jigokulogs | ( OPEN / CLOSED — LOG: 1 ) CATCH-ALL

_{[ He’s a moocher, so it really did pain him to buy Shealtiel’s meal, but he has a reputation he is trying to make and have favor in the angel’s eyes, so he is putting forth extra effort to seem appealing. Technically, yes, he agrees that demons are vile, but he doesn’t want Shealtiel to think Devilmen are the same way.

He watches the angel speak, and like always, he speaks his mind: ]}

It’s probably a different realm’s Hell. I was expecting torment of some kind. This isn’t bad.. but I need to fulfill my contract and go home as soon as I can.

You and everyone else. That's the point of the contract, right? To get you motivated to do more.

( There's sadness in Shealtiel's expression, but he doesn't really expect it to be something picked up on by a stranger. Especially not one as hotheaded, and frankly, apparently stupid, as Akira. So he runs the fingers of his right hand over the back of his scarred left hand, thinking. )

Who did you end up contracted with?

Me? Oh.. I got picked up by the Shuten clan! I think it's cause they found out that I like to fight. But I don't know.. you seem to like to fight more if I am remembering our meeting correctly.

_{[ Yeah, sorry, Shealtiel. He is kind of unobservant to things, so he just carries on like normal. ]}

You're Enma, right? I think you had said that before. Maybe we'll end up fighting like how you want, but I'd rather just fight you for sport. What's out there that is dangerous to innocent people.. those are the things I want to kill.

_{[ So he does have bloodlust of some kind, it seems. ]}

I don't like to fight, and I don't want to fight you. I only fight because I have to.

( Shealtiel's tone comes off as cranky, if anything, and he continues fidgeting with his hands. Fingernails digging, frown turning downwards a little harder. )

If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be coming to dinner with you. But you're right, I'm part of the Department of the Enma. A ranking officer. There's no way they'd put a demon in our ranks.

( Mm, now he's just getting into his own deep thoughts, trying to find ways to justify himself as an angel... )

Then don't fight me. The choice is yours. I fight for fun like sparring— because my demonic blood tells me to, but I would rather exert it on threats like I did back home where I don't have to hold back.

_{[ That way he can go all out— tear apart flesh and bask in blood. He wouldn't want to do that to Shealtiel just because he's apparently an hereditary enemy of him. If Shealtiel was a threat to humanity or someone he cared about, than maybe, but for now, he's someone Akira wants to protect instead.

Finally, Shealtiel says something that makes his thick brows crease, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was already growing real tired of this "I'm an angel and I'm good and better than demons because they're all evil" attitude. He can feel his blood beginning to boil, heat rising to his face and threatening to flourish across his cheeks in anger.

There is no reason he wouldn't be allowed in Enma and for Shealtiel to just say something like that to his face pisses him off. If Shealtiel cares to look, he may see it in his eyes. Akira's fingers curl, though, and with a deep breath, his temper (which has grown immensely since Amon melded with him) subsides. Because at the end of the day, it's almost always his kind, human nature that wins over the demonic biology and temperament he's inherited.

Akira, in exchange, jabs Shealtiel in the chest with a finger. ]}

You need to work on judging others by their heart and not by what they are. Shuten chose me because I'm a fighter and Enma didn't choose me not because of what I am.

( The reaction to that jab comes before anything else. Shealtiel tenses like he's expecting something far more sinister. His breath stops, and he goes on high alert like he's ready to defend himself, to pull out his weapon if necessary. His eyes go sharp, and in a quick reaction, he launches a hand up to slap Akira's away.

His breath shakes a little when he speaks. )

Don't touch me.

( It's not his usual tone. It's more serious, desperate. Reminiscent of the fangs an animal bares when cornered. He isn't ready to respond to the rest of that, yet. He has to be sure Akira won't touch him again. )

_{[ Well, he may be stupid, but he can definitely pick up on that shift in his behavior. Wow. Woah. ]}

... Sorry.

