jigokulogs | [open] no strings attached

[ She rests lazily into the tapestries draped along the bath house wall, but keeps her body angled towards him. She flicks a little card out from the band of her stocking. It has a few lines filled out already. ]

Ya mean one'a these?

[ She's very aware of his tension and flighty gestures, but she remains coolly unconcerned with it. It doesn't require any particular action just yet. ]

Gettin' too hot in here, Mister Bodyguard?

Edge'a th'street.

[ Even just getting their backs to one of the buildings would be an improvement. It will be hard to pick out any escape ladders in the steam, but they're certainly not out here in the square. He keeps pushing, only letting go of either of them long enough to push off some wild yokai who comes swinging at nothing. He tries not to knock it out, they don't need that rag doll under their feet potentially tripping and dragging people down. But he does need to shoulder the fucker into spinning off and away from them. ]

Keep pushin, I'm coming.

[Dour, mournful, avoidant, and with a criticizing ayakashi in his head to boot. Natori stands at something of an angle to Majima, his poor attempt at giving him the illusion of privacy by pretending to be preoccupied by looking down the path of the cherry blossom grove. He's no good with the more sincere emotions, but he can at least relate to picky spirits who feel the need to weigh in on everything, and maybe distracting conversation is the best he can offer. He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly, accompanied by a brief shrug of his shoulders.]

Mine back home tell me to brush my teeth and put my clothes away, [he offers conspiratorially.] I've got three. I can't fully relate-- they're not possessions, just ayakashi who have agreed to work with me-- but still.

[ She laughs richly, biting her lip as his claws tickle down her leg. She rotates her ankle to help flick the silky fabric off of her; her toes are painted a sakura shade of pink. It lets the full color of the tattoos down the backs of her thighs show, exposed through the slits of the dress. The heavy sequined fabric pools between her legs but when she pulls him up against her, a strong thigh hooked around his hip, she's as excited as he is. She runs her nails into his hair affectionately, splayed back.

Maybe Izo's right. Goromi gets to fuck off and disappear when she's done with zero consequences. That's why she gets to have so much fun. All problems are Majima's problems.

She pushes his shirt and vest back off his shoulders. ]

Yer cute when ya dress up nice. I'm gonna make a mess of you.

I guess ya'd be good with th'things.

[ He puts his hands in his pockets, shoulders sloped in uncomfortably. ]

Wasn't sure they were even real, 'fore Joku snatched me outta Sotenbori. Now we been t'Hakagemachi an' this place, guess that's just how it's gonna be now.

[ In Hakagemachi all he had wanted was to get back to his regular old Japan to finish all the business he had left undone. Instead he's in Hell and so tied up with this snake he isn't sure they can be separated without killing one of them. They've agreed that isn't a valid proposition, despite what the onmyouji had wanted. ]

He's annoyin', but it coulda been worse.

[ Could have eaten him by now, but then he would have just needed another when his strength waned again. Majima ambles along down the walking path, a little too worn out and distracted to want to make a run from here. ]

[ At some point, Azem has transformed from their usual feminine form to their masculine form. They're easy enough to recognize as both forms are identical save for a few key parts.

He takes a moment to glance around the area when he spots someone familiar. The makeup and change in clothing and hair don't cover up those snake features that Azem found so very interesting before. ]

I believe that's my job. [ Azem responds as he settles down next to Goromi with an easy smile. Wearing nothing more than a short simple robe that keeps slipping off one shoulder as it's not been tied up very well. ] I see I'm not the only one that likes to change things up.

Mm, I think most people are in the same situation if they're not born able to see them. Most people I know certainly think they're just fiction. [And it had taken him a while to learn the difference between the sort of creatures everyone could see and the ones that only he could. He had a difficult time with it growing up, but it occurs to him how suddenly coming across them as an adult would be its own struggle. Maybe not necessarily harder, but different.] ...Hakagemachi, you said that before...

[His brow briefly furrows before he places it.] There's a few people from that place here, right? It was some other city like this one in the ayakashi realm?

[ She smiles behind her cigarette, thoughtful and a little amused. ]

There was a competition. An' I'm real good at those.

[ Like she hadn't seen Tenkohime talking to her kits about how stupid and dick driven the Shutens are. It's not nice to generalize so harshly. ]

In Sotenbori, buncha blowhards thought they could run my club outta business cuz we were small. So we challenged each one: whoever could make th'most money that night won an' the losers got humiliated outta town.

[ She exhales her smoke with a fanged smile. ]

[ He makes a little noise of agreement. ]

Yeah, was more of a country town. Out in th'woods, th'mountains. Somethin' happened to it... like it got broken off from everywhere, even time was all broken.

[ He fishes a cigarette out of his pocket, puts it to his lips and then digs fro the lighter. ]

Somethin' happened to th'local gods, they were all weak or corrupted or crazy. We were tryin' t'fix it but... Dunno, don't think we did. Think th'Lake Spirit was gonna drown all of us, 'fore we ended up here.

[ To qualify, ]

Th'yokai brought us there as their hosts, they were all dyin' out an' disappearin' from whatever was goin' on.

Are you now? [ Azem's grin grows as he leans in toward Goromi before letting out a low chuckle. ] The whole reason I'm even here is for the competition.

[ He listens quietly, not letting his gaze drift away. Those fangs might not be to everyone's taste but he finds them quite enticing. ] I'm going to hazard a guess and say you won?

Every time.

[ She crosses her legs, angled in towards Azem. ]

So ya got a competitive streak. Dunno if I woulda guessed that.

