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Who:

espersions,

belfire,

moribound,

popsometags, their cr, their cr's cr...
When: Early April
Where: Source Below: Cerealia's most surreal karaoke bar
What: How do you come to terms with death and disappearance? Get hammered and sing about it, obviously.
Rating/Warning: alcohol, hot tubs, death mentions, and j-pop

Ket Whiss is gone for good, and Minato has returned from his PLAYER ONE GAME OVER moment, courtesy of a hungry monster. And there's the residual trauma of everyone's jungle/elemental adventures.

So, well. Why not have a party?

Source Below is Cerealia's most popular — and most surreal — karaoke bar. It features a costume closet, with hundreds of outfits to try on, for that full idol experience. There are themed rooms: one with overflowing candy, another built to resemble the interior of a spaceship, one full of robotic cats who yowl in time with the music, to a pitch-black room filled with pairs of enormous, glowing, slowly-blinking eyes....

But Team Catastrophe's party isn't in any of these, because none of these losers made a reservation. Instead, they got stuck with the only one left, covered in white tile, with a hot tub in the center.

This is a bad idea on so many levels, but it's not as if that's ever stopped anybody.

(ooc: open to any extended cr, feel free to handwave how you heard about it. the more the merrier!)

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[ By this time, he has his jacket off and he's rolling up his sleeves. ]

An angel, huh?

[ His expression is unreadable and his eyes focus in the faraway distance for a while — until Kazuya's priceless reaction to the wine. He seizes the opportunity to seize the wine bottle. ]

First time drinking, Mister Pure and Beautiful?

First time drinking wine.

[Admittedly, the only time he's ever had alcohol was during special occasions, and that was the watered down kiddie version where the bitterness and sharpness of alcohol was heavily offset by 90% juice or coke. But like hell he was going to tell Hyoubu that]

Obviously a stuffy adult drink, that. [He crossed his arms on the edge of the hot tub, resting his cheek on them as he entered "lounge mode". Ah, the hot water was divine... all those stress-induced kinks in his back and neck, melting away...] Mmm, this place should come with a massage-guy or something...

Is that a hint?

[ Teasing is a reflex action for him, and so the words are out of his mouth before he belatedly realizes that it might indeed be a hint, given the possibly still unresolved issue of Kazuya's crush on him. Hastily he adds: ]

Just kidding.

[ He reaches for a drinks menu, sitting on the table. It has been, helpfully, laminated so that it's waterproof. ]

So — no stuffy adult drinks for you. What would you like, then? Glass of milk?

[Thankfully, Hyoubu's teasing flew over his head that time, and he just blinked at him quizzically before shrugging it off]

Oh, that doesn't sound too bad. [He liked milk- wait] I mean- no! Gimme an... uh, hm... [He pawed through his pitifully small library of known drinks. Sake was definitely out. He didn't particularly want to drink paint stripper] R-Rum and coke?

Heh heh heh!

[ You're cute, kid. ]

Rum and coke, huh? Would you like a little umbrella in it, too? They have other things too, you know. Here's one with banana, chocolate liqueur, and vanilla ice cream. They call it a "monkey's uncle." Or one with peach schapps and orange juice, that's a "fuzzy navel."

[ He's totally ordering milk for you, kid, if you ask for either of those. ]

[Kazuya blinked - his interest had definitely been snagged the moment "banana" had been spoken, and he was envisioning... well, not alcoholic drinks, definitely, but something like an amazingly delicious smoothie or milkshake. Can you blame him? Vanilla ice cream and chocolate and banana that's definitely something like a banana split with alcohol involved somehow!

Somewhere in the backdrop of his thoughts, Bel was practically radiating alien amusement]

Monkey's Uncle sounds good. Hot tub and ice cream sounds like a weird mix though - er, though, then again, karaoke and hot tubs do too...

[ Milk it is. You'll thank him for this when the night is done, trust him. ]

All right, I'll just punch in the order here.

[ this karaoke room has quite a high-tech setup, allowing one to obtain drinks and food at any time, without depending on a waiter to appear. A moment later, he's done and....

Hm.

That tub is beginning to look more and more inviting. The water is clean and free-flowing, and the atmosphere is growing ever steamier. There are a lot of reasons why he probably shouldn't, but...he can't think of any that are truly compelling, not right now anyway. So off comes his shirt, and then his trousers and underwear, and he slides into the tub beside Kazuya. ]

I agree, but you never know 'till you've tried. What d'you want to sing, choirboy?

[ He clicks his fingers, floating the microphone over towards them, although for now keeping it just out of reach. ]

[Kazuya's eyes squinted shut when Hyoubu stripped off, not opening them until he heard him slip into the bathtub proper. He glanced over at him, his eyes lingering briefly on the bullet scars, but not commenting or staring. Scars were scars, and not everyone was lucky enough to have Dia spells to escape injury without them, and even then, there was a limit. Kazuya himself had a few scars dotted about on his body - thin ones from blades, ragged ones from teeth and claw, the rough, discoloured patches from burns, from frostbite, and messy ones from bullets - but they were so faded that it was near impossible to see unless one examined him closely]

Good question. [Kazuya tapped a finger on his chin] Let's see...

