sticksandbones IC Inbox

[bluebasketballed]

powers nerfed & gained
❆ - superhuman strength: nerfed to the point he couldn't destroy, like, a building in one hit, but even hakuji as a human could punch people's bones apart so good luck!
❆ - self healing: nerfed from instant to delayed 5-10 minutes.
❆ + conditional sunlight immunity: an enchanted anklet that nullifies the harmful effects of sunlight and sun-based magic so long as he is wearing it.

deaths & resurrection prices
none..... YET

other permanent changes
❆ scarring - november 2025: a solid scar the width of his fist at the crux of his ribcage and at the same height on his back, implying impalement. any sensation to this scar, including pain, is shared with kyojuro.


weasel's note: akaza's handwriting is the very sad and choppy scrawl of a man who barely knows how to write. the netbook is just polite enough to make it legible. i just type it in all lowercase bc i'm too lazy to pick out the spelling/handwriting mistakes. thank u for your understanding. i'm having fun now thx

he lives at the inn, the room next to kyojuro's. his window is boarded up from the inside. it is very dark in there. mentitycave

he lives at the soryu dojo south of the river, in koyuki's old room. he offers unarmed self-defense training at the dojo.


plotting contact: PM // discord @ fuckweasel

Comments

[tempurahair]

[Kyojuro does not budge. He holds Akaza's despite the scolding he can see in it.]

Yet you still doubt me. So allow me to speak it plainly. You, Akaza, are my friend, and likely my closest ally in this moment.

[Only once he's finished yapping does he turn himself back around]

[bluebasketballed]

[such a fucking stubborn man.]

It isn't you that I doubt. You're nothing if not... forthcoming.

[tempurahair]

[You love it, basketball boy.]

But you still doubt all the same. Why is that, Akaza?

[bluebasketballed]

[don't call him out like this.]

If -- our roles were switched, I'd never trust you again. I don't understand why you do.

[once everything is straightened out, akaza gathers some of kyojuro's hair to tie it up the same way he usually wears it. very heterosexual of him to notice this, by the way.]

cw: suicide mention

[tempurahair]

I see.

[Kyojuro blinks as those hands begin gathering up his hair. Part of him thinks to protest — he'll likely lay down to sleep soon, after all. No sense in keeping it up. The rest of him, however, is thoroughly stunned at that apparent attention to detail.

It actually takes a second for him to swallow that down, to re-assemble his focus.]

I can offer you two reasons why. They are connected, so I ask that you bear with me as I explain. [Not that he gives Akaza a chance to say no.]

First and foremost, in the hours before my death, I learned that any understanding I might have had about your average demon were cast by the wayside, thanks to Kamado and his sister. A demon can have the will to be something more than the existence they have been given.

Secondly, when we met, you hardly reacted to my blade. You were far more concerned with stepping into the sun, ending your existence once and for all.

If you had simply told me that you had turned over a new leaf, I would not have believed you. But in that instance, I knew that the demon I fought before was gone. That the man here in his place was different. Changed. And I would not make the same mistake I made with Nezuko, in leaping to cut her head from her neck.

[bluebasketballed]

[even given the chance, akaza wouldn't interrupt. this is something that weighs on his mind every day in this place, and the eventual explanation somehow feels both understandable and also... lacking. it isn't that kyojuro is wrong -- akaza doesn't want this anymore. but he is still the demon who killed thousands, who needs to continue to kill to survive. facing the sun would be so much easier.

he finishes tying kyojuro's hair and lowers his hands to his knees limply.]

... Thank you, then, for giving me another chance. I'll try not to waste it.

[tempurahair]

You won't.

[It's not a command, not a threat, but just a simple statement. He knows this about Akaza, the same way he knows the sky is blue and that the grass is green.

With his hair fixed, it's easier to shift a bit on the bed to properly face Akaza. Provided he doesn't shy away, Kyojuro lays a hand on his shoulder, touch gentle despite the roughness of his palms.]

I know it is not easy, shouldering what you have done. But each day that you continue to try, each day that you choose not to resort to outright violence, is a victory. And I am proud of each and every one of those.

[bluebasketballed]

[the sheer level of confidence kyojuro has in him is shocking. not only does he trust akaza, but he's proud of him? it doesn't seem real. akaza can't in good conscience hold kyojuro's gaze, so his eyes fall to the hand on his shoulder. despite his inner turmoil, the look on his face is openly fond, touched.]

Kyojuro... [his voice is choked. he doesn't know what else to say, but hopefully he comes off as grateful.]

