sticksandbones IC Inbox

[bluebasketballed]

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.

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

plotting contact: PM // discord @ fuckweasel

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Probs like a day or two after their last talk

[tempurahair]

[There is a long moment where Kyojuro can only stare. Some of the scene doesn't make sense — for his mother to be beside his aged brother means that something is wrong. A Blood Demon Art is the most reasonable conclusion, which means the most reasonable action is to strike out. If he can kill the demons before they bewitch him further, it will be all the better.

Predictably, the scene vanishes the second Kyojuro steps into it. Unfortunately for him, he's thrown so much force into the blow — fourth form to handle the multiple targets — that by the time reality sets in, he's already sunk his blade into the tree. The resounding metallic thunk is powerful enough to break the delicate gold sword, sending the blade hurtling deeper into the woods.

He doesn't realize that he'd been roaring his fury until his lungs tell him they're out of breath. He draws in a breath, steady as ever, then grits his teeth as he turns one way, then the other. His family, and the presumed demons, are gone. He is, at least as far as he's aware, entirely alone.

The question is: how long will that last? The gout of flame, the sound of impact, and the snarl from his own throat, were sure to draw something to him.]

[bluebasketballed]

[akaza had done as kyojuro suggested, and found himself a sanctuary to hole up in during the daylight hours. the quiet proved to be a problem when he heard a voice echo through his very core, the same as muzan's would when he disciplined his precious kizuki.

he is a fool, but he also is not. pacing up and down his room the entire day hadn't relieved his deep desire to follow the voice's instructions, even knowing it was just honey luring him to a trap like an insect. it was right, in one aspect he can't deny; his heart is wounded, and he hasn't gotten the reprieve he expected.

after the sun sets, his feet carry him into the trees without his consent. perhaps he would make it all the way to the specified location, if not for that roar. he knows that shout, and every vein in his body is set alight with fury at the mere concept of another harming his prey.

in seconds, he's sprinted across the undergrowth, ready to pummel into dust whatever is picking a fight with kyojuro -- and he skids to a halt when all he finds is the slayer with a broken sword in a tree. his brows pull down as he straightens up.]

Is this some sort of training?

[tempurahair]

[In one moment, he feels nothing. In the next, his senses blaze with the presence of a demon. He whips around, broken sword head aloft as he prepares for the carnival workers to begin their assault. When he finds those golden eyes staring back at him however, a hush falls over his soul.

The last time they spent any time with one another, Kyojuro was close to an open book. This time, the cover of his pages is tightly bound shut. There is no flame when he speaks. His words are nearly as stiff as his shoulders are when he turns partially away from Akaza, moving back toward the Grove.

It's a wonder he doesn't speak through gritted teeth.]

It is nothing.

[As he walks, he gives a miserable glance toward his ruined weapon. Something was going to need to be done about that.]

[bluebasketballed]

[this is very unlike the kyojuro he's come to know. akaza doesn't immediately follow, instead remaining in the small clearing to investigate what the ruckus could have possibly been about. there are no signs of a struggle besides kyojuro's own movements, no evidence of anything or anyone else.

... hm.

he jogs in just a few long strides to catch up, then matches pace with kyojuro. his face is relaxed back into his typical easy smirk, and he leans a bit to point at the sword as well.]

We're going to have to get you a new one.

[tempurahair]

[He isn't surprised that Akaza follows. Their fight had proven that the Demon was nothing if not persistent. Infuriatingly so. Thankfully, even just a few moments in the cool night air has proven to be a balm for his rage. It isn't perfectly quelled, but certainly enough to keep him from lashing out.

He holds his blade up and... scoffs.]

The gold ones from the temple will not do. The metal is too pliant.

[He has half of a mind to cast it off back into the woods but... Monster lurking there or not, he can't bring himself to litter. Instead, he tucks it back into the sheath of his old sword, then glances sidelong at Akaza.]

You were already in the woods, weren't you? [There isn't an accusation there. Just a muted statement.] You would have to be, to catch all of that.

[bluebasketballed]

There's a shop in town, isn't there? I doubt they trade in scarlet ore, but you don't need that to kill creatures other than me.

[to akaza, it seems like a waste of effort for kyojuro to carry trash around with him, but it's far from the most peculiar thing about him. though he has begun to commit to memory all of the slayer's little quirks. for science.]