_{[ Is he? ]}

But I'm not wrong.

_{[ Akira feels like there is something he's missing here, but he's not sure if he's buddy-buddy enough with Shealtiel to ask. The ramen chefs hand them both their meals and Akira slowly pulls his gaze from Shealtiel and falls into an awkward silence, choosing to put attention to his meal instead. After he takes a few bites, he speaks, quietly but also in his own serious tone but keeps his eyes on his ramen: ]}

I'll get you to see me differently even if it kills me. Well— I mean, technically I'm already dead, but.. I think you know what I meant.

...I won't fight you if you're not disturbing the peace.

( Shealtiel's words finally come after a long moment of silence from him. He'd relaxed out of the full intensity of his reaction, but something was still hanging over him. It's hard to even touch his ramen yet, but he finally lifts some noodles to watch them cool. )

You shouldn't worry about anything more than that. It's complicated.

Okay, that's fair. But that's not the problem. I don't mind fighting you if I have to. In fact, it might be kind of fun, but I've thought about it and I've thought about you since our first meeting and..

_{[ Akira is a simple person with a honest heart, so he just spits it right out as he pulls up a spoonful of noodles, watching them dangle all of his utensil. Finally, his lips curve upward slightly at the corners as he watches the noodles. Yeah, he's absolutely playing with his food. ]}

... I think I just want you to like me and I think it's a shame you don't just because of the blood that I have.

( Okay. The good thing about playing with his food is that it completely pulls Shealtiel the rest of the way out of his defensiveness and dark thoughts. The bad thing is that it's kind of nasty, and Shealtiel shields his bowl from any stray foreign droplets, slurping up some of his own noodles with a slight lean to the side, away from Akira. )

...I'm going to ignore that you said you've been thinking about me. But, if you want me to like you so badly, then do something about it. We barely know each other.

( Why does he have to like someone immediately!! He thinks he's justified in this. )

Hmmmm...

_{[ Akira pushes some of the noodles into one of his cheeks and slurps. After all, slurping meant that it was delicious back in Japan, and the ramen is certainly delicious. The tail end of a few of the noodles flip up and smack some broth on his nose, making him flinch for a moment, snapping him out of his pensive thinking. He faces Shealtiel again and holds out his hands, counting on his fingers: ]}

Oh! I've got it. For starters... I'm a nice guy and I have a rocking body, so those are already charm points for me.

_{[ pls ... ]}

I like to read.

_{[ ... Oh. Kind of surprising?? ]}

If you like to read too, we can talk about books. Also..

_{[ He gestures with his hands as if he was tearing something in two. ]}

My signature attack.. I can grab a demon by it's jaws and rip it open from head to toe into two pieces. If a demon ever came at you—

_{[ His hand lifts as if he is about to jab Shealtiel again, but he remembers he doesn't want to be touched and.. respects that, slowly recoiling his hand. ]}

—I would do something like that to them to save you.

( Why is that sexy. Stop that. Shealtiel's heart beats a little bit at the descriptor, but he's glad that Akira seems to understand not to touch him when he's like this. It helps keep the mood lighter, and he's that much closer to a laugh from the ridiculousness of the rest of it, now.

He's just distracted by rocking bods and demon ripping. )

I don't need to be saved, you know. I can handle myself against demons, even if I do respect that you're continuing to fight them despite becoming part of one yourself.

( He shoves more ramen into his own mouth to keep his thoughts clear, pure and holy. After that... )

You actually read? What kind of books?

Well. Yeah. But.. I'd do it anyway so you can see the goodness that I have. That some demons can have. Especially those that have humanity in them.

_{[ He takes a moment to lift the bowl of ramen to his lips and tip it upwards to drink some broth as he thinks about the question. ]}

I'm Japanese, so I like to read history books about Japan, but also fictional pieces that are classics. I guess since all of the demon shit started happening back home, I've been studying The Divine Comedy.

