night fucking izanagi, dressed and sitting on the side of izanagi's bed as he waits for the demon to wake up
-
Izanagi slowly wakes, stretching and wincing a little at the twinges of pain. not that he regretted waking shiro a few times to fool around. he's definitely need to change his sheets again. and needed another shower. " mmmm morning already?"
-
Shiro smiles when nagi wakes up and he leans down, kissing nagi on the forehead, "yes its morning. Do you feel okay? I know your sleep was Interrupted a few times last night."
-
Izanagi yawns and chuckles softly, " you mean how i couldn't keep my hands off you? im tired, but i'll manage. it was a great night."
-
Shiro nods, "agreed. It was the best night of my life."
-
Izanagi laughs softly, " best sex of your life anyway, not that it's a high bar to beat since it was your first but still. alright, as much as i don't want to i gotta get ready for work. and you gotta go mate hunting. shower first though." he gets out of bed and heads for the shower, turning it on and climbing in and sitting to scrub himself clean again.
-
Shiro hums softly as he waits for izanagi to be done in the shower
-
Izanagi finishes cleaning up and comes out, drying himself off, " you coulda joined me, not like you haven;t seen everything there is to offer."
-
Shiro shrugs, "I'm already dressed and if I had joined you we would have made more of a mess and you said you had work."
-
Izanagi chuckles, " good point. Did you get a shower? I must have slept through it." He goes to his closet and pulls out a skimpy uniform, pulling it on.
-
Shiro shakes his head, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
-
Izanagi frowns, " well my place will be empty until later, shower if you wanna. um, my roommate will probably be coming home tonight with me, but if you need a place to crash while you're still here im sure i can keep myself under control."
-
Shiro tilts his head, "well I plan on going to your work with you if that's alright."
-
Izanagi blinks, " oh, sure. I mean I can't really stop you as a customer. I don't need to be escorted though, I'll be okay by myself." He puts his coat on.
-
Shiro shakes his head, "it's less of protection and more of just getting to spend more time with you."
-
Izanagi blinks and sighs, " you're too sweet, really. just show that sweetness to other people and im sure they'll fall head over heels for you. you need someone strong."
-
Shiro hums softly and stands up, "Im just being kind to you because you have been kind to me."
-
Izanagi shakes his head, " you're too silly. and surprisingly stubborn. well, im still gonna try and get you out there to meet someone who's a better match. come on, lets get walking." he grabs some toast and hands a slice to shiro before heading out of the apartment, eating the one he has.
-
Shiro blinks at the toast and takes it curiously. He watches nagi eating it and he looks at his own slice before eating it as well
-
Izanagi gets to the cafe, " we're not technically open yet but im not gonna make you wait in the cold. come on." he opens the door and goes in, gently pushing Shiro to a table before getting to work, yawning as he goes about his starting duties.
-
Shiro smiles happily as he sits down, clearly enjoying the calm and quiet atmosphere.
Mina stops wiping the menus down and hops over to nagi, whispering loudly, "naaaagi~♡ I see you came in with the big boi~♡"
-
Izanagi grins at Mina, " and he's indeed a big boy~ what he lacks in experience he makes up for in length, girth and enthusiasm." he sighs softly, " pity the guy has to find a steady mate."
-
Mina perks up quickly, "he has to find a mate?! Izanagi do you not want to be the lucky man who gets a major bump up in this world??"
-
Izanagi sighs, " i mean yeah, but also im just an e rank. and his district has a weird thing where his parents can take back the power from him. he'd probably do best if he had a c rank or a b rank mate."
-
Mina blinks, "7th district right? He just needs to kill his parents then."
-
Izanagi winces, " well obviously he'd rather not do that. and how can he if they take away the power when he gets it? he actually wants to be decent."
-
Mina tilts her head, "well it's tradition isn't it? For the son to kill the parents? Why would they not allow it?"
-
Izanagi sighs, " because he's not supposed to be the heir or something because they're only supposed to have one kid? Ugh I did not get enough sleep for this."
-
Mina raises an eyebrow, "I can tell. Before you were desperate to get him to notice you for a chance at a better life."
-
Izanagi pouts, " hey, he was a hot guy i've never fucked before and that was the first intent. and yeah i do, but also, it's not a step up if having me fucks it up. uuuuugh it's complicated."
-
Mina blinks before shrugging, "I think him existing already fucks things up but if you're not going to be with mister handsome then I will."
-
Izanagi tenses and growls, " he's mine!" he hurries over to Shiro and hugs his arm, glaring at Mina.
-
shiro blinks, a bit confused, before chuckling, "yes? yes i am yours."
-
Izanagi blinks, then blushes, " uh... my... my friend! um, my coworker was saying she'd steal you away from me and you'd rather be her friend." he quickly blurts.
-
Shiro chuckles and gently kisses izanagi, "Whatever you say darling."
-
Izanagi blushes brightly, " i, uh. aren;t you supposed to be trying to find a strong mate so your parents won;t be dickbags to you?"
-
Shiro shrugs, "They will be dickbags regardless of who i pick so i would rather pick someone i like."
-
Izanagi pouts, " you're not making it very easy for me to do the right thing and get you to find someone decent."
-
Shiro tilts his head, "But you are someone decent to me."
-
Izanagi sighs, " okay, wrong word. someone strong enough that your parents will respect and not the town slut who's probably slept with half my district, and a good portion of any other district that has visited at any point."
-
Shiro hums and smiles, "I dont mind at all. As a sex demon it sounds like you are very good at your 'job' "
-
Izanagi crosses his arms, " but you said you need a monogamous mate. even if i did stop sleeping with anyone else, everyone already knows basically anyone who has wanted a taste has gotten one. don;t get me wrong, last night was fantastic. but it's not gonna be easy for me to just... change."
-
shiro tilts his head, "So if i fuck you every night that still wouldnt be enough? I know you said i lack experience but i cant gain more without practice. And i do wish to practice with you."
-
Izanagi shudders slightly, " okay maybe that would be enough. Can you keep up with that though? You're gonna be busy doing... Leader stuff " which sounded lame even to his own ears.
-
Shiro gives him another kiss, this one deeper, "if i cant keep my lover satisfied then i do not deserve a lover."
-
Izanagi shudders again, " fuck, you are making it very difficult for me to try and get you to find someone more suitable, and to keep from dragging you into the back room and having you fuck me senseless..."
-
Shiro grins, "I don't want you to find me someone else, and I don't want you to be in trouble with your boss."
-
Izanagi grabs Shiros hand and puts it on his leg, leading it up under his skirt, " see what you do to me though, im already hard~"
-
Shiro blushes a little before his hand gently rubs his thumb on the panty fabric that practically hides nothing
-
Izanagi bites his lip, " not making this any easier~"
The manager is watching from across the cafe, unamused.
