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

[harimaya]

Because I never asked for their fucking opinion!



Or yours!

[kaientai]

But it's a compliment, Hizen!!!

[harimaya]

I didn't ask for it!

(AGAIN... he's tsundere, Ryouma.)

[kaientai]

I know! But I've congratulated you already! No take backs!!

[harimaya]

WHERE ARE YOU

(IF HE CAN'T MAKE RYOUMA TAKE IT BACK THEN HIZEN IS GOING TO GET BACK AT HIM)

[kaientai]

The office! I live here now!

1/2

[harimaya]

(>"I live here now!"

Squints.)

[harimaya]

Did you eat

(What time is it even. Late morning? Early noon? Hizen was sleeping!!! He just woke up!! He hasn't eaten.)

[kaientai]

Why? Hungry? We can go get breakfast somewhere if you like.

[harimaya]

I want udon.

(Something nice and light but also filling for summer.)

[kaientai]

Hehe, alright then. Meet me here instead.

[ he sends hizen an address to a restaurant on the edge of sutoku territory where it bumps up against tamamo territory. in this case, the foxes know their udon. ]

[harimaya]

(Good... this is good. The little details don't go unnoticed and Hizen approves. Surely, the foxes will know how to make good udon.

Hizen will arrive as expected!)

D'ya know what you want?

(Because Hizen was thinking about it the whole time down...... he's ready. Waste no time.)

[kaientai]

Yeah, of course! Jus' the house special for me. I'm simple!

[ naturally, the special at an udon shop run by kitsune is... kitsune udon! but also, they throw in a couple of yakiniku skewers as well. it's a pretty good deal! ]

[harimaya]

(As expected. He nods in agreement! He'll take the same!

(And if Ryouma mentions anything about Ember, Hizen will end him.))

Staying out of trouble?

(He knows better than to ask but still.)

[kaientai]

Eheh...

[ that little laugh is maybe a bad sign?? ]

Ya want an honest answer or..?

[ because he knows that hizen knows what he's like. ]

I'm busy, in any case! Goes along with havin' my name out there more'n I'd like. Nothin' much for it though! I'll work with whatever comes.

[ ryouma wearing his kimono and hakama isn't really new, but with his powers fully restored he's able to do it with magic now. the fact that he has two swords stuck through his hakama strings is a thing, but he's also sitting right now, so it's probably not obvious. ]

[harimaya]

...

("Eheh" te nan de yo?! He looks like he could snap right at Ryouma and one can probably see the gears turning in his head as he weighs whether or not its worth it it--)

Just answer the question!

(That seems to be what he settles for.

For now, he doesn't notice the swords but he will take a seat across from Ryouma and get their orders ready. Of course, he wants something to drink too. It's hot though so he'll ask for a tea along with his sake.)

Tch... I'm getting tired of hearin' how much the boss wants your head, y'know...

[kaientai]

I'm lookin' for information on the black market.

[ this is not a secret at this point, but if hizen is asking he doesn't know. ]

So, if ya hear anything... it helps me out! I ain't said anything t' make it worse, but I don't blame him for bein' excited.

[harimaya]

(SIGHS BECAUSE OF COURSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY MEAN MORE TROUBLE.

Their drinks arrive first! And Hizen is already helping himself,)

... I'll see what I can hear. (It's easy enough,) Dunno what's good or not, though.

(He... does not have business sense in the same way Mutsunokami does. He can look at records and organize them well enough but when it comes to putting the information to use, he really can't compare.)

But ya really need to be careful from here. (Their food arrives next,) I told ya before. People like you keep people like me busy.

(He's already done one job and he doesn't want to do any more.)

[kaientai]

I'm mostly lookin' for who runs things. Leads. But ya gotta be careful 'cause the things I'm hearin' lately is that it's dangerous jus' lookin'.

[ so he's caught between a rock and a hard place. the nebulous unknown danger he's digging into and toraguma. might as well keep going because by that logic, he's dead any way you turn it. ]

That's funny though 'cause somebody told me there's supposed t' be some kinda—... I'm not even sure. Ritual? A pact? Somethin' like that. [ a shrug. ] Somethin' ya do with other people an' apparently the whole yakuza honour bit is so ironclad that they gotta respect it. 'Course I dunno what that is or how it works, only that it exists.

[ ryouma is quick to start on the drinking now too. ]

Ain't up t' me though, so this is jus' the way it's meant t' be, I guess. Whatever happens, happens.

[ see: he thinks izō never told him about it because izō doesn't think he deserves it. ryouma has accepted this. mostly. ]

[harimaya]

Is there? (It's his first time hearing about this pact thing.) Never heard about it. Don't really bother a lot with the whole family business thing they got going on...

(Despie being in Shuten. Despite being one of the ranked members. He still keeps to himself. He doesn't really buy into all of the factions on a personal level. His ranks have been earned independently, by doing things on his own without getting involved with others.)

[kaientai]

Yeah, I guess? Emily mentioned it. It wasn't real clear at the time, but that's what I understand, anyway. It applies even though she's with the Alliance 'cause it's a gesture of some higher bond that can't be touched, so Majima and Izō ain't got nothin' t' worry 'bout.

[ it's fine. ryouma can definitely talk about this in a very reasonable, objective way because he feels nothing about any of it (see: he can't) and a sip of his drink turns into emptying it. he would say there is no jealousy there and that may be mostly true, but to say it hasn't hurt him to think about sometimes really is a lie.

he shoves a bunch of food in his mouth after that, which helps by forcing him to stop and chew it and therefore think things through a little more before he can continue. ]

Ya oughta keep stayin' out of it, if y' can avoid it. Do what the boss says an' keep out of the politics t' save yourself the headache.

[harimaya]

(He raises a hand to signal a server, calling for them to refill their drinks. Hizen still has some to go but he'll make sure to finish by the time they arrive with more.)

Don't tell me what to do.

(He can't help but snap. He doesn't like how he keeps finding out about things.)

I've got no plans for getting involved with politics and all that. (That much he would like to avoid. It's all over his head and more trouble than its worth, he thinks.) But you're...

(He picks at the piece of aburaage in his bowl,)

Not that.

(He's bad at words. He wants to say Ryouma is more to him than politics but instead he just settles for his poorly spoken words and stuffs more food in his mouth.)