what it all comes down to [closed]

[papartner]

Who: Kazuki Kurusu (papartner) & Rei Suwa (dadinside)
Which: Closed log
Where: Wherever a cat goes, Reverein
What: Tackling dream board quest 1005!
Warnings: Shouldn't be, will be edited if needed!



[ It's been a busy few weeks. Fortunately, busy is kind of the way Kazuki likes it. After being brought here, dream or not, he's been getting more than a little restless. Walks around town only do so much, and they don't need money, so... so what is he supposed to do? He knows he should try to get a job or something, but working for someone in a normal business is not exactly his style...

So the dream board it is! Most of the time, the jobs were pretty straightforward, and would get him a little of this and that to barter, or something he could use himself, or whatever. But this month he didn't wanna work on anything alone. So getting Rei's buy-in would be important. Which made the decision of which job to take pretty simple, actually...

Well, "simple" is a relative term. Kazuki did have to half-drag him out of the treehouse, but "we're going out looking for someone's cat" had made him a little more amenable to the idea. That said, there might be a bit more to it. After talking to the lady, she said something about a ghost, which did make the hairs on his neck stand up... but y'know, this is for a good cause...

Unfortunately this is how they find themselves in the edge of town after tracking the cat down to this location. It's an old house of some kind, though outside is a weird hedge maze, already decorated for Halloween (not even the kind of Halloween Kazuki likes...) ]

Sure hope this lady makes this worth our while once we get this cat back. This place is huge.

Comments

[dadinside]

[Rei does like cats though. So Kazuki is right in thinking he doesn't exactly mind expending effort into this search.

Except this is going to be difficult without anything to lure the cat to them.

Rei follows behind the other man, watching him call out to a cat that might not even be here.]

You're the one that took the job. The owner didn't give you anything to help?

[Not his fault Kazuki never asked for his input. He only dragged him out of the house without letting him have much say in the matter.]

[papartner]

Look. I don't usually go hunting lost cats. I didn't ask for anything, and she didn't offer anything.

[ Is he supposed to be an expert on this too? There's no internet to search stuff up on, and he can't remember everything. He just thought it would be easy, and a good excuse to get out of the house. ]

Maybe if you'd come with me to look at the board, things like this wouldn't happen.

[dadinside]

[Go with Kazuki? And leave the house? Sounds not great.]

You've been doing fine on your own.

[Isn't Kazuki the brains here when it comes to their jobs? Seems like he should've sorted this all out without him.

Rei, for the record, is doing his part by following Kazuki and watching him do the work.]

[papartner]

Two person jobs exist, you know?

[ Spoken like Rei is restricting the number of jobs Kazuki can consider taking. In reality: Kazuki doesn't always like doing this shit by himself. It gets boring. Also kinda lonely. He's not gonna mention that part.

Their feet make noises trudging through the gravel walkway between hedges, Kazuki not wanting to waste too much daylight. ]

Anyway, I need a cat expert. You're the cat expert.

[dadinside]

[He's... an expert? Since when? You can't be an expert in something that you have zero experience in.]

But you never let me have a cat.

[Specifically, the last time he brought one home Kazuki forced him to get rid of it. Then lectured him. Then brought home a whole child.]

[papartner]

I know I called you out on it, but you did buy all that stuff. So, I mean, you've gotta know something about them.

[ And remember that time at the pet store? Though that was a long freaking time ago. ]

More than me, anyway.

[ Kazuki was going to bring the cat home that night if it had still been there, but... ]

[dadinside]

[All he knows are the basic necessities required for taking care of a cat.

So...]

Uhh. I know they eat, like treats, play with toys, and use the litterbox. Don't see how that helps us now.

[Considering they had none of that stuff with them at the moment.]

[papartner]

That cat liked you better..?

[ Geez Rei. Don't make him admit he just didn't want to do this by himself today. ]

Look, you're here now, so just deal with it, alright?

[dadinside]

[The damage is done. He's already left the house, so he's basically been dealing with it. Though it's less about resistance and more about correcting Kazuki.]

What about you? You're supposed to be the brains. Got any ideas?

[If he treated it like any other assignment where they needed to secure a target, he might be able to come up with something. Maybe?]

[papartner]

I was thinking about meowing really loud to get its attention.

[ this is a joke. Wait. ]

Joke.

[ he says it with humour... for the record. Kazuki decides on an info dump. ]

My brains got us here. It's a black cat. Doesn't have a name for some reason. So it seems like it was new to her, probably adopted or picked up as a stray. People were saying it's been seen around here in the early evenings, but I figured it would get spooked if we tried to trap it. That's why I was hoping for cornering it or something like that.

[dadinside]

[Rei is looking around as Kazuki rambles his response, trying to watch for any slight movement.]

So, nothing then.

[He says flatly and clearly unimpressed.]

[papartner]

Thanks for your support, Rei.

[ Kazuki's not sure what else he expected. This is Rei, through and through. Can Kazuki's hands go any deeper in his pockets? (No.) ]

Sun's going down and it's gonna be a pain in the ass to find a black cat in the shadows. You see anything?

