Jigoku: inbox

[harimaya]

"Your call has been forwarded to the voicemail for, … … ….
No one is available to take your call.
At the tone, please record your message."

( text/audio/video/action )
un: gohan

Comments

[breweries]

I was being hypothetical. Maybe.

[ fufu

fufufufufu ]

Well? Would you turn me away from your doorstep or not?

[harimaya]

(how does he answer this








help)

depends

[breweries]

[ close enough ]

Good answer. Then, if you could turn your attention towards the window for a moment.

[ hizen will find shylock right beyond the balcony, hovering on his broomstick and looking utterly cheeky and pleased with himself. ]

Hello, Hizen. I have finally arrived at your heart.

1/3

[harimaya]

(He was so preoccupied with the idea that Shylock was going to come to the actual door...)

[harimaya]

(He didn't even think about the balcony what the hell he just stares outside the window for a second)

[harimaya]

(HE JUST IMMEDIATELY CLOSES THE CURTAINS FOR A SECOND OUT OF SURPRISE

and opens it up just a tiny bit

just a little

to give a peek to see if he's still there)

[breweries]

[ nope sorry king he's still out here, hovering away and his lips are curled in a very amused smile. at least he's not outright laughing?

...

well? aren't you going to let him in? ]

[harimaya]

(Closes the curtain again..........




And slowly slides the door open. It's clear that he's flustered, avoiding actual eye contact and mumbling,)

What're you doing?

[breweries]

Visiting you, of course.

[ still smiling from ear to ear. nothing has changed.

... ]

Did I come at a bad time?

[harimaya]

Nah... thought you'd come to the door instead.

(He was surprised? But okay, he'll open the doors all the way so Shylock can land or whatever? He doesn't know what to do!!! Except kind of awkwardly adjust one of the loops on the bandage around his neck. It's always worn haphazardly but considering he wasn't even wearing it at all until recently... it's definitely loose. He makes sure to keep his scar covered,)

... Are you coming in or something?

[breweries]

Would you want me to?

[ and arouse suspicion from his shuten neighbors? not that this isn't sussy as it is.

he steps off his broomstick and dusts himself, gaze landing on hizen's neck and noticing the bandage on his neck like always. he did surprise the poor sword, so he couldn't have put it on fast enough. tbh shylock had always assumed that hizen sleeps with it on....... ]

After you.

[harimaya]

(The thing about Hizen is as awkward and self-conscious as he is, once he decides he likes someone, he's quite loyal. He doesn't care what others think when there are more valuable opinions to take into consideration. He doesn't care so much that others might see Shylock hovering around. No, that isn't quite true. He knows he's Shuten and Shylock is with Tamamo but still... he'd rather be a loyal friend than a loyal lackey. )

Just get inside.

(He's impatient, still flustered and he steps aside, finishing messing with his bandage. Of course, he doesn't wear it when he's sleeping or even when he's alone, especially in this summer heat and humidity.

Sleeping with it on is just asking to strangle himself in his sleep and if he's going to die, he's going to die in battle like a warrior... not strangled in bed like some futon or cotton spirit got him.

He just doesn't like others seeing it.

He steps aside to let Shylock in and starts to make his way over towards the kitchen,)

... I'll make some tea.

(Please don't expect much but he's trying to be a good host. Also welcome to Hizen's humble abode... it truly isn't much. Pretty bare as far as furniture goes, no real decoration. The only place he has to sit is... two chairs for the kitchen table??? A single shelf with some papers and odd trinkets stacked neatly and a pile of folded clothes right in the middle of the living room floor....... As sad as everything is, it's all at least neat. The minimalism helps but it's definitely a clean living space.)

[breweries]

[ it's a quaint place to live in, and for some people, just having a roof above their head is more than enough. shylock's aesthetic sensibilities would have sought for fancier furniture and decor for his own apartment, but maybe that's just a timtam thing.

at any case, he slides onto an empty chair at the kitchen, folding his hands together. ]

Mr. Norimune is still out?

[ probably doing enma things, for all he knows. truly, there is no rest for the wicked. ]

[harimaya]

(Look, it's very quaint and Norimune will definitely get a nicer, bigger place after his promotion that will allow for more decoration. And no doubt get Hizen to help him do shopping for the place,)

Mhm. The big guy works them pretty hard. Long hours and stuff.

