jigokulogs | (closed) september catchall

[ the drifter in black. she's heard whispers about him by now - it's hard not to, the way warnings drift between the tamamo clan. she hears it in the small conversations of service workers, the gossip of ladies in the kitchen, drifting out from an open window as the businessmen inside drink... every bit of their territory practically sings with it, and they're not even the information guys! she can only imagine what kou's heard on his end, surrounded by information brokers and spies.

but she doesn't bother to ask. if there's something she needs to know, he'll tell her, and if there's not he won't. it's an unspoken agreement, a simple way to not get in each other's way as they climb side by side.

or leap, as it happens in this case. nazuna jumps from rooftop to rooftop, focus clear in her eyes as she carries kou like a blushing bride in her arms; she carefully makes each jump, minimizing the distance traveled to keep herself from tiring out too quickly. ]

Hey. [ serious - she's concentrating, after all. ] See anything yet?

[ In truth, he hasn't heard much more on it than she has. He's just been learning the metaphorical ropes and getting settled in. But chasing up on it seems like something to do and something to keep himself busy with. He can avoid the bounty hunting and everything else that comes with it. That seems a little nasty to him. Not what he wants to deal with.

This is familiar - holding on to Nazuna as she leaps through the night sky, everything laid out below them. Although it's a little closer than usual. ]

Not yet. But we're looking for a single guy in the whole city. It might take a while...

Yeah, yeah. Didn't think so.

[ even in hell, life goes on as normal. things change just as much as they stay the same; for all she's met new people, kissed new people, spoken to new vampires for the first time in decades, she's still living the same life, chasing the same dreams. tamamo isn't a change in pace - it's getting what she's done her whole life down in writing.

she lands with grace, squatting to help distribute the pair's weight between each leg... and then she stops. she sighs. and without warning, she (very gently) tosses kou and waits for him to catch himself on his feet. ]

Sheesh, man, you've gotten heavy. What have they been feeding you over there? [ it's a joke and they both know it, hopefully. he's not any heavier - or at least not much. she's just weaker, here. ] Have you been drinking behind my back?

[ Oop. He stumbles and then catches himself, swaying on his feet as he regains his balance. For him, being in an organization is a change. A little stifling in some regards, although they haven't been too controlling. It's mostly just... different. ]

You know I don't drink.

[ He scoffs. ]

Maybe I'm just getting older.

[ Which is a poor joke, honestly. ]

[ "maybe i'm getting older." is it even a joke? right now, it just feels like a reminder of the time that's already passed - almost a full month off a ticking time limit. nazuna doesn't laugh, though she does at least manage to pop a grin as she says: ]

Nah. If you were older, you might actually have tried a sip. [ she throws an elbow his way, snorting in amusement. ] Or have you already outgrown that, gramps? Huh?

[ It's just an attempt to cut the tension a little. That's all. ]

I have plenty of time to drink later on in life, right? I just don't want to right now!

[ He shrugs and gives her his own little grin, swatting at her elbow. ]

You're older than me, anyway! So what would that make you?

What would that make me? That'd make me your progenitor-to-be, kiddo.

[ like this, just the two of them, it's a lot easier to talk about. after all, it's not just his own wish anymore. they're both working for that, now. doesn't make it any less weird when she leans in and says with an exaggerated, husky voice: ]

That makes me great-grandma... Or mom to you.

[ Oop. That's a bit awkward-slash-intense and he has to pause to think about that. There sure are connotations about calling someone mother in this context, right? He's gonna move on. ]

I don't think you want me to really call you mom. Besides, I already have one! This is different!

He won't even call me mom anymore! Ah, they grow up so fast!!

[ yeah, okay, it was absolutely a joke. a joke nazuna's happy with, judging from the way she breaks out into a full-on belly laugh, slapping kou's shoulder as she keeps herself upright with one arm on a knee. ]

Of course I don't want you to call me mom. I don't want you to call me "master" either, you know? [ she takes a deep breath, straightening up and brushing her shorts off. ] Even when we finally make it happen.

[ when. not if. there's no doubt, as far as she's concerned. ]

Like I ever would call you master.