-
Shiro gives an innocent chuckle as he keeps feeling izanagi up, "I have no idea what you're talking about~♡"
Takana happily bounces back into the cafe, "I'm baaaaack!"
-
Izanagi is red in the face, leaning in closer when Takana comes in and he yelps, quickly backing away, " o-oh! welcome back!"
-
Takana smiles at everyone as they greet him, "hi mina! Hikaru! Kaeru! Hi izanagi!" He goes over to the manager, "sorry I have been gone. A lot of stuff came up but I'm ready to come back if that's okay."
Shiro blinks when izanagi quickly takes a step back.
-
The manager nods, " certainly you can, good to have you back. especially since i have a feeling i'll be sending Izanagi home shortly."
Izanagi coughs, " uh, i should probably use the restroom..."
-
Takana blinks and looks over at izanagi, "are you sick? You shouldn't work with food if you're sick."
-
Izanagi blushes, " uh, no, not sick. Um, be right back!" He hurries to the bathroom.
The manager rolls her eyes, " only sick in the head. Terminally horny. And you." She points at Shiro, " are not helping by encouraging him. He's at work."
-
Shiro squeaks and brings his hands to his lap quickly, "s-sorry! I'll stop!"
Takana blinks before he realizes and he grumbles, "weirdos alright.... I'll start the kitchen." He goes to the kitchen to get it ready
-
Izanagi does a quick jack off in the bathroom to settle himself down and cleans up before coming back out.
The manager raises an eyebrow, " you usually behave so I'll chalk this up to his bad influence. You're from a different district right?" She looks at him for a long moment, " do you want me to let you have him for the day? As long as this is only for today."
-
Shiro blushes, "um. It's appreciated but i feel like it would also be up to him since he would lose out on pay potentially. I really am sorry."
-
She waves a hand, " if I know him, he'd prefer to be with you
You're young and still a little stupid, and he's....he's izanagi. Let's leave it at that. Go on, go have fun."
Izanagi hesitates when he sees the manager talking to Shiro.
-
Shiro gulps a little and nods before looking at izanagi, "ah your boss is being very kind and offering you a day off.... as long as it's just today. It's up to you though."
-
Izanagis eyes widen, " yesthankyoubye. Let's go before she changes her mind!" He grabs Shiros hand and hauls him out of there.
The manager shakes her head, " that boy. He was going to just be crawling all over him all day anyway." She starts working on covering his duties.
-
After a few minutes something new and delicious can be smelt from the kitchen.
Mina's nose twitches and she follows the scent curiously, "I smell something delicious. "
-
Izanagi gets Shiro back to his apartment and proceeds to ravish.
The Manager walks into the back to see, " ah, so that's what the big crate of potatoes was all about."
-
Takana looks at the manager and smiles, "I got my mother's recipe book back so I can make her potato soup! I hope you don't mind? I thought it'd make a good addition for the winter season since it's filling and nice and hot."
-
She smiles, " i've told you before you have creative license. If we can get the ingredients without breaking the bank, go for it. potatoes are a good option since we've been getting a fair amount of those lately. no complaints here. I sent Izanagi home, he seems to have a new plaything, so he'd be useless anyway."
-
Takana sighs, "yeeeaaah... I spent the night at nikiri's because my brother is there and izanagi asked me to not be home last night so I'm not surprised."
He turns to the soup and takes a small sample, "I already added some salt so I just need to wait a bit more and see how much of the salt gets absorbed by the potatoes but so far its spot on. Bacon is key too."
He gets a fresh hot little sample on a spoon and holds it out to the manager, "try some?"
-
she nods, " he's been like this before, it happens." she takes the spoon, tasting it carefully and nodding, " very flavorful, i think our customers will enjoy this a lot."
-
Takana nods excitedly, "Yeah? I'm glad! Are we going to do another promotion thing of free samples like before? I did this pretty spontaneously so it's not exactly on the menu."
Mina peaks around the doorway, "flaaavorful?"
-
The manager nods, " i think that's a good idea." she scoops a small amount into a few bowls and hands them to Mina, " hand these out to the employees to taste."
-
Mina squeals excitedly at being able to eat and runs off to deliver them to the other employees, "GUYS! TASTY FOOD!"
-
The other employees take theirs and happily sample the small amount, agreeing it's delicious.
The manager chuckles, " well, I'd get a big batch of that going, sounds like the staff will be suggesting it to everyone."
-
Takana perks up and smiles, "score! And on a day where izanagi isn't here. He'll be so jealous. " He chuckles and gets a bigger pot going
-
She chuckles softly, " that he will be. it's good to have you back."
-
Takana grins, "Im happy to be back."
-
She chuckles softly, " well Mina is certainly happy to have you back. im sure everyone else is as well. the other chef does his best, however business slowed down a bit without you cooking."
-
Takana hums softly, "well thankfully the potato soup is really easy to make. Just toss everything in and let time do the work really."
-
She nods, " tell me what ingredients to add to our order and i'll do my best to get them. that's become easier lately." she hums softly, " we even got some good looking ham last shipment, so feel free to use that."
-
Takana nods and smiles, "will do. I know Isabelle has been working extremely hard so I'm glad that's been paying off."
-
" it certainly has been. i can't remember a time when we've had such varied and fresh food. it's truly been a big change."
-
Takana hums softly, "I feel bad that it's been that long but regardless of what circumstances brought me to live here I'm glad that I'm here. I can help however I can or find people who can help more."
-
She chuckles softly, " well even if things stay as they are now, it's been a vast improvement. i see life in peoples eyes, and sometimes, hope. it helps make each day easier."
-
Takana nods, "it's nice for sure. Some people are less cranky as well. Even hikari has started saying good morning instead of just rolling her eyes at me."
-
She nods, " good, i know she can be tricky to deal with sometimes. life is hard here, it affects all of those who grew up here, which is pretty much everyone."
-
Takana nods a little, "Yeah I know everyone who lives here has trauma of some kind... she just always seemed so... hostile and pessimistic so I won't lie, I had been a bit worried about her. Are her parents mean or something?"
-
The manager winces, " no, but then it's difficult for those who have left this world to be mean. She lost both of her parents about a year ago, humans. so... she has some very understandable trauma she deals with over that. i do the best i can to watch over her, but she tries to be independent, and it's really not my place to get in the way of that."
-
Takana pales and frowns, "o-oh... oh geez I'm sorry to hear that... I mean really odd like to tell her that but I'm sure she might get upset knowing how she is."
-
The manager sighs, " i don;t think she'd want to feel pitied, especially considering you didn;t grow up here. It's unfortunate she lost both parents at the same time, but few are those in the district who have not lost someone they knew."
