Demon from the North

Once they’re at a nearby cafe, Licht orders himself a crepe and turns to the man following him.

“What do you want to eat?” A silent offer to pay for the treat, especially since he had invited him here anyway.

“Ah, I’m not that picky but.. I suppose a strawberry shortcake would do, if you will.” He wasn’t really a fan of sweet foods, but he’ll admit to being partial to strawberries, cue the choice.

Now that Ogata looked it was the lunchtime. Even then the placed sure filled up fast and just when one got up another would come in. The owner in turn seemed to encourage people to sit the tables of others instead of turning them down or asking to wait for a seat.

Ogata didn’t see this  guy  waiting for an encouragement though. Rather, Ogata  didn’t pay attention until he was getting close to his table.  He looks up from his udon, abura-age still hanging from his mouth before he helps it in. Looking around it really does seem like there’s no seat to take, save for other occupied tables so Ogata sighs a little.

Hand rans through his hair.

“ Do whatever you want I guess. “

“Thank you, sir.” Ever the polite one, he quietly draws his chair to take a seat himself. He’s relatively calm as he waits for the waiter, already set on asking for anything on a discount or something they’d recommend rather than looking through the menu. He wasn’t a picky eater, after all.

Once his order was placed, he turned to the person in front of him again.

blessedsckura​:

Sakura looked up at the other for a moment. She just met him now… But she had no reason not to trust him as of now. She looked down before looking up at him. “……You’ve given me no reason not to.” She responded. She remembered how her brother Kamui behaved on their journey, trusting until proven otherwise. She nodded. “….I do…” For now…

“That’s a relief.. I’m sorry to approach you out of the blue like this, but it is getting late and it wouldn’t sit with me to let a young girl wander around alone.” The statement is.. genuine in its tone, at the very least.

It seemed it was rather crowded today, however.. Judging by the looks of it, he won’t find a seat unless someone is willing to share their table. Now, Fyodor was no fool, but he was also someone who had nerves of steel and a will just as strong, so, of course, he heads towards the most threatening presence in the room.

Well, the man didn’t seem to be a threat of assault if approached, but he certainly didn’t look friendly, at least that’s the impression Fyodor thought a regular person might have. 

“Excuse me, sir, is this seat taken? I hate to bother you, but it seems a tad bit too crowded to find another free seat. I’ll leave if it’s too much to ask for, though.” He’s calm as always, a small pleasant smile on his face as he makes the request.

He felt his skin crawl when the Russian came closer, crouching down next to him, cold eyes inspecting his wounds. Goose bumps built up all over his body after a shiver ran through him, in this moment he was thankful for the fact that he was still dripping with cold, dirty river water. It kept his hair that would have stood on end down for the most part. Showing weakness in front of anyone especially someone he didn’t really consider a friendly acquaintance wasn’t something he’d choose to do.

Was this really fear though or just the cold getting to him? Maybe a mix of both. Though this was one of the few things he’d be fine living with, without the knowledge.

Ears perked up a little when the man so close to him started talking. Fyodor was a man that already knew too much about him but it was just the same the other way around. A game of chess they had been playing ever since their paths crossed.

“Ah, no thank you! An old man once told me not to go with strangers, I’d better listen to that, you know?” A grin spread across his face, masking his pain. “Even if this is slightly painful, I’d rather die than go with you!” Things like that were always uttered with a child like attitude, simply to mock people.

Slowly Dazai started trying to get up, each inch he moved shooting a wave of pain through his body. This wouldn’t work and even if that offer probably couldn’t be trusted, being close to an enemy would help revealing their plans and calculating their next steps. “Hmm, now that I think about it… What is your price?”

As the other man refused the offer, Fyodor was quick to stand up from his spot. He has offered his hand to Dazai, and he chose to slap it away. Fyodor will respect that foolish decision.

“Is that so? Please feel free to thank that old man for your slow and painful death, Dazai.” And with that he had already turned the other way, ready to leave but.. Not even three steps taken, and the man spoke again. Fyodor couldn’t help but chuckle.

