Original RP 2.0

"Xièxiè. Zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài," Ha said in Chinese to the shop keeper with a small bow as he stepped out of the tea shop in order to follow Aulis and Ian.
"Aulis," Ha said as he caught up with them. "If your parents still plan on coming this weekend, Liwei said if I come back tomorrow he'll give me a discount on the Huang Shan Mao Feng tea. Since we usually give your parents some kind of Gyokuro I think a little change would be nice."
Of course to Aulis most teas, especially the Chinese ones, were gibberish, but that didn't really matter. Though Ian did always make Aulis's parents some really good tea, he really wanted some of this for himself. He still wasn't 100% proficient with Japanese, so mixing in Chinese didn't help any.
While waiting for Aulis to answer, or just not say anything, Ha stretched his arms into the air and took in a deep breath. While in the shop clouds had covered the sun, but it remained warm nonetheless. Despite the cloudiness, the day was still beautiful. Cherry blossom's were beginning to open in the trees, so there was a sweet scent lingering in the air. Not only that, but the faint smell of various teas mingled with the blossoms.
Considering it was rather warm out Ha wore a white wife beater, blue jeans, and despite the clouds, a pair of black polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses.

"Even if his parents don't come you should buy it," Ian said. "It's the 20XX stock he has on sale. This year's harvest is going to be coming in soon. You really may as well get it. He had the Yin Gou Mei and sencha from last year on sale too."
Ian entwined his fingers with Aulis's. They were within the city of Kyoto currently, and the closer they came to the train, the thicker the crowd became. As usual, they got some looks but he couldn't force himself to care. As long as no one flung the f-slur at them they could stare all they wanted.

Ha sighed and stuck one of his hands into his pockets to reach for his phone. "Yeah I know, and you know I know, but that isn't the point." He stopped behind Aulis at a light. "Apparently Suru is in Japan right now. He messaged you earlier but you never responded apparently."
After typing something in he returned the phone to his pocket. "No idea if Nyyrikki is with him."

Ian nodded in acknowledgement. "Well I guess we'll be heading back now, then."

Once the small group finally got to the train and took a seat, Ian leaned over and kissed Aulis's temple. "I'm glad you decided to come with us," he said as he rubbed his thumb against Aulis's hand. "I know that tea-shopping isn't your favorite thing in the world but at least you enjoy the tea once Ha or I make it."
He smiled and kissed Aulis's temple once more. "I'd ask if there was anywhere you wanted to stop before we went back home but it sounds like Suru is waiting for us." Then again, there was some wagashi that needed to be eaten so he could always make some usucha matcha and give the remaining wagashi to Aulis, Suru, and Nyyrikki if he showed up.

Aulis had kept quite for most of the day. He didn't understand the thrill of tea really. To him the were just boiled leaves that produced some sort of flavor. However he did enjoy the tea that Ian and Ha made him. It certainly tasted better then the typical tea in a bag. Still, he just didn't get why those two were always so hyped about it. Nonetheless, he didn't complain, Ian enjoyed it, so if it made him happy then he was happy.

As soon as they were done, and walked out of the shop he looked up at Ha when he spoke to him and gave a small nod. "They should be coming over still." He replied back. They too were never big tea fans. They were more coffee fans, which was way nastier then boiled leaves. However they did start to like tea more now, thanks to Ian. There was a chance Ian could probably convert them someday.

Once he felt Ian place his hand in his, he locked his fingers with him as well. The crowds were coming, that was the one thing about Japan he didn't enjoy. Way too many people, in a really small area. Though with Ian by his side, his claustrophobia was calmed down some.

It wasn't long before they got back on the train and had taken a seat. He smiled brightly when Ian kissed his forehead. "Sure thing." He said to him. Even if they weren't rushing to get back, he couldn't think of any place to go. Right now he kind of just wanted to get home and away from all these people.

---

Meanwhile,

Ahriman sat down, in there middle of the group, with his legs crossed. He had his elbow rested on one of his knees with his chin placed in the palm of his hand. He watched the group as they were talking about some meaningless crap that he honestly could careless about. He tried to pay attention, but their words were basically all mumbles to him now.

He was rather bored, to say the least. Nothing to do, like most days he spent with his other half and company. If they didn't do anything interesting soon he'd have to take matters into his own hands. Perhaps get out and see if the human world is up to anything worth while. After all he hasn't gotten the chance to explore much since his first appearance in this dimension.

Not giving them much time to actually change the topic, and make themselves more entertaining, Ahriman just simply phased through the shadow underneath him, into his lovely abode. "Lilith." He called out, and almost immediately his fox friend appeared in front of him. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "I'm going out on an adventure. Hopefully I'll find some interesting things. Or better yet a lovely man or woman that would please to entertain me till I was done with them." He came to a pause and nuzzled her "I would take you with me, however I rather not lose you somehow. So you must stay here."

