estoria | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

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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[Kazuya blinked at him, his nose scrunching up in obvious thought as he pondered over whether Yu-Yu could really be trusted to take off his own pants]

Well, if you're sure...

[Kazuya had his doubts - he was sitting in the hot tub with them on - but he let him off. Thinking about it, stripping someone of their pants sounded like too much effort, and Kazuya was feeling a liiiittle too drowsy right now for that, despite his bubbliness]

But, hey, hey, while you're doing that- [Kazuya leaned forwards and- smoosh, he was squishing Yu's cheeks between his palms, peering at him with utmost seriousness - or, trying to. He was struck with an unfortunate case of double vision, so the poor guy was almost cross-eyed trying to focus on him] -are you okay now? Like, when me an' Bel left ya in the hospital, you were all, "buuuuh" and that's, like, difficult to throw off. Like, even Minny's being all, "buuuuuuuuh" but, times a bajillion. Probs didn' make it any better with Bel threatenin' you an' all. Soz about that.

[ Yu Narukami is a man of his word. With a sigh, he pushes up onto the lip of the bathtub and wriggles free of his pants - just his pants - and wrings them out before draping them over the edge, where they can at least start to dry. He's listening, though, as he slips back into the water and Kaz leans in and--

--wow. Just. Wow. Straight up squishes his face. Yu tries to lean back and finds he can't, and just ends up blinking a few times.

He's better, really. Much. His injury, as brutal as it was, wasn't easy to heal. There's evidence of it still on him, clear and unmistakable. Especially to someone like Kazuya, who saw him in the hospital and would know what such a recent injury came from. It's only mostly healed. It's not open or anything, but internally there's a little bit of stitching up still to do. He's fine to move around, fine to be here, but the massive fang-marks of the beast that almost killed him indelibly scar his chest now.

But Kazuya had come to the hospital with his flashing red eyes and his terrible smile and ... acted concerned. Concerned, and a little frightening. There's far more to this person than meets the eye, possibly something terrible, and for a long moment, Yu simply lets Kazuya trap him between both hands and drunkenly apologize.

Then he lifts both hands to grip Kazuya's very gently, his thumbs pressing lightly into the indents on the inside of Kazuya's wrists. Gently pulling the other boys hands away so he can talk, he smiles a little, too. ]

It's alright. [ He pitches his voice low. ] You were concerned about a friend. I can't blame you for being upset. Actually, it was sort of reassuring ... knowing someone cares about Minato-san so much.

[ He'll release Kazuya's wrists. ]

Who is Bel?

[Kazuya's hands lowered slowly when his wrists were released, his head bobbing in a contented way. Apology was accepted, to his relief - because, when the slow burn of anger had fizzled out, and he had his little talk with Hyoubu, he felt a bit guilty for possibly terrifying the poor guy when he was bedridden and half-dead. That little weight that had been lurking in his gut lifted, and Kazuya smile brightened even more]

Good, that's good! I felt bad, y'know, for scarin' you, so, if you're cool with it, then... [He trailed off, blinking a little rapidly at the mention of Bel. Oh. Ooooh. Shoot, did he mention that name? Oh, ohhhh...] Um, Bel? Did I... uh, say... um...

[Kazuya looked a little nervous and abruptly turned away to pick up the pitcher - a little clumsily, as the bright purple liquid slopped over the rim of the pitcher and over his hands, but he didn't seem to notice]

Uhh, nobody important! So, um, how do you like this hot tub!? Pretty great, huh?!

[ Yu watches Kazuya with some surprise. He's certain no one else had been in the room with them, so it's nothing as obvious as that.

Bel threatenin' you an' all ...

To tell the truth, it wasn't as if the little encounter had made him feel good, but it hadn't been anything more or less than exactly what he'd deserved, so while he'd come away unsettled, it hadn't bruised him too badly. But now he's realizing there was more to it than he even initially realized.

After a beat, Yu...

... lets it go. He won't pry into something a drunk person let slip. ]

Sure. I mean, I haven't been in it this long because I hate it.

[ Said with a bit of a laugh. ]

What is that? [ Indicating the pitcher. ]

Ah, I have no idea.

[Kazuya seemed to calm down when the subject of Bel was dropped, and peered down into the pitcher with a small furrow between his eyebrows. Honestly, he just picked it up without thinking. There was a tray of brightly coloured drinks off to the side and this was the one that appealed to him most when he was there. He sniffed it curiously, but couldn't judge its scent. Very sweet and sharp, with the alcoholic smell masking everything else]

Somethiiiiing... fruityish. Here. [He thrust it towards Yu] You can have some if you want!

Ah...

[ Yu puts his hands up. ]

I'm alright. Nothing alcoholic for me tonight. It's all yours.

You sure?

[What was with these people swearing off drinking tonight? Didn't any of them see the memo about how alcohol + karaoke = AMAZING FUN TIMES? Kazuya squinted at Yu veeeery suspiciously as he pulled the pitcher back]

Are you one of them "designated drivers"? Cuz we don't need one. Nobody drives here!

It's true that nobody's driving, but some people here may need to be walked home. You have to admit it's easier to walk when you're sober.

[ He doesn't specify who might need the walking. He just keeps smiling warmly, gesturing for Kaz to drink. ]

So, like... a designated walker?

