zerotohiro | Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

Yep. [However, Naoki will fall silent now. That's because Inugami's getting ready to fight, upon a glance back to Naoki and Naoki's nod for him to go ahead.

The demon gives a short bark, red eyes gleaming, and then just shoots toward Hiro, body twisting as a paw with claws gleaming red swipes down toward him.]

Got it.

[And Naoki will-- go to make something. It's less relaxing than he thought it would be. Instead of three portions, he needs to make two. He ends up with more than he intended and leaves some behind with a mental note to give it to someone else as he heads to Hiro's place.

It always feels weird letting himself inside anywhere (Quatre says that to him too and there's always a hesitation and he ends up knocking anyway) so he gives a perfunctory knock before opening up the door and stepping inside.] Hiro, I'm here.

[With the way Inugami lunges at him, Hiro suddenly bounces back and throws himself into a backflip to stay just out of reach, rolling and tumbling to another part of the room before bouncing up again. He's a little out of practice but he's on his feet and watching the demon closely, eyes narrowing to examine how his body twists.]

He's aerodynamic. [It's more muttered to himself than anything before be moves, rushing in to try for a roundhouse kick to knock him back further. (And yet still avoiding his face. Hiro's still too nice for direct hits when sparring.)]

[He hears him, but he doesn't exactly get up. The apartment itself is fairly dark and quiet. There's a lump bundled up in blankets on the couch but said-lump turns his head when he hears Naoki enter the threshold of the apartment.]

Hey. [He watches him quietly, dredging up a tentative smile.] I should probably turn some lights on, huh?

Nah, don't worry about it. This works fine for me.

[He waves one of his hands-- his glowing tattoos are vivid in the dark, even when most of them are covered by his clothes. Naoki moves over to the couch, sinking down onto it next to the blanket lump formerly known as Hiro, drawing his feet up under him.]

[Oh, he can backflip. Naoki hums at the back of his throat, watching the proceedings with interest. This will be his first time really seeing Hiro fight.

Inugami, in response to the kick... spirals himself in the air, winding in the air around that foot. Very aerodynamic. It's like he's a serpent, really, even though you'd think a dog would never be able to move like that. Opening his jaws, something flickers in the back of Inugami's throat-- fire. Inugami winds backward before spitting out a fireball.]

[The glow from Naoki is probably enough for the other to see two important things. One, there's a fat calico-colored cat sleeping on the top of the couch near where Hiro's head is, and two, there's also a large white balloon-bot sitting not too far away. Baymax's white vinyl is more visible now and when he spots Naoki he waves.]

Hello.

[Hiro turns in his blankets to face Naoki instead, quietly looking him over just to get a reading on him. He likes Naoki enough, but he's still something a mystery to him compared to someone like Ruby or Yang.]

I keep forgetting that some of us are walking glowsticks. Doesn't that make it hard to sleep sometimes?

Hey, Baymax.

[Naoki aims a thin smile over at Hiro next. It's different from the ones he often wears, tired. He doesn't show his tiredness much aside from it, honestly, the utter battering his emotions have taken today.]

But nah... I'm used to the glowing, so it doesn't bother me. [He pulls his knees up further, leaning his arms on them.]

[Thanks to Disney magic he sure can. Thanks Disney. In all seriousness he's had practice and he's been sparring with Tadashi since they were children. He's picked up some things and he's practiced since he started training with Yang. The one thing Hiro has going for him is his ability to bounce back quickly.

He's not really focused on Naoki watching him but rather the demon in front of him. Inugami currently reminds him a little of the cobras he's seen in nature documentaries that wiggle before they strike. He can't say he's expecting the fire and he doesn't have time to dodge it, so instead there's a brief flicker of something, the activation of his aura and he brings up an arm to block the fireball.

It still hurts of course and there's a sound of pain from gritted teeth but not enough to deter him for too long. His mind's moving faster than he is but he's already following a theory.

Inugami spins. Inugami twists and turns and when people twist and turn they get dizzy. Could the same be said for Inugami? To test the theory, he makes another running start at the creature before taking a hard right to force him to follow and twist beat for beat. Come on, boy. Try to keep up with your moving target!]

[Baymax is curiously watching Naoki, and it's not hard for the robot to pick up that he's feeling very much like his own patient.]

Your neurotransmitter levels are low. This indicates that you are: upset.

[Hiro sighs through his nose.] We went over this, remember, bud?

Shall I refer to my database on loss?

Not right now, Baymax. [And with that, he continues looking at the nursebot instead of Naoki for the moment.] I still think the glowing thing is weird, by the way. Cool, but weird. [There's a tentative pause.] ...we still have three days before we should really start panicking.

[But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell right now.]

[Naoki does glance over to Baymax, curious more than troubled that his upset has been noticed. At least like that. Huh. It's not like it's not obvious that Naoki's upset anyway, though perhaps had Hiro seen him earlier he would've really known the extent. But, Naoki wouldn't have wanted Hiro to see him like that.]

Hmm. [...] Were we supposed to wait three days?

[Vaguely asked, before his chin drops down onto the top of his knees.]