She responded by licking his cheek before saying "That's fine." He then placed a kiss on her head, before setting her back down. He made a quick appearance change, hiding his tail, changing his teeth to more dull boring human teeth, his ears a little less pointy and his eyes more human as well. Nothing much he could do about his clothes, unless he wanted to take Kurai's; but it wasn't out of the ordinary to see people dressed like he was in Japan.

"I'm off." He said, before phasing out of his world, through a shadow near Niko's house. He did a quick stretch and started to walk in the direction towards town.

The train ride was roughly 20 minutes considering Ian house was located in one of the more rural areas of Kyoto. He didn't mind the city, but it wasn't anywhere he'd particularly like to live. There were too many people, too much noise, and not enough trees and nature.
As soon as they left the train something felt a little... off. There was a demon in the area. That wasn't unusual, there were demons everywhere. This one however, clearly had some ruinous plan.
Instinctively Ian held Aulis's hand tighter as they left the station and turned to Ha. "You feel that, no?"

Ha nodded. The demon that was around was a higher class than he was. That could be a problem, but it really depended on his abilities... assuming he would decide to mess with them. Considering the fishy air surrounding him it wouldn't come as a surprise.
"There is a not-so-friendly demon nearby," Ha said to Aulis since he was sure Aulis didn't know what they were talking about.

Regardless of the situation, Ha and Ian both tried to play everything off as best as they could. Maybe the demon would ignore them. Ian would consider doing something if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't prepared and he had Aulis with him. Aulis getting hurt was not on his list of to-do's.

Aulis looked up at Ian and held on to his hand tighter as well as soon as he mentioned the demon. He wasn't fond of many demons. Ha was an exception cause well he was nice, and Ian was his friend so he had no reason to be afraid of him. However not all demons where friendly like Ha, and he could tell by the way Ian and Ha were acting this one was certainly a threat.

Ahriman continued down the path he was heading towards. During this time he was people watching on the go, taking side glances at people who seemed attractive to him. No one worth approaching though. He sighed quietly to himself, thinking that this little adventure of his could also be bust. It was then, after 20 minutes or so into his walk did he come across the group of three. He sensed that they were starting to become nervous in his presence, which only made them more interesting to him. Inching his way closer to them he managed to get a better look at them.

One was a demon, lower class, but demon nonetheless. Messing with him would certainly be fun. Then there was the blonde and red head. They seemed to be very close to each and by the way the blonde was presenting himself it seemed like he was very protective over the little red head. That was perfect. All he had to do was keep the ginger away and the blonde would most likely react in a way he'd hope to find amusing.

Gradually getting closer, he quickly came up with a plan to interact with them. The first step would have to be getting the red head away from the blonde, however with how tight they were holding hands it wouldn't be an easy task. Luckily for him he had shadows. He figured he'd pry their hands apart somehow, followed by taking the ginger for himself.

The moment when he knew exactly what he do, he purposely passed the group, showing no interest in them. Before getting too far away, he came to a stop. He then proceeded to bend down and pretend to fix one of his shoes, but really he used his shadow to sneak over to the red head's shadow and connected the two, causing the ginger to be immobilized. He glanced over his shoulder to look at their tightly knit hands.
Using the shadow that was created in between their grasp, he manipulated it to form small spikes; which pressed into the palm of the blondes hand. Once their grip was loosened some, he opened up the shadow beneath the ginger, dropping him into the void. Though he wasn't there for long, for Ahriman almost instantly pulled him back up and into his arms.

"Watch your step~" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

The whole time Arhiman was around, Aulis tried to keep a low profile; but of course he ended up being the first victim. Being dropped into the void and soon ending up in the demon's arms, caused his anxiety to skyrocket. He wanted to flee, but he froze, there was nothing he could do, he just hoped Ian could save him soon.

Despite Ahriman’s best efforts to try and not look interested in their little group, Ha knew better just by the air he was giving off. The other demon knew they were here, and judging by the way he looked, he really was out to do something. He appeared to be out looking to get laid or something, but he, or at least the group, was probably the next best thing as far as the other demon was concerned. The only problem was, fire and earth bending weren’t exactly something you could do in public without causing everyone to panic. If they were lucky they’d get to a slightly more secluded area before the other guy managed to do anything, if he so chose.
Ian wasn’t feeling quite as optimistic as Ha. The air the other demon was giving off wasn’t bad per-say, but it was devious if anything. That was enough to be at least a mild problem.

The moment Ian felt Ahriman separate his hand from Aulis’s, he attempted to grab Aulis before he fell through, unsuccessfully. Using the momentum he started reaching for Aulis, he swiveled in Ahriman’s direction and sent a concentrated, forceful blast of air towards Ahriman, only to inevitably cut it off when Aulis popped back up. Had that hit him in the gut, he would’ve been out of commission for a few hours. The only thing he could think of doing now was make take Aulis back with air. This other guy was clearly a shadow bender, and that could end up leading to a stale mate.

