sweet as lollipops !

“Uhm, I’m just saying,” Ramuda starts, one finger to his lips as he reaches forward to point to some more sweets. He watches as the shop owner fills the bag up -- all the way to the top, and then hands him the cupcakes he already had ordered. “If I was being chased by a big scary man I would just... rap at him.”

“No way! You know that cake is the way you’ve gotta go for birthdays!”

“How boooring would it be to just get chocolates, huh!? So you better prepare yourself for something better!” 

“I…definitely might have made maybe just a little too many chocolates…”

@amaikus​ // event starter !

Hifumi had seen a lot of strange things in his time here. 

But waking up in a totally different place from your bedroom, fully dressed and thrown in front of what seemed like a live studio audience for some sort of reality show…definitely took the cake. And it wasn’t even like he had never been on a studio set before! Usually someone just have him a little bit of a heads up before he had to show up.

…and actually told him he was showing up to something.

At least they were kind enough to give him his jacket. 

Taking a better look at where he had wound up…it looked like he was on one half of a divider wall, sitting in a chair with two other people sitting next to him. And-

Wait. Wait, he recognized one of those other people. 

“Amemura? Is that you?”

Ramuda didn’t like this situation. Not that he was really keen on the overall ‘being trapped in a city you cannot escape’ thing -- but that, at least, he’d gotten used to. This curveball in addition to all the time he seems to have just lost, well.

It was enough to make anyone a little cranky.

Ramuda frowns, just a little. He assumes not long enough for anyone to note it, but he overcompensates by beaming at the studio audience. He’s good at performing, lives for it, almost as much as--

He’d just planned on hanging around the Cotes Ward on his own. He hadn’t planned on meeting up with anyone, and certainly had not planned on seeing Jakurai’s son.

( Something, something about never outrunning your past )

He looks up at the taller one with a big, sweet smile. Ramuda likes how much Rook seems to enjoy Ramuda’s company-- the younger seeming to enjoy idols almost as much as Ramuda enjoys being idolized.

Ramuda finds himself looking at the bright candies in front of him, his mouth split wide in a mischievous grin. He tilts his head to the side and looks up to the other man in the candy shop, someone else who may or may not be a connoisseur of the finer things in life -- such as, say, the overly large gumball that sits just out of reach.

Ramuda doesn’t like doctors. There’s a myriad of reasons for this, not least of which they seem to have an eye for figuring out that something about Ramuda Amemura is off. He’s not sure if his insides are arranged the way someone who is not a clone’s should be, and he’s positive a creature like him isn’t built to last. People in medical positions seem to be able just to tell. Still, he likes Doctor Dyer against his better judgement, so he finds himself seeking her out when something is wrong.

It was not intentional politeness in any genuine sense that caused his voice to sound quiet. Rather, it’s simply the role he’s chosen in the moment. He keeps the voice the same as it was earlier - high and a bit scratchy. “Gentaro? It seems like you have the wrong number, kid.” He doesn’t bother with hiding his smile though - the relief that comes with hearing Ramuda’s excitement is palpable. 

Even in an unknown place, far from home and a situation that’s blended into reality with frizzled seams, there is that constant. A new, welcome consistency that comes with Fling Posse. Even if he never quite intended it, that doesn’t mean he’d rather have it any other way. “That’s a lie, naturally.” He follows it up with after a moment. Ramuda in a library? He’s filled with surprises. 

“Would a ‘hello’ satisfy you?” He teases, knowing full well the small man can talk for quite a while - has a curiosity that seeps through. “Is Dice here - or is he not?” He speaks in a wondering tone. “What do you think, Ramuda?” 

“Uwwaaa... don’t tease me!” Ramuda cries out into the phone, and he holds onto it as if Gentaro will float away if he doesn’t. He looks around, left, right, and doesn’t see him anywhere. The library is large, but surely he’s not hiding...?

Mention of Dice makes him move quicker as he looks down the stacks and stops short. Gentaro’s back is to him, naturally, and Ramuda nearly drops the phone as he runs down to the end. He jumps up and flings his arms around Gentaro, the laugh that comes out of him his high pitched and excited as he holds onto the writer’s neck.

“Huh?”

He blinks once at the candy-colored figure approaching him, hands shoved in his pockets and fingers curling into fists. He doesn’t bother trying to hide the annoyance in his gaze or the headache that started to form. Kuko grit his teeth, trying to suppress the building pain.

“Open your goddamn eyes, then, and don’t EVER mention that name around me. Who the hell ARE you, anyway?”

Ramuda giggled, the sound so positively mean and cruel that it surprised even him. He twirled the lollipop in his mouth and took another few steps forward as if testing the waters.

@amaikus // starter !

It almost felt like he was back in Shinjuku here.

…almost.

Yotsutsuji had found himself looking into the first ward in Spirale today, which just looking at it was already an adventure in itself. A large, winding canyon with large skyscrapers built around it…and…in it? 

While the skyscrapers were a familiar sight, they were definitely more futuristic than he was used to seeing. Especially the more he went into the city. It felt almost too sleek and surreal, but that’s what made it appealing too. The buildings were a lot more jam-packed with one another. Far too much, in certain spots.

So even if the more advanced technology was interesting…it would probably be better to explore around the outskirts, where it wasn’t as busy. And that lead to…a more mechanical looking area, but that was just as interesting. Probably because it looked more like it was supposed to be a neighborhood, with houses and various little shops.

It was cute, but what he really didn’t expect was for one more similarity to pop out in the form of familiar pink hair. Sure, he wasn’t wearing his usual hat or outfit but…that was definitely him, right…?

Well, there was one way to find out. Even if he was still suspicious of him…it was best to talk to the people he knew in this situation.

“Excuse me…! Sorry to stop you, but…Ramuda, that’s definitely you, isn’t it?”

There’s a voice. Ramuda can almost point to it, almost grasp the shape of it and hold it between his palms like it’s something tangible. He can’t, though, he’s not made sense of it quite yet -- but he does know the reaction that it sparks in his stomach. Fear, mostly, but something else mixed in there as well; intrepidation, perhaps? 

His eyes narrow as he wills himself to turn. There’s no one here who can hurt him, so there’s no one here who will. His reaction was most likely overblown anyway, and--

Eyes widen. Ramuda’s forgotten the original purpose of his day out when he makes eye contact with Yotsutsuji. Did this also mean Jakurai was here as well...?

The shocked expression lasts but a few moments before he can immediately put on the façade of innocence and surprise. “Yotsutsuji!” he calls out, and waves his hand wildly through the air.