[ Rei has good eyes and he did catch him looking around... Kazuki's trying to do that now too, but all he notices immediately is the way the breeze rustles some of the leaves. ]

[dadinside]

[You're welcome, man. That's what he's here for.

Anyway, finding a black cat at night would be a pain, especially without his night vision goggles. As it is though, he's been looking around and so far nothing.]

Would've told you if I did.

[But right on cue, Rei catches a slight rustling in the hedges they just passed, and he whips around to stare in that direction.]

Wait-

[He holds his hand up for Kazuki to be perfectly quiet, then indicates the corner of the hedges to their right. Might be nothing, since he didn't see what caused the noise, but it's worth checking out.]

[papartner]

What..?

[ Kazuki's voice drops to a whisper, and the only noise he makes is his feet crunching through gravel for another few steps. Maybe cat? Please be cat, and they can go home and --

Then, any attempt at quiet is shattered as Kazuki turns the corner, and a 4 foot tall plastic skeleton head and chest pops out of the hedge, laughing spookily (tm). ]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!

[dadinside]

[Rei had no reason to reach for his gun until he noticed the rustling was higher up in the hedges now. Ever so slowly, he's got his hand positioned behind him, as if getting ready to draw his weapon, when the plastic skeleton pops out instead--

Kazuki's scream pierces through the crisp, fall air, startling nearby critters.

Rei's hands drop to his sides, his demeanor completely unfazed, the plastic toy eliciting no further reaction from him.]

That's not a cat.

[He replies, completely ignoring his partner's panicked state.]

[papartner]

No shit, it isn't!!

[ he all but screeches out, hand grasping the front of his coat just over his heart like he's waiting for the heart attack to hit. He is seriously not having a good time with skeletons lately, if this and Ereshkigal's summons are anything to go by...

Kazuki takes a moment to gather himself. He also reaches up to grab the damn thing from the hedge and toss it on the ground. Screw you, plastic skeleton, screw you. ]

Okay, let's try this again...

[ With less screaming this time.  Hopefully that didn't scare the cat away, if it had been hanging around in the first place. ]

[dadinside]

[He doesn't flinch at Kazuki's outburst, completely used to it. Rei looks around them at the hedge maze, sensing no further movements and grumbles lowly in his throat.]

Are you even sure it's still here?

[Even before Kazuki screamed. The cat could've ran away the second they stepped onto the property.]

[papartner]

I mean, no... but it's chilly out, maybe someone brought it inside the house.

[ It would be the right thing to do, after all. However, it doesn't mean they don't still have to get through this hedge crap first. ]

I don't exactly have a ton of leads here, okay?

[dadinside]

[So all this could be a big waste of time. He looks over at the decrepit house beyond the hedge maze, feeling his gaming time slipping away from him. The house has seen better days, like ages ago. The roof doesn't appear stable, the paneling on the side is chipped and rotting away.]

Doubt anyone is living there.

[Seriously. If they had some food, treats, it's favourite toy, literally anything, Rei could've set up a trap for it. The old lady might not have given Kazuji anything, but he could've at least asked.]

[papartner]

Don't judge someone by the state of the house, man.

[ Kazuki has lived shittier places than this, probably. And honestly, Rei's place might have been nice on the outside but the inside was a completely different story before Kazuki got there. ]

Besides, I totally see a light up on the second floor.

[ or does he? There seems to be something flickering up there, if you look hard enough... ]

[dadinside]

[There's no rent in this world and this house looks like it's been condemned. It's less judging and more being logical.

He merely stares up at it, getting an uneasy sort of feeling.]

Worth checking out, I guess.

[papartner]

Even if there isn't anyone inside, if there's a crack or an open window, kitty could have made its way inside somehow, right? So that's that.

[ they're going inside. Once they get there, anyway. This freaking maze is ridiculous. Kazuki hears another rustle like before and he jumps, half expecting another skeleton to pop out.

One does not.]

[dadinside]

[Why does it sound like he's just trying to convince himself that there's nothing unsettling about the house?

Rei glances over at his apparently still panicked partner.]

You gonna be okay?

[Don't worry, he'll protect you from the silly Halloween decorations, man.]

[papartner]

Why wouldn't I be okay?

[ he answers too strongly with his voice cracking just slightly. He's on edge. It's definitely not that he won't be okay. It's just evening, in the fall, and there's weird shit popping out of the hedges. Everything's normal and Kazuki is not afraid, alright?

His steps forward are him stubbornly digging in and denying the idea that he might possibly not be okay. Kazuki is going to ignore any other sounds and just get to that front door which is still further away than he wants it to be. Focus, man! ]

[dadinside]

[So he lets Kazuki take the lead and follows a couple of paces behind him, still on the lookout for the cat or anymore menacing Halloween decorations.

Only several minutes pass and they've turned a few corners, hit a couple of dead ends and had to go back a little. Rei finally speaks up, ignoring all the grumbling and muttered curses from his partner.]

Are we getting closer?