[ But then again so does Majima, clearly. Would people guess that about him when he's being controlled and dour? ]

[ Goromi's legs being angled toward him beg for Azem to run a finger over a knee and maybe just a tad upward. While he resists the urge for the moment, one hand does drop down as if he's going to make such a move. ]

Just a little one. [ He raises the other hand to hold his forefinger and thumb apart, though they're almost touching. ]

It's probably why I've butted heads with so many of the Convocation in the past. [ Part of why, perhaps. Truth is, Azem is just too independent and individualistic compared to most in their society. ]

What would you have guessed about me?

Definitely that ya get yourself in trouble, maybe not over that though.

[ She has those stupid pert hero eyes and idiot enthusiasm for things. Not enough sense to be a little more reluctant about getting involved in bullshit. ]

Ya seem like the type who sticks their nose where it ain't wanted.

[ Pot, kettle, considering he set up that trip to the sewers. ]

[ That gets a loud bark of laughter from him. ] You aren't wrong. But is that always a bad thing?

[ He leans in closer with a grin as his fingers tap against Goromi's knee. Testing the waters, so to speak. ]

Hm.

[ She seems at ease with that, sliding a shoulder closer. ]

Depends. Some trouble's fun, an' some trouble's only dangerous. Yakuza are real dangerous, ya could stir up a whole lotta trouble an' not even know what web ya stepped in.

[ Majima knows that from experience, although it will be years before he learns just down stupidly deep that spiderweb went. ]

[ Azem lets their fingers lazily trail upward in a slow teasing movement. ]

I happen to find most dangerous trouble fun. Y'know a fought a volcano once. [ He chuckles a little. That'd been one of Azem's last big adventures before the Final Days were set into motion. ]

Hmn, I'll be honest, I don't know the first thing about yakuza. They don't exist back home. But all of that sounds a bit like the Convocation. One never could tell what the others had their fingers in until you stumbled across it.

That a promise?

[ He likes the sound of that. His shirt and vest are tossed aside, leaving him bare from the waist up. Restraint gets similarly discarded as he leans forward to kiss her neck, teeth grazing her skin. ]

Haha! Yep, that's the 'un.

[His smile widened, a bit more amused than before. Billy doesn't think he's seen this one hanging around the rest of the Tamamo clan. Well whatever, she can do as she pleases.]

Ya can say that. Hot an' stuffy, just a tad anyway. Feels less like a festival and more like a full time job!

[He gave another laugh and watched another patron from his peripherals.]

[high praise when it comes from her, and Emily beams under it. it took a lot for her to try and decide that she would break this out, so it's nice to be admired for it. with a quiet thank you, she settles next to Goromi, happy to just enjoy the parade as her companion. though, a thought does cross her mind, since she seems to have settled into a new self for now.]

...What do you want me to call you, tonight?

[after all, even Emily uses a different name on the stage. let her extend the same courtesy.]

[ Izō stumbles on ... something. Something living. Someone. He doesn't want to think about it. He has to let go of Majima's hand to keep from dragging the other two down.

They're going to get separated if he can't get to his feet. He's probably going to get hurt, but that doesn't matter. ]

Keep goin'! [ Don't worry about him. ] I'll catch up!

I can assure you, I won't trust anybody in charge here.

[they drag their cigarette, still no smoke out... Eyes level with Goromi with unyielding intensity]

Fellow Lost Souls, humans... those are who I will put my lot in with. I would rather hold bonds with those in the same boat, not the same faction.

[He remembers meeting Majima under similarly difficult circumstances, back in Hakagemachi. It's appropriate, then, that this is how they meet again.

While Majima is sitting at the base of the tree, he'll feel the presence of someone else walk up. The shadow doesn't give much away, as Lalli is wearing his cloak right now, and his silent movements don't give away any speech or walking patterns. But he crouches down in front of Majima, seeking to meet him eye-to-eye if he can. And if he can't, then he'll linger, watching Majima for any signs of what might be wrong.]

[He nods as he listens, and finds himself taking in the facts like he would any other exorcist job. It's easier to fall into the old habit when so many of the circumstances match up with his expectations from his work. A more rural town, far more secluded than the unnatural, human-like city of Jigoku-chou. Corrupted or weakening gods, and a diminishing population of youkai making one last-ditch stab to change their fates. Even what Majima said about having a hard time knowing how much time had passed made sense; time didn't move the same way in the ayakashi realm, and moreso if the town was its own self-contained bubble within it. It's all very familiar-- not an everyday sort of job, but he can absolutely see an emergency exorcist assembly getting called to sort something like that out.]

I see. I'm sorry. I know that's a pretty flippant thing for me to say, but I do mean it. I can't imagine what it's like, getting pulled into something like that, and especially given...

[He trails off, because he doesn't want to say 'especially given that you seemed to have failed if so many of you ended up here.']

Given how unfamiliar it must have been to you.

[only now does she pull back from Majima, instead reaching for Izo, to try and help him back up. the crush of the crowd is secondary, at least one person accidentally hits her wing, but she doesn't care.]

No - we stay together!

[she can't trust that he'll catch up. can't trust that this crowd won't pull him away, hurt him, lose him in the steam.]

Oh, so you're from Earth. I was just reminded of a certain syndicate out near Jupiter that we used to deal with. I moved around a lot so I can't really think of any place I particularly call home.

[ She's very much still not used to this place's anything but she's adjusting. There are plenty of things to appreciate. If this is all so familiar to him then perhaps he could be of help ]

[open] no strings attached

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