undergrounds | Kitsunegari (July catch-all)

A: After the full moon

Heiji had been lucky to walk away from his run-in with Tal as well as he had -- a werewolf during this particular time of year was even more dangerous than usual. But he was still badly hurting, and he did not yet want to return to the Other Realm, where one of his own kind might see an excellent opportunity to take advantage of his wounds. Nor could he wander the streets as a human slowly bleeding through his clothing.

So instead he limped along quietly in the early hours of the morning in the least energy-intensive form he could. A small black fox, looking for a burrow to hole up in and lick his wounds.

B: You are cordially invited (July 7)

In light of his new title as well as his decision to stay in London for the foreseeable future, Heiji had had a home constructed for himself in Faery -- a little out of the way for his non-fae acquaintances to come visit him, but much less likely to arouse undue interest from any neighbors. It was a Japanese-style house, of course, with a small pond and cherry trees outside the windows.

Now he sat out the steps, sipping at his sake and waiting for company.

C: Fox hunt (Evening in Richmond Park, July 11th-ish)

Hoofbeats sounded in the distance, accompanied by the distant baying of hounds. A flit of red fur through the grass, and then the sounds of the dogs took on a new, excited cast. Panicked and frightened, the young fox ran blindly through the trees. The paths looked the same, the woods were unfamiliar. Meanwhile, the sounds of her pursuit was getting closer...

Heiji ran through the park, looking for any sign, but he'd lost sight of the hunting party. All he had to go on now was the baying of the hounds. There were thousands of foxes in London, and why hadn't she listened to him?

He grimaced as he charged through the grass. "Of all the rotten luck...!"

D: Choose your own adventure :')

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah? Kind of a coincidence, then! I play the violin." And a few other instruments, but he doubted Snake was all that interested in traditional Japanese music.

"We should go together sometime!" Hmm. Were Snake's finances tight? Heiji didn't really have to worry about money, of course, but...

"I mean. If you'd be okay with that. I don't meet a lotta people who like the symphony."

You are a veritable Renaissance man, Heiji. "Really? Do you play as part of a group or just play for your own enjoyment?"

Well, well. Color Snake surprised once more. "You've been to the symphony before? What's it like? How good are they around here?"

"Not the one here, not yet!" Heiji laughed. "But I used to go listen to the Osaka Philharmonic."

"And yeah, I mostly just play on my own. Haven't found a group or anything that I'd like to join. So I'm fine with just practicing solo for now. What about you, do you play anything?"

A cultured Japanese man who liked to read? Really, Heiji had all kind interests. Snake was thankful he hadn't brushed the man off back at the library.

"I haven't had the time to do it seriously as of late, but I can play the piano." And the harp, but he didn't say that out loud. He reserved that for making his family happy. Also, who just happened to have a harp around to play?

"Hey, then maybe we can play together sometime!" He sounded rather pleased with this idea; back home he had any number of opportunities to play with other people. Here, not so much.

"Kinda wish I'd brought my violin today... but what are you doing now? You got a keyboard to practice on?"

"I suppose we could, although I'm not sure what we'd play." All they needed was someone with a tamborine and they had a band.

Snake shook his head to Heiji's next question. "I did have a keyboard to practice but it wasn't practical to take with me. I much prefer practicing on an actual piano but I haven't found a place yet to do that. Besides, I have to spend more time and money on more practical things, like setting up my home the way it needs to be."

"Oh, I'm sure we could come up with something. And if ya like jazz, we could always just improvise." A jam session sounded nice.

"But I guess that's gotta wait till you get the rest of your place set up, huh?" He was curious about what exactly Snake needed to get done, though.

"So... you got a system? Everything in its place, raised labels, that kinda thing?"

As soon as you could find a keyboard. Even in a thrift shop. Preferably not broken.

"There's that. It's also trying to force fits on digital items to tell me via audio their information, like a thermostat. Being blind sort of turns you a tad OCD. The other problem is the different electrical system Europe has versus the United States. I've had to replace many things and I'm still doing that." Getting used to a new computer with the programs he needed to function was a giant pain in the ass.

"Sounds frustrating... Hey, um. You said you were an instructor, right? They got any practice rooms where you work? 'Cause a lot of schools have a music room, or at least that's how things worked back in Japan." He really didn't know much about what level Snake taught at, but Snake didn't seem the sort to teach elementary schoolers...

Hmm. What other stuff did one talk about to get acquainted. "My family pretty much all lives in Osaka. I got a bunch of relatives, but I'm an only child."

If that was not immediately clear.

Snake opened his mouth to comment and then stopped. Heiji's idea was perfectly sound. Why hadn't HE thought of that? That made him just a little annoyed.

"You...are probably right. I hadn't thought of that." He even had to admit it, too. How dare you, Heiji.

"Would you ever think about moving back to Osaka or do you enjoy living here too much?"

"Right? So now you'll get to play!" Heiji sounded rather happy about this. Look at how he wasn't gloating, unlike some people he could probably mention.

He laughed. "You kidding? Who'd wanna live here for keeps? Osaka's my home; I can't imagine ending up anywhere else! Lemme tell ya, it's way more laid-back than here. And friendly. And of course the Japanese food's way better."

"I'll have to practice a bit, but I should be well enough to hold up my end of any musical combination we perform." And do better, he doesn't say. Although he's not sure how good Heiji is...

"So this is just kind of a place to visit for a while and then head home?"

The competition was on. There was no way Heiji was going to settle for losing to some hoser from Seattle!

"Probably, yeah. I mean, don't you wanna go home eventually? Well, maybe you're more of the adventurous type. But me, I never wanted to live anywhere else!" If it wasn't quite clear, Heiji loved his hometown.

"Eventually, I do. But, it's also good to know that I could survive in a different place." If his sister was nearby, he could easily live anywhere.

"What's so great about Osaka anyway? I confess I don't know a lot about the town."

"What's so great about -- " SCREAM. Snake, how could you be so ignorant about the glory that was Osaka? "Well, first of all, it's way less crowded and claustrophobic than Tokyo. And the okonomiyaki and takoyaki are the best!

"We've got Tenjin Matsuri, one of the big three festivals in all of Japan -- it's a thousand years old and there're fireworks, river boats, and bonfires. Not to mention we're the home of the Hanshin Tigers and Koushien, the biggest high school baseball tournament in Japan. Plus there's Osaka Castle, the Floating Garden Observatory, Shitennouji Temple, the Osaka Aquarium..."

As Heiji went on and on about the glory of Osaka, Snake couldn't help but smile. He had no idea Heiji could be so animated about anything.

"It sounds like a wonderful place to visit." He sipped the rest of his coffee and finished off his cake. "I can see it in my head, just based on how you talk."

Heiji could be animated about many things, as it turned out. "It is! You should visit sometime. If you ever do, I'll show ya around, okay? I'll make sure you love it!"

Well. Maybe not as much as Heiji loved it, but a whole lot. "Oh yeah, and we should make sure to pick up some iced coffee while we're there. It's kind of an Osaka thing, you can't visit and not try any."

Kitsunegari (July catch-all)

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