[That sounded a little more reasonable, Kazuya thought as he took a small sip of the pitcher (small sip being a massive gulp that almost tipped half of it into the hot tub). Though, still, how boring! No wonder Yu had been sitting in the hot tub with pants on - it must've been the only way he could've amused himself, without being able to drink alcohol to improve the funness by 10000%]

Ooohh, I get it... are you walkin' everyone home? That's impressive if you do. I mean, there's like... [Pause as Kazuya attempted to count the people in the room] Ten hundred people in here. Wow...

[ He chuckles. Kaz is a lot better to talk to when he's not subtly threatening your life. ]

Not everyone. Just anyone who needs me.

[ In truth, he means Minato. He's here because of - and for - his friend. ]

Ten hundred does sound about right. Think we should invite more next time?

Yeeeees, definitely.

[Kazuya's head bobbed up and down - presumably in a nod, though with how jerky and clumsy it was, it looked more like he was fighting valiantly against passing out face first into his drink and failing]

Will you walk me home? Like, I live with Minny, y'know, and, thinkin' on it, I should make sure he gets home, cuz, like I said before - maybe? I think - uh, he's... that, y'know...

[He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial "whisper" (it was still loud enough to be tentatively called a shout);]

S-A-D. Like, I think gettin' eaten has, um, trauma'd him. No, wait, traumatised? Yeah, that's the word, traumatised. So, so, like, we-

[He stopped and blinked, briefly looking puzzled]

Uhh, where was I goin' with this? Yu-Yu the designated walker, Minny- OH! Yes! Right, we should all walk together! An' Rin-Ku cuz he lives with us too. To make sure we all go back niiiice an' safe. Yup. Yuuup. M'sure Hyou-Kyou will get back fiiiine. Everyone else... who the hell is everyone else?

[For the first time, it seemed like he actually realised that he didn't know a few of these people. He looked about in open bemusement before his gaze settled back on Yu]

These all your friends? Wooow, you're popular.

[ Yu has a pretty solid pokerface. Here, "pretty" actually means "rock."

It's the only way he keeps from reacting as Kazuya devolves into rambling about how Minato's been traumatized by the way he died. Because the words cut into him with all the shock-sting of having the ice crack beneath you and plunging into a frozen lake, the water so cold the breath is punched out of your lungs and you can't even breathe. It's not that he didn't know that. Or that he hadn't at least surmised it, because no one could walk away from an experience like being eaten alive without some trauma. But hearing it like that, so baldly, brings home the horror of it in a real way that neither he nor Minato had been addressing between them.

Despite the fact that he's one of the few in the room that hasn't had a drop of alcohol, he sort of wants to throw up, a little.

None of this shows on his face. Not a bit of it. His smile doesn't even change. You'd have to know him extremely well to see the tells of the sudden spike in his tension (the small, brief jolt in his fingers, the way his breathing paused for a few beats too long, the way his gaze tried to skitter to the right before he brought his attention back to Kaz's face). ]

Sure. I'd be happy to walk you guys home.

[ He even laughs at that last bit, like a real champ. ]

No, no. I actually don't know anyone else here, except for her. [ He motions at Shiho, who, at this point, he hasn't yet spoken to again. ] If someone here is popular, it isn't me. [ Deflecting politely. You know how it is. Probably. ]

[Kazuya looked at Yu, his cheer faltering briefly when he felt something... odd. One of the downsides to being a demon was that you became creepily empathetic to human emotions, though Kazuya still struggled to understand what those foreign emotions were. As it was, he just felt... something weird from Yu, something that didn't quite match with the human's smile and face, and made a part of him uneasy.

He studied Yu blearily for a moment, letting a pause stretch between them, before he finally dismissed it as him being way too drunk. His imagination, most likely]

Hmmm, then who's the popular guy here...? [Kazuya let his gaze wander, his nose wrinkling when he spotted Shiho as well. Ugh, her. Well, okay, not "ugh" but he was still slightly annoyed at her for the Bug Incident] Oh, you know Mimi? She's evil, jus' so you know. So eeeeeeeeeeevil~ she- do you know what she did? She threw a bug at me! A bug! Me! I have- I have... I dunno what it's called, but the bug phobia thingy! I can't... ugh, I can't stand them at all...

[ His grief over Minato's death isn't something he wants to share with anyone. Not even Minato. Not just yet. The time will come for that. Only his best friend knows, because his best friend was there for his utter emotional breakdown over his failure to keep his friends safe.

The pause unsettles him, making him wonder if Kaz had noticed something was amiss after all, but then the moment passes and he breathes out long and slow through his nose as the other goes on to ramble. Bullet dodged. One side of Yu's mouth wrenches up. ]

You had a bug thing with her too, huh? [ A beat. ] I fell asleep on her because a bug bit me. I don't think she forgave me for it.

You... fell asleep cuz a bug bit you?

[Kazuya looked slightly disturbed at this, giving a minor shudder as he automatically swiped at his bare arms and shoulders, as if expecting a bug to be summoned by their discussion. The thought of a bug being able to render you unconscious by a mere bite was... awful. Simply awful. If you were asleep, and the bug was on you, then it could, it could burrow and... ugh, no, bad memories! Bad memories!!!]

I didn't know bugs could do that too. That's creepy... ahhhh why did you tell me that!? [Kazuya suddenly splashed Yu with a petulant wail] Don't tell me bugs come with inbuilt chloro- cloru- sleep poison! I don't wanna knoooow about thaaaat!

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