awashlogs | Event Ten.

[Nico isn't told to stay or come. Sasuke allows the boy the freedom to do as wanted. But regardless, he continues on through the house, giving it a good inspection with both his wits and his eyes.

Hm. No one is there. True, it seems as if another occupant stays here--two laptops? They aren't in the same place, or even the same room. And technology? In a place with architecture like this? Weird.] Mm. [Chidori fades, and he returns to the front door at a telling, easy gait.

In one motion, he slides the sword back into the sheathe, and it clicks as he steps outside.] It's clear.

Someone else lives here, I believe. How do you feel? Now that you've found it.

[ If this is a trap for Nico alone, it wouldn't help if they both crowded into the building. At least this way one of them will escape it and have the possibility of helping the other out.

So Nico waits for something to happen and idly hopes that the thing that does happen is Sasuke reappears without encountering any danger. He'd feel bad if the man got hurt on his account but it seems the ninja is capable of taking care of himself from what little Nico has seen already.

When Sasuke does come back, his hand falls away from his own sword and while he's glad to be given the "all clear" does frown at the knowledge of someone else living there. Part of him hopes it's Hazel and this is some kind of makeshift building for the kids of Hades but deems that unlikely.

He focuses on the sensation that had been drawing him here since he stepped out of the well. ] The feeling is gone completely. I suppose whoever brought us here had to find some way to tell us where we're staying for the time being.

[ Is he happy about the prospect of living with a complete stranger? No. But Nico figures it's better than living alone. ]

There's no sign that whoever lives here is going to murder me in my sleep, right? [ That's a joke. Mostly. ]

[Turning just a bit, Sasuke glances up at the house again. When he follows his own pull, he should end up at a similar place, he supposes.]

If someone wanted to kill you [He thinks about Itachi, here, more than anyone else, more than even himself.] there wouldn't be any signs.

[The words are kind of like an added joke to Nico's own, but Sasuke's face, pensive, serious, seems to say it's not much of a joke after all. There's some truth behind it, and maybe the truth is somewhat personal.]

There's feathers, but I can't say what it means for certain. They're big. You're either rooming with a very large bird, or you're rooming with someone who has wings. I found a few scorch marks.

There's two laptops inside. In different rooms.

[ While that is true enough, Nico has his reasons for making sure he isn't moving in with an obvious killer. There are often times when he sleeps like the dead and wouldn't be able to wake up even if someone did try to murder. ]

Fine, fine. But if you're omitting any obvious signs that my new roommate is some kind of serial killer, I'm finding out where you live and crashing at your place forever.

[ It might be said rather flippantly but don't doubt that Nico won't do exactly what he says. They may be virtually strangers yet he trusts Sasuke over some unknown individual. Or at least trusts him enough that if he did try to kill the demigod that it would be a quick death. ]

Great. Just what I always wanted... a pyromaniac bird-person-thing sharing my lodgings.

[ Though he does perk up just a bit about the mention of a laptop. ] Maybe the laptop can tell us something more than the bulletin board did.

[The threat of being freeloaded by a teenager actually amuses him slightly, and he smiles just a bit for it.]

If you want to stay with me until you figure out who else lives here, you can.

[He won't force it awkwardly on Nico... but the invitation is there anyway. He doesn't blame the kid for being caution. Staying with him is almost as suspicious, but he's trying to at least show Nico he doesn't mean any harm, and he's sure Nico knows. Otherwise, Nico would have never so casually made the joke.

Stepping out of the way, Sasuke lets Nico have room to pass and head inside.] Go ahead. I'm behind you.

[ Nico wouldn't be a freeloader, he's more than capable of pulling his own weight around a place for the most part. He can at least clean up after himself.

There's a long moment where it's completely obvious that he's considering the offer very seriously. ] Maybe sometimes but I can't figure out who lives here if I'm never around.

[ Whenever he feels the powerful need to take a nap after shadow-travelling, Sasuke will find Nico at his place. If the man had wanted to kill him, he's sure he would have already. For now the demigod will place his trust in the ninja when he's at his most vulnerable or just swing by when he's had enough interaction with any cheery people who might be about.

A single nod and he's moving into the house, casually looking around - the place is about how Sasuke described. It doesn't take him long to find one of the laptops, which he gives something of a frown before opening the lid. Here's hoping it doesn't go on the fritz. Nico's not exactly an expert on using it but he manages. ]

Huh, looks like the only thing on it is a message board. People using it to communicate with each other. If there's any information here, we'll have to dig for it. [ He looks over his shoulder at Sasuke. ]

Should we go find out if there's one where you're being drawn to?

