[He said he'd come to meet Cream-san, so what better time than now? It's the weekend, and he's actually gotten his studies completed, leaving some time to spend with the boyfriend and his many, many cats.
[It's been getting rather chilly lately, especially after the sunset. Visiting the beach at this hour of the night is practically asking for a flu, but Ragna doesn't concern himself with details like that. He's been passing by the beach anyway, so he figures cooling his head for a little bit won't hurt. He strolls along the seashore, deep in thought, and without even realizing it arrives at a completely deserted part of the beach.
At least, that's what he assumes until a lightning suddenly strikes the ground way too close to him.]
WHAT THE FUCK?!
[It's like every day of his life is an "I Shouldn't Be Alive" episode.]
[ it's practically become a ritual for souji at this point. every week, he takes a couple of nights to go out to the deserted part of the beach to practise with his personas. even if he has practically mastered over his first few personas such as mada and kohryu, he doesn't want to get rusty and he pushes himself to train with them as frequently as his newer personas. for tonight, he's practising with izanagi-no-okami, a newer addition and with a much wider set of abilities than the rest. while he's gotten the overall hang of izanagi, it's still hard to direct his attacks to the exact place he wants them to go but since he's alone here at the beach, it's okay if a stray ziodyne goes flying somewhere else, right? ]
[ wrong ]
Ragna?!
[ souji didn't even notice that someone else was nearby until he looked in the direction that the ziodyne went off to and saw the man. he recalls back izanagi-no-okami and starts running over to ragna ]
I understand you mean no harm, but it's deeply disturbing to come home and find my things have been subtly rearranged and touched, no matter if your intent is ultimately positive.
I got Secchan to agree, so there's a few things I'd like answered.
1. What is our pay? 2. If there's a costume we don't like, may we pass on it? (I am willing to wear most things that Secchan does not.) 3. How seriously will you be taking this? We are professionals, Souji. There are other jobs we may take over this if you aren't giving it your all. 4. How frequently will you be needing us?
1. Hot homemade meals along with a portion of whatever profits we may get 2. Of course, you may pass for any costumes 3. To be completely honest, it was 50-50 but now it's about 75-25 on serious-not serious 4. How often are you two available?
[Despite the fact she knows Souji is running in and out of her house, Rosalind surprisingly hasn't caught him at it too often. Whether he's good at knowing her schedule or just lucky, there's been multiple instances where she's come home and found her pantry restocked or her notebooks neatly organized.
Sometimes he even leaves her candy. Good grief.
But today, there's a flash of grey hair as she unlocks her door and steps inside, and Kawaii-san is purring up a storm. Which means--]
[ after going to rosalind's home so many times, it's become a place of comfort. it's familiar and he gets a sense of satisfaction and joy from being able to make the professor's life a little bit easier. as a result, unknowingly over time, it has become a place that he goes to whenever he finds himself dealing with any mess of emotions. he doesn't dare to bother rosalind about it though, choosing to go whenever she's out (he's practically memorized her schedule by now) and to just occupy himself by cleaning up her home and playing with kawaii-san. this night, however, he stays a bit longer than he realizes and while petting kawaii-san, he hears the door open up behind him and-- ]
[ --ah... guess it's too late to try and run for it ]
... hello, professor.
[ he solemnly says. should it have been any other time, he might have cracked a joke (something about how he's just a figment of her imagination or he's a ghost) but not tonight. he just stands up and turns, greeting her with a small bow of his head ]
[it's a quick text of warning. but he wanted to give him a chance to... he doesn't know-- prepare? to not just stop by? especially after reading his name in the report of the bar fight that broke out. Which just... seemed so strange to him. He'd never have guessed Souji was involved in it, if not for seeing his name in the report.
Sometimes... there was advantages to being a cop.]
[ souji isn’t actually surprised when he sees mako’s text. after all, he got involved in a fight. a bar fight that involved a gun (even though no one knows who used it or whom it belonged to) so it’s obvious that there had to be a police report. unfortunately for souji, even if he had left the bar before the police have arrived and had gone to the hospital with tatsuma, the cuts on tatsuma’s head from the beer bottle he took was obvious enough to any officers could easily put two and two together. luckily for souji, no charges or damages but just a stern talking to so that was the end of that, or so he thought. ]
[ he has already arrived at home with tatsuma, tucking him in, and then speaking with yu. for mako to contact him this late at night with a straight forward text like this, it could only mean one thing... ]
[If nothing else, Tatsuma does fall silent on the way to the hospital, that miserable wail finally giving way to quiet. The looks they receive from the staff upon arrival are certainly suspicious, but they remain nothing but professional. Tatsuma is taken away for examination and, unsurprisingly, stitches.