["Sing Aya's Song."]

I'm not singing Aya's song. [Kazuya muttered this irritably under his breath - Aya's Song, while beautiful and enchanting, was not, er, user friendly. It had the nasty side effect of summoning an enthralled demon before the singer - 'course, Cerealia's unique existence would probably stop that from occurring, but, still, no chances] I dunno, really. I mean, my voice only works at full potential for a specific type of music. So unless this machine's got hymns or something like it...

[He could totally do a male version of Phantom of the Opera. He totally could]

[ He can't hear the other presence's words, but he can feel its darkness. He can also infer, from context, what it had said. Telling Kaz to sing a song that summons demons... ]

Is there an inverse of Aya's song?

[ Something that banishes demons... or at least gets them to shut up. ]

Or... is that what hymns do?

[ Demons, he imagines, dislike hymns very much. ]

Eh? How'd you hear... never mind.

[He kept forgetting that his mind was open to Hyoubu's snooping now. He gave the esper a narrowed look, while Bel simmered in the backdrop of his thoughts with something like malicious amusement]

Well, from what I know, hymns don't really do anything to demons. [Kazuya looked thoughtful though] Aya's song is special because it uses demonic language. I don't really know it, but Bel does and knows her song, so I can sort of like, sing it without really knowing what I'm saying. [Pause] Um, what I mean is, is that I have no idea how to "inverse" it or whatever.

[Plus, he didn't really want to mess around with the completed product. It took Naoya and the Shomonkai months to perfect the melody - at the cost of Aya, who was still lost somewhere in the demon world. For all he knew, changing words or the melody itself could cause... demon apocalypse, or whatever]

[ He's not too worried about a "demon apocalypse," as it's not the sort of thing that seems real to him. What concerns him more is that one of his "kids" (that's how he thinks about you idiots, nowadays) has a malevolent voice inside his head, one that can apparently control him. ]

Does Bel ever take a vacation? I mean, surely an important demon has better things to do than follow a pimply adolescent boy around. The kind people at CERES might even be able to make an independent body for her.

[At the mention of being separated, Kazuya felt a very bizarre yet deeply uncomfortable sensation of Bel harshly digging in its metaphorical claws, the demon's presence morphing into a fiery ball of fury at the mere suggestion. Every scrap of Kazuya's willpower went into not outwardly reacting, the only sign of his discomfort being a very short, tense inhale. Ow. That hurt.]

Ah, well, it's, um, complicated. [He hurried on;] And who're you calling pimply? My skin's absolutely perfect, thank you very much!

Just an expression.

[ He stretches, languorously. The hot water feels very good indeed (and it's constantly recirculating, so it's maintaining a constant temperature), and he's beginning to relax... and is also noticing just how tight his muscles had been. He sinks into the tub a little deeper.

But his eyes remain fixed on Kazuya. He'd felt the boy's reaction, and thus is able to infer the demon's response. ]

Heh. "Bel" has separation anxiety, is that it? Or is your little friend...

[ He dangles his fingers in the water, and flicks it at Kazuya's face. ]

...a shotacon?

Wha- ick!

[Kazuya flinched at the water droplets hitting him in the face, and he made a low, irritated noise as he scooted away from the esper. Thankfully, though, Bel didn't get angrier at the esper's words. Instead it simmered back down, loosening its hold to settle somewhere in the backdrop of his thoughts like some malevolent fog. He could feel it watching though, focused on Hyoubu with an intensity that unnerved Kazuya. He didn't like Bel being interested in his friends - not this much, anyway. He had no way of predicting or understanding the demon's mind, or what it would do if it felt strongly enough to act without his consent. He scooted another few inches away, just in case]

D-Did you just imply that Bel's got the hots for me? [He wrinkled his nose, disgusted at the thought - he felt an equal rush of disgust from the demon. Seemed like they were not each other's types. Fine by him.] That's sick, man. You're sick for even suggesting that. Ugh, so gross...

[ He's annoyed, but for the moment, he doesn't let it show, and continues to gaze intently at Kazuya. ]

What's "sick" is a creature that won't allow a kid to have an independent existence.

[ He tilts his head to one side and smiles. ]

Are there such things as "exorcisms" in your world?

Ngh.

[Kazuya immediately looked nervous. There were indeed exorcisms, but as he said to Kevin before, it'd be a horrible idea. For Hyoubu to bandy the term about almost made him break out into a cold sweat, and Bel's focus became that little more intense, sharpened to an edge that could cut without drawing blood]

Uhm. Well. [Hyoubu could read his thoughts too, couldn't he? Damn. With a burst of inspiration, Kazuya immediately began mentally playing the Nyan Cat song with such aggressive enthusiasm that he felt even Bel rear back to escape the horrid tune, in hopes that it'd drown out whatever wayward thoughts the esper could pick up. Just so long as he couldn't pick up anything on Amane, who was exorcised succe- NO DON'T THINK THAT NYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYAN-] That's... sort of... maybe...

