vatheon | You tell me about yours and I'll tell you about mine

[Katsu was just watching a movie, but upon hearing the knock, he blinked, paused it, and went over to the window. Riku could unlock the door, so who would be using the window?]

[... Huh. He opened the window, looking faintly amused.]

Hey.

Heello~

[The bats vanished as he dropped down to rest his elbows on the window sill and hover.]

Just wanted to come by and check on you~

[He rolls his eyes a little.]

Gee, thanks Dad.

[He does laugh a bit and opens the window wider.]

Come on in. No sense in just... hanging around.

[YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH.]

Edited 2012-06-23 05:35 (UTC)

[Deadpan and stare.]

That was terrible.

[With the magic words 'come in' Johnny climbs through the window and shuts it behind him.

....And then turns and pulls Katsu into a suffocating hug.]

Kaaaaatsuuuu I've missed you~~ I think you've grown! It's so nice to hear the word 'dad' coming from you~~~!

[alskjfsdf Katsu flails a little, laughing. He swats Johnny lightly on the arm.]

Some of us still need things like air, you know.

Oh right.

[An overly dramatic sigh later, and Katsu is released. Freedom from hugging also means that Johnny can go flop on Katsu's couch~]

Soooo~ How're you~? How's the husband~~?

[... Give him a moment of sputtering.]

I. Uh. ... Fff. Riku's fine. I'm fine, too. I uh...

[Well.]

I think I might have kind of messed some things up with Amane, though. I told her how her father died...

[A w k w a r d.]

[Johnny put his chin in his hand and let his expression turn serious.]

Hmm...okay, tell me about that...

[Maybe he could offer advice...hopefully.]

Well... when I made that post about Father's Day, she answered and said that she missed him. I told her I was sorry we couldn't do more to help him. She asked why and... well. I forgot that in her world, she hasn't run into that yet, and where she's from, I... took a different path.

[Talk about weird...]

But... her father sacrificed himself to help summon Belberith... though to be honest I don't think his sacrifice actually did anything. But I asked her if she really wanted to know, and she did. So I told her. I thought she deserved to know, but now... maybe I shouldn't have told her. She's really upset. I understand why, but... yeah.

[He looks away at the mention of the Father's Day post..he'd been avoiding that one for a reason, but by the time Katsu had finished his story, he had Johnny's full attention.

The vampire got back up and pulled Katsu into another hug, this one more gentle and made to comfort.]

If she's the stubborn type, then she probably wouldn't have let you off the hook without an explanation anyway.

Besides...she would have found out eventually, most likely. Perhaps even first hand.

She's... stubborn in her own way, yeah.

[He leans into the hug, closing his eyes.]

There's so many people we couldn't save. People kept dying... some of the police were going insane with power, too...

[He presses his face into Johnny's chest and cries. He should have tried harder to save people, he should have been less focused on the people he knew and more focused on the greater good...]

[He just holds Katsu as tightly as he can without it being uncomfortable, one of his hands gently petting the boy's hair.]

Hey...you can't blame yourself for every death, Katsu. Death is natural...it happens, as it should, to almost everyone. I'm sure you tried your best...but even God can't save everyone.

If He wanted to, He could. He's supposed to be all-powerful.

[He growls a little, but tries to calm himself with the pettings.]

But you're right. I couldn't save everyone. If we had run away, though... more people would have died. Between Beldr and Belial alone the count would have probably been at least a thousand people straight away, if not more.

[He was going to say something supportive. Something that would pull Katsu away from thoughts like that....but at the mention of Belial, the vampire tensed and lost his train of thought, his mind spiraling in a direction it hadn't gone on well over a month.]

...yeah...

Edited 2012-06-24 03:18 (UTC)

[Oh. Oh shit. Katsu pulls Johnny into a hug again.]

We stopped him, though. He didn't hurt anyone. We got him before he could do anything.

