[Aki lightens the squeeze, though he notes to himself he was hardly squeezing at all in the first place. Man... He seriously needs to figure out how to put more protein into his diet. Cheap fish isn't cutting it anymore. He should spring for beef more often.]
They'll probably take your blood. [No use lying to him when Aki is sure it's a given.] But they usually give you something to eat after, or a juice to drink. Remember? [Something about giving him sugar to pep back up. Aki isn't sure if that's a real thing or just what doctors say.] It'll probably be annoying, but I'll be there with you, and they'll probably do just as annoying things to me, too.
[...Honestly, he should probably bring Power, but she can be such a nightmare at the doctor. She hasn't had any health issues, though, so maybe they can wait with her. He carefully rubs down his arms in a light, gentle massage, but he knows it barely does anything. Once he's cleaned up and Aki has gotten the blood off his hands, he shuts off the water and tosses a towel onto his head, rubbing his hair dry and pressing his fingers into his ears to rid the water.]
[ His eyes briefly flutter shut at the press of his fingers, the swabbing motion inside his ears kinda nice, like how he used to rest his head in Aki's lap when he was younger while he took a q-tip to them. But nice things don't last, not if Denji has any choice in the matter. He inhales a dramatic breath. ]
Hell fucking yeah! [ Pochita barks, obviously in agreement with him, and not because his sudden outburst scared the furball. ] We already decided we'd go, so we can't change our minds. That's against the rules!
[ Says who? Says Denji. He nods hard, seeming a little more like himself, the reminder injecting him with some much needed vim and vigor. If they can get past a random devil attack, they can definitely do the same thing with the scrutiny of a physician. It may take the day or something, but, well, hopefully, Power's right, in that there'll be loads of hot-titty doctors there to comfort them both instead of hoity-toity ones.
Pochita barks again, this time at the rotation of suds whirling down the drain, his tail wagging excitedly as he scampers around it in curiosity. Come to think of it, they've never given him a bath before, have they? He's always licking himself, so he kinda figured he was like Meowy and capable of grooming himself — but after being blade-deep inside another devil, Denji can't help but notice that his coat carries the weight of a murky sheen. ]
Aw, you're all yucky, Pochita… [ The damp towel swallows up his devil companion as he drops it on him, and even with his face hidden underneath, it's clear that Pochita is confused. He mimics Aki's example, rubbing the towel all over him, unbothered by the unidentifiable sludge that comes away from him. It doesn't occur to Denji that he maybe should have soaped him up and sprayed him down first.
He looks back at Aki. ] Here, lemme dry you off next.
[Aki starts to think of scolding Denji for his crass language before deciding against it, since it's better for him to be positive right now. No use bringing him right back down when he finally seems happy after that whole mess of an afternoon. But that's gone when he starts rubbing the devil down with his towel, not bothering to wash away any of the blood and who knows what else globbed into his fur. Aki looks somewhat disgusted at the act, but it hits a new level when he turns to look at him and offers to wipe him down, next.]
...You should give him an actual bath. Here, with this. [He grabs the wash bucket and sets it down, filling it with water from the shower.] Remember that time Meowy got egg on her? [What he does not say is, "That time you dropped an egg on her." He's mostly forgiven Denji for the act.] We had to use that special shampoo... It's in here somewhere still, right? [He gets up to rummage around in the cabinet by the sink, finally coming out with a pet shampoo they got years ago. But hey, it should still work.]
[The real question is whether Denji can do it, though. He doesn't want him falling over, but Aki also isn't keen on the idea of bathing a devil, himself. He stands there with it, staring at the both of them with the shampoo in his hand with a perturbed frown.]
...Sit with him in your lap, and we can do it together.
[ Is he asking if Denji remembers when an egg fell on Meowy that time he and Power tried reenacting a juggling move after watching a circus performance on TV? Because, no, he doesn't. He also doesn't remember whether he was the guilty party or Power — but, eh, same difference, regardless.
Taking the spray nozzle in hand, Denji slides off the stool, sitting on the floor to bring Pochita, who appears unaware (or unruffled?) by the prospect of being lathered in what may as well be spicy water to him, inside his lap. Once there, he circles around in the space allotted to him, clambering onto Denji's knee, sniffing. Then, standing back down again to repeat the same circular movement, and when Denji tries to hold him down by the back to keep him still, he easily slips out.
Why's he being so squirmy? He's usually such a good and compliant devil dog. ]
Pochitaaa… Work with me here!
[ He whines at the devil, as if he has any hope of getting through to him that way. Using both hands, including the one holding the shower head, he forces Pochita into place, but not without accidentally pressing down on the nozzle, causing it to spray up at them — ]
Ah!
[ Denji arches away, angling the gush of water — in the direction of Aki's face. ]
[What the hell, wasn't this devil being so obedient before? Aki squats down to help and try to aim Pochita in the right direction, but his hand pulls back at the sight of his chainsaw turning when he spins around like that and then when Denji forces him in place and sprays the nozzle, he's suddenly getting a jet of water to the face.]
Denji - !
[He flails out to grab for the shower head, his hair dripping into his face as he coughs once free of the deluge. Aki wipes at his eyes with the back of his hands and groans as he rubs down his face.]
Dumbass... Just hold him in front of you, and I'll spray. Got it? Ugh, you got it up my nose.
[He holds the nozzle out, pointed away from him. He'll get him back when they don't have a bloody devil between them. Once Pochita is properly sprayed down and he tosses the shampoo at him to use, Aki squats back down to watch him work, frowning at the scene before him.]
You should figure out how to talk to him, or someting... Teach him some words, like sit, or stay... Like a real dog.
[ Up until being sprayed down, something Denji senses is somehow an allowance rather than their own achievement, Pochita expertly evades their efforts — each whirl and hop just out of their grasp making it seem more and more like he's playing a game with them, and it's one that only he knows the rules to. But it must have something to do with having a romp and wiggling about to make splashes in the water, cute and puppy-like. If Pochita were a real dog, is that what he would be? A puppy? He's got the disposition of one, for sure…
Or it could be just that his excitability is a trait he simply has in common with his master.
At the mention of training the devil, an unnecessarily huge clot of shampoo drenches his hand with one forceful squeeze of the bottle, and Denji doesn't even seem to realize it as he twists to stare up at Aki. The shampoo doesn't even make it on Pochita's fur, most of it clumping past the rifts of his fingers and drizzling the against the tiles. ]
So, like, tricks?! Roll over, play dead, uhhh, what else…
[ Yes, what else do you teach a real dog? ]
Oh, oh, oh! Maybe we can even teach 'em how to make his saw go vrvrrrmmm on its own, without me having to pull on his tail. Well, not really on its own, but like teaching him how to bite down on his own tail and tugging it. We gotta make Pochita self-deficient!
[It turns out to be extremely annoying to wash a devil. Maybe they don't like to be washed? But it's like Pochita thinks this is a game, which bath time certainly isn't. It's a serious time for serious activities. No horsing around in the bathroom, or else you fall and split your head open. Or something.]
[And then Denji is flashing those big, bright eyes at him when he suggests the obvious path of training the devil to behave and not wiggle around like a wet noodle. Aki makes a face as he describes the idea of teaching him how to go vrrrm on his own, mostly because he kind of assumed Pochita could do that already (though he can't say why, it's just... why would he have the saw, if he can't use it on his own? what a worthless devil), but suddenly his expression changes as he comes to a realization.]
...You know that job I did last fall? Cutting up lumber and all that? [Not the actual tree felling, they didn't let him do that, but he was allowed to work the saws and cut everything to size for a good amount of money.] Do you think you could train him to cut things like that? [He saw plenty of chainsaws there, but again, not allowed to use them. They were apparently fine with hiring a minor under the table insofar as not giving him the lethal jobs, he supposed.] You wouldn't get too worn out from a job like that, maybe.
[ Denji spritzes the devil-dog down, turning the nozzle on and off in short bursts, amused by how he keeps trying to chomp at the water in midair. Stalling, is what it is.
Honestly, it surprises Denji a little to hear the suggestion that he give work a try. Not that he's against the idea. It'd be nice to bring home some extra cash, alleviate some of the pressure on Aki's pockets and feel useful while he's at it. How many days a week did his brother work again? It wasn't full-time, given their school schedule, but with Aki working his own gig, it'd probably cut into their time together even more, right… But it'd just be tolerating a little discomfort. That's a small price to pay. It should be.
With Pochita all clean now, Denji hooks the spray back into place. ]
Um, yeah, I guess so… I'll look into it after our beach trip. [ He reaches for a change in topic as smoothly as he reaches for the last clean towel on the rack. ] Hey, have you thought about what day we should go on, by the way? I know it'll have to be after the whole doc biz, but I think it should be soon! While the weather's still nice.
[ Swaddling Pochita up in the towel, Denji pulls him into his lap, which is much easier to do now that he can't move. Scrubs him dry the best he can. ]
[Right, their beach trip. Aki obviously hasn't thought about the specifics, not with everything else that happened today. It's a successful distraction, snapping his attention away from the idea of Denji helping earn some extra money to planning something like this. They definitely need to go before the weather gets too cold, so...]
We should go soon. [He agrees with that.] I'll look up a doctor tonight, who can take you - I mean, us, within the week.
