[Man, a stroll through the maintenance tunnel is such an exorcist "date" idea. Which of course Natori's completely fine with, even if it does mean he needs to figure out which of his terrible clothing options are the least terrible for this.]
Sure. Meet you down there? Here's a picture so you can recognize me!
[Because he's forgotten that Nanami could just check his profile, or because he thinks it's funny? Maybe a bit of both. What he sends over is one part of a photoshoot he did with the giant rabbits in the conservatory back for truth or dare: one where he's posing cheek to cheek with one of the rabbits, both of them looking directly at the camera, with Natori giving himself bunny ears with his free hand. It has all the energy of a magazine expose on a beloved local celebrity doing some fluffy fan service with a cute animal, down to the professional quality lighting and makeup. There's what looks like a solid black tattoo of a lizard visible on his jawline, though the shape doesn't obviously match any of the suits in the hotel.]
[Actors...... He rolls his eyes at the far too polished photo, pose and all, but also takes note of the lizard marking. Odd. It doesn't look like one of the suits, nor does it match the bunny theme so it doesn't seem like it was drawn on for that. A tattoo like that in the entertainment industry, though...?
Well, whatever. He gets ready and heads down, taking the elevator to the lobby and then the stairs all the way down past the lowest guest floors to the dank maintenance area below. It isn't exactly a popular hangout spot, so even without a picture he could have guessed that the only man within sight of the stairwell is Natori.]
When you said ridiculous...
[The outfit. Nanami, meanwhile, is dressed in a tan suit, blue button down shirt, navy blue and gold geometric-patterned tie, and lightly tinted sunglasses.]
[Sure enough, Natori is waiting at the stairs idly hunting and pecking at his watch, though he looks up when he hears Nanami's comment and shoots him a knowing look over the rims of his own glasses, though if Nanami's particularly perceptive he might be able to see that the lenses appear to be clear glass and not prescription. He's stuck wearing a bucket hat, an absolutely unhinged sweatshirt, and a pair of bedazzled pink Juicy Couture joggers. The lizard is on the opposite side of his face as it was in the photo, and at a slightly different angle.]
Believe it or not, this was my best option. It's the only top I have that isn't cropped in some way.
[And he figured it was better to go for as much coverage as possible when down in the basement. He adjusts his messenger bag, then casually taps his jaw right where the lizard is.]
Before you ask, it's an ayakashi. You're going to see it move around sometimes, but it doesn't do anything. It just happens to live on my skin.
[At least it's... semi-practical—for moving around in, if nothing else—and not that revealing. That's the most credit he can give. Anyway, the lizard is more interesting to him right now.]
How did it get there?
[If Natori can explain it so calmly, he must be used to it. Is he fine with it because it doesn't do anything, it's harmless? He could understand ignoring it on someone else in that case, but he's not so sure he'd feel the same if it had taken up residence on himself.]
I don't know. I was very young the first time I spotted it. Around 4 or 5? [Which might not have been when it first showed up; it was entirely possible that it had been there before Natori's sight was good enough to actually see it.] It's been there ever since. Well, not always right there. Like I said, it moves around.
[All of this he delivers in the same matter-of-fact tone, as though they're making small talk about the weather or where they grew up. It's a casualness born out of exposure and resignation. He's spent so long obsessing over what it was, what it meant, what it might be doing to him, and never once found an answer. So what was there to do but pretend it didn't bother him at all? A thing that was much harder here, where everyone could see it regardless of their preexisting familiarity with ayakashi.]
I've had a few people mistake it for a bug when they first see it, and I'd rather not get slapped in the face again. [Okay that was one guy and it was on his arm at the time, but whatever.] So, shall we?
[It's probably not kind of him to do it like this, to raise the topic and then move on, but he's always known that he's not kind.]
[Hmm... All that time and yet Natori seems to know so little about it, or maybe he just doesn't want to divulge too much upfront when they've only spoken through a handful of texts prior to this meeting. He can't really fault Natori for being cautious if that's what it is. Either way, although he has more questions, he can take a hint.]
Understood, I won't slap you if I see it moving. Let's go.