[Even though he has that fire in himself now... it's tamed, somewhat. As much as he can get it.]

I...I know. You told me that before. [His arms wrap fully around Katsu, almost as if he could protect him from Johnny's own memories of the demon.]

Technically...Charley beat him too, just before I arrived here.[And Johnny had been dying because of it, but that wasn't the point.]

...I know this place doesn't discriminate between the living and the dead when it brings people here, and if it wants people with strength...[That was the demon to go to.]

I'll punch him in his stupid smug face and kill him with his own fire. Over and over and over. I'll protect you. What good's a king of demons if he can't protect his friends from demons, huh?

[He smiles a little, and reaches up to rub Johnny's back.]

[He smiles, but it's weaker.]

Just...don't underestimate him. I don't know how different he is from your world to mine, but he doesn't always look like himself; he can change his appearance as easily as changing clothes, he's even looked like me before.

Hell, sometimes he's a 'she' just because that suits him better at the moment. He can manipulate anyone if he tries hard enough.

... I think that he'll have a tough time with me. Especially because I'll be watching him very closely. I'm pretty sure you haven't seen me when I decide to go all out. I wouldn't be in the area when that happens if I were you. I can handle myself - I'm more worried about you.

[Johnny easily slipped into his customary grin, though he felt bad using it on Katsu.]

Me? You don't need to worry about me~ After five hundred years, you'd think you'd know how to handle someone~

[... Katsu poked Johnny in the nose.]

I'm not buying it. Not with how you seem to be worrying.

[His smile faded a little.]

It's just...he won't stop hunting me. He never has and he never will...and he'll kill anyone in his way. That's not worth it for my mistakes.

Then I'll give him a new target. One who can kick his ass. I won't let him hurt you.

Besides.

[He chuckles a little, though it's not really a happy laugh.]

Part of me has already died a lot anyway. And I died here before. I guess death and I just seem to attract each other.

[Johnny kneeled down in front of Katsu so he wasn't towering over him.]

Don't say that. Please.

It's okay. I don't mind. I'll protect you.

If you're the demon king, then I should be your knight. I should be the one protecting you, Katsu.

...I won't stand by and watch if he gets the upperhand on you- if anyone gets the upperhand on you. I won't watch you die.

And I won't watch you die or get hurt. So we're at an impasse, I think.

[He just chuckles, though. He's a little grateful for Johnny's stubbornness.]

Then I guess we'll just have to agree to protect each other if neither of us is willing to budge.

[Johnny pressed a light kiss to one of Katsu's hands, a gesture of fidelity he hadn't made in ages. Not seriously, anyway.]

I swear to protect you with life and limb.

[And then it's like flipping a switch: he stands and is all smiles again as he pulls Katsu onto the couch with him and snuggles him.]

Aaaah~ I'm tired~

[... Well that was awkward. But he ruffles Johnny's hair a little on the couch. ... And also thinks of how awkward this would look if Riku walked in.]

And I'll protect you. But you might as well sleep here tonight. I wouldn't want you hovering around town and then crashing out of exhaustion.

Do you want tea or anything before you sleep? I have some herbal kinds.

You underestimate my hovering abilities~

But tea might be nice, I haven't had the occasion to have any for a while~

It's not your hovering abilities I'm worried about, it's your exhaustion levels.

[How do you like being mother henned at, huh? 8| ... But he gets up and heads over towards the kitchen.]

All right. I'll warm up some water for you, hang on.

[Water in the mug, mug in the microwave... ah, technology. It just takes a minute until it's properly hot, and Katsu puts a tea bag into the mug, bringing it over with a saucer for the tea bag.]

Here you go.

[It's cute. So he waits on the couch for Katsu to return and takes the offered cup and saucer.]

Thank you~

[He's silent a moment as he thinks about what he wants to ask.]

Katsu...what does your Belial look like? So I know...in case he ever shows up here. I wouldn't want to say the wrong thing to him thinking he was just another person newly arrived here.