[Since he did promise to go, too. Even if he has no real desire for that. But what to do, at the beach...?]
It's probably too cold for ice cream, now. And you don't know how to swim, do you... [He doesn't remember ever seeing him in the water. Maybe he can manage a doggy paddle...? Either way, they probably shouldn't get in, with his constitution.] ...Just walking on the beach would be nice. Looking around. Seeing someplace different.
[Denji could look at girls in bikinis or whatever it is he wants to do there. But he's not going to give him the go-ahead for it.]
Are you going to bring him? [The devil, that is, currently burrito'd in his lap and looking even more like a furball than usual.]
Well, we don't got anyone else to look after him. [ He continues giving Pochita a rub down, his fur sticking up oddly every which way. ] Unless Powy's stayin' back, right?
[ There hasn't been any time to mention the idea to her yet, so her thoughts on the trip are more or less up to conjecture. But knowing her, she'll want to be an active and vocal participant in planning out what they're doing, eating, and who they're causing trouble for at any given moment. At least Aki hasn't changed his mind, dug up some reason to keep them from jipping class. A solitary feat, but a feat nonetheless, one that energizes Denji enough to stand up all on his own once he's ready to, Pochita crammed under his arm as he teeters for the door. ]
And that wouldn't be fair! She and me have always wanted to smash watermelons together!
[ It'd be more like him watching her slaughter melon after melon, then the two of them frolicking around like idiots while wearing the shells for helmets, but that'd be it's own kind of fun, too.
He leaves a trail of wet footprints slapping across their home for Aki to track, presuming that he decides to follow after. The kitchen's empty, still. Dark, aside from the flash of white that is Meowy's belly flopping on top of the dining table. Passing by, he gives her stomach a fondle and she launches her neck out to nip at him, his hand instantly retreating. Geez. Here they are planning a training regimen for Pochita while Power's cat gets to roam scot-free. This is pet discrimination!
Light spills out from the open refrigerator just as he hears a knock at the front door. The muffled call of Public Safety announcing themselves. ]
A-Aki! [ Denji calls out, letting Pochita and the towel he's wrapped in drop to the floor as he scrambles for the bedroom to find a change of clothes. ] There'll people here!
[Power coming is kind of a given, but it doesn't really work as a reward for her since Aki has no intention of bringing her to the doctor... Maybe he can trick her into doing something for them instead? Cleaning out the fridge, or something? But she might pretend that means "eat everything out of the fridge" instead...]
[He's thinking about that as he passes Denji to go to the bedroom, pull some clothes out of the closet as he dries himself off. Watermelons... They should get watermelons, but two, since they'll probably destroy one. But carrying two watermelons to the beach sounds like a hassle. Can he ask them to tone it down a bit and only kind of destroy one...? And then there's a knock and he's shaken out of the thoughts by the sounds of public safety, Denji rushing into the room in a panic. Public safety... It's probably just to ask some questions, right? They didn't do anything wrong, after all. He keeps an air of calm despite the clear pinch in his brow as he pulls a shirt over his head, buttons his pants.]
Stay in here for a minute. [He tosses the towel at him, expecting him to finish cleaning up Pochita and himself as he deals with this. And Power's not back yet, either... Though that's not so surprising, given how she likes to dilly dally on side streets. Aki takes in a breath and heads to the door, peering through the peep hole briefly before pulling the door open. Wide enough to make it clear there's nothing to hide, but not so wide it welcomes anyone inside.]
["Afternoon again," the hunter that had used the fox says to him, the other one a step or two behind. Maybe to make them seem non-threatening. He doesn't know. Aki nods at them both. Can feel the uncomfortable drip of water from his hair down the back of his neck. "We finished doing an investigation of the area, and wanted to stop by and make sure you're doing alright. You and your brother."]
He's fine. [Answered immediately. He doesn't turn around, doesn't peek back to make sure Denji stayed put with Pochita.] Thank you. He just needed to lay down and get cleaned up.
["Sure, yeah," the guy says, like he's not ready for this to end just yet. "You know, it's not an issue for us to drive you down to the clinic. There's one a few miles from here. That thing was part of the zombie devil, but not the - " His partner clears his throat, and the guy quiets down for a moment. "In any case, Public Safety is going to be doing some... Ah?"]
[Aki feels a brush of wet fur against his calf and looks down, seeing Pochita sniffing at the entryway. His face pales as he leans down and tries to scoop him up, but Pochita slips backward, again unwilling to be lifted. Aki curses and again tries to grab at him but he starts rushing down the hallway. This thing is way more like a cat than a dog sometimes, he thinks with a grimace.]
["Where did that devil come from?" the guy in the back asks, and Aki freezes, turning back around to face the two men. What is he supposed to say? My little brother got mad at me and ran off and made a contract with a devil in the middle of a playground so now we have to take care of it. No, no, he can't say anything like that.]
[ Towel wound fast around his waist, Denji springs into their bedroom — and Pochita is hot on his heels. Though he's been steadily nurturing a curiosity for the outside, usually seated somewhere near a window whenever they get home, he never ventures too far away from his feet. It's for that reason Denji leaves the door ajar to be able to eavesdrop on the conversation as he tears through his closet for a proper change of clothes, having faith that his pet devil stay inside, rubbing his baby-sized body against the flooring and whipping himself dry in the meanwhile.
Denji pulls out a shirt, another shirt, and some underwear. It takes him a lengthy couple of seconds seconds to realize that he doesn't really need one of these, and he dives back in to find a pair of sweats to shove on. Augh, damn it, cops and cop wannabes always twist up his nerves. He has a face and demeanor that looks like someone who gets into trouble often, and while he does get into trouble, it's not at the same rate of an actual delinquent — still, that doesn't keep him from getting heckled every so often by his teachers or patrolmen on the street for some invented reason.
Why the hell are they being so scrupulous about a pair of high schoolers? Even if it's to take their statement, couldn't they have waited to visit tomorrow or something? If they really cared about their well-being?
It's as each one of these questions piles up in the back of his mind, steering his attention away from the present, that Pochita jimmies through the door gap. ]
Eh? Pochita? [ His pupils bullet after him just as he hears the familiar pochi of his steps moving far from him. ] Pochita, no!
[ A few hours of rest can only do so much. He's hardly in any condition to be running or exerting himself, so as soon as he's dressed, the most he can accomplish is a hurried shuffling out of the room, hand pressed across his chest, like he's afraid all his slimy insides might come tumbling out, organ by organ. ]
Aki, stop him —
[ But it's too late. Pochita makes it to the end of the hallway in no time, trotting down the stairs like he's running an agility course and someone's got their thumb on a stopwatch. Denji wants to hightail it after him, but he can already feel sweat coating the entire back of his neck again; he can't possibly risk it, not without the devil hunters ignoring their resistance entirely and forcing him into the back of their car to get to a hospital or whatever.
Reluctantly, he stops just behind Aki, using his brother as a barrier between himself and the expectant stares of the hunters. He swallows. ]
…T-That devil's a school project my homeroom teacher assigned to me! We get to, uh, keep a really weak devil for a while and observe their behavior under, um — [ His eyes rapidly blink. ] — in, um — [ Shit, Denji, use your words! He doesn't know many of them, but he should know enough to fib his ass off! ] Like, different controlled environments. And stuff. And then we kill them!
[ A bald-faced lie. The one in the back doesn't bat an eye, which could mean anything from disbelief to disinterest. But the other guy tilts his chin, seeming to give Denji the benefit of the doubt. "Oh, I've heard about this. My little sister's doing the same thing down south. Didn't think the schools out here were implementing hands-on devil interaction into their curriculum yet, but it's good that you kids are learning about how to conduct yourself early on." He glances back at his partner in what's supposed to be a shared knowing look. "Safer, that way."
Denji sends his own long look in Aki's direction. ]
Yeah. Safer. Um, I should go get him, in case he gets too far away. I've been trying to keep my grades up, so it'd suck if I failed this assignment, haha —
[ "You sure you don't want someone to look at you?" the other Public Safety hunter intercepts. "We can even get one of our people on hand to give you a quick look-over, if you're feeling shy."
His fist unconsciously finds the hem of his brother's shirt — nervous, panicked, and definitely on the verge of losing his grip. ]
[There's this weird tug-of-war going on inside of Aki. He needs to protect two things right now. First, Denji. He knows he's still recovering, least of all thanks to him not having eaten anything yet, and he can feel the shaky tension from the way he's grasping at the back of his shirt. The second thing is their home. He doesn't want to allow anyone to come inside of it, possibly ruin it, take it from them. It took enough work to get them where they are and Aki has to continuously prove that they're using the resources allocated to them properly, that they're taking care of the apartment, removing trash on time, keeping the place clean, maintaining everything properly. When Power broke the dimmer remote Aki spent weeks trying to find the same one from various department stores so their landlord wouldn't find out - and it was a stupid remote, not a bigger issue. Any small things could set off a chain of events, in his mind. Anyone entering their home, authority figures or not, creates a sense of dread and fear inside of him. That they'll be split up, separated. That this will be destroyed, too.]
[A third rope starts to be tugged, and he feels it running down the stairs. The devil that his brother has attached himself to. Now another thing to protect in this moment.]
He doesn't need anything like that.
