Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [Open]

[detectiveofthewest]

The old Kitterick hotel, long since closed and abandoned, sat silently in its abandonment. At first it seemed that this night would be the same as any other -- one more in the long series of nights spent settling, creaking, slowly but surely marching toward the dissolution that surely awaited it. Yet as evening settled firmly over the streets of Greenwich, something changed in the air.

A long car, sleek and black, rolled up to the front of the building. A woman got out; two men aided her in doing so. Her long dress was bright carmine, spilling out behind her in a whispering pool. In the dark of night, the cloth looked almost black.

"This will do nicely," she said. Her whisper was full of promise.

[This, should you choose to use it, is a catch-all post for the Bloody Countess plot! It's for investigations, encounters, and so on leading up to the main event.]

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[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji turned off the stove, plated this fish, and checked on the rice. "Those'll do. But eat somethin' first. You lost a lot of blood recently, that's not gonna help matters."

"You should eat the sushi first; it don't taste the same if it's not fresh."

[eyeforaneye]

"I thought maybe having less energy would make it easier... but I suppose there's no point practicing something in a way I won't normally be dealing with it anyway." To be fair.

So instead he follows Heiji's direction and gets to his feet again just to retrieve the bag on the living room table, already digging into it to see what kind he'd gotten.

"Tuna?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"You won't recharge right away," said Heiji breezily, waving a hand. "There's tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and so on. I got a variety, 'cause I wasn't sure what kinda fish you liked. Nothin' fancy on short notice, of course."

He set up the candles one by one so that they were in a loose line, not too tightly clustered together. "So what happens if you use your hands?"

[eyeforaneye]

Tuna is plenty fancy in his mind, though maybe he should reserve judgment until he tries it and sees just what cut he's been given. Still, it's free, which pretty much causes his major concerns to evaporate as he slumps back down in his seat and carefully sets out the plastic containers.

"... ah, there's roe..." Which he's immediately securing for himself after snapping a pair of complimentary chopsticks. Too slow. It's with a full mouth that he considers how best to answer Heiji's question: with words or with a demonstration?

It seems he's made his choice when he raises his left hand, snapping fingers and immediately increasing the charge in the air surrounding them with two little sparks flying off the invisible ball, at least able to keep this one proportionately scaled.

[detectiveofthewest]

Appalling manners, just appalling. Heiji watched Sasuke eat one or two pieces, then straightened one of the candles that was leaning over.

"Well, that'd come in handy for givin' someone a jump start, but you could erase someone's hard drive with it, too." It was frankly weird to Heiji that Sasuke did one kind of magic with his hands and another with his mouth. Not like that, sicko.

"Don't eat so fast; you'll get some down your windpipe!" He leaned over the first candle and blew, gently. The candles lit up in series, one by one and then went out, starting from the one closest to Heiji. "Oh, wait. You can put fires out, right?"

[eyeforaneye]

Hey, at least he didn't talk with a full mouth. And I was not thinking anything perverted at all until you said something.

Sasuke shoots him a look of annoyance -- not just at the command to slow down after he told him to start eating but also at the memory of damaging one of his own computers -- before his gaze redirects to the candles, small flames flickering in the cramped kitchen.

"... sure, in the same way that anyone else can. With a hose."

[detectiveofthewest]

That was true. Good job, Sasuke. A+ manners.

"Eesh. In that case, it's a lucky thing that fireball of yours broke up before long. But I think this is something you might wanna practice. Just try and light 'em up one by one, and think about what ya need to do to make that happen. You already have a pretty good feel for how to produce fire on command, right? If so, you probably have some instinctive knowledge of what it takes to control it."

P.S. How does it feel to be ordered around for once.

[eyeforaneye]

He had a terrifyingly overbearing father and this is a teaching moment where he can get stronger so it's all good in the hood. Onward, Heiji Yoda.

"That's like saying that because I know how to pick up a sword and move it I should be a master swordsman." His temper's flaring due to frustration at himself and he tries to dampen it, focusing in on the wicks. A deep breath... and he lights them all at once by again using more force than intended, wax melting on the sides of the candles where they're licked by flame.

Damn.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Don't sell yourself short. What you've learned how to do already is pretty good." He watched as Sasuke lit the candles on fire.

"Well, you did light 'em all. Not exactly one at a time, but you've got that much control. I'm gonna suggest a few things. First, try practicing just lighting one and dial back the amount of force you put in a little bit at a time. Second, if you get real frustrated during an attempt, stop and take a break for a bit. Fire magic's pretty volatile, so it'll get even harder to control if you're upset." He was ticking points off on his fingers as he spoke. "Third..."

He reached over and snagged a piece of salmon nigiri and popped it in his mouth. "Wow, this is good. Have you already tried to find out how much fire you can put out at once?"

[eyeforaneye]

He actually expects something profound for the third point. This long of knowing Heiji and he still has high expectations, too slow in slapping his hand to keep him away, and both his irritation and the fae's point are shown when an angry huff just expels another tendril of fire. One bad mood swing and his power grows exponentially... and he destroys his own home; not worth it.