The moment Ian made Aulis appear back next to him, Ha popped up behind Ahriman, caught his own fist and fire and aimed for the back of Ahriman’s head and yelled “Fuck off.” While a brawl was still terribly socially unacceptable, he might have a bit better chance one-on-one and he didn’t want Ian and this new guy plays tug of war with Aulis. However, he hadn’t been very observant and was oblivious of the fact Ahriman was a shadow bender.

I have a feeling that since we already covered this part we can sort of skim over it, that and writing a fight scene can be pretty hard. I figure it'll be a bit more interesting in a moment depending on what Ahriman does. Sorry it's so dry, but there wasn't much internal monologue this time other than 'get the bae back'

When Aulis was taken back by Ian, he almost instantly clung on to him. He was glad he had a boyfriend who could protect him there was no way he could've protected himself on his own. If Ian wasn't here he wouldn't know what he would've done with this demon. He probably would've been dead meat. He shuddered slightly at the thought.
Ha was so far the only demon he trusted, plus he was fun to be around. This demon however seemed to be opposite of Ha. Hopefully he would go away soon, and let them be on their way.

As soon as Aulis was taken away from him, Ahriman became a tad disappointed, though it was fun while it lasted. His attention quickly turned over to Ha, and as the demon swung for his head with a firey fist Ahriman ducked and slipped back into his shadow.

Though within a matter of seconds he appeared again but this time right behind Ha. "You know…if you want to be stealthy, you don't scream right before an attack. Kinda defeats the purpose." He said with a small chuckle at the end. "Though its apparent now, that you sir are more worth my time than that dorky red head." Without further hesitation he opened the shadow beneath Ha's feet; dropping him into the alternate dimension. "Whoops." Ahriman said with yet another amused laugh and shortly followed after Ha.

What he would do to him exactly was still uncertain there was so much he could do, being that Ha was obviously lower class demon than he was. Regardless he was going to have a lot of fun with him.

Yaaas finally! |D

I fucked up, Ha thought as Ahriman reappeared behind him. The demon had a point, why did he decide to yell at him to fuck off before he made contact with him? If he survived, Yu would kill him later. If he didn't, Yu would just kill him again later. She got after him for being so... stupid... constantly. Ian had begun doing that as well and yet what was he doing?
Being an idiot. Now was not the time.
Before he really had a chance to do anything, the demon had opened some void [har har har thevoid] below Ha with his shadow. Time had seemed to slow down at that point. Between thrusting his fist towards the unfamiliar demons face and the demon reappearing behind him it felt like hours had passed. He could sense every detail of the world around him, and nothing could be done about it-- he had already messed up. Yet, as soon as the void opened it was like God had set time on fast-forward. His best efforts to grab at the edge of his shadow was in vain; his hand made a shadow after all.
The Fu lion's landing into Ahriman's world was rather rough. While he landed on his feet, the height he fell from forced him into a roll, and he soon found himself on his side, covered in dirt. In a matter of moments he was back on his feet, completely bewildered by what he saw. This was clearly not Earth, and it wasn't Hell either. Where could he have possibly been sent?
Shit, he thought, looking around the very monochrome terraine. The demon that sent him here was nowhere to be seen, but there was no doubt that he would find his way into here. There would be no other reason to send him here other than to play with him in some manor.
"You sir are more worth my time than that dorky red head, the demon had claimed before sending Ha down there. In that case, when would he show up, and what did he have in mind. To the best of his ability in this unknown environment, Ha began to prepare himself for any sudden attack.

There was no way Ha was being so stupid right now. Ian almost didn't notice Aulis clinging onto him; his attention had shifted to Ha. It had been some 50 or so odd years since they last hunted demons as a profession, but Ha was older than dirt so there was no reason for him to pull a shounen anime protagonist move and bellow as he attacked.
Much like with Ha, the time when Ha began to fall into the rabbit hole Ahriman appeared to open, watching Ha disappear from the street was like watching a frame-by-frame production. Yet, he too was caught in the frames so there was little that could be done to help his friend.
Once the two demons disappeared Ian tensed up. "Aulis, I think this is needless to say, but this is really, really bad."
He pursed his lips and stared at the ground where Ha and the other man just were. There was nothing they could do at this point, and yet every fibre of his body was screaming to run over to where his friend had just stood. It was doubtless Ha's phone would work from inside a shadow... or wherever they went.
He then turned his attention to Aulis and rested his forehead on Aulis's shoulder. His thoughts began to escape him. "What are we going to do? There isn't a thing we can do but I want to do something. I love him to death but why does he have to be so stupid?" A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he lifted his head off Aulis's shoulder and embraced him. "Are you at least alright?"

With his jaw dropped slightly, Aulis watched the scene with the two demons take place in front of him. Shock, was one way of describing how he felt at this very moment. Time seemed to have slowed down for him, with watching Ha drop through the shadow beneath him. There was nothing he could possibly do. He couldn't help Ha no matter how hard he tried. Especially now, since he was frozen in his tracks. The moment he felt Ian's forehead against his shoulder, he felt tears building up. Ha was gone. Possibly gone forever. There was no way of knowing where that demon took him or what he was going to do to him.