[He sets off into the gloom at a brisk stride. The damp brick walls and thick, twisting pipes stretching off into the distance appear the same as usual, but of course there may be something deeper in. One of the punishment doors might be open again.]
[Not one to push, then. That's always nice. Natori falls into step besides Nanami, sticking his hands into the pockets of his unhinged sweatshirt and looking around at the surroundings while they walk.]
Not much. I came down here on a dare when I first arrived. I just heard voices, that time. [He sounds completely untroubled by that; he's just reporting his experience to someone who's familiar with both the supernatural in general and what would be considered normal for this place.] Someone told me about a "punishment room" down here, but she didn't know anything more specific than that. She seems like a normal person, so I wouldn't want her poking around here anyway.
[And even if she did, she might not know what to look for, or even be able to perceive the same things that the two of them might when taking a look. Far better for the people who weren't used to this sort of thing to leave it alone.]
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paperpusher) wrote2025-06-08 09:26 am
no subject
Sure. Meet you down there? Here's a picture so you can recognize me!
[Because he's forgotten that Nanami could just check his profile, or because he thinks it's funny? Maybe a bit of both. What he sends over is one part of a photoshoot he did with the giant rabbits in the conservatory back for truth or dare: one where he's posing cheek to cheek with one of the rabbits, both of them looking directly at the camera, with Natori giving himself bunny ears with his free hand. It has all the energy of a magazine expose on a beloved local celebrity doing some fluffy fan service with a cute animal, down to the professional quality lighting and makeup. There's what looks like a solid black tattoo of a lizard visible on his jawline, though the shape doesn't obviously match any of the suits in the hotel.]
no subject
Well, whatever. He gets ready and heads down, taking the elevator to the lobby and then the stairs all the way down past the lowest guest floors to the dank maintenance area below. It isn't exactly a popular hangout spot, so even without a picture he could have guessed that the only man within sight of the stairwell is Natori.]
When you said ridiculous...
[The outfit. Nanami, meanwhile, is dressed in a tan suit, blue button down shirt, navy blue and gold geometric-patterned tie, and lightly tinted sunglasses.]
no subject
Believe it or not, this was my best option. It's the only top I have that isn't cropped in some way.
[And he figured it was better to go for as much coverage as possible when down in the basement. He adjusts his messenger bag, then casually taps his jaw right where the lizard is.]
Before you ask, it's an ayakashi. You're going to see it move around sometimes, but it doesn't do anything. It just happens to live on my skin.
no subject
How did it get there?
[If Natori can explain it so calmly, he must be used to it. Is he fine with it because it doesn't do anything, it's harmless? He could understand ignoring it on someone else in that case, but he's not so sure he'd feel the same if it had taken up residence on himself.]
no subject
[All of this he delivers in the same matter-of-fact tone, as though they're making small talk about the weather or where they grew up. It's a casualness born out of exposure and resignation. He's spent so long obsessing over what it was, what it meant, what it might be doing to him, and never once found an answer. So what was there to do but pretend it didn't bother him at all? A thing that was much harder here, where everyone could see it regardless of their preexisting familiarity with ayakashi.]
I've had a few people mistake it for a bug when they first see it, and I'd rather not get slapped in the face again. [Okay that was one guy and it was on his arm at the time, but whatever.] So, shall we?
[It's probably not kind of him to do it like this, to raise the topic and then move on, but he's always known that he's not kind.]
no subject
Understood, I won't slap you if I see it moving. Let's go.
[He sets off into the gloom at a brisk stride. The damp brick walls and thick, twisting pipes stretching off into the distance appear the same as usual, but of course there may be something deeper in. One of the punishment doors might be open again.]
Have you explored much down here?
no subject
Not much. I came down here on a dare when I first arrived. I just heard voices, that time. [He sounds completely untroubled by that; he's just reporting his experience to someone who's familiar with both the supernatural in general and what would be considered normal for this place.] Someone told me about a "punishment room" down here, but she didn't know anything more specific than that. She seems like a normal person, so I wouldn't want her poking around here anyway.
[And even if she did, she might not know what to look for, or even be able to perceive the same things that the two of them might when taking a look. Far better for the people who weren't used to this sort of thing to leave it alone.]