-
Takana nods a little, frowning, "was it... during an inspection?"
-
She nods, " it was. they claimed both collars were malfunctioning. her parents had... abilities that the humans didn't like. Funny how when certain demons have such abilities like incubus, they seem to all have misfortune with their collars."
-
Takana sighs, "i... really do hope things get better for her. For everyone. Even better than what things are now."
-
" so do i. but at least things are better than they were. but it would be nice to have the next generation not grow up in such fear. imagine if our birthrate actually was higher than our death rates?"
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Takana shudders, "just the fact that that's a thing makes me incredibly sad."
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She nods, sighing, " our population has been on a slow decline for decades. many demons hesitate to have children, it's more mouths to feed on a tight budget and children often have little self control. and of course the deaths from the inspections and suicide are a factor on the other side. plus housing is a problem, small apartments make up the majority of where e and d rank demons live, which isn't ideal for children. we can;t just make more room or housing. the way things were a few years ago, if our numbers did start growing, im sure there would be some reason to... reduce our numbers to keep them steady so that space wouldn;t be a problem anymore." she shakes her head, " it is what it is though. hopefully things improve. though im not sure what'll happen if things do get more crowded, i doubt they'll want to build another district."
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"Hopefully by the time the citizens find comfort in starting a family enough humans could see what's really going on and pressure their government for positive action. I'm not gonna assume it will happen, but I will remain hopeful for the best."
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She nods, " hopefully. well, we'll see. i have a feeling if things keep improving there will be a baby boom in about a year. after all, this is the best it's ever been." she pats his shoulder, " anyway, enough of me babbling. i'll open the cafe."
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Takana nods and goes back to cooking, letting the other chef handle the curry orders and the ramen they can work on together
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the manager opens the cafe and helps get customers seated and taken care of. She also serves out small samples of the new soup, and many orders for it roll in.
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Mina, kaeru and the other servers have to rush around when word gets out about a new delicious hot soup
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The manager is right in the fray, working just as hard as everyone else. The busy day does make the time go faster, and before they know it it's closing time, and the manager locks the front doors while they get cleaned up. " Good work today everyone."
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Mina hums softly, "it hasn't been that busy in a long time."
Hikari grimaces, "ugh. So many people..."
Takana works on getting the kitchen cleaned up again, humming happily
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The manager nods, " it's a good thing though, the business is good. And we even had a couple humans today. That's progress. And money coming into the district is important. Let's hope we do as well tomorrow."
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Hikari grumbles softly, "having humans come in is a good thing?"
Mina blinks and sighs, "it's not like the humans that came are the ones in charge of the inspections..."
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" it is if we want them to see we're not the stupid mindless beasts they think we are my dear. by making us more relatable, they can;t justify our bad conditions as easily." The manager hums softly, no harshness in her voice. She understood Hikari's frustration.
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Hikari huffs and starts diligently cleaning her coffee machine, "gee I wish having parents was relatable..."
Mina frown. She wanted to say something but... they were getting close to the 'anniversary' date of when hikari's parents were murdered so her friend being more agitated than normal was expected.
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The manager sighs softly, " do you want to take some time off? i know this time of year is hard for you. And i know this is hard too, but i don't want to see this happen to more people, and we can't make that change on our own."
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Hikari quickly looks at the manager and shakes her head, "no! I- I don't want to be stuck at the house when I could be here."
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The manager sighs softly, " alright alright. you let me know if you want a day off though okay?"
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Hikari goes back to cleaning the machine, "I'm not sure there will ever be such a day but I appreciate the offer."
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The manager nods, " right. well, you did good today. you help keep this cafe running." she helps finish cleaning, " alright, time to go home everyone. see you tomorrow."
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Hikari blushes a little from the compliment. Her pride in her work and the managers compliments are really the only reasons why she puts up with so much.
When it's time to head out hikari and mina grab their belongings before heading out and takana hums happily and steps out onto the sidewalk.
He pauses briefly and decided to go back to the okuya household.
He definitely didn't want to find out if izanagi was still having sex
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Arakan hurries to the cafe and catches up with Takana, " ah, sorry I'm late. My last meeting took longer than expected. I wanted to see you for a bit at least, I know I've been busy. Ready to go home?"
Izanagi is at the moment taking a break from the sex, and is humming happily as he adds water to some instant ramen to make food for them both.
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Takana perks up and smiles at arakan, "oh! I wasn't expecting you to show up but I'm glad I get to see you. I uh... um I'm not sure if you were aware but uh.... izanagi has been spending the whole day with that Shiro guy so I'm not sure if going home is a good idea..."
Shiro happily kisses the top of izanagi's head
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Arakan blinks, then shakes his head, " oh that idiot...he has no idea what he's getting himself into. Well, I warned him. Um, my place then? Or Nikiris."
Izanagi giggles a little, bumping his hip gently back into Shiros groin, " it's not cafe food, but it's food anyway. Plus I don't know how to cook much else." He hands Shiro a bowl of instant ramen.
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Takana hums softly, "well I was already headed for nikiris since my brother is there but... it has been a while since I've been able to see you so your place would be a bit more private."
Shiro takes the bowl, "I'm sure it'll be just fine, thank you." Shiro tries to ignore his persistent bones for izanagi
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Arakan chuckles, " assuming you could find the place. Up to you though, im going to have to get up fairly early to drop you off at Nikiris in the morning. I didn't know you were staying at his place last night, which tells you how busy I've been. There's been a lot of unrest about the district opening. But it'll hopefully settle down soon, everything has been pretty smooth all things considered."
Izanagi sits down, he'd tried to take care of Shiros issue before eating but the man seemed to have endless stamina, so he decided they'd better eat before they, or at least he, passed out. He'd continue to try and tire Shiro out after the meal.
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Takana nods, "I didn't think I'd be spending the night at nikiri's either. Izanagi sprung it on pretty last minute but I still made sure I had an escort over since I know you'd have a heart attack if I walked around at night. I heard the manager say we even had some human customers...much to hikari's displeasure. Thankfully she always looks unhappy so it's not like much felt different today."
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Arakan nods, " exactly why im here tonight. your sense of direction leaves a lot to be desired." he frowns a bit, " it's good that humans are starting to visit the cafe, if they're comfortable enough to sit and eat while they're here that's a good sign. Hikari... she has good reason to be unhappy. Anyway, my place? i'll have to wake you up early though, so if you want to sleep in, it'd be better to go to Nikiri's."
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Takana hums softly, "your place. Less kids."
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Arakan chuckles, " fair enough." he heads to his own family home, entering through the clinic before heading into the household part, " there, nobody will question that we came here together now." he heads to his room, opening the door for Takana, " make yourself comfortable."