[This is fine. He'll accept this "punishment," and, in the end, it won't be nearly as troublesome as having rowdy Boruto. The Seventh's kid isn't a bad kid at all, but, boy, having a mini Naruto can be tiring.]

You won't ever find out who lives here if you're not here. [He's teasing. His eye settles on the laptop's screen, though there isn't a whole lot he can scan without taking it--the sharingan is still activated, turning the once dark eye into something split by shards of red.] Are you sure you don't want to lie in wait for your fiery avian roommate?

If you want to come with me, I'm not opposed.

[ Somehow it turns out that Sasuke has half-adopted this kid already, like some stray cat who wanders in and out at odd times. Nico won't really expect the man to do a whole lot for him because he's used to being on his own. ]

I don't plan on sitting around the house all day so we might hardly cross paths anyway. [ He might stay up way too late and get up in the afternoon but never let it be said that he's a guy who's content lounging around the house eating junkfood and playing video games... or on the message board. ] No, I'll be back eventually. Sitting around waiting for that roommate to be surprised and accidentally turn me into barbeque sounds like a bad time.

[ After a moment of debate, he closes the laptop and unplugs it from the wall. ] We can take this with us. You can use it to browse the message board if there's not a laptop there.

[Sasuke appreciates Nico's tenacity. He might have a tough time dadding if the kid ended up being the type to enjoy lazing about. No one he knows closely lacks the drive to keep trying their best.]

Mm. [He waits for Nico to get the laptop, and then he turns to get ready to follow Nico back outside. He can't say for certain there will be a laptop for him, but he has a feeling he won't need Nico's. Useful to share, if they had to, but Nico needs something private, he thinks.

Something personal.] I can come back with you if you want, just in case. Or I could pretend to be the one who lives here instead to see who they may be.

It's good to be cautious. The town didn't appear to have major recent destruction, and there were no warning notes on the board. I assume the likelihood of someone being murderous is slim, not unless they came with us.

[ Considering Nico grew up in a time where they didn't have the internet, television or video games - he wouldn't feel right sitting around doing nothing. (Spending seventy years in a casino playing games doesn't count because it only felt like a month and was designed to keep people there.) Even know that he lives in an age where technology is everywhere, he still prefers getting out and doing stuff.

Even if there is a laptop waiting for Sasuke, Nico is hesitant to use it alone in case it causes problems like tech usually does around demigods. Plus he's curious to know if it works in other houses considering he may end up spending time there. ]

You don't have to. I do know how to look after myself if a fight breaks out. [ That sword of his isn't just for show. ] Plus if something happens, I'll know someplace I can go.

[ He'll just shadow-travel to Sasuke's place, then probably and promptly pass out. Nico stares pointedly... at Sasuke: the ninja who's likely killed people in silent and sneaky ways. ] Someone doesn't have to be destructive to be murderous. But nothing's tried to kill us so far which is kind of a pleasant surprise.

[Smart boy. Sasuke's lips rise at the edges in a smile, but he turns away before most of it can be seen. This time, he takes up a majority of the lead, letting himself be pulled along.]

I'm sure that will change if there's a sign on the board marketing a defense force. It could have been made for preemptive measures, but I doubt it.

[Outside, he makes sure Nico is caught up, and then he begins their trek toward Flavo. The walk won't be so bad considering they're side by side along one edge. Things will just go from pleasant red and burgundies--mostly--to offending yellows where color has sprouted.]

[ Now it's Nico's turn to sort of follow Sasuke around, though he only walks a couple steps behind and to the side. Don't think he didn't notice at least part of that smile. ]

There's forest around most of the town, it could be there's some dangerous stuff that lives in there. Or even in the water.

[ Things are going great until they hit the Flavo district... then Nico's eyes are assaulted by the most horrendous colors no one should have on their homes. Not even the cabins at camp are this terrible and some of them are pretty bad. ]

You're going to be blind half the time just from looking at these things. [ Now he has to wonder if people can paint their houses... especially when he spots a couple that aren't simply just yellow but also one's green and another's sort of orange-ish. ]

Don't worry. I have strong eyes.

[Nico isn't wrong?? The colors are atrocious the further into Flavo they go. A majority of the buildings are still colorless, but perhaps this makes the colors that exist worse.

But it works. Nico can see the edge of Sasuke's face grow slowly more reflective, a little pinched. He's not a fool and, yet, there's still a feeling boring into the pit of him anyway, replacing the knowing pull of whatever lead him to this district. Something... lonely. A memory. No...?

Something symbolic.

One of the houses stands at a corner much like the rest, and Sasuke comes to a stop in front of it, lifting his eyes from bottom edge to roof.] Naruto... [Sounds like a name, barely whispered. He doesn't bother getting the sword out this time. It's strangely comforting here.