[ He snorts and elbows her in reply, trying to hold in his laughter. ]

That's one thing that's not going to happen. We're not in some old movie.

[ Besides, if he ever did, he'd never hear the end of it. ]

You'll have to pay me for any work I do. Just like usual!

Hoooh? Sounds like someone doesn't know the meaning of respect!

[ but she's laughing, loud and proud, even as she crosses her arms and tries to mimic a dominant pose. ]

Maybe I should make you pay me back for all those times I saved you, huh? Or for blowing up my apartment!

The apartment wasn't really my fault.

[ He folds his arms with a huff. ]

If you want to get paid back for that, you'll have to chase down some other people...

Oh? Who was it that punched the building so hard it collapsed, huh? Was it Suzuki-ppi?

[ wow, that's a lot closer than they were when they left. fucked up. ]

What about the time Seri nearly got you? That's gotta be worth at least a couple thousand yen, right?

A couple thousand yen? Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? And I was trying not to die! I think that earns me a little lee-way, you know?

[ He's fourteen, that's like big bucks Nazuna. ]

Run a cuddle clinic? Get some practice with massages or something! Or if you want something more up your alley, maybe... A place to listen? Toss five hundred yen and you'll help them with whatever ails 'em. The same shit you always do, but you get paid big-

[ "thank you, thank you. i swear i won't forget your generosity..."

it's a single sentence, murmured in a city full of sound. it's a miracle she even hears it at all: even at two in the morning, the place isn't silent in the slightest. but there's no mistaking it. someone's just begged their way into a place to stay.

someone who sounds an awful lot like the target they've been tailing.

she stops mid-sentence, covering kou's lips with a finger. shhh. where was it? behind them, maybe, or perhaps coming up through a vent. there's only one way to find out. ]

He's here. [ she doesn't wait for him to acknowledge it - she's already running to the edge of the building, trying to aim for where she thinks the voice came from. ] Keep an eye out for the cloak! I need your eyes up here!

[ and that's the last warning she gives before she plummets down - off the edge and to the alleyway below.

they've got a lead. they have to chase it. ]

I'm not going to run a cuddle clinic! Besides, who's going to want to do that with me-?

[ He pauses as she goes quiet and then covers his lips with a finger. He cocks his head, as if listening. He's not sure if he can hear anything. ]

Wait, he is-?

[ He darts to the edge of the roof as she goes over the edge and he peers into the alleyway, trying to see a black cloak in the flickering lights of the city.

He's gotta be here somewhere. ]

Have a crisis later, we've gotta work this out!

[ just kidding, she has just enough time to yell that as she falls. she looks left and right, trying desperately to see the black cloak she's heard so much about. it's gotta be nearby, right? she just heard it!

but she's looking in the wrong direction entirely. a bit behind her, maybe ten meters in the other direction, a man in a black cloak walks at the side of a larger oni - huddled over, keeping a sorry figure at all times. don't miss him, kou!! ]

Hey, wait a minute...

[ She's gone. He crouches on the edge of the roof and peers down. He glances one way and then another and then gestures at Nazuna with a little hiss. ]

Hey - hey-! Over there-

[ And he tries to get her going in the right direction. ]

Huh? [ she looks up, following kou's voice and then his pointing fingers. ] Oh! Right, right. Thanks, Kou-kun, you're a real wife-shaver!!

[ one: you can't baby talk "life-saver," it just sounds weird. two: at least she's not yelling back up at him??? she falls into the crowd, trying to keep an eye on the black cloak ahead.

it's... it's going alright? at least, she thinks it is. the problem here is that nazuna is very short, and the demons surrounding her... aren't. she looks back up to kou with pleading eyes. help??? ]

[ Wife-shaver. What? Kou shakes his head and gives her an exasperated look. Then he glances up and tries to track their target. Then he glances down and gestures - that way! He scurries to the other side of the roof to try and keep him in sight. ]

(closed) september catchall

SUBSTORY (DRIFTER) - KOU. [warnings: sfw age gap relationship, kinda sorta]

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