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Takana had completely forgotten that their relationship was a secret and the sudden reminder hits him hard.
His ears droop and his face drops for a brief second, just for a split second, before he puts on his usual smile and enters the room, "thanks~ so besides the meetings how was your day? You mentioned everyone being stressed out about the district opening?"
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Arakan frowns when he sees Takana upset, " i... yes. there are many who are protesting allowing humans into the one sanctum we semi-have. they resent being paraded like we're animals to preform tricks. their words, not mine. i understand their frustrations, but this is the only way i can see things improving."
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Takana nods, "I see... yeah I understand where they're coming from. This district, albeit not perfect, is still their home. Where they should feel safe and now we are letting in humans into the one safe space they had so it probably feels like another chunk of their home is being given up for humans so... it's going to be frustrating and scary for the citizens of this district. I completely sympathize with them, however we need humans and demons alike to realize that both races should be treated the same and that won't happen without the two to interact and at this moment it is safer for the humans to come into the district. We can handle 20 to 30 humans coming in while keeping the demons safe but you can't handle hundreds of humans if something happens to a demon outside of your district. So... until we continue to grow trust the citizens just need to be patient. Hopefully with the decent food coming in and now Isabelle bringing art supplies in, the amount of complaints is less than there would be if the food situation was dire like before."
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Arakan nods, " exactly. Some take the stance they'd rather have the poor food than become pets on display, but hopefully they'll realize things are improving. For the time being I simply had to pull rank and tell them to suck it up. I hate having to do that, but sometimes it's the only way." He sits on the bed, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside. " Regardless, I still have to at least hear them out. It means more work for me, but if it makes life better in the long run, it's worth it."
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Takana nods, "I'm sorry you have to pull rank on something like this... I'm sure once things get better your job will be a little bit easier. I hope anyway."
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Arakan nods, " we'll see. Anyway it is what it is, anything you need here? We'll have to grab you clean clothes tomorrow morning. You could borrow one of my shirts for tonight to sleep in."
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Takana hums softly, enjoying the idea of wearing one of arakans shirts, "I would love to borrow one of your shirts."
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Arakan chuckles and pulls a spare shirt out, tossing it to him. he shucks his pants and stays in just his boxers.
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Takana eagerly yanks his shirt off and slips on arakan's. He then takes off his pants and looks down at himself, enjoying that arakan's shirt is just big enough to end at his thighs.
He climbs into the bed and snuggles under the covers
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Arakan smiles and climbs into bed next to him, " you look cute in that."
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Takana chuckles and snuggles against arakan, "that's the plan!"
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Arakan gently kisses the top of his head and wraps his arms around Takana, " well it was successful. goodnight."
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Takana smiles and settles down, "goodnight." He mutters softly as he falls asleep
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Arakan soon falls asleep as well, and all too soon his phone alarm blares. He reaches over and grabs it, yawning as he gets up and turns it off, climbing out of bed and working on getting dressed.
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Takana is still under the covers, in a fetal position as he continues resting
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Arakan finishes getting dressed and gently shakes takana, " hey, time to get up. i gotta get you home to pick up clothes and drop you off with Nikiri."
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Takana grumbles softly before slowly opening his eyes.
He yawns, stretches, and groggily shuffles out of bed, "morning came too soon...."
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Arakan chuckles softly, " I tried to warn you that it would. Early mornings and late nights are the curse of a leader."
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Takana grumbles as he puts on his pants and shoes. He pauses briefly, grabbing the hem of arakans shirt and taking a deep sniff before taking it off and putting his own shirt on, "alright, let's go."
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Arakan raises an eyebrow when he sees that, " did you want to borrow that? I know I've been busy. Izanagi likes that kind of thing from Nikiri...here." he hands the shirt to Takana, " alright, let's get you some clean clothes from your apartment, and then I can drop you off with your brother."
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Takana blushes when arakan makes the comment and hands him the shirt, "oh! Sorry if it's weird. We just don't get to see each other often so it helps me think of you."
He feels a little embarrassed but he does roll the shirt up into a tight ball in order to hide it as they head outside
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Arakan shrugs, " i know, if it makes you happy then im happy to let you take it." he walks with takana, heading for the apartment. " lets hope the rabbits are asleep."
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Takana follows after him, "well hopefully even if they are awake they can cool it for 5 minutes so I can get changed considering I've given them 2 days."
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Arakan snorts, " this is Izanagi you're talking about."
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Takana whines, "Yeah but I've been very good to him. He should at least give me 5 minutes."
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" does he know you're coming to behave for 5 minutes? If he doesn't know he can't be stopped when you arrive." He points out
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Takana quickly.pulls out his phone and quickly texts izanagi, hey, I'm gonna be at the apartment soon to vhange into fresh clothes and then I'm out. If youre doing something with that shiro guy then please pause it until I'm out.
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Arakan chuckles, " well there, now he knows."
Izanagi hears his phone buzz and reaches over, grabbing it, " hold on ~ah, one sec." he looks at it and pouts, " Takana is coming to get some stuff, so we gotta be quiet for a little bit. And maybe hide in my room." He reaches back to gently slap Shiros thigh, " come on, off we go." he heads to his room once he's unskewered.
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Shiro blinks and gets off the table and follows izanagi, "ah right. I suppose I can try to be quiet for you."
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Izanagi giggles softly, " well i know it's gonna be difficult to not have your dick in me for ten minutes but once he's gone i promise we can get back to it. any position you want." he closes the door to his room once they're both in there.
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Shiro hums softly, "at least until its time for you to go to work. I'd hate to pull you from your job any longer than necessary. "
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Izanagi sighs, " yeah... manager only gave me yesterday, so i gotta go in today."
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Shiro hums softly and kisses izanagi, "then I better make sure you're fully satisfied before your shift then."
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Izanagi shudders softly, " yeah~? and how do you plan to do that?"
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Shiro snorts softly, "by making you cum until you have nothing left of course."
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Izanagi laughs softly, " we'll work on your dirty talk later. When do you have to go back?"
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Shiro sighs, "I'll probably leave once you go to work. If I'm not my brother's punching bag then he'll start to question where I go."
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Izanagi frowns, " yeah, i guess that makes sense... text me maybe this time?"
Arakan cautiously pokes his head into the apartment, looking around and listening for a minute, " looks and sounds clear."
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Takana slips in and runs to his room, "I'll be fast."
Shiro nods, "I will. I apologize for not previously, at the time I felt that what I had was more appropriate for a face to face conversation and not text."
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Izanagi snorts, " really? You had barely talked to me, it's not like we had any sort of relationship. I mean I kissed you once but that's nothing. I was just trying to get you interested."