He presses the tips of his fingers to the door and pushes it open to reveal the quiet shadows inside.]

[ The further in they go, the more grateful Nico is that he doesn't live here but at the same time it reminds him of a certain blond back home. If Will had ended up in this place it's very likely that he'd end up in this district. Hazard of being a kid of the sun god.

So instead of looking at the houses and letting his thoughts drift too far in the person he left behind - he focuses in on Sasuke's expression. The way it changes the longer they're here. Okay, that's not really much better because it's kind of like watching his own feelings changing.

Except Nico isn't comforted when they reach the house Sasuke is drawn to. It's more of a gut-wrenching feeling. Some mix between guilt and an ache. He'd told Will he would stay at Camp and even if it's not his fault he ended up here, he can't deny that he feels guilty for breaking his word. Since his stay at the clinic after the fight with Gaea, Will has been a near-constant presence at his side. A presence he's now sorely lacking.

Still, Sasuke seems to approve of his new residence so Nico stuffs his feelings down as far as they can go. The ninja even goes so far to not be on the alert when he enters the structure.

He feels strangely out-of-place and weird considering he hadn't felt anything but wary and suspicious after seeing his own place. The exact opposite of what it seems Sasuke is feeling now. Which is why he lingers in the street and doesn't say a word. ]

[For a long moment, Sasuke stands at the door without moving or speaking. The district feels very Naruto, or perhaps not exactly Naruto, what Naruto means to him. Some kind of ridiculous shining beacon in the darkness, a lighthouse to return to safely.

But the house is different, even here.

It's familiar in another way. Empty, gloomy. He barely remembers the house on the night he sped through it, but following the event, he had returned. In the rain, it had been the same if not more lonely. Empty.]

You don't have to stand outside if you don't want.

[And with that, the dimness of the front room swallows him in the black cloak as he steps inside. If not for his footsteps, he would disappear completely.]

[ While Sasuke found a lighthouse nearly half a lifetime ago, Nico's only had months. Without it he feels a bit lost like a moth searching for the light. It might be a familiar sensation but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

Still, he should be used to being alone. Nothing but darkness and the dead for company.

... Except Nico isn't alone and he's somewhat startled when Sasuke's voice calls out to him. Invites him inside in a roundabout way. For a long moment, he stares up at the ninja's back before the other slips into the shadows of the house.

All of the sudden, he's entirely reluctant to be alone so Nico makes quick work of following the man inside. Here's hoping the grass isn't dead where he'd been standing out in the street or questions might be asked later. (This is exactly why Nico has a doctor's note to not have to sit alone at dinner time whenever he's at Camp.) He only moves a couple of step into the house before stopping and looking around. ]

Doesn't look abandoned. Maybe you've got a roommate too.

[In the end, Nico isn't alone, it's true. Sasuke may not be as shiny as Will, as shiny as Naruto or Boruto, but he's there. More like a sturdy dark ship to sail on rather than a lighthouse.]

Mm. Seems like you're right.

[Once Nico is inside, Sasuke continues on at a leisurely pace, scouting the rooms of the house. Someone else is different rooming with him, too, but there isn't really enough for him to know whether or not they're familiar. Who they are. A laptop. He considers being nosy, but leaves it. The force draws him to a separate room, another laptop.

It has access to the same forum, looks the same as Nico's. He leaves it on the bed. The room, for now, is bare and simple, though he doesn't seem to mind.

The rest of the house checks out about like Nico's own; a roommate who isn't currently present, no traps, no intruders. A bare-boned thing stuck in a yellow section of town. Guess he should settle. Six months, he doesn't know quite yet. He might be here a while.

Carefully, he reaches up and unfastens the cloak at the collar buttons, pulling it off and dropping it across the bed. He's less intimidating with it on, slimmer. The outfit beneath seems... business casual? The left sleeve really doesn't have an arm in it, and he has frustratingly not bothered to pin it up.]

[ Ship... why is it a ship? He's had enough of ships for a while but Nico supposes it's better than drowning.

As Sasuke explores the house, he'll have one teen trailing after him and peering into each room after the man is done with it. Yeah, Nico is absolutely exploring this house far more than he had with the one he's supposed to live in - there will be time for that when he goes back to it later.

Even though the building is devoid of people beyond the two of them at the moment, the space is clean and tidy. Eventually they explore nearly space and end up in a bedroom that the ninja is apparently claiming as his own.

So Nico shuffles in just passed the doorframe and settles on the floor close to the nearest outlet so he can plug in his laptop later. ]

Not a feather or scorch mark in sight. I suppose that makes up a little for the coloring of the houses in the area.