"No. I already know I'd have to be angry to do that, and that's too risky. It isn't exactly something that's easy to hide."

[detectiveofthewest]

"You should try it sometime, though. Know your own limits. Not anywhere you could do some real damage, of course." Or being arrested for arson would be the least of Sasuke's worries.

A brief pause. "Oh yeah, to answer your question: yeah, I do miss home."

[eyeforaneye]

"If you have a suggestion for an entirely private and thus likely indoor spot that can withstand an unknown amount of fire damage, let me know." Yes, he's a little bitter, but maybe he just feels inadequate and behind the times in training his abilities.

"... you lived there all your life?"

[detectiveofthewest]

Gosh, what a crabmeister. "Maybe a spot of shore in the early morning? If you do it over the water, you might be okay. And you can always tell any stray jogger than you were practicin' firebreathing or something."

He smiled. "Yep. My family's lived in Osaka for years. Naturally, I was born there. It's not like we don't go to other areas of Japan sometimes. But this is the longest I've ever been away."

[eyeforaneye]

Really his main line of defense is the suspension of belief, the idea that the truth is far more impossible to accept. Fire-breathing... it's worth a shot.

But this actually captures his interest, causing him to pause in his eating and redirect his gaze when he notices himself watching too closely. "Sounds like it'd be a real adjustment." One Sasuke can't imagine himself making, not with so many other things having been stripped from him in his life. "It's been years since I've been able to see that place. I thought... ah, I thought I might lose my heritage. It's why I focused on retaining the language."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah. It's completely different." Heiji tapped the tip of one finger against his temple, thinking. "The language and the streets, of course. But a lot of other things, too. Back home, it ain't as tense as it is here. London's 8.3 million people all tryin' to get the better of someone else. Back in Osaka, kids like me."

By which he didn't mean him personally, of course, but they liked foxes. They knew what he was, and they wouldn't necessarily scream or run from him.

Heiji listened to Sasuke for a few moments. "Even if you forgot some of it, you can't lose what you were born into. It'll always be there for you."

[eyeforaneye]

"... Yeah." Sasuke chooses silence for a few moments after that, gripping chopsticks so tightly that they grind together, lost in a single flickering tongue of fire that shudders on top of the nearest candle.

"The memories of it, sure. But if I actually went back to that country now, alone, I don't know if I'd feel like I actually truly belonged in any sense of the word. It's been too long for me."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji's expression was somewhere between exasperation and upset. "Don't say things that sound so lonely. I'm goin' back for a visit in mid-July. You can come with me, if ya want."

(Of course he didn't mention that Apollo was also invited.)

[eyeforaneye]

"I'm not trying to sound one way or the other and I'm not asking for you to consider my feelings; it simply is what it is." He raises one hand, licking his index finger before pinching out the nearest candle with a hiss and a tiny plume of smoke.

"You're generous. Too much so; it'll get you taken advantage of sooner or later... but I have things to take care of here. I can't just leave my work and responsibilities."

[detectiveofthewest]

"First I'm cheap, now I'm generous?" Watch out buddy or he was going to flick you in the forehead or some shit. "If you got a job, can't you just ask for a few days off? And if it's about your bird, you could just get someone to birdsit for ya."

Weirdo.

"Anyhow, you should go back sooner or later instead of spending a bunch of time brooding about whether you'll feel at home. That way you'll know for sure." Yeah, Sasuke. Stop being a chicken!!

[eyeforaneye]

"Generous and cheap aren't mutually exclusive. You're generous with your time and emotions and cheap with your money and sometimes your words. It's up to you to decide if that's a bad thing or not." Now he has to imagine someone else actually attempting to take care of that bird without being murdered. Yeah. No, probably not.

"I wasn't-- I'm not brooding about it; you just brought it up. It's not as if I'm afraid to find out how it'll go, I just haven't had the money or opportunity to see for myself."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji snorted. Whatever man, he didn't have to listen to you. "I'm offerin' you the money and the opportunity. You're so fussy."

Translation: baaaawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk

[eyeforaneye]

"I told you, I have a job. I just started working for Apollo and I can't simply leave, not with as severe as he is about work ethic." Which isn't necessarily more severe than Sasuke himself is, even.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Heiji, waving a hand. "He's goin', too."

Yes. He's going. Too.

[eyeforaneye]

Well. Now he suddenly has no real reason to go into work save to do some cleaning and overdue sorting of migrated files, but.

Why the hell hadn't Apollo told him? "So you're asking me to go on a vacation with both you and my employer."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh, come on. What's he gonna do, make you file stuff?" It was always something with you, Sasuke. Maybe he should just give in and enjoy the experience.

"You don't have to come to Universal Studios Japan, if that's what you're worried about. I dunno why he's so into it, anyhow. The one in L.A.'s probably better."