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Shiro blushes, "I felt bad ignoring you because I know what that is like. I would rather be my brothers punching bag for the rest of my life than treat someone the same way my parents treat me."
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Izanagi sighs, " I mean, it's not like you knew me. If we had known each other and you ignored me then yeah that's mean. But when you randomly hand someone your number some people are gonna toss it in the trash. And some people will call for a booty call. It's a tossup. The last hookup I had the sex was good but he basically kicked me out in the cold right after."
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Shiro's eyes narrow and there is a recognizable fury in his expression, "what a terrible person to do that. What is his name and address?"
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Izanagi blinks, " uh, i don;t think im gonna tell you that. i mean it was just a hookup."
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Shiro hums softly, "this isn't my district so I can not harm the person if that makes you feel better."
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Izanagi frowns, " okay... Kayleth. As far as i know he lives with the rest of his family at the Hikigaeru family shrine."
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Shiro will remember that.
He smiles and kisses the top of izanagi's head, "thank you for the information."
Takana stumbles out of his room with fresh clothes, "BYE IZANAGI!" He calls out so nagi knows he is gone and grabs arakan's hand so he can drag the man out of the apartment.
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Arakan yelps a bit as he's dragged out, " okay okay! well, im glad he behaved. lets get you to your brother so you can get a few more hours of sleep before you need to work hm? it's still pretty early."
Izanagi nods, still unsure if what he did was the right thing. Though when he hears Takana yell that he's leaving he pounce onto shiro, " alright, well i did promise you could have me whatever position you wanted since you behaved and were good while takana was here~"
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Takana shrugs, "once I'm up I'm up so I'll just sleep in a little tomorrow. I'll be fine."
Right before they leave the building he let's go of arakan so no one has the chance of seeing them holding hands
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Arakan frowns a bit when Takana lets go of his hand but he knew he had to, " right. apologies for making you lose sleep today." he heads to Nikiri's place.
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takana looks up at arakan and smiles, "Hey there's no need to apologize. I got to spend some time with you so its worth it for me."
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Arakan smiles, " alright. i'll try and make some time to spend with you soon okay?" he steps up to Nikiri's door and gently knocks and opens it, not really wanting to wake anyone that's not already up. " i don;t think he'll care if you make yourself at home."
-
Touhou's ears twitch when he hears the knocking from his room and curiously he slips out into the hallway and carefully down the stairs.
Takana chuckles, "if anything I'll just bother my brother. He hates waking up before noon so this early would drive him nuts."
Touhou gets down the stairs and turns the corner, freezing in place when he sees arakan.
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Arakan chuckles softly, " i'll leave you to it then. have a good day." he steps back outside and shuts the door, heading off to get to work.
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Touhou relaxes when arakan leaves and grumbles angrily before going over to takana
Takana smiles at touhou, "hey good morning touhou. You the only one awake?"
Touhou nods
Takana takes his head, "let's go pester yori." He drags the mouse upstairs and goes to yori's room
-
Yori is of course, dead asleep. He's laying on his stomach with his head tilted to the side, mouth slightly open as he drools on his pillow.
-
Takana goes over to yori and plucks a tuft of fir from his ears before gently bringing it up to yori's nose and giving it a little tickle tickle
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Yori's face scrunches up and he closes his mouth, lifting his hand up to rub his nose.
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Takana chuckles softly and waits for yori to move his hand before tickling him again
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Yori grumbles a little in his sleep and rubs his face again before turning and putting his face into the pillow.
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Takana giggles quietly, "yooooriiii~ wake up yori!"
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Yori mumbles something incoherent into his pillow and pulls the blankets over his head.
-
Takana scoots over to the foot of the bed and gently lifts the blanket to find yori's feet, giving them a tickle
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Yori squawks a bit and yanks his feet close, " uwah?!" He pulls his covers down and blinks blearily at Takana, " -kana?"
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Takana chuckles and gives a sheepish grin, "morning. Sorry for waking ya. Couldn't help myself."
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Yori glares a bit, " mean...." he covers his head again.
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Takana gives a weak chuckle, "sorry, sorry. I just missed you."
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Yoris hand reaches out from under the covers and gropes around until he finds his phone, pulling it back under slowly. after a moment you hear, " 5 am?! what the- why are you here at 5 am?! are you okay?" he flings the covers off and looks a little more awake but now worried.
-
Takana hums softly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I spent the night with arakan but he had some early meetings to get to so he decided to drop me off here since nagi still has his boy toy over."
-
Yori rubs his eyes, " oh, kay.... what do you-" he yawns, " wanna do? since you're here and im awake...."
-
Takana blinks and shrugs, "you can go back to sleep, sorry."
Touhou plops onto the bed as well and yawns
-
Yori frowns, " but... you're here, i can nap later... i don't want you to be alone."
-
Takana chuckles and yawns a little, "don't yawn, you'll make me sleepy."
Touhou curls up into the covers, "family nap."
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Yori looks at Touhou and chuckles, " now you decide it's a good time to take me up on the offer to sleep in here if you wanted? Well no complaints here...." He reaches over and grabs Tanaka's atm, tugging him to the bed.
-
Takana let's yori drag him, "normally I'd never take a nap but... it is early and I do feel relaxed enough... alright fine."
He gets settled next to yori
-
Yori smiles and pulls the covers over them, making sure Touhou is comfy too before snuggling against Takana and yawning, closing his eyes to settle in.
-
it doesnt take long for takana and touhou to fall back asleep, sleeping heavily for the next few hours.
When the family does finally start to wake up nikiri walks past the room and blinks when he sees a bigger mass on yori's bed than normal. he peeks in and stifles his laughter at how cute the three look. he pulls out his phone and takes a quick picture of the three sleeping and sends it to arakan
-
Yori also falls asleep quickly, snuggled close to his brother.
Arakan glances at his phone and does a doubletake, hiding a smile as he turns his attention back to the demon he was meeting with.
-
Nikiri heads downstairs to get his mother's morning medicine brewing, his eyes quickly landing on elyza eating some sweets that was given to her a few days ago, "ah! Hey! Not for breakfast, you'll get an upset stomach."
Elyza gasps when she's been caught and tries to grab her pastry and run away.
Nikiri manages to grab her and pull the sweets from her hands, "how did you even get this? I put it in the fridge."
Elyza whines and tries to grab for it, "noooo! Mine!"
Nikiri sets elyza down and bags up the pastry tightly before putting it on top of the fridge, "yes, it is yours but we told you that you could only have it in the evenings. It's way too much sugar for you all at once hun."
Elyza huffs and puffs out her cheeks.