[He says it so curtly and directly that the hunter who has been taking a back seat even turns fully to look at him. Compared to his usual deference to authority, Aki speaks like he's a delinquent, himself. He used to get slapped for that kind of tone back at the orphanage.]
...Go back inside. [He pushes at Denji, wrestling himself free from his grip as he presses for him to go back into the home.] I'll go get him. Is there anything else?
[He turns back to the two, staring at them both grimly as he grabs his shoes. The two hunter exchange looks, and finally the Fox user explains, "Due to these recent devil sightings, Public Safety is going to be more present in the area. There will be more people like us in the area, keeping a watch out for trouble. So if you see or hear of anything suspect, you should report it to the bureau office - You know where that is?" Aki nods. Because of course he does. "Good. When do your parents get home? We'll talk to - "]
I need to go. [The clear bolt of tension that strikes through him at the question has the guy in front raising his brows and the guy in back crossing his arms. Aki turns to look back at Denji and orders,] Lock the door. [And heads out past the two, hurrying down the stairs with grit teeth.]
[ Denji calls out after he's pushed, turning to fumble for his sneakers.
Both partners step back as Aki storms off, temporarily dispelling their kind of good cop, bad cop play. They don't even attempt to cut off his flight path, which Denji initially believes to be because they've been caught off-guard, but that theory is quickly debunked when they cleanly close back in once his brother is out of view. The kinda unnerving, kinda cool one begins to move up to the front this time, but the the other guy presses a hand to his shoulder. Shakes his head with a thinning smile.
"…Clearly, it's been a long day. Since you kids were involved in that earlier incident, we wanted to make sure you were provided whatever care you needed. The safety of people like yourself and your brother is our highest priority. For now, we advise you to be careful and aware, go to school like normal, then go straight home afterward. Sound like a plan?"
Denji slams and locks the door, leaving the hunter's question unanswered.
After a moment, a dwindling sigh sifts out from someone on the other side of the door. A murmur of voices can be heard as well, however, the only thing Denji is able to make out is a, "That went well," then the sound of receding footsteps. He moves to the window, not to track where the two of them are going, but to see if he can spot Aki and Pochita somewhere. He doesn't think his devil would make a break for it for no good reason…
Oh. He rushes back to their dirty hamper, shaking his school uniform trousers waiting for a sharp series of clacks to indicate his phone has dropped out, but it never comes. He moves on to his backpack, but that, too, proves fruitless. Crap, did Pochita go back to the crime scene just to find that thing?
Denji returns to the entryway, feet shoved just halfway into his shoes, heels crimping down against the collar lining before he's out the door to find them. ]
[Aki doesn't wait, more than to the stairs by the time he hears him say that and not thinking for a moment to turn around. He keeps walking, looking around briefly to see any sign of the thing, then finally spots the devil sniffing at the edge of the road. Aki hurries over to snag him, but Pochita spots him before he can and jumps out of the way, hurrying forward as Aki rushes after him.]
You stupid - Stay put, or I'll send you right to hell -
[He grabs for his handle but somehow his little jellybean body bends just enough to avoid it and when Aki finally does get a hand on something it's his pullcord tail. Pochita yelps like a kicked dog at that and Aki is able to snatch him, grabbing him around the stomach as his little legs shake and kick to free himself. He holds him like a sack of flour and stares at him from above, Pochita's thick neck unable to turn to look back at him effectively.]
Stay.
[He does, but he doesn't look thrilled with it. They made it about two blocks down the road in their little chase and as he heads back to the apartment, Aki spies the two hunters leaving it in the opposite direction and pushes himself behind the stone fence of their neighbors. It hides him from view and he stays there with Pochita still held in his hands like a yakisoba sandwich, waiting for them to be far enough gone.]
[Then, a minute later, he sees Denji hurrying down the sidewalk, running right past his hiding spot, and Pochita barks as Aki calls out,] Denji.
[ Spinning hard on his axis, he crashes bodily into them both, meatball-shaped devil squished between their chests. Knowing that if he hangs on to his brother too long, it may annoy him, he pulls away only after a few seconds of nuzzling his face into the Pochita's fur, taking the devil with him — the little guy looked about ready to wriggle out of Aki's strange way of holding him, anyway. ]
Pochita… [ He breathes out, clearly out of air and half-dizzy from the panic. Or maybe the flight of the stairs. A proper disciplining is probably in order, after running out on his own… But it's not like he knows any better. They only just began to consider the idea of training him less than an hour ago.
Besides, there are other matters to address! ] Did you find my phone?
[ …He's asking Pochita, of course. What would Aki know about his lost device?
Pochita only whimpers in response, his face flattening back into his nonexistent neck like a seal. It's not the answer Denji's really wanting to hear, but he can forgive the transgression because he's so stinking cute. ]
Well, that's alright, Pochita. We'll just hafta look around. [ Sliding a fast look toward Aki. ] Just for a bit? I tried in other places back home, but my phone wasn't there… It's fine, right? It's still light out and Powy's not even back yet!
[Aki gives up Pochita with no fight, worried both that he's going to drop the devil as well as that the devil is going to slice him somehow. He looks surprised when Denji asks if he found his phone, not aware he should be searching for it - but of course he's talking to the dog. Not him. And the dog is responding. Man, he wishes this thing could speak. ...Or maybe not, because who knows what a devil would say to get Denji into trouble.]
You lost it? [On top of everything else, he really doesn't want to worry about a lost phone... Aki looks him over briefly, still feeling tense from that meeting with the devil hunters. He isn't fond of the idea of running into either of them again, especially not together. Returning to the scene might put them right in their path.]
...You should stay here until Power gets back and eat. I'll go and look for it. [They ran a pretty straight path, but that whole area is probably swarming with Public Safety. He motions back to the apartment, unwilling to argue with him on this - and combined with his residual frustration, what he says next comes out colder than he means it to.] Go back home, I don't want to carry you again.
[ Denji flinches back like a lit candle wick wavering away from a cool blow of air. He knows. He knows it's one thing after another with him: his failing health, his nosy dog, his lost phone. Maybe the sudden appearance of the devil hunters, the devil that'd terrorized the neighborhood, hadn't been his fault, but the way Aki says that last sentence makes him feel like he's being blamed for that, too. It's irrational; it makes sense, though.
He didn't ask Aki to carry him today, or the time before that, but what would he have done if he hadn't appeared at all? If Denji'd been alone? Nobody else would have cared to find him.
The fact that Aki cares for him is something that he often takes for granted, so when faced with the potentiality that caring for him is something that is actually quite cumbersome… His mouth screws up, and for a moment, it appears his eyes might water and follow suit. But then he turns. Quietly scurries toward their apartment, like he can't get away from Aki fast enough.
Power comes back an indeterminate amount of time after this exchange, which is still before Aki has returned, so maybe it hasn't been as long as it felt. Her arms are full of fried chicken and sides, a fanciful tune humming at her lips. She pauses at the door, taking Denji in, before slowly approaching on her hands and knees like she would a cat cowering from a busy intersection, food bags dragging across the floor.
"Denji!" Power shouts. "This is hardly a throne fit your sovereign ruler! But it'll do. Scoot over."
The peasant ritual in question is just him having stacked his futon and pillows against the dining table to create a fort for him to peacefully lay under. It's small. Square. Pochita is curled comfortably on top of his stomach, and Denji doesn't have to think in here. Which is nice and how he likes it, up until Power creates an opening into it by kicking away one of the pillows and collapses beside him, her stuff crashing into the side of Denji's face. He groans and grumbles, but makes space for her as ordered.
That'll be how Aki finds them, laying there together and sharing pieces of chicken, whenever he returns. ]
[Something flickers in recognition as Denji runs off, and for a moment he only stands there and watches, half-convinced he's going to run away again. That he said the wrong thing again and Denji is going to get upset and run off. But his feet start up the stairs and Aki watches the vague shadow of his movement until he hears their apartment door open and shut. He straightens his shirt and turns his head to look back down the path to where the devil was killed, then fully turns to walk there.]
[He's not gone for long but it's long enough that he can think while searching for the missing phone. It's the second time he's made Denji upset like that recently. Sure, he could have said it more politely or nicely or gently but Denji's old enough to hear the honest truth at times. Aki didn't want to carry him again. He wanted to find the phone and go home and have chicken. Taking Denji with his worthless weakling of a devil would make it take longer and if he did collapse and Aki did have to carry him back, he'd be worried sick. Doesn't he get that? It's not like carrying him back is an annoyance to him, it's that he doesn't want to see him like that so soon all over again. Hell, he could barely sit upright in the bath. Why doesn't he get that? Why does he have to take it all so personally?]
[He's never really had anyone to talk about this stuff with. He can't talk to Power because Power is as much a child in his eyes as Denji, someone he's taking care of. To complain or look for ideas from her makes no sense. Plus, she'd probably enjoy the chance to complain about him without getting a sharp look from Aki for it. As he stands at the edge of the police tape and notes that the body of the other student is gone, only an ambulance left and a few people taking photographs, he thinks about that girl who gave him the letter, standing by the courtyard during lunch and shuffling from foot to foot shyly. "Going to Tokyo, it would be nice to have someone there to depend on," she'd said. He had assumed she meant that about herself, that she saw Aki as dependable. But maybe she meant it in a symbiotic way, as in he could depend on her...?]