[Unfortunately for Nico, he'll be tiredly shadow-stepping right into a house with two dads barring whether or not Shiro decides to abandon this said ship for the other Voltron babies. Sasuke actually wouldn't judge Shiro for it.

But Nico's comment gets a small smile out of him anyway, or maybe it's simply the fact Nico is getting comfortable in the claimed room.]

Are you very opposed to the color yellow?

[Only one window is present, but it's enough for Sasuke, even lacking a curtain. He may put one up later when he finds bits of extra cloth. For now, he stands by it and peers out, surveying the view. Flavo doesn't seem to have as many gathered houses as Ruga.

Space. A lot of land. Hm... Sasuke squints gently at something outside, and then he turns to lean back on the sill of the window, gaze lowering to Nico.]

[ Two dads is one too many at a time, Shiro can be more like a big brother instead if he sticks around this place. Though why Shiro would want two Keiths is a mystery.

He shrugs as he puts his laptop on the floor next to him, then digs around his pockets. There's clearly a few somethings in them and Nico doesn't remember having all of it. ]

I guess not. It's okay in small doses. [ A hesitant pause where Nico stops moving around. ] Mostly it reminds me of someone who's... probably not here.

[ The way he says it is with mixed emotions, as if likes said person but doesn't want to admit that much out loud. As Sasuke is taking in the view Nico is unloading his pockets and placing objects on top of the closed laptop lid.

First up is what looks to be a small worn figurine, then a battered scroll. Last is about a dozen dark red seeds - pomegrante seeds which Nico stares down at for the longest time. These can't possibly be... seeds from his stepmother's garden, can they? ]

Hey, did you end up with something you shouldn't have? As in, you were no where near it but it ended up in your pocket.

[ Though he probably shouldn't have them in the sense that these could be pretty bad for him. ]

[Ah... Sasuke's face softens oddly when Nico admits the yellow is a reminder of someone. It feels as if the boy took words right out of his mouth, and, for a moment, he wonders if it's some kind of trick. Maybe the boy actually read his mind, how he felt.

But his mouth closes before he can say anything, and his gaze falls down to the things Nico is putting on top of the laptop.] I don't think so. I am actually missing some things I should have. [Pushing off the window, he wanders over and stops a foot or so from Nico to watch.

Pomegranate seeds?] You came with a supply.

Do they mean anything to you?

[ Being able to pick up on other people's thoughts and feelings is the last ability Nico needs. He already has enough emotional baggage of his own to carry around without adding other people's to it.

The figurine is of a man in a robe and the scroll looks worn as if Nico's looked at it a lot - which he has because he wanted to be mad at Leo when the other demigod came back to Camp. But neither of those items seem to be of surprise to the teen. It's surprising that Sasuke is missing items whereas Nico has gained one. Was there a limit to how many things could come with them?

A frown. ] If these are what I think they are, then they're from my stepmother's garden. They're... special. Eating one will put me in sort of hibernation state - meaning I'll sleep for an entire day, not needing food, water or even a lot of oxygen. It's called Death Trance because it's pretty deathlike, I was told only kids of my father could eat them and survive.

[ Nico has the childish urge to throw them away but if he has them, maybe it means he'll need it. Not a pleasant thought and he shudders visibly. ] I lasted about a week surviving on only these things when some goons put me in an air-tight jar.

[Special pomegranate seeds. Interesting. Nico seems to have quite the wild ride already, being so young. It reminds him of himself, of course. Again.]

Keep them. If you want to hide them, you can hide them here. You don't have to tell me where. I'll make sure no one is being nosy around the house.

[His eye shifts from the figurine to the seeds. Nico has an assortment of things. Sasuke... has shurikens and his sword. But he's missing his scrolls, missing the wire he typically ties to the shurikens for the purpose of surprise.]

What do you mean, "jar"? Literally?

[ There's a moment of debate as he considers Sasuke's offer before he heaves a weary sigh. ]

No, I'll keep them. Trust me when I say that eating these things are the last thing I want to do but there must be a reason these are here.

[ He doesn't want to need them but Nico would rather have them at hand if he does need them than to not. Maybe Nico has these things still because they aren't really useful, mostly just sentimental. The seeds go back in his coat pocket. ]

Literally, a jar. Not one that could just be smashed either.

Edited 2018-09-19 20:25 (UTC)

I see.

[Literally a fucking jar. Who the hell stuck Nico in a jar? Why did they stick Nico in a jar? Sasuke has so many questions, but he's unsure if he really wants to know the likely ridiculous answer to any of them.]

You'll have to tell me that story sometime. [He tips his head in a nod down at the other things Nico had squirreled away in the pockets.] Who is that?

[The figure, he means.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject