orphne | expiation inbox

[She absolutely will, if only so that a) Shinji has more than one person to talk to and b) Dazai has someone else to go grocery shopping with.]

Hmmm...

[She hums quietly, just looking at him for a moment as if trying to gauge whether or not he's actually telling the truth. Like recognizes like, buddy, and that didn't answer her question at all, but just danced around it.

Well, it really isn't any of her business. If he wants to dodge questions, he's free to!]

Is he in high school? Or younger?

Oh, no, he's as old-- wait, how old do you think I am, miss?

(he's pointing at his face, almost in shock and confusion. it's not like he's ever stepped foot in a school, but alas, wow. with how tall he is and his position in the mafia, it hardly ever mattered how young or old he turned out to be.)

I thought you said he was younger than me!

[She just stares back at him, because hm, there's not really a good way to answer that.]

Like, you're clearly an adult, and I'm a second-year in high school, so...

Oh, no no, I meant we were younger than you when we met! He's as old as I am.

(which, again, mindblowing. should kotone ever see them in the same room, she'll see two grown men turn into very spiteful toddlers.)

I'm twenty-two years old.

Oh, you're not that old.

[Does she mean that reassuringly or insultingly...? Best not to think about it, because it's impossible to tell from her voice.]

I'm seventeen.

[...

Her brows knit briefly together, wondering if she'll see her next birthday. She made it to March, but that had been a struggle. She still feels tired, deeply so, if not as bad as she had on the 5th, but...

Well! Best not to dwell on it.]

What kind of food does Nakahara-san cook, exactly?

(that's actually so surprising to hear that he finds himself in laughter, even bending his long torso a little, bandaged arms against his stomach.)

Ah, no, I'm not! Hopefully, I won't see too old!

(the irony of being practically unkillable, without any supernatural ability to back that up. not even dazai can kill dazai, and if the fact that he's bandaged from neck to toe is enough said.)

Ah, I haven't really had his cooking in many moons. I think whatever I ask, with the caveat that I shut up for a while!

(it's a hating relationship.)

[There it is again, that casual acceptance of death. It's not that she doesn't get it -- last year, she'd have even agreed with him. Now, knowing what she does, it does bother her. She'd accepted death, but that doesn't mean she wants to die.]

I've known some pretty cool old people, [is all she says instead, because she can barely reconcile her own feelings, let alone Dazai's.] What do you like to eat, then? I can help you pick out the right ingredients to cook with.

(some of us have been craving it for way too long. when he officially joined the mafia, that was what he was searching for - a reason amongst bloodshed and torture to live, to understand what it feels like to breathe. it was given to him by the man he loved asking him to save rather lives than take, as the last words he ever pronounced.

some days, he can just do that. some others, it's harder to speak. being a genius fucking sucks.)

Well, enjoy the not-so-old me for now, I don't think I'll make the list! Well, anyway. Coffee first, right?

(there's nothing sad, or nebulous about how he says it. it's cheery, like a kid awaiting Christmas, patiently counting the minutes until the presents can be opened.)

Don't worry! Neither will I.

[She gives him her best smile and moves past him, hands still clasped behind her back as she takes charge to lead toward the coffee shop she'd decided they're going to. If that doesn't shut the topic down, then maybe it will make him a little less flippant for at least a few seconds.]

How do you take your coffee, Dazai-san?

Hopefully clean and painless!

(but look, a high five, it does not make him less flippant. it makes him-- almost excited? perhaps intrigued? everyone he talks about this yells at him, calls him a maniac, and tells him they will kill him themselves, but no one ever does.

bunch of teases.)

Iced Irish Coffee! It's alcoholic.

[You know what? Fine. It still kind of annoys her, but they aren't nearly close enough for her to get to the bottom of why he thinks that way, and it really isn't her place to judge. She snorts a laugh and doesn't high five him, but just shakes her head with a smile as if to say, "well, alright then."]

Hm, I don't think they'll let me order that. You'll have to order for me.

Eh? You want to try? As a responsible adult, I definitely should tell you 'no'...! But, eh, I'm not responsible at all.

(it's easy to order, he's been here before, ordered this before, and the waiter probably thinks both are for him, anyway. it's called functional alcoholism, runs in the mafia.)

Maybe another time.

[They're supposed to be going grocery shopping! Maybe next time she'll take him up on that, but for now,]

Just a black coffee, please. Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you about something you said before... something about ability users? When I texted you the other day. What are those?

More for me, kiddo.