[tempurahair]

[There is no mistaking the impact his words have managed to achieve. For once, Akaza seems to look his age — the immortal one he'd been locked into so long ago. It almost makes Kyojuro's heart ache, even for all the warmth that seems to suffuse it. Not for the first time, he can't help but wonder what might have spurred the man down this path in the first place. How gentle hands could be so readily converted to ones stained with blood.

At the same time, Kyojuro almost finds himself warring with his own instincts. He has the urge to raise his hand, to lay it upon Akaza's cheek, or perhaps thread into his hair. Another part of him almost longs to pull him close, to secure him in the sort of embrace that might protect him from whatever grief and guilt seemed to ail him.

He writes it off as being nothing more than his urge to protect and nurture anyone younger than him. He's felt the same about Shinobu and Mitsuri before, after all. This is surely no different.]

Really, I should be thanking you, you know. You have opened my eyes in the same way that Kamado once did. There is much I could learn from you.

[bluebasketballed]

[that -- that might be going a little far. akaza shakes his head and turns his brow up. almost laughs, that's how ridiculous it sounds.]

From me? No. I don't have anything to teach anyone, least of all you. Except what not to do.

[tempurahair]

No?

[Kyojuro doesn't shy away from laughing, though it's admittedly beneath the booming decibels that his laughter tends to trend toward.]

You have demonstrated regularly, how one can shoulder on in the face of adversity. Despite the weight on your shoulders, Akaza, you are still here. And I admire that persistence.

There is much I could blame myself for. I suspect that the longer we remain in this place, that list will continue to grow. But if you can keep moving forward, I can as well.

[bluebasketballed]

Don't take any blame for the things I've done.

I'm only still here because you asked me to stay.

[... saying that out loud sure is an admission. not just to kyojuro, but also to himself. the only reason he didn't walk into the sun, the only reason he's trying to fit in and play nice in this town. he owes kyojuro, he wants -- needs kyojuro to approve of him.]

[tempurahair]

Oh, fear not. My regrets have nothing to do with you.

[Well, maybe one does, but that's fine, he doesn't need to say it. For the most part, there is nothing he NEEDS to regret about what happened that day. No one, aside from himself, died that day. The children he was in charge of were fine. What could be possibly have to regret?

Still, that aching warmth suffuses his chest once more. Akaza's words settle gently in the space between his ribs and within the forefront of his mind, where they will likely remain even hours after Akaza departs.]

I am glad you did. It would be a far lonelier existence here, if you had not. [He thinks to mention that he would likely be lost without Akaza and his care, but ultimately decides against it. Surely Akaza would protest, considering his own involvement in said injuries needing care.]

[bluebasketballed]

[the idea of kyojuro of all people being lonely is... difficult to imagine. the man makes friends everywhere he goes. but akaza supposes that since they're from the same place, he understands some things that others in the grove just never will.

rather than argue, akaza just sinks to his knees and lays his head on the edge of the bed. maybe even closes his eyes, even if he knows he can't sleep. this might be the most secure he's ever felt around kyojuro -- or anyone, in a long, long time.

dog coded.]

[tempurahair]

[Kyojuro wonders if Akaza realizes that this is yet more evidence to his change. The demon he fought before never would have shown its belly to him in such a way. Though he hates to admit it, a fleeting thought crosses his mind — that he could easily lop Akaza's head off and be done with it all. The surge of regret that pours through immediately after is likewise evidence of Kyojuro's own change.

He knows now that, unless something drastically changed, he could never bring himself to lift a blade against Akaza again. Instead, his hand shifts upward, rising from Akaza's shoulder and instead settling within the man's hair. It's the same comforting gesture he's offered others, time and time again.

So why does it feel the slightest bit different? Thoughts for another time, he supposes. For now, he can't help but shift a bit himself, easing his own aching frame onto the bed and settling in. The hand, of course, never once leaves Akaza's hair.]

Will you stay in here tonight, Akaza? I think I may sleep easier, if you did.

[That isn't entirely true. Rather, he gets the feeling that Akaza might need the company, but would never ask for it himself.

... Not that he minds the other man's presence. Not by a long shot.]

[bluebasketballed]

[even the muscles in his shoulders relax once kyojuro's fingers thread into his hair. true, a few weeks, even days ago, he would have frozen or tensed, but right now... akaza allows himself to find some solace in the touch.]

Rest easy, Kyojuro. I'll watch over you. [he shouldn't. he knows he shouldn't, and yet...] I promise.

[tempurahair]

I know you will. [His fingers continue to work through Akaza's hair. He reasons that it's no different than petting a dog. But Kyojuro certainly has never pet a dog like this.

Or. You know. Ever.]

I trust you, Akaza.

[His eyes slide closed so easily.]