(So Hizen just... does what he can around the place. He keeps it clean and organized and makes notes of things they need to buy. Norimune has some pretty nice teas to choose from, at least, and Hizen considers which one to choose as he gets the water boiling in an electric kettle.)

[breweries]

Even when the Enma is cooping himself up in his throne again...

[ if he were smoking right now, he would've taken a long drag at this point. btw can he smoke here or

he'll just watch hizen do about his business in the kitchen, placing his chin on his hand. ]

I should have sent along another bottle, then. I have no doubt that he is just as exhausted -- maybe even more so.

[ especially with the fight with a certain genius swordsman that shylock had witnessed... ]

[harimaya]

(Shylock has rights. He can do whatever he wants and he'll just explain and ask Norimune for forgiveness if he has to.

He sets out a tea tray, a set of cups, a few candies, and rice crackers in the center. Little things he just does without thinking much, like he's done this before (because he has. He's served tea and snacks plenty of times to sensei and others.). )

You don't have to.

(Bringing the tray over, setting it down in front of him and now they just have to wait for the water to boil which shouldn't take much longer, )

... But he liked the one you sent before.

(If he wants to send more. He won't stop Shylock if he wants to? It's his wine.)

[breweries]

But I want to.

[ chinhands. he doesn't exactly know how much rights hizen has given him, but he's been having a Time taking advantage of them without even being aware of it. as far as he knows, hizen resembles a cranky old cat who's slowly getting used to human contact -- or in this case, wizard contact? ]

And I'll send more if he wants. I really do think he needs it more than you, but...

[ he takes a rice cracker in his hand, admiring it from all corners before snapping it in half delicately. ]

I suppose even Touken Danshi have their limits.

[harimaya]

(Hizen is, in fact, a cranky old cat that is getting used to human contact so Shylock isn't wrong.)

I can make sure he gets it.

(If Shylock really wants to send another bottle but that last little comment gets Hizen to freeze ever so slightly. It's just a half-second of surprise before he goes back to taking out a box of tea, setting the bags in the cup and asking plainly,)

Where did you hear that?

[breweries]

From Mr. Norimune himself. Or rather, the fragment of his nightmares.

[ does that make sense? shylock said it so conversationally too, as if he was just talking about the weather. haha, isn't it nice to see the clear skies again? ]

Swords do have interesting relationships with their owners, don't they.

[harimaya]

(Before the water boiler can finish, he takes it off and pours water into their cups. It doesn't have to be perfectly boiling. As long as it's hot, it's fine. They can drink faster this way, too.

He's quiet, listening to Shylock explain. Yes, it makes sense. Those curses and phantoms sure did reveal a lot of things that should have been kept quiet.

Finally, he takes a seat,)

Relationships between humans and spirits aren't ordinary. (It makes sense to Hizen. Of course they'd have strange relationships. They aren't the same beings.) We're too different.

[breweries]

That we are. But it seems as though the human Lost Souls are more accepting of us uncommon folk... or at least, they are more tolerant of our presences simply because they have no choice.

[ namely, the exorcists. shylock will wait for the tea to cool a bit and for the tea to steep before unknowingly dropping this query: ]

But I recall you mentioning that your owner is here as well. How is he?

[harimaya]

(It isn't so much the tolerance that Hizen is getting at but how they co-exist. Even if they tolerate each other and live together, they'll never be able to interact the same way humans would with other humans. Or the way other spirits would interact with spirits. They'll always perceive each other through their own experiences and that, in turn, will shift their interactions.

Shylock, however, has touched on a difficult subject and it's very clear. His shoulders drop, he looks down, and his hands, wrapped around his cup, tense. Quietly,)

I dunno.

(And even quieter,)

He told me to beat it. No one's seen him since.

[breweries]

[ shylock looks up, immediately concerned. careful, careful... ]

Why did he say so?

[harimaya]

(If he could make himself smaller, he would. All he can do is keep his head down and slouch a little more in his chair,)

... I couldn't do anything. (He couldn't help him. Couldn't keep him safe. Couldn't be relied on. Couldn't be good enough. Couldn't--) ... Didn't want me.

(That isn't what he said but it's how it felt and that, especially, stings.)

[breweries]

[ shylock is silent for a while, lets that sink in for a moment. ]

...Did he say that? That he didn't want you.

[ there's usually more to it than that. ]