Takumi Hijirihara

┅ [☢]

There are times where she could still see her hands. Even when they are covered, she could see her nails: long and painted red, pale skin free from leather. And she dislikes the feelings that accompanies the vision each time it happens, a feeling akin to dragging a heavy chain ball strapped to her chest; especially when her hair turns pink each time she starts to relax.

It reminds her too much of her failure.

Thus, she separates herself from her pair, the cover of night allowing her to leave unnoticed. The streets however, aren’t as bare as she thought it would be. So, she walks a couple of miles without a destination before turning into a quiet alleyway to gather her thoughts. It would have been a good time for some shooting practice but with her spare ammunition, that is not an option she is willing to risk.

Mukuro leans on the wall, her mind seeking for a glimpse of something no longer there, when her ears picked up a sound. Dull grey eyes immediately turn towards the source, searching the area as she lowers a hand to grip the hilt of her blade.       

She will not hesitate to strike if it comes down to a scuffle.

    Needing a break as the crowd grew thicker, he slid his way into a dark alleyway. He could hardly see anything, no light made its way into the small space. Yet, Takumi’s instincts were telling him something was here, lurking just beyond what he could see. Logic would say turn back, but that would also require the sanity of a normal person. A true detective followed the path that their guts said to follow.>

    His shoulders slumped back and his red gaze looked exhausted. It was easy to think this man held no threat, but that’d be a mistake. Takumi was much more aware than his appearance would suggest. As lazy as he looked, slumped forward and hands shoved deep into his pockets, he was ready. Hands gripped onto a knife in his pocket, he was ready for a potential fight. He was almost hoping there would be one. He was getting stiff and out of shape in this boring world.>

It was both boring and weird to Add, because of how short life was (and his sickness only making it shorter), he was always overworking himself in Elrios, trying to try and figure a way back home to his original timeline. A way back to the past, to what he assumed would be a happy and loving family. One where they would see him, where they weren’t harmed in the Nasod War, everything was fine….Although, most of that was false or would never happen. Not unless he was blessed by the Lady El herself.

“As much as I highly value myself, I don’t think many people would miss me. Hell, I bet they’d be glad that I vanished from existence.” Did the El Gang even care about him? If they did, they sure didn’t do a good enough job at stopping him. The only people who he could think of were people like Echo and Vanessa, both of them cared for him even rewarded him for the things of he did. They made him feel like a normal person.

The Esper didn’t notice, but there was a tingling feeling that ran down his back, it snapped him back into reality and a sigh escaped him. “Cool..?” He repeated, trying to figure out what term that related to. Ah, he understood better thanks to Dynamo, but he couldn’t explain verbally. “Yes– we are ‘cool’ with each other. You’re one of the few people I tolerate and … … …feel comfortable talking to. Anyway, I suppose it’s because of the things I did, I’ve become infamous. It’s hard to get people treat me like a normal person– however, my own personality is to blame for that. I don’t make it any easier on the person.”

     “I value you.” Like most of his words around Add, they came out without him thinking about it. His statement held truth however. To Takumi, Add was one of the few people he had here. In fact, he felt closer to him then anyone back in Japan. Not that he was particularly close to anyone. “Does it matter if someone hates you anyway? We’re all hated by someone in someway. If we didn’t piss them off, someone else would. Our existences don’t change anything.”

     He couldn’t exactly offer the most comforting words, but it was what he knew. Mushy comments never went over well in his life.

     “Cool? Cool. That’s cool. That’s pretty much how I view you as well.” Shut up, Takumi. Pretending to sip on his coffee, he stared up at the sky. He really didn’t want to talk anymore. Soon enough he’d shove his own foot in his mouth. Disgusting. Relationships were weird.

     Takumi couldn’t really disagree with the points Add had laid out in front of him. Add had all the traits of someone who would get a bad reputation. Hard to approach? Check. Deadly? Check. Looks can kill? Check. Will to kill? Check check check. “That doesn’t really answer my question... Do the opinions of boring people actually matter to a cool cat like you? If someone is scared of you, they can’t be that worth your time anyway. You don’t scare me.”

Was he still worried about whoever was chasing him? Probably. Add knew that feeling, having to be cautious of your surroundings in case someone spotted you. “Hmrrgh…I suppose I can understand that. But a box..?” He trailed off, shaking his head. It didn’t seem like much in the way of living, but if Takumi was happy.

“… … …This is a one time offer. I don’t generally show people this much kindness, but I’m making an exception. – In exchange for letting me look after the cat, I’ll let you stay at my place until you get a new box or something…I mostly stay in my lab so I wouldn’t bother you.”

     “Yeah, boxes. I like closed spaces... Closets are my favourite, lockers are also pretty good but are iffy. The ones around here get opened a lot by people trying to use them. It’s annoying...” Takumi’s gaze flickered between his environment and Add, trying to keep eye contact as he spoke. It didn’t seem like they would be back for a while, but they’d probably return to the cafe this way. He had to be careful. “Boxes are comfy enough for moving around and can be used anywhere. People don’t tend to disturb them either... except when they think cats are inside. Or a homeless person.”

     There wasn’t any ill intent in his words, it was just him stating facts. Okay, maybe he was targeting Add just a little bit. Maybe he should lay off of any potentially rude statements though, considering he just had an offer for a house. A... home? Even back in his home world, he mostly lived in the office of the Future Foundation. Huh.

     “Eh...?” It really did catch the paranoid detective off guard. What was this guys intentions? Was he that desperate for a cat...? Even Takumi didn’t think so, but aside from that, he had no idea. Surely it couldn’t be kindness. “I’m not... really... bad company I think but that’s... I think it’s more of an issue of me bothering you, you know? O-oh, but I’ll take you up on that offer before I lose my opportunity...”

Eyes loom towards Takumi’s screen as he showed it off. If his eyes could change, they would be sparkling. Instead, all that happened was a small stream of electricity sparking from his left eye – that usually meant he was recording data into the depths of his mind. 

     “It took me... a while. The Golden Fish which is used for the good stuff are harder to get.” The bit about it taking a while was a lie. A complete lie. He’s hardly had this phone a day, but he spent money because he was too lazy to wait around. Plus, he really wanted those box houses and such. This guy didn’t need to know that though. Let him believe Takumi was actually good at something.

     “Hmmm...” Takumi tilted his head, leaning forward a bit to take a peek at this guys phone. A box? Because of him? He was honored. What kind of box would this man get, he wondered. It was unfortunate he couldn’t get the box truck. That was Takumi’s favourite. “The cats are really cute playing in the boxes. I like it. It’s a good choice.”