(and it won't even scratch the surface of his rotten liver. takes him many bottles for that.

as they wait, his boney hands meet under his chin, where he rests it.)

Ah, yes. It is not a secret. My world has plenty of people who have abilities that surpass normal people's capabilities. Some examples... 'Thou Shall Not Die' is a good one -- that makes someone I know able to completely heal a person, only if they're half-dead already, or 'The Matchless Poet' - every object a man I know writes comes into existence if they're smaller or the same size of his very annoying notebook. Things like that. I have one, too.

[She's gone through this social link before, kind of. Mutatsu had been kind underneath all his gruff, and going through his own problems. Kotone certainly isn't going to judge. If it weren't broad daylight in the middle of town, maybe she'd even take him up on it! But it doesn't seem like the right atmosphere to have a drink and let him talk.

So instead she rests her chin in her hand, not quite mirroring him, but looking at him with genuine interest. It sounds like the kind of things a Persona could use -- she flips through some of the ones in her head with a thought: Akasha Arts, Morning Star, Thunder Reign -- so it isn't that weird to her. That does bring a tiny frown to her lips, though. Which Arcana is Dazai? Maybe it's because right now he's reminding her of Mutatsu that she's thinking of the Tower, but she'd fused Chi You away before the final battle. Darn.

Well, not that it matters, since the Velvet Room doesn't seem to be here -- or if it is here, she doesn't have access to it.]

What's yours?

Mine's 'No Longer Human'. Give me your hand, it's harmless.

(his hand is thin, fingers long, delicate, but if she's observant, she'll see some marks of a past. how some calloused spots fit perfectly the shape of a gun, where otherwise everything is soft, should she take it.

if the person wields no special abilities, nothing really happens. the worst thing is that they've touched dazai - but if they do, a cool wash embalms the feeling of their ability inside, locking it, nullifying it, quieting a storm.)

[She takes his hand, and if he's observant, he might notice those same callouses on her own hand, though hers are also sporting other patterns of callouses from long nights wielding a naginata. For her part, though, she just raises both eyebrows and waits to see if something happens.

And waits.

And waits.]

Hmm... if you just wanted to hold my hand, you could have said so! [And she smiles, clearly a joke as she makes to take her hand back.]

(he's absolutely observant. he feels the rougher skin, puts that thought in a file in his brain. kotone is more than she says she is, for certain.

and then he laughs, letting her go.)

It just has no effect on you, because you're not as it would recognize it! 'No Longer Human' is a nullifying ability to all abilities.

Oh... huh.

[She blinks, acutely aware of the Evoker she's carrying in her bag. She doesn't usually wear it holstered around town, because if people saw it, they'd probably ask some kind of bothersome questions, and she doesn't really know how she'd explain it, anyway. Summoning a Persona here might not be entirely safe. At best, it might cause a panic. At worst...?

Yeah, best to save it for emergencies only.]

I can see why that would be useful! Isn't that dangerous, though, having to get close to somebody to use it?

Ah, it's fine, I'm used to it -- although, you see, it's activated all the time, no switch button? So it does have downfalls, much like the ones I've told you about.

(the agency can literally come back to life at a moment's notice, thanks to 'thou shall not die', while dazai has to be hauled to the hospital. sucks, truly.)

I see...

[She sits back to allow their coffees to be brought over, smiling in thanks to the server and wrapping her hands around the warm cup. She's visibly, mentally chewing on that, turning the idea over in her head, imagining what it might be like to constantly have to control her Personas.

It's with that in mind that she observes,]

That sounds really exhausting.

Nope, it's fine, I don't even notice, it's everyone else's problem, I guess!

(if she can imagine being in a rather difficult battle, about to win, or about to exact an attack, only to be rendered useless by a single touch. ah, but look, alcohol! two, even! ah, he's so excited, patting his hands together in a light clap.)

You do see some very incredible things back at home, though.

If you say so.

[Even that much responsibility of being able to stop anyone's powers sounds tiring to her, but she isn't here to pass judgement. She just rests her finger against the handle of the cup and gently spins it around on its saucer, waiting for it to cool down.]

What are some of the incredible things you've seen?

Normal people, powered people, they're all incredible in their own right -- but I suppose I know many interesting abilities. The other three also have some, but I won't out them like this. You're free to guess, however!

I want to hear about the things you've seen!

[She laughs a little, still swirling the teacup.]

Let's see... you said somebody can heal, somebody can summon little items... you can stop other people's abilities... what about something like fire or lightning? Have you seen anyone use that?

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