I assume the trait of manipulation is the same amongst any version of him.

[... He chuckles a little bit.]

Manipulation? Not that I saw.

[He closes his eyes for a moment, sifting through things in his mind to try to find the answer. When he opens his eyes again, they're vaguely tinged red.]

He's big and red, with wings that look kind of like a bat's. He's also got black hair and a single horn, and he carries a pitchfork. He looks a lot like a stereotypical picture of a devil or demon, honestly.

Hmm...[He thinks about that a moment. It was strange to think of the demon like that...but that was what made their universes different.]

Well, he'd be easy to spot at least~

The Belial from my world looks like an angel. He can be male or female, but no matter which gender, he's always breathtaking. He has blonde, almost white, hair that he wears in a braid and his voice is like satin. He will weave lies and manipulate any weakness you give him.
...There are only two things you can trust him to do: lie and find me.

[He's quiet again but then he laughs.]

You know, between the two of them, I think I'd rather your Belial show up.

... Great. He sounds just charming. And yeah, mine would be easier to deal with. Hell, I'd beat him up every five days just to get practice in. Then again if he were here he'd have no choice but to follow my orders.

[He shrugs.]

Being the King of Bel means every demon has absolutely no resistance to any command you give them.

[He sighs.]

...It would be nice if that trick worked on my Belial.

[He sips his tea and settles back into the couch.]

Heya~ Katsu~ What's with your eyes.

We don't know until we try.

[... Well that's a thing.]

Oh... that sometimes happens if I use too much of the power of Bel. I was... uh... asking Belial a question...

[Um.....what?]

You were asking him a question? You can talk to him?

[Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?]

Sort of. It's more of an... echo of his knowledge and personality. I did absorb his powers, after all... and since he was a fragment of Bel, that basically meant I absorbed all of what he was.

He's not even close to being the only one.

[Katsu smiles a little sadly.]

I might have originally been the Bel of the human world, but I'm definitely not human anymore. ... I don't know what I am, honestly.

[Johnny shakes his head. He didn't know if he fully understood the first part of what Katsu said, but he understood the second part.

Johnny set the cup aside and pulled Katsu against him, enveloping him in as comforting a hug as he could.]

It doesn't matter. You're Katsu, that's all I care about and I'm sure that's all Riku cares about too.

[He curled up into the hug, tears threatening to spill.]

I know. And I know that's all you guys care about, but... if I ever go back home... the angesl want me to be Abel and the Messiah, the demons probably hate me for becoming the Messiah but don't have a choice but to recognize me as their king, Naoya... I don't know how much he cares about me apart from the piece of my soul that's Abel...

No one seems to want me for me, aside from my friends. Which is nice, but the rest of the world doesn't care.

And I don't know that my parents or friends will be safe - people might try to use them to get at me. I'm scared, and I don't know what to do. I have to be the strong, confident leader, but I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing.

... I think the fact that everyone seems concerned with different parts of my soul hurts the most, though. Why can't I just be Katsu before I'm Abel or the Messiah or the King of Bel?

[His hugs tightens slightly as he pets Katsu's hair.]

I'm sorry. I wish I could promise you'll never go home or that it'll be easier when you get back there...

[Because he knows you forget this place when you get back.]

But...I'm sure, if you do go home, you'll find someone who cares about Katsu first. And you should care about Katsu first. He's what's most important, no matter what else anyone else wants.

... Thanks.

[He takes a deep breath and just rests there for a little bit. It's... nice to be hugged. Not that Riku didn't hug him but that was... you know. Different.]

[Johnny's just going to continue to hold Katsu for as long as the boy needs, but there's a small smile at hearing him calm a bit.]

Of course. I'll....

[Feelings. Trying to process. Trying.]

I'll always be here for you. The coral allowing, of course.

You tell me about yours and I'll tell you about mine

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