[Probably not, though.]
[He finds the phone eventually, left on the side of the road not far from the alley where the zombie devil had first dropped down on them. Probably got dislodged from Denji's bag when he tripped on his feet. He heads home with it and once he opens the door to the warm smell of fried chicken, he feels a little relief, but that's gone when he sees the pillow fort that's been constructed. Great. There's going to be little crumbs of gristle and fried batter all over the floor now.]
You two didn't eat the whole thing, did you? [He squats down in front of them and reaches into the fort to grab the box of chicken, dropping Denji's phone in front of him as well.] Here. It wasn't that far.
[ Boxed in here, Denji finds some guise of peace. His stomach settles, the joints in his back flex until he hears a crack that tempers out some of the aches in his body. His hurt feelings, perhaps elevated by the today's events, ebb away, easy, easy, a lazy current pushing down a river. It reminds him of being inside that ladybug with Pochita, just the two of them and this instant sense of connection — but then Power waltzes in and… it's actually not so bad. The two of them generally come to more blows than he and Aki, but they're more similar in their outlook to life, their understanding of the world essentially a blank slate when they first met at the orphanage. Maybe it's because Power doesn't remember much of her family, like him. Doesn't have any preconceived expectations for what a household should look like, for how slow or fast the world turns. Everything belongs to her, meaning that everything works out as it should, even if something awful happens. It's weird, but their altercations tend to end amicably even without Aki's arbitration — that wasn't always the case, but maybe that's just part of adolescence. Growing closer, mending rifts.
So what does that make adulthood?
Denji's eating like an animal, skin from a piece of thigh caught between his pointed canines, when his phone skids and hits his ankle. He finishes chewing, tossing the naked bone of his chicken into the box as Aki looks inside. Next to the growing pile of cartilage, there's still plenty of chicken to be passed around the three of them. ]
…Whatever. [ Fingers oily with fried grease, he taps at the screen, but it doesn't turn on. Out of juice. Figures. He doesn't make eye contact, keeping his gaze downcast as he breathes in extra deeply, rounding up the courage to say: ] Thanks —
[ "Absurdity! Such peasant chores are beneath me," Power harumphs, blatantly talking over Denji as she picks her teeth with a broken chicken bone. "I already completed your foolish fetch quest, human. And I still haven't received either my thanks or my groveling! Isn't that right, Denji?"
In an effort to rally numbers to her cause, she fixes her arm around Denji's neck with no regard for his pain tolerance. He winces; his chin still hurts from when he fell and her arm's chafing up against his face. ]
I don't care —
[ "Exactly! We don't care for your dictations, tyrant!"
Ugh, he's way too depleted to fight against her right now. While Power continues her gibberish oration, Denji mumbles to Aki: ] You can come inside, y'know.
[Sometimes it's just easier to go along with what Power says, especially when she's done a decent favor for them. She didn't get extra sweets (that he saw) and didn't splurge on any expensive sides with the money he gave her, so the mere fact that she returned in a timely manner with the chicken is worthy of praise. Aki pulls himself into more of a kneeling position and lowers his head at her in a vague semblance of a kowtow, though his head doesn't actually touch the floor.]
Thanks to the great Power, for buying fried chicken.
[Whenever Aki actually plays along with her demands it seems to shock Power out of sorts for a moment and she looks vaguely unsure how to respond to his bowing at first, eventually demanding he sit upright. "Such a subserviant display... won't save you from your own clean-up duty! 'Tis your turn with the litter box, and Denji's new compatriot left a treasure inside!"]
Don't talk about that while we're eating. And that's not what "compatriot" means. [He looks at the fort, Power still squeezed around Denji's neck and yanking him toward her side as a result. Usually he doesn't really join in with these sorts of things, but he guesses Denji is still a little discombobulated from the whole experience this afternoon. So maybe agreeing will keep him from having any nightmares. Or begging to sleep in Aki's futon tonight.] Scoot over, then.
["Oh, he's coming in," Power says, clearly amazed as Aki turns himself around and finds a way to squish himself on Denji's other side, beneath the table and on his elbows as he stares out at their little apartment. From here it actually looks a little bigger. But also a little darker. He needs to replace the light bulb that burned out a couple weeks ago in the kitchen.]
[Turning his head to look at Denji now, chin propped on his palm, he asks, ] Did the chicken help? [With his non-greasy hand, he reaches out to rub at his head, trying to check his temperature with the palm of his hand.] You still look pale.
[ He is discombobulated. All his exhaustion condensed into the heavy-eyed stare he turns on Aki, dark and sedate like an anesthesia patient that's gone way under. Some light returns to his eyes as he watches the exchange between his siblings, as Aki takes up the leftover real estate under the table, and he feels the slightest tugging, like a cord tied to his chest and his heart, pulling a kind of recognition up to the surface.
Actually, what does compatriot mean, anyway?
He doesn't get the chance to ask, eyes flitting closed upon Aki dropping his hand on his head, stroking, a soothing tingle that runs far down to his roots, warmth suffusing beneath his scalp. But when his complexion is commented on, they open again and he shakes his head. Not so hard, though, that Aki can misinterpret the motion as him dismissing the contact. Or to trigger another dizzy spell, for that matter. ]
You're just seein' things. I'm right as rain, dude.
[ Hard to say if the proteins of the chicken are doing what he needs it to do for his body, but it sure tastes good. Case in point: He laps at the salty fats covering his hands with such a fever, looking like he may snap his teeth around his own digits any second there. See? That's a good thing, isn't it? So long as he has an appetite, he's pretty much the picture of perfect health. ]
…So what did it look like back there? I hope you didn't run into those fancy suit guys. They're annoying. [ Nosy. Detection dogs sniffing around for contraband or something. They asked too many questions and Denji didn't like that, part of their job or not. ] You better not become all stiff like 'em, when you join Pubic Safety. [ Yes, he just said Pubic Safety. ] I'll hafta sock your entire nose off.
[ To make him see sense, is the implication. And if Denji's dead by then, he'd have to haunt him. Rearrange his furniture, open and close his drawers in the middle of the night so that he can't get any sleep. Force every known ghostly superstition known to man on Aki.
This whole time, Power's been clinging to Denji's back like a young spider monkey to its mother, arms locked tight around his chest, chin vased in the cut of his neck. Following the conversation, she snorts, and he's pretty sure he can feel one of her boogers fly past his cheek. Gross.
"The delusions of a whelp… I can't understand them. If the noseless one's sensibilities were so easy to change, he would've bent to my will to adorn our walls in the skulls of all who oppose me and Meowy long ago!" Suddenly, she grins from tooth to tooth at him. "Denji, your pointlessly big and empty one would have made a splendid chalice to drink from." ]
[Ugh, again with the skull decorations. Aki thought she got her fill during Halloween but it only made things worse. He makes an annoyed face at her talk about drinking from Denji's as he pulls his hand away.]
No one's skull is getting nailed to any walls. I'll only be killing devils, not people, anyway.
[He reaches around Denji to grab another piece of chicken. He can tell he's still a little out of it, so hopefully by continuing to eat he'll keep Denji doing the same.]
It was pretty cleaned up over there. Just some police tape - so we should go the long way around to the grocery store this weekend, just in case. [The comment about whether he's going to become uptight like them, he mostly ignores, however. He doesn't think he will. He's only interested in that work for one reason, after all. If it doesn't concern his goal, then he doesn't care about the other part of the job. Keeping people safe or patrolling around to tell kids to stay inside... He has bigger fish to fry.]
[...Staying inside... Hmm. Aki pulls himself upright, crawling out of the makeshift fort and grabbing another piece of chicken as he heads into the kitchen area. The space is small enough that he's essentially still in the same room, so he can still talk to them.]
They might cancel classes tomorrow. Since someone died. [Setting the chicken on a cutting board, he squats down to open the rice cooker and takes out a large scoop to dump into a pot. Both of them should be able to recognize he's making porridge.] But you should stay home anyway - the school will know you got involved. [As well as Aki, but aside from a sore chest, he's fine. Power huffs, muttering something about how Denji is being babied, but Aki shuts her up quickly.] If you complain, we're not going to tell you about our plan. Right?
[And he passes a look at Denji expectantly. Power looks even more offended, that they made a plan without her input first of all and that they're refusing to tell her about it second.]
[ Aki's departure adds a little more focus to his expression, and he sticks his head out from under the table to watch him at work, adding things to the pot, filing down the piece of chicken into shredded strands, heating up the stove. Regular Aki stuff is what his puzzled eyes land on, but no hint at what he's trying to tease to Power. He furrows his brows. Plan, plan… He ums and uhs for a full second, his mind fizzling like a firecracker in water, and ultimately blanks. What plan is this guy talking about? ]
Yeeeeah. [ Gaze shifting one side to the next, he coughs: ] You're not gonna know the awesome plan. That both us totally made without you. So pipe down, pipsqueak.
[ He blindly agrees, reluctantly half-facing Power, as if looking at her dead on will give the gap in his knowledge, and therefore his bluff, away. It probably wouldn't, but seeing himself marked between the crosshairs of her weird contacts always makes his skin prickle. To her credit, Power's reaction isn't immediately murderous at being called a pipsqueak despite Denji only just recently hitting his growth spurt. At the thought of potentially being left out of a confidential (and awesome) itinerary for something or other, however, he notices that she's sweating profusely and clenching her jaw.