Nikiri kneels down to eye level with her and smiles at her, "I know it doesn't seem fair but I'm not saying you can't have it at all, you just have to wait until you've had dinner. Okay? Why don't we take you to the park today? You like the park."
He stands up and starts getting the tea ready, his smile slowly fading as he yawns
-
Yori gets up and stumbles out of bed, yawning as he goes to the bathroom and brushes his teeth, eyes still closed mostly.
-
Touhou shifts when yori gets up and blinks slowly before getting up as well and waking takana up.
Takana's eyes open a little, then close... then he gasps softly and his eyes widen before quickly sitting up, "what time is it?!"
He looks at his phone and relaxes when he sees he has time before work, "oh thank god. Thought I slept in real late."
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Yori stumbles back to bed and flops onto it, tugging blankets around himself and making a little cocoon and resting his head on Takana's lap with a happy sigh.
-
Takana blinks and chuckles when yori puts his head on his lap, "only you would actually be able to get me to fall asleep."
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Yori chuckles softly, " it was 5 am. more sleep needed. even for crazy early risers like you..."
-
Takana chuckles, "I suppose you're not wrong. Get off of me so I can be a productive member of society."
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Yori groans, " being a functional member of society is overrated."
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Takana snorts softly, "I said productive. Not functional. Now lemme go."
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" being productive is overrated." he scootches off.
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Takana laughs softly and gets up, "thank you. I'll be at work again today so if you get bored and hungry I'll be there."
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Yori sighs, " i should get a job. i don;t want to, but i should be more helpful. im just a lump."
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Takana pauses and glances at yori and hums softly, "well a job could certainly give you a bit more sense of purpose. I'm not sure what could be out there though... I could ask arakan next time I see him. Who knows, maybe Karim could use help at his shop now that he is selling to a bunch of humans on the daily. He might need someone at the register so he can focus on creating and tailoring and its quite possible that getting a demon to service humans is not gonna happen anytime soon."
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Yori blinks, " that might work...you're awesome thank you."
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Takana nods, "of course! I'll send arakan a text to see if anything is available."
Takana starts getting ready for the day
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Yori nods, " have a good day at work!" he heads to the kitchen to grab something easy to eat (especially since he had no idea how to make anything really) and see if he could help with anything.
-
Imogen and nikiri are chatting in the kitchen, Imogen with her tea medicine and a piece of toast.
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Yori scoots by to grab some toast himself, " morning. how's everything going?"
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Nikiri and Imogen say good morning to yori
Nikiri stretches and hums, "going alright it seems. Kids are at their lessons and I was informed that an item is finished for arakan so I have to let him know when he has a free moment to go collect it. How has your morning been? "
-
Yori pouts, " Takana woke me up really early, but we went back to sleep so i guess that's okay. he gave me a pretty good idea that maybe if Isabelle doesn;t have anything i can help with i could see if... i think Takana said his name was Karim? anyway if he needed help since his shop has been so popular."
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Nikiri blinks and nods, "that is a decent idea. You're not bothered by humans so you wouldn't mind working with them. Not bad. And yeah, I saw all three of you cuddling. It was pretty adorable not gonna lie."
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Yori blinks then blushes, " o-oh, he left the door open? ah-ha... great."
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Nikiri chuckles, "it's quite alright. I do hope things turn out well for your job search. I would like to see you relax a bit more here."
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Yori is still red in the face, " well it's a little embarrassing you saw me like that... um, yeah. hopefully. i just want to feel like im less of just a burden and more helpful you know? after all, im just kind of mooching off you..."
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Imogen laughs softly, "you being here gives me a reason to still own this home. Besides your little mousey friend is more than making up for it."
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Yori scuffs at the floor with his shoe, " but that's him, not me. im not doing much. im glad me being here lets you keep this place, but i don't just want to be here just to be here, does that make sense?"
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Imogen gives yori a warm smile, "I understand darling. I do hope you find whatever it is gives you a sense of purpose."
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Yori nods, " thanks, me too... um, have the vitamins and stuff i got you helped at all?"
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Imogen nods, "while I'll always have my condition, the extra supplements have been giving me enough energy to keep me from passing out. "
-
Yori perks up and smiles, " it's helping? oh that's so good! im so happy for you. i'll make sure and get more so you won't run out."
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Imogen nods, "it's been a miracle for me honestly. Maybe now we can remove all of these chairs and pillows on the floors everywhere. "
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Yori bounces a bit, excited, " that makes me so happy to hear. im so glad it's helped, that makes all of this worth it."
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Imogen nods, "it does, and I'm glad you also feel that way."
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Yori grins, " awesome. im gonna go see Karim after the district closes for the day so he'll have time to talk, don;t want to bug him when he's crazy busy. i guess i should go to the cafe for now, Takana said i could hang there. get out of the house for a bit and out of your hair."
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Nikiri nods, "alright, have fun at the cafe."
Imogen smiles and nods, "yes! Have fun! I heard your brother whipped up another tasty food item too."
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Yori waves and runs off to the cafe.
Indigo greets the human visitors as they come in. " you know, Arakan said that since things have been going so well, you guys can take turns seeing the district yourselves during a lunch break instead of having to stay here starting today. that's your opportunity to get out and meet some demons." he looks at Davie.
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Davie looks up at indigo and he brightens up, "really?!?"
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Indigo nods, " yeah. i'll go with you, for now anyway. but yeah you can go to the cafe, or wander around, check out Karims shop that's all the rage."
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Davie frowns softly, "as much as I would love to meet Karim I don't want to bother him if he is busy with his shop."
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Indigo raises an eyebrow, " well he tends to be busy all day until the district closes. I don't think he even takes breaks, the man needs to hire some help but getting demons to want to serve humans... isn't easy. I suppose if you came early one day maybe he'd let you come meet him before the district opens and things get crazy."
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Davie nods, "that sounds like a good idea. I'd even offer to get him some food from this cafe that I keep hearing about but food near outfits isn't a good combo so maybe thats something I could bring early morning as well."
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Indigo hums, " well the cafe isn;t open that early. you might be able to get something the day prior to heat up, or something from outside the district."
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davie blinks and nods, "Ah i see.. admittedly i dont go to many human establishments so im not sure whats around me. Maybe the heated up option is the best option for now."
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Indigo shrugs, " well i certainly can't tell you what's around. Takana might be able to, or his little brother Yori. They're both from the human district. regardless you could get it at your lunch break today if you wanted. im sure Karim would be pleasantly surprised, he's always working so i don;t think he goes to the cafe. he probably could after the district closes but i think he spends that time weaving more fabric and designing new pieces."
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Davie whips his head to look at indigo, his eyes wide, "did you say takana? Like, pink hair, pale skin, rich boy takana?!"