He had tuned most of what Ian said out, but not on purpose. At the moment he was just trying to process his own thoughts.  However he did give Ian a shallow nod when he asked if he was okay. Physically he was fine. That demon didn't do anything to him but hold him in his arms. Mentally however, that was different and he was certain Ian was feeling similarly if not worse than he was. He managed to hold back his tears and went to say something, but nothing came out. Instead he hugged him back tightly. What were they going to do now. Was there even anything they could do?
---
Ahriman followed behind Ha, shortly after dropping him into the void he called home. Unlike the other demon, he was a bit more gracefully with his landing. As he descended down from the entrance of his world, he changed his appearance back to his normal demon state. His eyes no longer appeared to be human, his teeth sharp and his tail out in its full glory.

Once his feet gently touched the ground, he looked over at the demon he had just kidnapped. It was always fun to see people's initial reaction when they were dropped into his world. A mixture of fear and confusion radiated off them; it was the perfect combination. "Welcome." Ahriman started to say as he I took a few steps closer to Ha. "It's not everyday we get visitors down here. Can get quite lonely." He finished with a exasperated sigh.

In reality he really didn't mind this empty space, that he was force to inhabit. It took some time to get used to, but now he actually prefers it to any other place. Hell was a wasteland in itself so really there wasn't any difference there. And the only true important difference there was, was that he ruled these lands and not Lucifer.

He proceeded to walk closer to Ha, examining him intently. He circled him, curiously, getting closer to him with each pass. Once he got a good enough look, he began to laugh. Ha's appearance was amusing to him. The way he dressed, acted, and so on. Ha appeared to be a tough guy, but to Ahriman he seemed like a limp noodle.
Ahriman's own amusement made his laughter even worse, to the point where he couldn't make any smartass remarks.

Well one thing was for sure, he was going to be entertained one way or another, with this guy.

Unfortunately, there was not a whole lot that Ian could do at this point. Ha was gone... for some undetermined period of time. However, Suru had messaged Ha that he was in Japan right now. It was highly unlikely since Suru had less experience with demons than Ian, but maybe Suru would have some idea of how to tackle this issue.
~
"Well, that really sucks," Suru said his arms crossed and hip cocked slightly to the left. "To be fair that was pretty stupid of him to yell at said shadow-bender while attempting to clock him. Did he seem malicious or devious? If it's the latter, then he should be fine once the demon gets bored."
Suru was dressed rather conservatively in black denim jeans, combat boots, a plain blakck t-shirt, leather gloves that almost reached his elbows and a knee-length black, shiny leather trench coat. His hair was just beyond his cowl, straight, and black. In contract with the black was his fairly pale skin, and sapphire blue eyes.

"He seemed more on the devious side," Ian said, his eyes trailing to the wall behind Suru. "That could be quite a while. From what Ha has told me, the... I don't want to call it a world or dimension... but the... 'noun' he's get stucked in if he's touched by the sword he's sealed to is literally nothing and he has no concept of time. For all I know the two of them are now in Italy sipping fine wine. It was technically a shadow they fell through but I know that some demons have other worlds, although it is rare so..." He had to be over-thinking it. There was an equally good chance that the two of them were just now in Hell. The portal-thing Ha would go through (when it appeared) varied in appearance.

"You're overthinking it," Suru said and placed a hand on Ian's shoulder then smiled over at Aulis. "I can't imagine why he would have went after you, if for no other reason than to try and agitate Ian or Ha. He was certainly successful for one." Suru paused, and let out a small sigh. "But I really don't think there is a whole lot that can be done other than to perhaps call Yu."
---

Ha was having a serious déjà vu. This was like every single fantasy novel or movie ever. The "Big Bad" appears in some fantastical way, in this case from above. Normally vampies were the ones to say "Welcome" followed by an evil "Mwahahaha" but nope, that was this ass hat of a demons job.
"What are you, Invader Zim or Cousin Cackle?" Ha asked. "You give his laugh a run for his money. All you need is to be green and a bit shorter than you already are." Granted Ha was only an inch taller, but an inch was an inch.
Part of Ha wanted to back up as Ahriman began to inch closer. He was clearly trying to be intimidating by making up for his lack of intimidating features. However, Ha also knew that he wasn't going to be able to run anywhere even if he wanted to. They were in this guys world-- and even if he was lying, Ha had no way to get out. Fighting, or at least standing his ground, was the only option.

let's get this party started!!! \o/

Aulis leaned up against a wall with his hands pressed behind his back. Normally when there was a conversation involving more then two people, he didn't speak up. Instead he'd just watch the others talk. Besides at this point what was there to say. He truly was worried about Ha, who knows when or if they'd ever see him again. Why did they have to cross paths with that demon at that point in time, just why?

He sighed quietly to himself. As worried as he was, it wasn't going to bring Ha back. When Suru directed his attention towards him he perked up a bit and gave him a small smile. "Yeah…." He squeaked out, before resuming to his quite behavior. It wasn't much, but that's all he had in him at the moment.