"F-Fine… But sleep with one eye open! The great Power will not forget this slight…" Her eyes narrow into catlike slits. "So what?! What is it?! Reward me!" ]
We… [ He considers calling to Aki for an assist — but wait, then it dawns on him thanks to Power. Reward! ] We're skipping class and hitting the beach because I did super well on my test! And I guess you get to come, too. Or that's what's supposed to happen…
[ Looking uncertainly at Aki, his lips push together. ]
But that guy really died…? The school's not gonna enforce some stupid extra rules or anything because of it, right?
[ It's kind of weird to think about. He should probably hate that someone his age has died, that he and his brother were this close to joining him, but mostly he just hates the potential for a curfew to be instated. ]
[Aki very, very clearly stares at Denji as he starts to struggle through remembering their plan. Because, wasn't this his plan? He was the one talking about getting buried in sand and stuff. When it finally seems to click he sighs quietly and resumes his cooking, shaking his head. Really, it was a true miracle that he managed that 77.]
[He looks up as he sets the lid on the pot, reaching to get three bowls.] They might have us walking home in groups again, like they did a few years back. [Some other student had been attacked, but not killed, back then.] I don't get why they won't let the school make a devil hunting club. Other districts have them. It's better if more people know how to defend themselves.
[He carries the bowls over to the little fort and offers them out - chicken porridge with finely chopped greens. Maybe that will restart Denji's brain.] Last time they put fliers up, so we'll have to keep a look out. [Power looks a little unhappy with the meal, but it does have meat in it so her complaints aren't as loud as they would be otherwise.] But you shouldn't walk that devil by yourself for a bit.
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[Aki lightens the squeeze, though he notes to himself he was hardly squeezing at all in the first place. Man... He seriously needs to figure out how to put more protein into his diet. Cheap fish isn't cutting it anymore. He should spring for beef more often.]
They'll probably take your blood. [No use lying to him when Aki is sure it's a given.] But they usually give you something to eat after, or a juice to drink. Remember? [Something about giving him sugar to pep back up. Aki isn't sure if that's a real thing or just what doctors say.] It'll probably be annoying, but I'll be there with you, and they'll probably do just as annoying things to me, too.
[...Honestly, he should probably bring Power, but she can be such a nightmare at the doctor. She hasn't had any health issues, though, so maybe they can wait with her. He carefully rubs down his arms in a light, gentle massage, but he knows it barely does anything. Once he's cleaned up and Aki has gotten the blood off his hands, he shuts off the water and tosses a towel onto his head, rubbing his hair dry and pressing his fingers into his ears to rid the water.]
After that, we can go to the beach. Okay?
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Hell fucking yeah! [ Pochita barks, obviously in agreement with him, and not because his sudden outburst scared the furball. ] We already decided we'd go, so we can't change our minds. That's against the rules!
[ Says who? Says Denji. He nods hard, seeming a little more like himself, the reminder injecting him with some much needed vim and vigor. If they can get past a random devil attack, they can definitely do the same thing with the scrutiny of a physician. It may take the day or something, but, well, hopefully, Power's right, in that there'll be loads of hot-titty doctors there to comfort them both instead of hoity-toity ones.
Pochita barks again, this time at the rotation of suds whirling down the drain, his tail wagging excitedly as he scampers around it in curiosity. Come to think of it, they've never given him a bath before, have they? He's always licking himself, so he kinda figured he was like Meowy and capable of grooming himself — but after being blade-deep inside another devil, Denji can't help but notice that his coat carries the weight of a murky sheen. ]
Aw, you're all yucky, Pochita… [ The damp towel swallows up his devil companion as he drops it on him, and even with his face hidden underneath, it's clear that Pochita is confused. He mimics Aki's example, rubbing the towel all over him, unbothered by the unidentifiable sludge that comes away from him. It doesn't occur to Denji that he maybe should have soaped him up and sprayed him down first.
He looks back at Aki. ] Here, lemme dry you off next.
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[Aki starts to think of scolding Denji for his crass language before deciding against it, since it's better for him to be positive right now. No use bringing him right back down when he finally seems happy after that whole mess of an afternoon. But that's gone when he starts rubbing the devil down with his towel, not bothering to wash away any of the blood and who knows what else globbed into his fur. Aki looks somewhat disgusted at the act, but it hits a new level when he turns to look at him and offers to wipe him down, next.]
...You should give him an actual bath. Here, with this. [He grabs the wash bucket and sets it down, filling it with water from the shower.] Remember that time Meowy got egg on her? [What he does not say is, "That time you dropped an egg on her." He's mostly forgiven Denji for the act.] We had to use that special shampoo... It's in here somewhere still, right? [He gets up to rummage around in the cabinet by the sink, finally coming out with a pet shampoo they got years ago. But hey, it should still work.]
[The real question is whether Denji can do it, though. He doesn't want him falling over, but Aki also isn't keen on the idea of bathing a devil, himself. He stands there with it, staring at the both of them with the shampoo in his hand with a perturbed frown.]
...Sit with him in your lap, and we can do it together.
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Taking the spray nozzle in hand, Denji slides off the stool, sitting on the floor to bring Pochita, who appears unaware (or unruffled?) by the prospect of being lathered in what may as well be spicy water to him, inside his lap. Once there, he circles around in the space allotted to him, clambering onto Denji's knee, sniffing. Then, standing back down again to repeat the same circular movement, and when Denji tries to hold him down by the back to keep him still, he easily slips out.
Why's he being so squirmy? He's usually such a good and compliant devil dog. ]
Pochitaaa… Work with me here!
[ He whines at the devil, as if he has any hope of getting through to him that way. Using both hands, including the one holding the shower head, he forces Pochita into place, but not without accidentally pressing down on the nozzle, causing it to spray up at them — ]
Ah!
[ Denji arches away, angling the gush of water — in the direction of Aki's face. ]
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[What the hell, wasn't this devil being so obedient before? Aki squats down to help and try to aim Pochita in the right direction, but his hand pulls back at the sight of his chainsaw turning when he spins around like that and then when Denji forces him in place and sprays the nozzle, he's suddenly getting a jet of water to the face.]
Denji - !
[He flails out to grab for the shower head, his hair dripping into his face as he coughs once free of the deluge. Aki wipes at his eyes with the back of his hands and groans as he rubs down his face.]
Dumbass... Just hold him in front of you, and I'll spray. Got it? Ugh, you got it up my nose.
[He holds the nozzle out, pointed away from him. He'll get him back when they don't have a bloody devil between them. Once Pochita is properly sprayed down and he tosses the shampoo at him to use, Aki squats back down to watch him work, frowning at the scene before him.]
You should figure out how to talk to him, or someting... Teach him some words, like sit, or stay... Like a real dog.
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Or it could be just that his excitability is a trait he simply has in common with his master.
At the mention of training the devil, an unnecessarily huge clot of shampoo drenches his hand with one forceful squeeze of the bottle, and Denji doesn't even seem to realize it as he twists to stare up at Aki. The shampoo doesn't even make it on Pochita's fur, most of it clumping past the rifts of his fingers and drizzling the against the tiles. ]
So, like, tricks?! Roll over, play dead, uhhh, what else…
[ Yes, what else do you teach a real dog? ]
Oh, oh, oh! Maybe we can even teach 'em how to make his saw go vrvrrrmmm on its own, without me having to pull on his tail. Well, not really on its own, but like teaching him how to bite down on his own tail and tugging it. We gotta make Pochita self-deficient!
[ …Sufficient. Self-sufficient. ]
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[It turns out to be extremely annoying to wash a devil. Maybe they don't like to be washed? But it's like Pochita thinks this is a game, which bath time certainly isn't. It's a serious time for serious activities. No horsing around in the bathroom, or else you fall and split your head open. Or something.]
[And then Denji is flashing those big, bright eyes at him when he suggests the obvious path of training the devil to behave and not wiggle around like a wet noodle. Aki makes a face as he describes the idea of teaching him how to go vrrrm on his own, mostly because he kind of assumed Pochita could do that already (though he can't say why, it's just... why would he have the saw, if he can't use it on his own? what a worthless devil), but suddenly his expression changes as he comes to a realization.]
...You know that job I did last fall? Cutting up lumber and all that? [Not the actual tree felling, they didn't let him do that, but he was allowed to work the saws and cut everything to size for a good amount of money.] Do you think you could train him to cut things like that? [He saw plenty of chainsaws there, but again, not allowed to use them. They were apparently fine with hiring a minor under the table insofar as not giving him the lethal jobs, he supposed.] You wouldn't get too worn out from a job like that, maybe.
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[ Denji spritzes the devil-dog down, turning the nozzle on and off in short bursts, amused by how he keeps trying to chomp at the water in midair. Stalling, is what it is.
Honestly, it surprises Denji a little to hear the suggestion that he give work a try. Not that he's against the idea. It'd be nice to bring home some extra cash, alleviate some of the pressure on Aki's pockets and feel useful while he's at it. How many days a week did his brother work again? It wasn't full-time, given their school schedule, but with Aki working his own gig, it'd probably cut into their time together even more, right… But it'd just be tolerating a little discomfort. That's a small price to pay. It should be.