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Indigo blinks, " uh, yeah. That would be him. He works at the cafe, as a chef. Not so much a rich boy these days though."
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Davie scratches the top of his head and whistles, "wow I haven't seen him since elementary school. Didn't think I'd ever see him again."
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Indigo blinks, " oh, you two were close? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again then. Such an odd thought, seeing someone after being apart so long. Here either you live in the same district your whole life, transfer to another district and never see each other again, or....well death is always on the table. Some lower ranking demons are able to visit other districts though."
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Davie shrugs a little, "I mean, we were friends in elementary school but that was so long ago! Maybe a trip to the cafe for food would be interesting. Get Karim some lunch and see takana."
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Indigo nods, " i'd suggest waiting until after the lunch rush then to go on your break, that way you can talk to him and see what he thinks will reheat well or can be eaten cold and still be good. and possibly not messy, i don't know Karim well but if i remember correctly he's a stickler for being clean."
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Davie nods, "that's a good idea. Thank you for helping me out with all of this Indigo. I really appreciate it. "
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Indigo nods, " yeah, no problem. you're a good kid, just... a little over enthusiastic about certain things."
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davie sighs, "I am. i wont deny that. i just feel so much better around demons than humans so i get really excited."
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Indigo shrugs, " Karim keeps to himself, but then Spidren aren't much more accepted in the demon community than they are by humans. They have trouble fitting it, literally, because of their size. this was all human construction that they simply walled off, so finding dwellings that can accommodate them isn't easy. that's resulted in the population nearly vanishing."
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Davie frowns, "that's unfortunate. Even more important that his shop does so well. Maybe it could bring opportunities for some accommodations. Maybe."
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Indigo nods, " yeah, it's tricky getting stuff in here to make construction alterations though, and materials. i know he can;t go through the front doors, because they're made for humans. he's got the back open and that's how he gets in and out."
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Davie hums, "must still be annoying. At any rate, I'll head to the cafe after lunch then."
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Indigo nods, " sounds like a plan." he glances out over the humans entering the district, bored. He really wanted to be let go from guard duty so he could spend more days with Isabelle.
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Isabelle stands at the entrance of her home, over seeing the movers take makoto's things out of her home.
an officer, security specialist, and a locksmith stand next to her, also waiting before the locksmith works on changing the locks while the security camera's are added/replaced to ensure makoto doesnt have access to anything.
takana happily works in the kitchen, making sure yori is also taken care of
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Yori tries to not bother Takana much, only talking to him when things are slow.
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Indigo calls over the walkie to tell other guards when to take their breaks, making sure only one pair is gone at a time. After the lunch rush when things would die down he lets everyone know he and Davie will be taking their break now. " alright, still want to go to the cafe?"
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Davie looks up at indigo and smiles, nodding, "Yeah let's go!"
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Indigo heads out of the little guard post and locks it behind them, heading to the cafe, " try not to be weird okay? there's gonna be a bunch of demons there."
Izanagi waits tables, pouting as he works because he missed out on trying the new menu item before.
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Davie gives a hesitant nod, "I uh... I'll do my best."
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Indigo heads in, looking around to assess the situation before heading back to the kitchen.
Yori is leaning against the doorway to the kitchen chatting with Takana when he sees Indigo, " oh, hey indigo."
Indigo nods, " Yori. Takana, I have someone who'd like to talk with you if you have a few minutes?"
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Takana pauses is dish washing since it's after the lunch rush and he blinks, "talk to me?"
Davie is very distracted by all the cute demons working at the cafe.
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Indigo nods, " indeed. Davie?"
Izanagi looks over, curious.
Yori tilts his head, " i'll go sit then..." he sits at a table, not wanting to butt in.
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davie blinks and looks at indigo, "yeah?"
takana's eyes widen and he drops the sponge before moving past indigo and sees davie, "H-holy shit it- its really you!"
davie looks at takana and slowly holds up his hand to wave a little, "hi. long time no see?"
Takana grabs davie and pulls him into a hug, "Where the fuck have you been all this time? I thought you were dead, the whole school thought you were dead!"
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Indigo blinks, looking Davie, " when you said you two knew each other way back, you didn't mention that you apparently went missing. He and i have been assigned to guard duty together."
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Davie hesitantly hugs takana, "uh. It's a long story. I'm just shocked that you're here takana. Does your dad kn-"
Takana quickly pulls away from the hug and gives him a look, "my story is long as well. No need to bring it up, especially in public."
Davie blinks, "oh. Uh okay. Well maybe we can hang out sometime and catch up? So we're all on the same page?"
Takana nods, "that sounds just fine. Guard duty means you're one of the inner guards then? It'll probably be easier for me to visit you then instead of you finding time for me."
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Indigo shakes his head, " crazy. Davie, you also wished to ask about food that would reheat well or be good cold? And you can text me Takana to find out which post we're at since im assigned with him."
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Takana blinks and nods, "got it." He looks at Davie, "I can make some curry pockets, as I call them. It's just curry wrapped in rice like a rice ball and then I batter it and cover it in panko which then gets fried. It's delicious hot or cold and it's easy to eat since you can just hold it and you don't need plates or utensils."
Davie nods curiously, "okay. Would it get your fingers messy though? From the fry oil?"
Takana hums softly and nods, "it can happen but I could also get a strip of wax or parchment paper to use to hold it or even supply some wet wipes to wipe your fingers with. It's not that oily so it'll be minimal but if you became ocd over the years then it might bother you a bit."
Davie rubs the back of his head, "they do sound really good..."
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" I think if it were wrapped that would suffice, he'd obviously wash his hands after to avoid any potential oils getting on his fabric.. he's going to go say hello to our local spidren seamster in the morning."
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Takana perks up a bit, "oh! You're gonna visit Karim? I suppose that's not a bad idea. Get to know the demons around here to build relationships with them would help the guard job a lot. Let me whip that up then and I'll get it ready in a to-go bag."
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Indigo chuckles softly, " something like that. I appreciate your help. Have you heard from Isabelle how things are going? I know she probably would let me know, but I can't help but worry."
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Takana nods, "last I heard today was the day she was going to be at her house with some officers and a moving company to get makoto's things out. She should be fine though. She also is getting the locks changed and switching to a new security company that makoto doesn't have ties with to make sure the bastard doesn't have a way in at all."
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Indigo relaxes a little, " she will have others with her, that's good to hear. that gives me comfort, thank you."
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Takana heads back to the kitchen to start on the food, making sure indigo can still hear him though, "oh trust me. She knows how certain people can be. Her dad is an absolute monster so she grew up knowing that once a person gets physical it's absolutely life saving to have people watching your back."
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Indigo nods, " i wish i was able to be there to help, she needs as much support in these times as she can get."