You underestimate the volume of your own voice! [he laughs, airy and relaxed.] Maybe I was looking for some of those monsters the others spoke about. [not an outright lie, but not the full truth. he wonders absently if kyojuro would strike him down if he gave the slightest hint of being tempted by the forest god.]

[tempurahair]

Perhaps.

[He's certainly weighed the option. But having anything other than his own blade in his hand would be difficult to swallow. Useless though it may be, its weight and presence felt far more familiar within his palm.]

Is that all it was, then? [He isn't accusing Akaza of following him but... He has to admit, he's curious. Was Akaza as honed in onto his presence as Kyojuro seemed to be to his?]

[bluebasketballed]

[his own smile becomes sickly sweet. turning this around on kyojuro may be a good way to keep himself out of trouble.]

I know it wasn't nothing. Your fighting spirit flared like the sun.

[for a beat, he pauses, golden etched eyes piercing into kyojuro, searching for the slightest hint that he's right.]

Did you hear something out there?

[tempurahair]

[Kyojuro's eyes cut sidelong at Akaza. There's a hint of a warning there. For all his blaze, though, those shoulders still seem to loosen after awhile, even if his gaze pierces forward once again. If he expects honesty from the demon, he'll have to give it first.

Even if he knows he's dancing on Akaza's own strings.]

I saw my mother. And my brother.

[bluebasketballed]

[it isn't kyojuro's warning, but his words that make akaza drop the smirk. teasing the man is fun, he's beginning to learn, but poking at actual wounds only overwhelms him with guilt.]

But there was nothing there. [if it is a trick of the forest god, it's exceptionally fucked up. kyojuro already admitted his mother was long dead, and that his brother lives on in grief. neither of them are here.

his fists clench at his sides, veins bulging at the force of it. so he was right, in a way. there was something out here whose only intention was to hurt kyojuro.]

[tempurahair]

Indeed. By the time I moved for a single strike, the whole thing had dissipated.

[It hadn't kept him from following through, of course. Akaza had outright admitted to having witnessed Kyojuro's fury, thanks to that so-called "fighting spirit." It's a bit embarrassing, to be seen so thoroughly. Especially when he tries so hard to put up a front of self-control.]

I should not be surprised. I was warned of the Forest's tricks. [When he glances toward Akaza again, there's... almost a note of concern in his eyes. Maybe Akaza will think that it's concern for his own life, or the well-being of those around them. And maybe it's best that he does.

The last thing either of them needs is to think Kyojuro is worrying over him. Even if Akaza's own admission, that he regretted everything is all he can currently hear roaring within his mind.]

[bluebasketballed]

[he had been tempted, it's true. using their greatest weaknesses against them, either to hurt them or presumably to hijack their power... the level of manipulation is indeed on par with muzan. but unlike muzan, akaza's very cells don't tie him to that wretched god.]

I wasn't looking for just any beast. That filth was trying to tempt me.

[tempurahair]

[That makes Kyojuro stop. Not because he thinks to attack Akaza for even bringing it up, but because he finds himself almost baffled by the admission. He casts a glance around the area, making sure that none of their fellow townsfolk are nearby.]

Did you consider it?

[His voice is steady. There is no accusation there, only curiosity.]

[bluebasketballed]

[the bottom line is that kyojuro is right -- akaza, at least as he is now, seems keen on reciprocating what he's offered. that, and he's more comfortable admitting to this now that he has fully decided that he despises that creature. like kyojuro earlier, the demon's anger isn't directed at him, but at the forest.]

Did you consider getting your mother back? Even for one second? [it isn't that he's trying to be accusatory, either. only pointing out how painfully obvious the answer is, would be to anyone who went through such a loss.]

[tempurahair]

It was different for me. [He remembers her body, and that alone isn't terrible. He had seen her after her death, had a chance to say goodbye to her icy form. But knowing she was meant to be eaten? That costs his stomach to twist.] But if given the choice...

[He trails off, quiet and briefly distant.]

No, I would not have considered getting her back. I have long since reconciled that loss. [Yet there is a line of tension in his voice all the same.] My brother, though. He has a long life ahead of him. He was not meant to join the corps. I intended to tell him as much.

I would have thought twice, if it meant sparing him.

[bluebasketballed]

[a hiss passes between akaza's clenched teeth. of course kyojuro surpasses him in this moral battlefield, as well. he always will, won't he? gods, what is the point in trying to be good if his only example stands above in a place completely unattainable to him? but still using kyojuro's logic, being willing for his brother's sake... that would fall under that category of "protection," right? which means he can do whatever idiotic thing, like walking into a malevolent god's trap, he wants to achieve that goal.

the sound in his throat rises into a frustrated snarl. not as loud as kyojuro's roar earlier, but by no means quiet.]

I don't get you! I know for a fact humans are selfish, too, so why are you so high and mighty?! Nobody's perfect all the damn time!

[tempurahair]

[Kyojuro lifts his brows. The shadows still linger from his encounter, and they only seem to deepen at Akaza's outburst. For just a split second, he finds himself looking away, shoulders tilting inward as a well of both grief and shame opens up within his chest.]

Choosing to give my strength to that creature within the woods would have been the most selfish thing I could have done. I would never deny that. And you -

[His expression shifts minutely. A faint shimmer of warmth and mirth dances somewhere within the murk. He shakes his head, before continuing on. He does, of course, cast over his shoulder with a near smile.]

I was going to praise you for taking the first step toward holding true to your principles, but I suppose I shall have to save it for after your tantrum.

[bluebasketballed]

[akaza's lips part in a gape that just hides his fangs. from kyojuro's perspective, he could almost pass for nothing more than a petulant child of the most bizarre tones.

the time he spends just staring after kyojuro is... not short. once the shock settles in, fury rises right back in its place. but he stays it somewhat, this time. his nails dig bloody crescents into his palms from where he clenches his fists, and he snaps his fangs again, but eventually, his muscles relax. even his face is pulled into more of a pouty scowl than a snarl. his strides become small leaps to catch up with kyojuro.]

You're really going to talk to me like I'm some snotty brat? I could still rip your arms off and shove them into your big mouth, y'know. [despite the violent imagery, there's no vitriol behind his words.]

[tempurahair]

[And somehow, that's what manages to shatter the icy that lingered in the corners of Kyojuro's gaze. He tilts his head back, letting out a raucous, delighted laugh. It's the sort of booming sound that's bound to draw attention. Good thing they've largely made it out of the woods at this point.

It takes a solid fifteen seconds before the man settles down. Not that there isn't a grin spreading wildly across those lips. It's a wicked, almost impish grin as he stares Akaza down. Never has he been more grateful for their minimal height difference.]

Of course I am! You are my junior, after all!

[bluebasketballed]

[oh, he's definitely pouting. even if kyojuro's enduring laughter sparks the tiniest of lights in his eyes. insufferable, exasperating man.]

You shithead. I could be your great-great-great grandfather!

[tempurahair]

[And that faint glimmer, coupled with the return fire, only serves to make him grin all the wider.]

Yet that expression you wear only makes you look all the younger! Some of my juniors have managed to look older than you, you know!

[bluebasketballed]

[this is worlds away from the night they met. kyojuro is finally speaking to him with as much fervor as akaza does to him, even teasing him and laughing about it. this could have been a reality long ago, some dark part of his mind supplies, if kyojuro had just accepted his offer back then.

akaza shrugs his shoulders to loosen them as he walks. no, kyojuro truly would make a poor demon. as much as he wishes the slayer could still go toe-to-toe with him, akaza thinks now, as he finally smirks once more, that he would hate to see this man's humanity snuffed out as his had been.]

Fine, then, you old geezer. Isn't it past your bedtime?

[tempurahair]

[Another fresh burst of laughter leaves him. The thoughts of how strange, how different this all is, don't seem to cross his mind. He simply revels in the delight of the company, of someone who matches his pace so easily.

His mannerisms didn't always blend well with the other Hashira. It's nothing against them — their mannerisms could be just as off-putting to him!]

I suppose it is getting rather late. [He glances back toward the inn.] I trust you will monitor the town overnight?

[bluebasketballed]

Sure thing. I won't allow it to pull a fast one on us again.

[not an outright promise, but a threat. not overly familiar, but combative. the last thing akaza wants right now is to push kyojuro away, when they've already made strides.]

[tempurahair]

I will hold you to it, Akaza.

[You know, without his nichirin sword, and with half of his stamina as before. It really... isn't much of a threat. And maybe it's not supposed to be. Akaza at least seems like he's being honest. Kyojuro isn't a fool, knows he needs to watch his back all the same, but maybe, just maybe, Akaza will at least do him the favor of not finding a new master to serve.]

Until the morning, then.

[He bows his head, a gesture of near respect. Then marches his way back to the inn.]