With Pochita all clean now, Denji hooks the spray back into place. ]
Um, yeah, I guess so… I'll look into it after our beach trip. [ He reaches for a change in topic as smoothly as he reaches for the last clean towel on the rack. ] Hey, have you thought about what day we should go on, by the way? I know it'll have to be after the whole doc biz, but I think it should be soon! While the weather's still nice.
[ Swaddling Pochita up in the towel, Denji pulls him into his lap, which is much easier to do now that he can't move. Scrubs him dry the best he can. ]
Whatcha wanna do first while we're over there?
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[Right, their beach trip. Aki obviously hasn't thought about the specifics, not with everything else that happened today. It's a successful distraction, snapping his attention away from the idea of Denji helping earn some extra money to planning something like this. They definitely need to go before the weather gets too cold, so...]
We should go soon. [He agrees with that.] I'll look up a doctor tonight, who can take you - I mean, us, within the week.
[Since he did promise to go, too. Even if he has no real desire for that. But what to do, at the beach...?]
It's probably too cold for ice cream, now. And you don't know how to swim, do you... [He doesn't remember ever seeing him in the water. Maybe he can manage a doggy paddle...? Either way, they probably shouldn't get in, with his constitution.] ...Just walking on the beach would be nice. Looking around. Seeing someplace different.
[Denji could look at girls in bikinis or whatever it is he wants to do there. But he's not going to give him the go-ahead for it.]
Are you going to bring him? [The devil, that is, currently burrito'd in his lap and looking even more like a furball than usual.]
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[ There hasn't been any time to mention the idea to her yet, so her thoughts on the trip are more or less up to conjecture. But knowing her, she'll want to be an active and vocal participant in planning out what they're doing, eating, and who they're causing trouble for at any given moment. At least Aki hasn't changed his mind, dug up some reason to keep them from jipping class. A solitary feat, but a feat nonetheless, one that energizes Denji enough to stand up all on his own once he's ready to, Pochita crammed under his arm as he teeters for the door. ]
And that wouldn't be fair! She and me have always wanted to smash watermelons together!
[ It'd be more like him watching her slaughter melon after melon, then the two of them frolicking around like idiots while wearing the shells for helmets, but that'd be it's own kind of fun, too.
He leaves a trail of wet footprints slapping across their home for Aki to track, presuming that he decides to follow after. The kitchen's empty, still. Dark, aside from the flash of white that is Meowy's belly flopping on top of the dining table. Passing by, he gives her stomach a fondle and she launches her neck out to nip at him, his hand instantly retreating. Geez. Here they are planning a training regimen for Pochita while Power's cat gets to roam scot-free. This is pet discrimination!
Light spills out from the open refrigerator just as he hears a knock at the front door. The muffled call of Public Safety announcing themselves. ]
A-Aki! [ Denji calls out, letting Pochita and the towel he's wrapped in drop to the floor as he scrambles for the bedroom to find a change of clothes. ] There'll people here!
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[Power coming is kind of a given, but it doesn't really work as a reward for her since Aki has no intention of bringing her to the doctor... Maybe he can trick her into doing something for them instead? Cleaning out the fridge, or something? But she might pretend that means "eat everything out of the fridge" instead...]
[He's thinking about that as he passes Denji to go to the bedroom, pull some clothes out of the closet as he dries himself off. Watermelons... They should get watermelons, but two, since they'll probably destroy one. But carrying two watermelons to the beach sounds like a hassle. Can he ask them to tone it down a bit and only kind of destroy one...? And then there's a knock and he's shaken out of the thoughts by the sounds of public safety, Denji rushing into the room in a panic. Public safety... It's probably just to ask some questions, right? They didn't do anything wrong, after all. He keeps an air of calm despite the clear pinch in his brow as he pulls a shirt over his head, buttons his pants.]
Stay in here for a minute. [He tosses the towel at him, expecting him to finish cleaning up Pochita and himself as he deals with this. And Power's not back yet, either... Though that's not so surprising, given how she likes to dilly dally on side streets. Aki takes in a breath and heads to the door, peering through the peep hole briefly before pulling the door open. Wide enough to make it clear there's nothing to hide, but not so wide it welcomes anyone inside.]
["Afternoon again," the hunter that had used the fox says to him, the other one a step or two behind. Maybe to make them seem non-threatening. He doesn't know. Aki nods at them both. Can feel the uncomfortable drip of water from his hair down the back of his neck. "We finished doing an investigation of the area, and wanted to stop by and make sure you're doing alright. You and your brother."]
He's fine. [Answered immediately. He doesn't turn around, doesn't peek back to make sure Denji stayed put with Pochita.] Thank you. He just needed to lay down and get cleaned up.
["Sure, yeah," the guy says, like he's not ready for this to end just yet. "You know, it's not an issue for us to drive you down to the clinic. There's one a few miles from here. That thing was part of the zombie devil, but not the - " His partner clears his throat, and the guy quiets down for a moment. "In any case, Public Safety is going to be doing some... Ah?"]
[Aki feels a brush of wet fur against his calf and looks down, seeing Pochita sniffing at the entryway. His face pales as he leans down and tries to scoop him up, but Pochita slips backward, again unwilling to be lifted. Aki curses and again tries to grab at him but he starts rushing down the hallway. This thing is way more like a cat than a dog sometimes, he thinks with a grimace.]
["Where did that devil come from?" the guy in the back asks, and Aki freezes, turning back around to face the two men. What is he supposed to say? My little brother got mad at me and ran off and made a contract with a devil in the middle of a playground so now we have to take care of it. No, no, he can't say anything like that.]
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Denji pulls out a shirt, another shirt, and some underwear. It takes him a lengthy couple of seconds seconds to realize that he doesn't really need one of these, and he dives back in to find a pair of sweats to shove on. Augh, damn it, cops and cop wannabes always twist up his nerves. He has a face and demeanor that looks like someone who gets into trouble often, and while he does get into trouble, it's not at the same rate of an actual delinquent — still, that doesn't keep him from getting heckled every so often by his teachers or patrolmen on the street for some invented reason.
Why the hell are they being so scrupulous about a pair of high schoolers? Even if it's to take their statement, couldn't they have waited to visit tomorrow or something? If they really cared about their well-being?
It's as each one of these questions piles up in the back of his mind, steering his attention away from the present, that Pochita jimmies through the door gap. ]
Eh? Pochita? [ His pupils bullet after him just as he hears the familiar pochi of his steps moving far from him. ] Pochita, no!
[ A few hours of rest can only do so much. He's hardly in any condition to be running or exerting himself, so as soon as he's dressed, the most he can accomplish is a hurried shuffling out of the room, hand pressed across his chest, like he's afraid all his slimy insides might come tumbling out, organ by organ. ]
Aki, stop him —
[ But it's too late. Pochita makes it to the end of the hallway in no time, trotting down the stairs like he's running an agility course and someone's got their thumb on a stopwatch. Denji wants to hightail it after him, but he can already feel sweat coating the entire back of his neck again; he can't possibly risk it, not without the devil hunters ignoring their resistance entirely and forcing him into the back of their car to get to a hospital or whatever.
Reluctantly, he stops just behind Aki, using his brother as a barrier between himself and the expectant stares of the hunters. He swallows. ]
…T-That devil's a school project my homeroom teacher assigned to me! We get to, uh, keep a really weak devil for a while and observe their behavior under, um — [ His eyes rapidly blink. ] — in, um — [ Shit, Denji, use your words! He doesn't know many of them, but he should know enough to fib his ass off! ] Like, different controlled environments. And stuff. And then we kill them!
[ A bald-faced lie. The one in the back doesn't bat an eye, which could mean anything from disbelief to disinterest. But the other guy tilts his chin, seeming to give Denji the benefit of the doubt. "Oh, I've heard about this. My little sister's doing the same thing down south. Didn't think the schools out here were implementing hands-on devil interaction into their curriculum yet, but it's good that you kids are learning about how to conduct yourself early on." He glances back at his partner in what's supposed to be a shared knowing look. "Safer, that way."
Denji sends his own long look in Aki's direction. ]
Yeah. Safer. Um, I should go get him, in case he gets too far away. I've been trying to keep my grades up, so it'd suck if I failed this assignment, haha —
[ "You sure you don't want someone to look at you?" the other Public Safety hunter intercepts. "We can even get one of our people on hand to give you a quick look-over, if you're feeling shy."
His fist unconsciously finds the hem of his brother's shirt — nervous, panicked, and definitely on the verge of losing his grip. ]
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[There's this weird tug-of-war going on inside of Aki. He needs to protect two things right now. First, Denji. He knows he's still recovering, least of all thanks to him not having eaten anything yet, and he can feel the shaky tension from the way he's grasping at the back of his shirt. The second thing is their home. He doesn't want to allow anyone to come inside of it, possibly ruin it, take it from them. It took enough work to get them where they are and Aki has to continuously prove that they're using the resources allocated to them properly, that they're taking care of the apartment, removing trash on time, keeping the place clean, maintaining everything properly. When Power broke the dimmer remote Aki spent weeks trying to find the same one from various department stores so their landlord wouldn't find out - and it was a stupid remote, not a bigger issue. Any small things could set off a chain of events, in his mind. Anyone entering their home, authority figures or not, creates a sense of dread and fear inside of him. That they'll be split up, separated. That this will be destroyed, too.]