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Takana nods, "I understand what you mean, but don't worry, she's strong and can handle it because she knows that when she comes visit we'll be there for her. Honestly even if yori or I offer to be at her side in the human district she would adamantly tell us not to worry and to stay in this district. She's stubborn that way. "
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Indigo chuckles, " im aware. she's a strong and very independent woman, but i can't help but still worry about her regardless and want to be there by her side."
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Takana chuckles, "knowing Isabelle as soon as she is done with the house she'll go on a little shopping spree at the toys r us and make a quick bee line straight for your place."
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Indigo laughs, " Sapphire will enjoy that. I worry a bit though, she's already so doted on, she's really going to get spoiled."
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"Well she is going to be treated like a true princess now that Isabelle is in her life."
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Indigo smiles, " well I hope Isabelle lets me treat her like a queen, as she deserves."
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Takana snorts softly, "she might. She might not. I think it would highly depend on the atmosphere."
He finishes up making the tasty crispy balls and neatly wraps one individually before placing them in a paper bag, "done!"
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Indigo nods, " we shall see. thank you." he lets Davie take it since it's his thing. " we might as well get lunch since it's our lunch break while we're here. i'll just have some rice, been spending a lot lately."
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Davie takes the bag and blinks as he looks up at indigo, "um. As a thank you for helping me I can cover lunch today. If my job is going to give me uneeded hazard pay then I might as well use it where it's apparently hazardous." The tone in his voice indicates that he even thinks the extra pay is ridiculous since he doesn't believe working with demons is a hazard
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Indigo blinks, " you sure? You don't need to do that. It's your money."
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Davie nods, "I'm sure. Like I said, consider it as a thanks for putting up with me."
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Indigo nods, " very well then. Um, I suppose I'll do the curry. Let's sit. Thank you for your time Takana." He heads to a table and sits
Izanagi comes over, " anything to drink?"
Indigo nods, " a chai tea please, and I've already ordered a curry with Takana, though Davie still needs something to eat."
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davie sits as well before looking izanagi up and down. he snaps himself out of stare mode and just happily smiles at izanagi, "um yeah I'll have the curry as well and some green tea please."
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Izanagi raises an eyebrow, " alright." he jots that down and tell Takana to double the Curry order, before going and grabbing their drinks, bringing them back and setting them down, " lemme know if you need anything else"
Inidgo smiles, " thank you Izanagi."
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"Ye-yes thank you!"
He waits for izanagi to go do other tables before looking at indigo, "holy shit they're hot."
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Indigo had started to take a drink of his tea and sputters, coughing a little, " uh, yeah i guess so. if you're into that. pretty sure if im reading you right you both prefer to be the receiver in the relationship. Though he is extremely gay."
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Davie chuckles softly, "I enjoy both fucking and getting fucked. Although if I'm assuming correctly then he would want someone who can satisfy his needs constantly and I'm needed at my job at the moment."
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Indigo nods, " yeah... he's kind of a horndog. pretty sure he's been screwed by most of the guys in this district that have even thought about being inclined that way. He somehow managed to survive having a job though so it's not constant anyway."
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Davie shrugs, "nothing wrong with enjoying sex and being active. Especially for him."
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Indigo nods, " yep, he can do what he likes."
Izanagi comes over with their food and sets it in front of them, " here ya go~!"
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Davie smiles at izanagi, "thank you~♡"
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Izanagi blinks, looking at Indigo with a little confusion.
Indigo smiles and shrugs a bit, " thanks, you're awesome."
Izanagi seems a bit confused still, why was this human being so...well kind of like him. " You're welcome. Just wave if you need anything."
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Davie nods, "of course~"
He takes his fork and starts eating happily, "damn this is so good. I never thought of takana as a chef."
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Indigo takes a bite and sighs happily, " since he arrived he's certainly shown us how to make even the things we're able to get here into good tasting meals. And Isabelle has gotten them to add more fresh foods onto the shipments. we even get fresh fruit now and then, it's truly been a wonderful thing."
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Davie nods as he keeps eating, "I'm sorry this district has seen so many hardships. I get that the higher numbered districts are even worse but it's all unfair to everyone. It sucks."
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Indigo nods, " the changes lately have brought a lot of hope though. there are some who feel of course the improvements aren't worth our pride, and that it'll only be a matter of time before things go back to how they were. but i hope they're wrong."
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Davie nods, "well as long as takana is here I doubt things will go back. Even when we were kids he always was the one to stand up to bullies and helped the other kids."
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Indigo nods, "silly boy almost got himself killed, but he saved Izanagi's life on inspection day." he finishes up his curry, setting his fork down.
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Davie pauses and blinks, looking up at indigo, "what?"
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Indigo blinks, " oh, right. yeah, Izanagi's collar had malfunctioned after he had it checked prior to the inspection, and it didn't show it was non functional as it's supposed to. so they were about to dispatch him when Takana jumped in and argued with them. bought just enough time to get things fixed, but Izanagi is here now so obviously it worked. he could have easily been killed for interfering though, i've seen it happen before." he takes a drink from his chai tea. " it's all the district was talking about for about a week."
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"Takana argued with a bunch of officers.... who had guns? Jesus christ I didn't think of him as a kid with a death wish."
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Indigo chuckles, " well h and Izanagi are roommates so i guess he didn;t want to see his friend die. i guess it hits a little differently when you don;t grow up knowing that's always a possibility."
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Davie blinks in surprise, "you mean takana is actually living here? And his dad is letting him? I only met the man once but even that brief interaction was enough to make me wet myself."
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Indigo hums softly, " it's... a bit more complicated than that. less of 'letting' him and more... 'couldn't stop' him. and also..." he quickly grabs a napkin, writing ' his family isn;t common knowledge, so don't talk more about it here in public.' before scooting it over to Davie."
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Davie blinks and reads the note before humming softly, "a-ah... I did not know that. Good to uh... know."
He finishes his food and rubs the paper napkin into the leftover curry sauce, ruining the ink so it can't be read
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Indigo nods in approval when the message is destroyed, " if you'd like more information on that I'm afraid you'll have to inquire with Takana himself or Arakan, though our heir to the district has been running himself ragged trying to keep everything going lately with all the changes. I don't envy the man."
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Davie shakes his head, "I wont bother arakan with such trivial things. I know he's busy. Anyway, I'm ready to pay and head out."
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Indigo nods, " glad to hear that. he's got enough on his plate. yeah, im good to go." he finishes his tea and stands, " my gratitude for the meal."
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Davie makes sure the bill is paid, thanking the staff immensely before taking his to go bag and heading out with indigo, "soooooo now we go see karim?"
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Indigo raises an eyebrow, " weren't you going to see him in the morning before the district opens?"