Back home, demons were frozen in ice like in the story, but global warming thawed the ice and let them loose. It really makes me wonder if the story if fictional or fact. Uhhh.

_{[ A pause as he looks at Shealtiel again. ]}

Maybe you know.. ?

...I have no idea what it's like where you're from, but the demons in my world haven't been frozen at all. I could list off all the history of their previous kings and information gathered on them, but it sounds like it wouldn't really matter. They're different realms.

( So angels and demons exist in different realms, too. He was beginning to wonder, since no one had believed in angels at all... )

Maybe that's why you're so different.

Ha! See!

_{[ In a bout of excitement, Akira stands to his feet, unaware that his enthusiasm as sprung out his little, fuzzy tail that starts wagging behind him. ]}

I'm different! Devilmen are different! That's what I've been trying to say this whole time!

_{[ He sits back down, the tail swaying back and forth as he cups his chin thoughtfully. One of his fingers curls around, idly pushing up on the bottom of his nose, making a little pig-snout as his mind seems to be elsewhere. ]}

Yeah, I mean, it's gotta be another realm, right? I thought that when I got here. There's no ice here, no fire here.. nothing like the Hell people thought about on my realm's Earth.

_{[ mutter mutter mutter mutter... ]}

It's just kind of like Japan.. kind of like home.. just filled with a lot of weird looking spirits.. but that's not quite different from my Japan, which was started to get infested with demons...

_{[ mutter mutter mutter... ]}

I can't think too hard on it.. it's so confusing.. it's a lot. if I start thinking about it too much, it'll keep me up at night.. yeah... I just need to fulfill my contract as soon as possible.. before the demons take over Earth..

_{[ He's certainly.. very chatty now. Another pause. The bowl gets lifted again, and he sloppily downs another drink of broth, some of it seeping from the corner of his mouth to drip down his chin and neck. He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and looks at Shealtiel. ]}

Demons back home do something weird. They meld with each other and get stronger. When two demons meld together.. there's a 50/50 chance each one's consciousness will take over the body once they fuse. That's what happened to me. One tried to fuse with me and couldn't.

_{[ He's pretty sure he mentioned this to Shealtiel when they first met, but it's kind of a fucked up thing that he thought he might bring up again in case Shealtiel was curious. ]}

Do they do that back at your home?

( Akira is such a loud and shocking person. The leap up has Shealtiel choking on his ramen for a bit, and when he finally calms himself, he's halfway through listening to one of Akira's mumbles and left staring at a wagging tail. Ah... It's cute... but does that mean those wings are going to come out again?

They're not bad wings. Not as beautiful as Luci's, but... They could be worse, too.

Shealtiel blinks a few times to come back to reality, fingers touching lightly at both sides of his bowl, chopsticks resting against them. )

No, they don't. ( As always, Shealtiel doesn't voice his thoughts on a lot of what's being spoken about. He keeps them to himself, whenever he can. )

They use demonic weapons to kill angels or humans. They destroy buildings, wreak havoc, and bring terror. If they've ever once been able to merge with one another, it's never been brought up in the official documents angels keep.

The demon prince I've been... following, and his lesser demon, haven't mentioned it at all, either.

_{[ As Shealtiel speaks, Akira is listening, but he's also noticed that his tail has come out. His body twists around to look at it and he grabs the base of it.. kind of just pushing it back into his body and pulling the hem of his shirt back down. Whoops.

His hand lifts to the back of his neck and he rubs it before settling his wrist on the ramen bar again. ]}

That's interesting. They seem to have the same behavioral patterns of killing humans and causing havoc.. but they never use weapons. They're big.. monster-like. They don't need weapons. They just use the power they naturally have.. from merging with other demons or otherwise.

_{[ ... ]}

Do you know why they cause chaos like that?

( Oh. It's weird that he has to shove it in like that... He shakes his head slightly and looks back to his ramen. The question he's asked is difficult, and so it's the perfect time to eat a bunch more of it.