---
Ahriman cocked his head to the right, giving Ha a puzzled look. Who the fuck was this guy talking about. Well whoever it was, it was clear that the other demon was attempting to get under his skin by coming up with some piss-poor insult. Without dwelling on it for to long, he replied with “You know you sure do have quite the bark. But…I doubt you have any bite.” He said and chuckled slightly at his own come back.

It was obvious that this guy was holding up a strong front. That was quite alright, with him he might not even have to get his hands dirty. “ You sir, caught me in a good mood." He started to say with a grin creeping up on to his face. The smaller demon took a step back, away from Ha and folded his arms against his chest. "I'll tell you what, instead of me beating you to a pulp. I'll let you spend some quality time with a few of the residences down here." With a quick snap of his fingers, he waited for his large companions to come forth.

It was only a matter of seconds after, that two large demons that took form of a well decayed dragon stepped forth. It was true that his minion liches weren’t the strongest, nor the smartest, but they sure could be a pain in the ass. Two would be enough to at least see the potential the other demon had. If Ha died in the process then that would be a shame, but at least Ahriman didn't waste his time.

"You three play nice now~." Ahriman said with a small dark laugh at the end. And moments after he finished the sentence, the two liches began to approach Ha.

Ha shot Ahriman a death glare. Who the hell did this piece of shit think he was? He was obviously mocking Ha now. He didn't think Ha was strong enough to fight him so he had to send some large low class demons at him.
If it was at all possible Ha became even angrier in that moment. He looked between the two litches and let out a sigh. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do against them. The obvious way to take them down was to cut off their necks or restrain their movement. Knowing this jokester he'd just heal them or release them so neither was a viable option.
There was a chance they still had their "heart" intact, but there was an equally good chance they didn't. Given the situation Ha was probably going to have to just beat them down to a pulp. Considering Ha's abilities this was not an ideal situation.
I could really use Yu right now, He thought. He couldn't even summon any of his magical items or other demon friends down here. Perhaps even Yu was cut off from him.
The litches were beginning to get too close for comfort. Ha dove under the closer of the two and decided looking for a heart was at least worth the try. With that he used what little earth he could move to pierce a hole in the litches hollow excuse for a stomach. Bones and flesh began to fall but Ha ignored it and went inside. It couldn't hurt him from here, but Ahriman certainly could.

Ian and friends aren't doing much at the moment so no point in including them at the moment

Ahriman watched Ha, with great amusement on his face. Well this demon certainly wasn’t as dumb as he thought he was going to be. So he’d give him that. However going up against his liches still didn’t really say much. 
The piercing sound of one of the lich crying out in pain echoed throughout the void. Both of which came to a sudden stop in their movement. The second lich, had the bright idea of attacking it’s friend in attempt to get Ha. Driving it’s head straight into the side of the weakened lich, causing it to crash into the ground on it’s side.

As the fight between the two lichees carried on, the smaller demon placed his hand to his face and dragged it down slowly, while letting out a heavy sigh. Yes, if this was a battle of intelligence then pretty much anything could out smart his minion liches. Regardless, he let it play out, even if that meant his so called helpers would lost this battle. To him, this was all just a test to see what Ha was really capable of. 

“The fuck are you doing.” an all too familiar voice called out to Ahriman.
 
Without even turning around to see the figure who was talking to him, Ahriman rolled his eyes in annoyance. Well this was just freaking fantastic. His favorite other half of all time just had to show up, now of all times. “Nothing of your concern.” he replied with, slowly turning his attention away from Ha and at the young asian male. “Maybe I should ask you why you’re down here. This is not your place of stay, nor your place of jurisdiction. "

A scowl formed onto Kurai’s face. “Maybe not, however that doesn’t mean I can’t stop what you’re currently doing.” He stepped to the side and proceeded to walk forward towards the scene of the fight. 


“Two liches fighting. Isn’t that just really fascinating to you.”  Ahriman said, folding his arms across his chest. Kurai was such a buzz kill, that it was painful to even just think that he connected his soul with his. He threatened many a time, to detach himself, but despite his annoyance towards the black haired kid, he enjoyed using him. If he were to detach he would have to go through the whole process of finding himself yet another host, and who knows how long they would last. So in the end he, he was content with the situation.  

Ha could not believe how well this was working. He knew litches were stupid, at least most of the draconic variety, for he had dealt with them numerous times in the past. Yet... they never ceased to exceed his expectations in their stupidity.
The impact of the second litch attacking the first knocked Ha back several ribs, and he was forced to grab onto some of the rotting flesh. With a face of disgust, he shook off the rotting flesh and attempt to gain his bearing again.
It was all for naught. The second litch and the first litch, understandably, were now angry at each other. They sort of reminded Ha of Giraffs, thrashing their heads around like wild maniacs until one of them lost.
With a minimal amount of effort, Ha slipped out of the ribs of the first litch and landed on his feet. There was no way the pair would notice him. They were far too busy with one another.
Immediately he noticed Kurai.
As a precaution he walked several feet away from the litchs. "You have got to be kidding me," he began. "First you decide to try to send those stupid dracolitches at me as if I'm some third class easy-to-kill demon. Yeah, you outclass me but really? That was an insult. Now you're going to send some sorta-copy of you at me? The hell is wrong with you? Just because you have your own, albeit very empty world, and god knows how many different low class demons, doesn't mean that you're shit. Maybe if you hadn't tried to steal my friends boyfriend we wouldn't be in this situation and you could be spending your time doing something more constructive."
Ha crossed his arms and huffed, a scowl spread on his face. This was not amusing him in the slightest. If he died here, would he be stuck? That would be horrible, not only for him but for Yu.
I gotta get out of here, somehow, he thought and took another step towards the pair before him.

Kurai gestured a hand towards Ha, while looking back at Ahriman. "A new toy for you?" He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The small demon shrugged and replied back with "Wouldn't necessarily say a toy. Toys are usually more entertaining, for a longer period of time."
He turned his attention back towards Ha before speaking once again. "He's no copy of mine. He's too much of a puss, for one." He laughed at his own insult.
"But you're right. Getting my dick wet would've be a lot more satisfying. However, I wasn't stealing him. You're the one who assumed I was and came after me with a firey fist of doom. " Ahriman continued on as he stretched an arm over his head, with the other tugging at it. "So really, I was merely defending myself."

Kurai shook his head in disgust. "You're such an asshole." He said under his breath, as he walked passed Ahriman and towards Ha.

Ahriman sighed heavily while rolling his eyes "You seriously need to get laid, or at least get that stick out of your ass. Perhaps Saika could help you out with both of those problems."

The younger Asian male was going to continue on, but knew damn well it would never go anywhere. Instead he did his best to ignore his other half. "Did he hurt your friend?" He asked Ha, with some concern. After all he didn't trust the story that Ahriman told.

Ha eyed the two men before him. This new guy seemed a lot better in retrospect, but he still seemed a bit off. Then again he was clearly a kid, so it was whatever. As long as this kid could get him out that's what mattered.
"No he didn't hurt my friend," Ha responded when Kurai questioned him. "But I have a feeling that if I hadn't done the 'fiery fist of doom' as he put it, then perhaps something would've happened. My two friends and I were walking along. We knew there was a demon nearby, who happens to be this jackass," Ha gestured towards Ahriman, "and we were hopeful that he wouldn't do anything. He made Aulis fall through his shadow and his boyfriend happens to be an airbender so he got him back."
Ha paused and looked up into the sky. "So how exactly does this place works? It reminds me of a very unhappy place of nothingness I've been stuck in a few times. More importantly, you're not a demon so how do you get down here?" Perhaps the two were connected, but that still didn't mean that this kid could have access to this monotone world.

---

Butterflies were beginning to form in Micahela's stomach. Haruo had been awfully quiet thus far. It didn't seem like a bad thing, he appeared to be lost in his mind. But what was he thinking about? Had he found out from some other source that she was transgender? The possibility of that was extremely low and yet...
She closed her eyes and took in a small, yet deep breath. Everything was fine, just as usual.
She couldn't get over how nice it was today. This late into October it was typically cold and nasty. Today however, she was able to dress comfortably in a loose, indigo colored dress that draped off of one shoulder, and went down to almost her knees. She wore a thin black shawl over her shoulders, paired with some heeled boots that went up to about her knees.
Michaela took a seat on a bench and smiled up at Haruo while crossing her legs. "I'm glad that we did manage to work out meeting today. I was worried earlier in the week that school wasn't going to allow it. Those weekends are always pretty disappointing." She fiddled with one of her nails. "You've been a bit quiet, are you alright?"

Ahriman chuckled softly"You can't be serious. I was merely trying to interact with said group, before you attacked me.” He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to win this. That was fine, in his opinion. At this point, the sooner they got out of his hair the sooner he could go back to his original plan.

Kurai turned his attention back to Ahriman, giving him an unpleasant look. Did he really think that Kurai was going to believe his bullshit of a story. He sighed heavily, before looking back towards Ha.  “I’m sorry to hear that. At least no harm was caused to them.” Closing his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair before answering the rest of Ha’s questions. “The asshole, you are speaking of, his name is Ahriman. "

“Ahriman the magnificent, is what you meant to say.” The small demon, amusing himself by his own jokes once again. He proceeded to take a few steps forward, so he was now standing right next to Kurai. "And you see, your knight in shining armor…well he's my host."