[A third rope starts to be tugged, and he feels it running down the stairs. The devil that his brother has attached himself to. Now another thing to protect in this moment.]
He doesn't need anything like that.
[He says it so curtly and directly that the hunter who has been taking a back seat even turns fully to look at him. Compared to his usual deference to authority, Aki speaks like he's a delinquent, himself. He used to get slapped for that kind of tone back at the orphanage.]
...Go back inside. [He pushes at Denji, wrestling himself free from his grip as he presses for him to go back into the home.] I'll go get him. Is there anything else?
[He turns back to the two, staring at them both grimly as he grabs his shoes. The two hunter exchange looks, and finally the Fox user explains, "Due to these recent devil sightings, Public Safety is going to be more present in the area. There will be more people like us in the area, keeping a watch out for trouble. So if you see or hear of anything suspect, you should report it to the bureau office - You know where that is?" Aki nods. Because of course he does. "Good. When do your parents get home? We'll talk to - "]
I need to go. [The clear bolt of tension that strikes through him at the question has the guy in front raising his brows and the guy in back crossing his arms. Aki turns to look back at Denji and orders,] Lock the door. [And heads out past the two, hurrying down the stairs with grit teeth.]
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[ Denji calls out after he's pushed, turning to fumble for his sneakers.
Both partners step back as Aki storms off, temporarily dispelling their kind of good cop, bad cop play. They don't even attempt to cut off his flight path, which Denji initially believes to be because they've been caught off-guard, but that theory is quickly debunked when they cleanly close back in once his brother is out of view. The kinda unnerving, kinda cool one begins to move up to the front this time, but the the other guy presses a hand to his shoulder. Shakes his head with a thinning smile.
"…Clearly, it's been a long day. Since you kids were involved in that earlier incident, we wanted to make sure you were provided whatever care you needed. The safety of people like yourself and your brother is our highest priority. For now, we advise you to be careful and aware, go to school like normal, then go straight home afterward. Sound like a plan?"
Denji slams and locks the door, leaving the hunter's question unanswered.
After a moment, a dwindling sigh sifts out from someone on the other side of the door. A murmur of voices can be heard as well, however, the only thing Denji is able to make out is a, "That went well," then the sound of receding footsteps. He moves to the window, not to track where the two of them are going, but to see if he can spot Aki and Pochita somewhere. He doesn't think his devil would make a break for it for no good reason…
Oh. He rushes back to their dirty hamper, shaking his school uniform trousers waiting for a sharp series of clacks to indicate his phone has dropped out, but it never comes. He moves on to his backpack, but that, too, proves fruitless. Crap, did Pochita go back to the crime scene just to find that thing?
Denji returns to the entryway, feet shoved just halfway into his shoes, heels crimping down against the collar lining before he's out the door to find them. ]
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[Aki doesn't wait, more than to the stairs by the time he hears him say that and not thinking for a moment to turn around. He keeps walking, looking around briefly to see any sign of the thing, then finally spots the devil sniffing at the edge of the road. Aki hurries over to snag him, but Pochita spots him before he can and jumps out of the way, hurrying forward as Aki rushes after him.]
You stupid - Stay put, or I'll send you right to hell -
[He grabs for his handle but somehow his little jellybean body bends just enough to avoid it and when Aki finally does get a hand on something it's his pullcord tail. Pochita yelps like a kicked dog at that and Aki is able to snatch him, grabbing him around the stomach as his little legs shake and kick to free himself. He holds him like a sack of flour and stares at him from above, Pochita's thick neck unable to turn to look back at him effectively.]
Stay.
[He does, but he doesn't look thrilled with it. They made it about two blocks down the road in their little chase and as he heads back to the apartment, Aki spies the two hunters leaving it in the opposite direction and pushes himself behind the stone fence of their neighbors. It hides him from view and he stays there with Pochita still held in his hands like a yakisoba sandwich, waiting for them to be far enough gone.]
[Then, a minute later, he sees Denji hurrying down the sidewalk, running right past his hiding spot, and Pochita barks as Aki calls out,] Denji.
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[ Spinning hard on his axis, he crashes bodily into them both, meatball-shaped devil squished between their chests. Knowing that if he hangs on to his brother too long, it may annoy him, he pulls away only after a few seconds of nuzzling his face into the Pochita's fur, taking the devil with him — the little guy looked about ready to wriggle out of Aki's strange way of holding him, anyway. ]
Pochita… [ He breathes out, clearly out of air and half-dizzy from the panic. Or maybe the flight of the stairs. A proper disciplining is probably in order, after running out on his own… But it's not like he knows any better. They only just began to consider the idea of training him less than an hour ago.
Besides, there are other matters to address! ] Did you find my phone?
[ …He's asking Pochita, of course. What would Aki know about his lost device?
Pochita only whimpers in response, his face flattening back into his nonexistent neck like a seal. It's not the answer Denji's really wanting to hear, but he can forgive the transgression because he's so stinking cute. ]
Well, that's alright, Pochita. We'll just hafta look around. [ Sliding a fast look toward Aki. ] Just for a bit? I tried in other places back home, but my phone wasn't there… It's fine, right? It's still light out and Powy's not even back yet!
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[Aki gives up Pochita with no fight, worried both that he's going to drop the devil as well as that the devil is going to slice him somehow. He looks surprised when Denji asks if he found his phone, not aware he should be searching for it - but of course he's talking to the dog. Not him. And the dog is responding. Man, he wishes this thing could speak. ...Or maybe not, because who knows what a devil would say to get Denji into trouble.]
You lost it? [On top of everything else, he really doesn't want to worry about a lost phone... Aki looks him over briefly, still feeling tense from that meeting with the devil hunters. He isn't fond of the idea of running into either of them again, especially not together. Returning to the scene might put them right in their path.]
...You should stay here until Power gets back and eat. I'll go and look for it. [They ran a pretty straight path, but that whole area is probably swarming with Public Safety. He motions back to the apartment, unwilling to argue with him on this - and combined with his residual frustration, what he says next comes out colder than he means it to.] Go back home, I don't want to carry you again.
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He didn't ask Aki to carry him today, or the time before that, but what would he have done if he hadn't appeared at all? If Denji'd been alone? Nobody else would have cared to find him.
The fact that Aki cares for him is something that he often takes for granted, so when faced with the potentiality that caring for him is something that is actually quite cumbersome… His mouth screws up, and for a moment, it appears his eyes might water and follow suit. But then he turns. Quietly scurries toward their apartment, like he can't get away from Aki fast enough.
Power comes back an indeterminate amount of time after this exchange, which is still before Aki has returned, so maybe it hasn't been as long as it felt. Her arms are full of fried chicken and sides, a fanciful tune humming at her lips. She pauses at the door, taking Denji in, before slowly approaching on her hands and knees like she would a cat cowering from a busy intersection, food bags dragging across the floor.
"Denji!" Power shouts. "This is hardly a throne fit your sovereign ruler! But it'll do. Scoot over."
The peasant ritual in question is just him having stacked his futon and pillows against the dining table to create a fort for him to peacefully lay under. It's small. Square. Pochita is curled comfortably on top of his stomach, and Denji doesn't have to think in here. Which is nice and how he likes it, up until Power creates an opening into it by kicking away one of the pillows and collapses beside him, her stuff crashing into the side of Denji's face. He groans and grumbles, but makes space for her as ordered.
That'll be how Aki finds them, laying there together and sharing pieces of chicken, whenever he returns. ]
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[Something flickers in recognition as Denji runs off, and for a moment he only stands there and watches, half-convinced he's going to run away again. That he said the wrong thing again and Denji is going to get upset and run off. But his feet start up the stairs and Aki watches the vague shadow of his movement until he hears their apartment door open and shut. He straightens his shirt and turns his head to look back down the path to where the devil was killed, then fully turns to walk there.]
[He's not gone for long but it's long enough that he can think while searching for the missing phone. It's the second time he's made Denji upset like that recently. Sure, he could have said it more politely or nicely or gently but Denji's old enough to hear the honest truth at times. Aki didn't want to carry him again. He wanted to find the phone and go home and have chicken. Taking Denji with his worthless weakling of a devil would make it take longer and if he did collapse and Aki did have to carry him back, he'd be worried sick. Doesn't he get that? It's not like carrying him back is an annoyance to him, it's that he doesn't want to see him like that so soon all over again. Hell, he could barely sit upright in the bath. Why doesn't he get that? Why does he have to take it all so personally?]
[He's never really had anyone to talk about this stuff with. He can't talk to Power because Power is as much a child in his eyes as Denji, someone he's taking care of. To complain or look for ideas from her makes no sense. Plus, she'd probably enjoy the chance to complain about him without getting a sharp look from Aki for it. As he stands at the edge of the police tape and notes that the body of the other student is gone, only an ambulance left and a few people taking photographs, he thinks about that girl who gave him the letter, standing by the courtyard during lunch and shuffling from foot to foot shyly. "Going to Tokyo, it would be nice to have someone there to depend on," she'd said. He had assumed she meant that about herself, that she saw Aki as dependable. But maybe she meant it in a symbiotic way, as in he could depend on her...?]
[Probably not, though.]