When the silence has stretched on for too long, he finally sighs and sets down his near-empty bowl. )

Does it matter? I don't ask for their motivations. Demons do it because that's what demons do. At least in my realm.

That's not how it is back home. Back home, they are trying to reclaim Earth because they inhabited it before humans did. The Ice Age came and froze them over until recently.

_{[ No wonder Shealtiel thinks every demon is vile. If they're just ruthlessly doing evil things on Earth, that makes sense. At least Akira's have some kind of reason for causing havoc. ]}

Still. Those demons are merciless, and if they are going to be killing humans, I'm going to be killing them.

Edited 2022-09-23 03:15 (UTC)

( Shealtiel's heart throbs again, but this time it's a painful beat. It's one that stirs up the burning sensation beneath his scars, along the left side of his body. The one he felt each time they'd tried to purify him. The image of the statue in that church comes to mind, once more, a demon under the foot of an angel...

His fingers grip tighter at his chopsticks, knuckles going white. He shouldn't be relating himself to them. No matter what realm they're from. The rules can't be that different. They may have made that up, where Akira is from... It could be anything... And he's right, it doesn't justify...

His left side throbs again, and he winces slightly. )

Do you want me to praise you? ( Colder than he meant to come off, but he's distracted, lost in his own head, too busy hurting to worry for those around him. )

No. Well. I mean. If you did, that would be fine.

_{[ ... ... .... ]}

Are you alright?

_{[ Akira can detect the vibe is definitely off again, but what mainly gets his attention is the physical signs. The way he grips the chopsticks— the grimace in his expression. He's not sure what is going on to make him feel like this. ]}

You seem like..

_{[ Akira looks at the ramen bowl slowly then pulls his gaze back to Shealtiel. ]}

... Maybe it's disagreeing with you? Do you have any of that candy with you?

_{[ He remembers the candy eased Shealtiel's nausea. It's a nice thing to remember, but he doesn't really know what else would be making Shealtiel respond like this. ]}

I'm fine.

( Even the reply he gives is forced and tense, and he releases his chopsticks to rest on top of the bowl, hands pulling back to himself. Reflexively, the fingers of his right hand curl into the back of his left, again. He's staring at the mostly empty ramen bowl instead of Akira, and even if he insists he's fine, he doesn't look like it at all. )

The ramen was good. Thanks.

( And so, it seems he's determined to sit in awkward silence... Uncomfortable, tense, awkward silence. Well, maybe he's not determined, but he's had walls built around himself for ages now, and he's still getting used to one demon knocking them down. A second coming out of nowhere and trying to do the same has him on edge, feeling like he should run and hide.

But he doesn't. He sits there. He doesn't know what he's waiting for. )

_{[ If he had his heightened senses, he might be able to sense Shealtiel's aura a little better, but he doesn't. However, anyone with eyes can see that something isn't quite right here. Akira falls quiet and gathers their bowls, stacking them politely like he would do back at Miki's house to help with her mother clean up after a meal. He presents the bowls to the ramen chefs and thanks them for the food before sliding off of the bar stool. He wants to comfort Shealtiel in some way, but he was told not to touch him, so he just curls his hands together on themselves. ]}

Hey, no. Thanks for coming out and talking with me. I feel like I've learned a lot. Let me walk you home. I insist.

_{[ Because although Akira doesn't know the problem, he doesn't want to just leave Shealtiel like this. ]}

Don't tell anyone, but I also live in Enma, so we might be near each other.

...

( Okay. Actually, that earns a small laugh from Shealtiel. It's not an awkward one, or a forced one, even if it does seem a little tired. His smile is genuine, and he shakes his head slightly, lifting his hand to tuck his hair behind one of his ears after he's finished pushing in his stool. )

You sound like a boy on his first date.

( It's funny, when Akira looks so strong, muscular, and put together... But acts like this. Why is that?? Why is it charming? )

Fine, fine, you can walk me home. Aren't you staying with Yuuji?

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