The younger male looked up at the sky in annoyance by Ahriman's response. 'God he is so annoying.' He thought to himself. "Yes…I'm his host…unfortunately." He replied back, while placing both of his hands in his pant pockets. " This is the world he is bound to. I'm the key for him to be able to access the normal dimension that we're both used to. He and I are the only ones who can access this dimension, using shadows as portals. Others are allowed down here obviously, but either he or I would have to guide you so to speak." Sighing once again he continued on "But I'm sure you're dying to get of here. Which I honestly don't blame you. "

---

Haruo had been relatively quiet the whole time. He said a few words here and there, but his mind was too busy racing with thoughts and ideas; that he was having a hard time concentrating on what she was saying, at the same time. However, he did catch on to her asking how he was. Immediately he shook his head slightly, as if that would help break away the thoughts " Yeah…I'm fine. " he said, of course, that probably didn't sound as convincing as he would have wanted.

Almost instantly he drifted back into his thoughts. The idea of asking her out officially had been on his mind for a while now. But how.
He proceeded to sit down next to her on the bench. It wasn't long before his leg started to shake in anxiety, he rubbed his hands and took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He felt like a teenager again, getting nervous over asking someone out.

He hadn't done this in years. His last relationship ended a long time ago, not a pleasant ending at that. However he refused to think back on it for long. Michaela was different, and now he too was different, in the better sense. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the words became trapped in his throat. At this rate it'll never happen.

Ha wasn't sure why but this whole situation was extremely funny.
He tried his best to hold back a little bit of laugher but couldn't help it. He pressed his lips together and looked away from the pair but and was trying his best to hold in the laughter.
"...It's like one of my Japanese animes..." he said and began to laugh again. "Oh my god, this isn't even funny, what am I doing," he said and tried to gain his composure. "I don't think you guys will even understand the reference. Mr. Leech has been stuck here forever and doesn't seem like the type to play video games and Mr. Host you look 12. No offense. But yes I would like to leave."
"Oh. My. God," Ha continued. "I need to stop." This type of behvaior was how he got himself in trouble all the time. Old him was very much still here, just less murder and death-y. Now he really just needed to get out of here, so hopefully he did not piss off the 12 year old kid.

---

Michaela observed Haruo and remained silent for a few moments. He was clearly not okay. His silence was the first sign. His shaking leg, the fidgeting with his hands and the deep inhale only reinforced that suspicion. Had she done something wrong?
Probably not. She knew that Haruo lived with a group of people so perhaps some thing had happened with one of them to make him so... off. A fight perhaps? If someone had died she was fairly positive that he'd tell her.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Michaela asked and hesitantly took one of his hands into her own. "If you're not feeling all that great we can go somewhere else, if you want to talk about it. You don't have to."
Butterflies began to form into her stomach again as well. What if she had dome something wrong? What if he had found out from somewhere else she was transgender?
There was no way he could have done that and yet she was still nervous.
At the moment what really mattered was that he was okay, and she was going to do everything she could to push those negative thoughts out of her mind.

Ahriman bursted out with laughter as Ha insulted Kurai's appearance. He quickly covered his mouth, though laughter was still seeping through his lips. "He might as well be, he acts like it."

With a comment like that Kurai's patients level had dropped rapidly. Was this guy an idiot? Insulting someone who was clearly trying to get him out of this situation. The only person who could get him out of here that is. He must have some screws missing. "Seems like you two are warming up towards one another. Perhaps you would rather get to know each other more. I mean I certainly don't need to be down here any longer then I already have been."

Ahriman tried to regain composure before replying with "But he's boring, and I have better things to do…sooo he's all yours now~ " he waved before leaving his world and teleporting back up into the real dimension.

'Well that was certainly abrupt' the young boy thought to himself. Kurai sighed heavily after Ahriman left the two alone. "Let's just get out of here." Without further hesitation he grabbed Ha and used the shadow above them to teleport out of the void. Conveniently leading them back into his home, specifically the room where his good friend Niko was in.

Out of surprise the older red headed male, jumped back. "Blimey, you nearly gave me a heart attack." He spoke and curiously looked over at Ha "Who might this be?"

"Ahriman kidnapped him and left him to be my responsibility." Kurai replied.

Niko wasn't surprised in the slightest by Ahriman's actions. "So sorry about that, that little bugger is always up to no good. But you're back in the real world I promise you. Might as well introduce myself, I'm Niko. Kurai's housemate you can say. There are others around, but I'm sure you'd rather just get back to whatever you were doing."

---

Haruo stopped his fidgeting once Michaela took ahold of his hand. He was certain he was causing a bit of scene, probably making her worry all too much then what he intended. It had to be now, there was no other time, and the longer he waited the harder it was going to be.
He took in her another deep breath, before turning his upper body towards her. "I'm fine. In fact it's probably dumb that I've gotten myself so worked up over this." He took a short pause before continuing on "But this has been on my mind for some time now... Would you, want to make us official?" The words were out. What was done could not be taken back. It was all up to her now.