[He finds the phone eventually, left on the side of the road not far from the alley where the zombie devil had first dropped down on them. Probably got dislodged from Denji's bag when he tripped on his feet. He heads home with it and once he opens the door to the warm smell of fried chicken, he feels a little relief, but that's gone when he sees the pillow fort that's been constructed. Great. There's going to be little crumbs of gristle and fried batter all over the floor now.]
You two didn't eat the whole thing, did you? [He squats down in front of them and reaches into the fort to grab the box of chicken, dropping Denji's phone in front of him as well.] Here. It wasn't that far.
You guys have to clean this up, by the way.
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So what does that make adulthood?
Denji's eating like an animal, skin from a piece of thigh caught between his pointed canines, when his phone skids and hits his ankle. He finishes chewing, tossing the naked bone of his chicken into the box as Aki looks inside. Next to the growing pile of cartilage, there's still plenty of chicken to be passed around the three of them. ]
…Whatever. [ Fingers oily with fried grease, he taps at the screen, but it doesn't turn on. Out of juice. Figures. He doesn't make eye contact, keeping his gaze downcast as he breathes in extra deeply, rounding up the courage to say: ] Thanks —
[ "Absurdity! Such peasant chores are beneath me," Power harumphs, blatantly talking over Denji as she picks her teeth with a broken chicken bone. "I already completed your foolish fetch quest, human. And I still haven't received either my thanks or my groveling! Isn't that right, Denji?"
In an effort to rally numbers to her cause, she fixes her arm around Denji's neck with no regard for his pain tolerance. He winces; his chin still hurts from when he fell and her arm's chafing up against his face. ]
I don't care —
[ "Exactly! We don't care for your dictations, tyrant!"
Ugh, he's way too depleted to fight against her right now. While Power continues her gibberish oration, Denji mumbles to Aki: ] You can come inside, y'know.
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[Sometimes it's just easier to go along with what Power says, especially when she's done a decent favor for them. She didn't get extra sweets (that he saw) and didn't splurge on any expensive sides with the money he gave her, so the mere fact that she returned in a timely manner with the chicken is worthy of praise. Aki pulls himself into more of a kneeling position and lowers his head at her in a vague semblance of a kowtow, though his head doesn't actually touch the floor.]
Thanks to the great Power, for buying fried chicken.
[Whenever Aki actually plays along with her demands it seems to shock Power out of sorts for a moment and she looks vaguely unsure how to respond to his bowing at first, eventually demanding he sit upright. "Such a subserviant display... won't save you from your own clean-up duty! 'Tis your turn with the litter box, and Denji's new compatriot left a treasure inside!"]
Don't talk about that while we're eating. And that's not what "compatriot" means. [He looks at the fort, Power still squeezed around Denji's neck and yanking him toward her side as a result. Usually he doesn't really join in with these sorts of things, but he guesses Denji is still a little discombobulated from the whole experience this afternoon. So maybe agreeing will keep him from having any nightmares. Or begging to sleep in Aki's futon tonight.] Scoot over, then.
["Oh, he's coming in," Power says, clearly amazed as Aki turns himself around and finds a way to squish himself on Denji's other side, beneath the table and on his elbows as he stares out at their little apartment. From here it actually looks a little bigger. But also a little darker. He needs to replace the light bulb that burned out a couple weeks ago in the kitchen.]
[Turning his head to look at Denji now, chin propped on his palm, he asks, ] Did the chicken help? [With his non-greasy hand, he reaches out to rub at his head, trying to check his temperature with the palm of his hand.] You still look pale.
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Actually, what does compatriot mean, anyway?
He doesn't get the chance to ask, eyes flitting closed upon Aki dropping his hand on his head, stroking, a soothing tingle that runs far down to his roots, warmth suffusing beneath his scalp. But when his complexion is commented on, they open again and he shakes his head. Not so hard, though, that Aki can misinterpret the motion as him dismissing the contact. Or to trigger another dizzy spell, for that matter. ]
You're just seein' things. I'm right as rain, dude.
[ Hard to say if the proteins of the chicken are doing what he needs it to do for his body, but it sure tastes good. Case in point: He laps at the salty fats covering his hands with such a fever, looking like he may snap his teeth around his own digits any second there. See? That's a good thing, isn't it? So long as he has an appetite, he's pretty much the picture of perfect health. ]
…So what did it look like back there? I hope you didn't run into those fancy suit guys. They're annoying. [ Nosy. Detection dogs sniffing around for contraband or something. They asked too many questions and Denji didn't like that, part of their job or not. ] You better not become all stiff like 'em, when you join Pubic Safety. [ Yes, he just said Pubic Safety. ] I'll hafta sock your entire nose off.
[ To make him see sense, is the implication. And if Denji's dead by then, he'd have to haunt him. Rearrange his furniture, open and close his drawers in the middle of the night so that he can't get any sleep. Force every known ghostly superstition known to man on Aki.
This whole time, Power's been clinging to Denji's back like a young spider monkey to its mother, arms locked tight around his chest, chin vased in the cut of his neck. Following the conversation, she snorts, and he's pretty sure he can feel one of her boogers fly past his cheek. Gross.
"The delusions of a whelp… I can't understand them. If the noseless one's sensibilities were so easy to change, he would've bent to my will to adorn our walls in the skulls of all who oppose me and Meowy long ago!" Suddenly, she grins from tooth to tooth at him. "Denji, your pointlessly big and empty one would have made a splendid chalice to drink from." ]
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[Ugh, again with the skull decorations. Aki thought she got her fill during Halloween but it only made things worse. He makes an annoyed face at her talk about drinking from Denji's as he pulls his hand away.]
No one's skull is getting nailed to any walls. I'll only be killing devils, not people, anyway.
[He reaches around Denji to grab another piece of chicken. He can tell he's still a little out of it, so hopefully by continuing to eat he'll keep Denji doing the same.]
It was pretty cleaned up over there. Just some police tape - so we should go the long way around to the grocery store this weekend, just in case. [The comment about whether he's going to become uptight like them, he mostly ignores, however. He doesn't think he will. He's only interested in that work for one reason, after all. If it doesn't concern his goal, then he doesn't care about the other part of the job. Keeping people safe or patrolling around to tell kids to stay inside... He has bigger fish to fry.]
[...Staying inside... Hmm. Aki pulls himself upright, crawling out of the makeshift fort and grabbing another piece of chicken as he heads into the kitchen area. The space is small enough that he's essentially still in the same room, so he can still talk to them.]
They might cancel classes tomorrow. Since someone died. [Setting the chicken on a cutting board, he squats down to open the rice cooker and takes out a large scoop to dump into a pot. Both of them should be able to recognize he's making porridge.] But you should stay home anyway - the school will know you got involved. [As well as Aki, but aside from a sore chest, he's fine. Power huffs, muttering something about how Denji is being babied, but Aki shuts her up quickly.] If you complain, we're not going to tell you about our plan. Right?
[And he passes a look at Denji expectantly. Power looks even more offended, that they made a plan without her input first of all and that they're refusing to tell her about it second.]
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Yeeeeah. [ Gaze shifting one side to the next, he coughs: ] You're not gonna know the awesome plan. That both us totally made without you. So pipe down, pipsqueak.
[ He blindly agrees, reluctantly half-facing Power, as if looking at her dead on will give the gap in his knowledge, and therefore his bluff, away. It probably wouldn't, but seeing himself marked between the crosshairs of her weird contacts always makes his skin prickle. To her credit, Power's reaction isn't immediately murderous at being called a pipsqueak despite Denji only just recently hitting his growth spurt. At the thought of potentially being left out of a confidential (and awesome) itinerary for something or other, however, he notices that she's sweating profusely and clenching her jaw.
"F-Fine… But sleep with one eye open! The great Power will not forget this slight…" Her eyes narrow into catlike slits. "So what?! What is it?! Reward me!" ]
We… [ He considers calling to Aki for an assist — but wait, then it dawns on him thanks to Power. Reward! ] We're skipping class and hitting the beach because I did super well on my test! And I guess you get to come, too. Or that's what's supposed to happen…
[ Looking uncertainly at Aki, his lips push together. ]
But that guy really died…? The school's not gonna enforce some stupid extra rules or anything because of it, right?
[ It's kind of weird to think about. He should probably hate that someone his age has died, that he and his brother were this close to joining him, but mostly he just hates the potential for a curfew to be instated. ]
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[Aki very, very clearly stares at Denji as he starts to struggle through remembering their plan. Because, wasn't this his plan? He was the one talking about getting buried in sand and stuff. When it finally seems to click he sighs quietly and resumes his cooking, shaking his head. Really, it was a true miracle that he managed that 77.]
[He looks up as he sets the lid on the pot, reaching to get three bowls.] They might have us walking home in groups again, like they did a few years back. [Some other student had been attacked, but not killed, back then.] I don't get why they won't let the school make a devil hunting club. Other districts have them. It's better if more people know how to defend themselves.
[He carries the bowls over to the little fort and offers them out - chicken porridge with finely chopped greens. Maybe that will restart Denji's brain.] Last time they put fliers up, so we'll have to keep a look out. [Power looks a little unhappy with the meal, but it does have meat in it so her complaints aren't as loud as they would be otherwise.] But you shouldn't walk that devil by yourself for a bit.
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