[Okay, trying to think something completely different to what you're verbally saying is fucking hard]

[ NOOOOOOOOOO NOT THE NYAN CAT SONG. Urgh, having telepathically "heard" it, the thing is going to be in his head for hours. The only consolation he has is that it's probably a pyrrhic victory on Kaz's part: the song will probably be jangling around in his head also, for days on end, probably.

In any case, what? He picks up just a little, something about exorcisms existing and also being a bad idea, but also —

??? ]

Huh.

[ Why would the prospect of an exorcism make Kazuya so agitated? Is he actually emotionally — or physically — dependent on the demon in some way? Or else... ]

Your little friend exorcized, out and about, left to its own devices... is that what scares you?

[ Is Kaz somehow protecting everyone else from this demon? ]

[Kazuya twitched like he'd been stabbed with an iron hot poker. Hyoubu was both on the right path and completely wrong, but he was leery of correcting him, because that'd just be falling right into his trap. Maybe. If that was even... what...ugh, god, Kazuya had no idea, his head was still full of Nyan Cat that he was struggling to make sense of what he was trying to do. What a double-edge sword...]

It's... not that simple. [Kazuya clasped his hands together in front of him, as if in prayer, and considered his fingers very intently] Uhm. It's... like, okay. So. It's like this.

[There was a moment of silence where Kazuya said nothing else. It looked like he was going to chicken out and maybe sink beneath the water to drown himself in an effort to escape this uncomfortable situation before he sighed, practically deflating, shoulders slumping]

If... if Bel is exorcised, I'll die. [Kaz's voice flat and resigned] Not physically though. Everything that makes me me will get shredded up if Bel's torn out of me, and I'll probably end up as some, I dunno, drooling vegetable, or a soulless ghoul, or whatever. Hell, let's be realistic, Bel's a demon after all, it'd probably just eat me the moment you try and use my body to bring itself into this world fully - and then it'd eat you and everyone else.

[He made a harsh noise, a rough exhale that spoke volumes of his frustration. Kazuya unclasped his hands, took another breath, and sighed softly;]

We're stuck together forever, and no exorcism is ever going to fix that.

So Bel is... like a bad memory, in a way. You want to get rid of it, but it's part of what makes you who you are.

[ His eyes unfocus and slide away from Kaz. He murmurs: ]

Everyone has their demons...

[ And then the moment's over, and he smiles. He reaches over, and ruffles Kaz's hair. It's a kind gesture, although marred somewhat by the fact that Hyoubu's hand is dripping wet. ]

Hey. Thanks for telling me.

Mm...

[Kazuya didn't move away. Even though Hyoubu's hand was grossly wet, he let the esper ruffle his hair. He felt strangely... raw, in a way he couldn't explain. He always felt uncomfortable exposing himself like that, like he was peeling his own skin off or something - but it was relieving at the same time. At the very least, Hyoubu was okay. He didn't look at him with mistrust or wariness, like he was some sort of unpredictable, wild beast that could lash out at a moment's notice. Back in his world, he remembered that was how Yuzu and the others had looked at him when they thought he wouldn't notice. Not that he could begrudge them for it, but, still...]

Yeah. Something like that. [He lifted his head and forcefully injected some levity into his voice] Well! That's enough psychoanalysing for today! Let's do some hottubing- oh, wait, we're already hottubing- okay, then we should drink!

[ He stares pointedly from the open bottle in Kaz's hands, that Kaz has been drinking out of, and then back to Kaz's face. ]

You're already drinking.

[ That's when he gently eases the bottle from Kaz's grip and sets it aside.

...

Actually, he doesn't set it aside. He gazes at the bottle's mouth for a long moment and then... takes a swig himself. Alcohol is an unfamiliar taste on his tongue, so he pulls a face, involuntarily. ]

We're already drinking. What we're not doing is singing. You mentioned something about having a beautiful voice?

[Kazuya grinned at seeing Hyoubu's face wrinkled up at taking a swig of wine. Hah, so it wasn't just him who disliked the taste of alcohol! And here Hyou-Kyou was, trying to look all ~adult~ earlier]

Oh, yeah. My voice is amazing. You listen to it, and all your troubles just float away~ [Clearly, this was something Kazuya was extremely proud of, considering he didn't usually devolve into arrogant boasting] So, what do you want me to sing for you, Hyou-Kyou? This is a one time offer for me to take requests!

[ Wow, he saw that smile and he sure doesn't like it. ]

You could sing...

[ Nyan nyan nyan-nyan nyan nyan nyan....

The Nyan Cat song is still in his head and drowning out the idea of any other song he could ask for. Goddammit. Except...wait, no that's it. ]

Ah, I'll just put it on for you.

[ With a flick of his finger, he sets these dulcet strains playing. Revenge is sweet. ]

[Kazuya knew enough about the internet through Atsuro to know what that song was]

...

[The look he gave Hyoubu spoke volumes of his unimpressed state, Rick Astley's voice washing over him like an unpleasant wave of oil. Goddammit Hyou-Kyou, you absolute dickweed, that was going to be stuck in his head all night!]

... I'm not singing that.

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DID YOU JUST RICKROLL ME ICLY