[Naoki's lips quirk up where he's leaning against the wall. Huh. Is Hiro going to do what he thinks he's going to do? Well, it's not a bad idea, in theory.

Inugami growls low in his throat and he twists to follow after Hiro. At the very least, him moving constantly makes it hard for him to swoop in for an attack. And, without Naoki's guidance (as he would have during a normal battle), he doesn't have the same forethought to swoop ahead of him and cut him off.

He's not a dumb demon, exactly... but very instinctual.]

I asked it. It didn't seem to care how we did it but from what I figured there are more terminals around the city somewhere. The first time we saw it there was a terminal in the research tower. This time there was the terminal in the labyrinth. [A pause.] I'd like to go back sometime. Put a team together, head out for another exploration mission. Think that's a bad idea?

[Sorry for the impromptu diagnosis, Naoki. It's what Baymax does and with a person like Hiro he's constantly scanning for changes in moods. It's for the best that the two of them met later when they've had time to process things. Still, he nods, moving to mimic Naoki's posture.]

There've been a lot of cases where people disappear and come back three days later. I've met three people who've told me that now. [And his voice drops to a more quiet tone.] It's the only hope I have that they aren't completely gone.

[Naoki's quiet following that. But, inside, his heart is shooting up into his throat and he rubs his palm against his forehead a few times, vigorously, as though the friction will distract him from the thoughts and worries that are just bubbling away ready to burst free.

What if they don't come back? is the most pressing. What if they come back and don't remember? is the next.]

...Okay. Three days. That's something. [The waiting is going to kill him.]

[Hiro has a cat. Hiro would know how to distract a cat-demon a lot better but he's had some experience with neighborhood dogs to study their behavior (plus there's Zwei, but he hardly counts.) The growl should be intimidating to him but he settles for narrowing his eyes instead and concentrating. Not a lot scares him now after what happened in the Labyrinth. Boundless energy helps keep Hiro light on his feet and he continues to bob and weave to goad Inugami into spinning himself in a circle.

Really, he's just trying to enact the equivalent of a dog chasing its tail. And with that said he suddenly breaks free, running straight for a wall before using his feet to brake and push himself off of it.

Of course, it would be a lot smoother if he didn't bounce too far and land flat on his back, but will Inugami be able to stop in time? He'll just have to wait and see.]

Because we're here and that means we're gonna play. [A cheeky grin. Come along, Rei, follow him to the air hockey table. He's grabbing a puck and two paddles, passing one to Rei as he moves to one end of the table.] It's a pretty easy game, but it's really fun when you have a huge pass going back and forth. See the slots at the end of the table? You gotta try to get the puck into the slot opposite of you to score points while blocking your opponent.

[You know what's sad? Inugami's having fun chasing him around that he's getting distracted from the fact that they're fighting-- his tongue is starting to loll out of his mouth and he follows after Hiro with easy motions of his body, just like a snake.

When Hiro breaks free, Inugami's right behind him, and he doesn't expect at all. So when there's suddenly a wall, the demon yelps and slams into it.

And Naoki? He's bursting out laughing.]

[she thinks about it for a moment. she's certain that it'll be hazardous, but the chance to find out more... she can't say it wouldn't be worthwhile.]

No, I don't think it's a poor idea, provided that you take the right people.

[hint, hint.]

...doesn't mean it sucks any less. [Annnd slumping. He's burrowing down into his blankets and more or less pouting.] Lemme ask you something. Have you ever been in Cerealia without Yang?

No. I've been, you know... separated from her when things have happened, but I've never lived in this place without her here somewhere. [And the thought, reminder of it, has his shoulders hunching up.

But, he glances over at Hiro, folding his arms back on top of his knees.]

[He can't help but wince at the yelp and he's quickly standing up, holding his hands up in a sort of time-out signal.]

Sorry! [He almost feels bad because he was sort of enjoying himself, too, and Inugami, demon though he may be...is still a dog. He gives a small, sheepish grin to Naoki though.] How was that?

[Give Naoki a second, he's still cackling. Inugami raises himself up from the floor and gives himself a shake before rubbing his nose with one of his paws, snorting.]

Th-- that was good, real good. You saw something you could use and you used it. And you don't even need to worry about Inugami. Look.

[He points. Inugami is glowing a faint white, a glow that fades and then the demon is looping in the air with renewed energy.] I might've forgot to mention, but he can heal himself.

Kinda thought so. [He frowns to himself.] Ruby was one of the first people I met on my very first day here. I guess I always thought we'd stick together...even when we were in the jungle and split up, we were sent to the mountains together.

The only thing I can think of is that they wouldn't just let CERES pull them out and leave them to be--["Sacrificed." Let's not talk about the creepy altar.] Stuck and out of commission. Does that sound like them to you?

[Naoki nods, as if to say me too. Yang was one of the first people he met. Though they didn't click at first, after that... she wouldn't leave him alone, and then he couldn't leave her alone.]

I feel like both of them would sooner blast CERES off to another planet than let that happen. [So, yeah. Agreed.]

Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

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