This was certainly not what Ha expected. Bringing some stranger back to your place was odd. Especially after he just said that you looked 12.
Even if you did.
Ha shook his head as Niko started to talk. There was a real life British person here, now that was cool.
"Well, I certainly don't want to be a bother, my name is Ha." He scanned the room again. It wasn't too shabby looking, though he couldn't quite say it fit his taste. "But at the same time, where did you bring me to? If we're still in Kyoto I should be fine. I'm an old enough fart that I know the area pretty damn well."
He paused and looked over at Kurai. "You're probably not since you do look 12-- which isn't a bad thing, you'll look young for a very long time-- but are you old enough to drink? For the troubles your... worst half? whatever he is, has cause you, I could buy you a drink." He paused. "Even if it's Kool-Aid."
"Ohmygod, you know what, just ignore me, the real-life British person here could keep me entertained for hours with his accent, I'll just leave if you want me to," a smile had popped back onto Ha's face. He though that was pretty funny, but based off Kurai's face, he did not appear to think the same.
Kids these days. 2Edgy4Ha

Michaela was not sure what she was expecting to escape Haruo's lips, but it certainly was not that.
Her throat tightened and her heart fluttered. She still hadn't told Haruo about her yet. There was a chance he'd change his mind and--
"I'm transgender," she peeped out, a pause that felt like forever hung in the air.
"I absolutely would love to become official, but I... don't know how you feel about that and--" her throat sealed up. She tried her best to not begin shaking, all the while casting her eyes to the ground.
She took in a deep, shaking breath and closed her eyes. "Basically I was born in the wrong body as a boy but I am a girl. I still haven't had bottom surgery yet, and I know that... sexual things are important to some people in a relationship but I can't do that part right now, which I hope you're okay with." She was just blabbering what was on her mind at this point. "But I really do hope that you're okay with the fact that I am transgender, and if I need to explain it more I can but I've just been extreemly nervous about telling you because--" she stopped as tears began to well up in her eyes and her voice got caught in her throat.
Haruo wouldn't turn out to be a jerk, right?

Just when there was a slight chance that Kurai would begin to have any form of liking towards the guy, he squandered it with that comment. Immediately his expression became very unamused, if that was even possible. "Kool-Aid…" he said, with annoyance his voice "I really should've ju---."

"Well!" Niko cut Kurai off from saying anything further. He quickly approached his young friend, placing an arm over his shoulders, and just leaned on him "That would be very kind of you, however he's more of a …tea drinker." He smiled at Ha, and laughed a little at the situation.

Kurai gave Niko a bit of a look "Maybe you should deal with him before I seal his mouth shut." He said, removing Niko's arm off his shoulder. Without uttering another sound, he decided to leave the room, before the new guy said something else that was annoying.

As Kurai left, Niko cleared his throat "Please don't mind him. He's bit of a troubled soul, you can say."
He gave a small sigh, before saying "Anywho, I'm sure you've had one hell of a day. I will show you the way out if you wish."


---

Out of all the possible answers Haruo had run through his mind, this was not one. He was taken back briefly, but at the same time he wasn't disturbed by it. Granted he didn't quite understand what she was talking about. Ookami had told him briefly as to what a transgender person was, but she was certainly the first he's ever met…openly at least.
Before the awkward silence lingered for much longer he placed an arm around her shoulders, and said in a comforting tone "Hey…don't cry, it's alright." Having her cry was the last thing he wanted to do. He placed his arm around her shoulder, and began to rub it softly with his hand. "You're beautiful, inside and out. And while it's going to take me a bit too really understand…if you're willing to be patient with me, I'm willing to learn." He paused for a bit. "As for the sex don't worry about it. If you don't want to then we wouldn't have to, that simple."

There would've been a time in his life where he wouldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. But he really did like her, and he didn't see her any differently now then he did five minutes ago.
"My offer still stands." He started to say, with a small pause. " But if you're still too uncomfortable with the idea, and don't want to that's fine too." He finished. Though in the back of his mind he was really hoping she would say yes.

"Ya know, I think Mr. Angst over there would get along with one of the guys I live with." Ha paused. "Especially if he likes tea. That man can make a good cup of that stuff."
At this point he had obviously come off as rude enough to make puff walk away so there was no reason to keep it up with this real life British guy.
At least he seemed to have a sense of humor.
He scratched the back of his neck and peered off to the side. How he had presented himself was now beginning to dawn on him.
Ian and Yup would murder him if they found out.
Well, goodbye world, he thought and turned to Nikon with the best toothy smile he could muster.
"Are we still in Kyoto?" He asked, the smile fading. "If so I should be able to find my way... assuming we're not too far from the train."
---

Michaela took in a deep breath.
Haruo was fine. He didn't have a look of disgust on his face. In fact, he appeared far more worried than anything else.
Everything was fine.
It was going to be okay.
She closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the chatter around them. Heh, this felt like some cheesy chick flick right now. But, that was okay.
"Of course I'd still like to be with you, I've been hoping that perhaps you and I could be a thing for a while. I was just..." she paused, glancing to the side. She blinked several times in an attempt to rid her eyes of the remaining tears.
Upon turning back to Haruo she smiled. "I was just afraid that you would think I was disgusting or some anomaly." Her voice faltered again. "I've had bad experiences in the past with people who were friends or acquaintances. So thank you... thank you so so so much for not thinking any differently of me now."