HIATUS.

     the fumes made him a TAD BIT lightheaded but he still made it to his eventual goal , a cylinder-headed contraption that gutted smaller , less useful contraptions and was made of fire and teeth . he placed one foot firmly on the side of it , twisting some power cords around his wrists and pulled---

     then stopped . someone else was there . 

     “ uh , hiya ? “

     “ ---are you alright ? “ the crosswalk was clear of casualties , black tire marks criss crossing the white lines and the murmur of a crowd buzzing near his ears . he dutifully ignored them , “ you could have gotten hit , there . “

         “    i have high tolerance for the cold,     ”      and there’s a tiny glance downwards, towards his shoes, as he watches the last of the frost dissolve. ice made for a perfect weapon; any trace of it melted away with high temperature, and whatever the kid had saw, it certainly wasn’t there NOW. 

            slowly, tension bleeds out of stiff posture, and his lips press into a flat smile, politely distant.     “     shouldn’t you be running home? it’s getting late out. there’s no telling what’s going to happen if the sun dips.      ”

    ( 🥄 )— a PAUSE , the minute shift in his disposition not quite escaping ritsu’s eyes . more unease , but he wasn’t quite as confident as before to pry further , scoff wry when he addressed ;

    “ you’re right . kids like me should stay far , far away from SHADY adults like you , “ ritsu’s lilt was undeniably stern , scolding almost , as he spun on his heel , “ have a good night then , i guess . “

☆ · °: * ☆ { ❦ ╰☆╮❦ }

                                               “ I - I’ve always been curious about the paranormal , but I never stepped foot in a haunted house before. A - And I’d rather not start doing that today. M - Maybe we can do something else ? S - Somewhere that’s… let haunted ? ”  //  ( @wecspers ❤ )

    ( 🔥 )—  “ but haunted stuff is all the rage !! “ he was a little disappointed in her reluctance , really . he’d hoped she had a secret HUNGER for adventure , but whatever . we couldn’t all be go-getters . but shou sighed and folded his arms , not stepping away from the building with rotted floorboards and chipped paint . it creaked ominously for added affect .

    “ ALL you have to do is stick close . i promise you’ll see some amazing things . “

         ❝ Y-you’re… not family. ❞ That wasn’t exactly what he was trying to say; the words for related and associated seemed to switch here. Adrenaline settling a bit, he rubbed his mouth to calm himself. Japanese was neither his first, nor second, nor third language. As a shoddy fourth tongue stuck on his palate, sentences took time to germinate and sprout.

         ❝ Uhh—fuck—can you help me? ❞

      ( 🌵 )— he BLINKED , hard , and the footsteps weren’t stopping--- “ yeah , okay , fine . “ and hoped when he said family he didn’t mean like . . . mafia , or something . if THAT’S what was following so close behind , teruki had a soon-to-be-grudge on his hands . 

     and for some bizarre reason , stopping bullets didn’t seem too far out of his league , translating his slur of misshapen words in not time at all .

     “ we’ll try this the NORMAL way , first , “ started ushering him down the alley , an outrunning attempt , “ maybe we can bet our hopes on them being dumb . most people ARE . “