With all the fury, all the rage gone from his system, Tatsuma is instead simply... silent. The fight is gone from him, but so too seems to be his very will, at least for the moment.
While this does make for an easy treatment, it is perhaps not so easily dealt with in the aftermath. The proper information is taken down and he is officially discharged, only to stand in place numbly.
Probably, he should be thinking of where to go next, of what to do-- but he can't seem to muster up the energy to even consider it.]
[ souji sticks right by tatsuma's side, being there from the moment he gets admitted to the moment that he gets out. he ensures to never leave his side and although seeing tatsuma's anger upfront was pretty terrible, seeing him just so... lifeless and without any bit of energy is just as heartbreaking. seeing him just stand there in place, unmoving, it tears into souji ]
Tatsuma...
[ he reaches out and takes tatsuma's hand into his, squeezing it tightly ]
... stay with me, at my home. There isn't much space but you can be there for as long as you like.
so mako said theres some barrier blocking all the light mafuyu and i were thinking of getting up to the dome and trying to break it open but neither of us can fly we were wondering if we could uh borrow a dragon?
[ Yu finds his heart in his throat every time he tries to tell Souji he's coming home.
In the end, he just ... comes home. Quietly lets himself in, the backpack he took with clothes and a few other sundry to stay at Ardyn's slung over one shoulder. The ground floor is quiet, and after divesting himself of shoes and jacket, Yu pads upstairs, his heart beating a nervous rhythm in his wrists.
Is Souji even here? Was this stupid? Yu second guesses himself a hundred times as he knocks on his brother's door. ]
[ in the past, souji used to love coming home. knowing that there would almost always be someone home to greet him back was soothing and warming, something that he wanted for so many years of his life, but since shin left, since yu left, it has been daunting to go back. even though tatsuma moved in with him a few weeks ago, they often came home together with no one to welcome them back. the once lively house has been reduced to an empty and lonesome home and souji hated it. it reminded him of his childhood and rather than occupying other parts of the house, he has chosen to stay mostly in his room ]
[ while studying at his desk, he hears a knock on the door and he gets up, curious. who would be knocking on his door? tatsuma? he walks over to the door and opens it, not really expecting one person or another but then he sees-- ]
Yu--
[ --and in an instant, his hand reaches out to grab onto his brother's and he pulls. he pulls yu towards him and embraces him in a sudden and tight hug. to have him suddenly back home, it fills souji with a rush of emotions. he doesn't even know where to start but he presses his head against yu's shoulder and stays there first ]
[How did these photos get to Souji's phone? Who can say. Perhaps they were taken by Souji himself. Perhaps vodka aunt is bored and her stupid cat has decided to wander in close, thus prompting an impromptu photoshoot.
[A text comes to you in the late afternoon of February 3rd. The sender's name has been encrypted and errors out and there are no signs of who the message belongs to. Clicking on the profile of this Retrospec user brings up a picture of the Retrospec symbol.]
How would you like to help us help you out? Your observation period's up and I want you on this particular assignment. You'll be fine, you're probably not going to die, and we'll be able to monitor you from here. We need help. You've got the skills needed even if you don't know it yet. I know it and that's what counts.
You'll be working with a group (wish I could give you the names, still putting the lists together), but your assignment partner is Mako Lou Should you choose to accept this assignment, you will need to meet at the edge of the woods and we'll go from there.
You'll be rewarded for your success, of course, but this is only if we have an agreement. Do we have an agreement?
[No other messages will be sent from this account at this time.]
[ooc: Hello! You've been sorted into group 3. Your event log will go up at 9pm EST along with all of the other logs. We encourage you to read the main event log as well for more information about your recruiter and this note. In the meantime, head over to this thread on the latest mod post to meet your teammates. Thank you!]
for all the crap i went through in my past life, and how horrifying war is.
i got to admit
remembering a giant mecha fight where you're piloting the actual giant robot and the adrenaline and fear running through you as mook mecha explode and the pilots die.
it's
it's pretty awesome.
until i remember i'm trying to subdue a trio of gundam jackers for committing a war crime.
[ Akira was at the party, but kept to himself for the most part. He wasn't feeling well overall, but wanted to be there to show his support and care.
Anyway, he dropped off a present for Yu and Souji. The long box was left somewhere halfway between their rooms and addressed to them. Inside they will find a body pillow that has a sexy Yosuke on one side and... a sexy cat on the other side.
February left him with little funds. Sorry, twins. ]
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