“My, my.. Quick to change your mind, are you?” He turned to face Dazai then, a smile on his face there as if it never left his face, a smile that was as cold as the calm water, something that can’t be read at all. “Well, let me put it simply. There was a small.. name change I went through the trouble of having here. My only request is that you go along with it, that shouldn’t be too much, correct?”

Practical, he supposes. But also kind of boring– not that he doesn’t appreciate the time limit he’d put himself on.

He shrugs one shoulder and decides quickly enough,

“How bout a burger?”

dazaisola:

Fyodor. Not the last person in this universe he wanted to see but also not someone he had wanted to meet, especially not here. In a moment like this too, where he is weak, vunerable. Anybody could see what happened, there were simply people who tried to tell themselves that this wasn’t the case. The way Dazai preferred it.

“Aaah, I simply fell from the bridge, I’m really clumsy, aren’t I?” The detective laughed it off, a clearly visible fake smile on his lips. The russian man knew what he had tried and he knew that he had failed, again.

The river he had thrown himself into contained a lot of rocks, knocking him unconcious after his body crashed against them. Sadly, he had woken up again, soaking wet on the shore with bloody wounds covering his body.

“My, is that so? You really ought to be more careful. Wouldn’t want to die on us, now would you?”

Of course this demon knew what led to this situation, he knew his current cellmate enough to be able to tell. Now, here is where he couldn’t help but feel somewhat conflicted. It wouldn’t be hard to kill him as he is now, he could simply leave him to die from infection too, river shores aren’t exactly the kindest to open wounds like Dazai’s.

Or he could help, to keep the image he worked to maintain in this city..

With this conflict on his mind, he walks closer, just slightly out of Dazai’s reach before crouching down to have a better look at him, his choice decided soon enough.

“I could help you right now, I know you’re not a big fan of pain and staying here will only make these wounds hurt more. But I won’t do it for free because it’s you, it’s not expensive, don’t worry.” He assures, that pleasant smile on his face as always.

Badou’s seriously surprised he took mere minutes, expecting to be stood up, actually. He nods, following at his heels.

“That all you went with?”

“I didn’t see a need for anything more than what I needed, that’s all. If I do need more than this, I’ll buy it at a later date.” It made sense, of course. There was no need to buy anything extra when he had a limited budget with a promise of spending it on this payback, too.

He actually hadn’t expected immediate payback. A hem-hawing eventual thing, maybe, half assed, definitely. So he blinks slowly.

“Yeah…? Okay, just don’t take all day.”

“Of course.” And with that he’s headed inside. It takes a couple of minutes but soon enough, Fyodor returns with a simple white bag over his shoulder, by now filled with the pamphlets he was carrying around until now.

He looks around in case Badou moved to the side or something like that, offering a smile regardless.

He doesn’t say anything to that, but the look on Badou’s face says all he needs to when it comes to faith in humanity or a greater being. To him, at least.

He stops at a pair of wide windows, the display inside filled to the brim in all kinds of things, bags included.

“Gotta equip yourself, then, dontcha? For job interviews too.” He juts his chin towards the window.

That expression does tell him all he needs to know, but he chooses not to comment. To each their own.

As the other signals to the store, Fyodor looks towards it and takes some time observing the contents of the display. It did have what he needed, and perhaps a little more if he was lucky.

Of faith??? He’s taken aback, physically.

“Whaddya mean of faith? Faith in humanity? You’re shit outta luck there, man.”

Weak anemic build, yeah, Badou can see that. It’s not that he’s winded from all this walking, but he doesn’t look like he takes long walks on the beach either.

“Like I said, an office job.”

“Religious faith, but I do still have faith in humanity.”

You’d be surprised by how easily he gets tired, it was only a matter of time here.

Instead of answering about if he was actually lonely or not, he hummed a response as he walked. Loneliness was an emotion he didn’t want other people noticing in him. “…You can come if you want.”

Hopefully this guy didn’t mind sweets, because when left unattended, Licht ate like a child who’s parents were out of town for the week.

A shame it is, then, for Fyodor could read emotion easily. This, however, was something he will keep quiet about for the sake of courtesy. It was no good to be nosey, after all.