10Ah! Arait does not know if this should be considered funny or sad, but of all the people who read chapter nine of this story, only 2 noticed chapter 8! That was our example of successful co-writing! That said, please go back and enjoy it. And now, for the final Behind the Scenes chapter (Arait thinks).
~~~This is a clear example of what happens when you give both Arait and Kateracks a prompt and let them both write the same thing. Please enjoy both the similarities and the differences in our writing styles. Be entertained by the conflicting first drafts.~~~
Azami and Totsuka's First Meeting – Take One by Arait
Noticing that having displayed a bit of his own anger got the younger boy somewhat riled up—color returning to his face for the first time since the incident—Kusanagi persisted by beginning the chant of their clan's motto, "No blood!"
He deliberately left off there, allowing Totsuka to finish it weakly with a tiny smile, "No bone, no ash." Halfway through the final word, however, he muttered an embarrassed, "Uh oh."
"Uh oh?" The bartender asked, concern clear in his tone.
"I forgot to tell her."
"You forgot to tell her what?"
"About the fire," Totsuka revealed. After that night when he had promised Mikoto that he would for sure tell Emi about their powers he had totally forgotten it. No particularly convenient times had presented themselves, and nothing had reminded him that he needed to tell Emi he was more than a normal boy. She would know for sure when they rescued her, though.
"You forgot to…" Kusanagi repeated, bewildered by the mistake. "So many months…" They were both thinking the same exact thing: She is going to be so pissed.
While they sat there, pondering the frightful wrath of a woman who had been lied to, the bell at the front door rang as if someone had opened the door urgently. Expecting someone had come back with a report, Kusanagi returned to his feet and looked across the bar at the newcomer. Approaching the counter quickly, a petite girl clad in green sat down on one of the barstools as if she belonged there.
"Have I got news for you," she announced, with as much of a grin as the serious conditions surrounding the matter would allow. She was excited. That was easy to tell.
"You're starting to feel comfortable around here, aren't you, Hayashi, Azami?" The bartender remarked about the way she was leaning her elbows on his counter just the same as another boy he knew would.
From that angle, Azami could easily see behind the man and caught sight of Totsuka sitting on the floor. It had been logical for the owner of the bar to be ducked behind the counter, possibly getting into lower cupboards, but now she could tell that whatever Kusanagi had been doing was related to the younger boy.
For this reason, she responded in kind to the blond, "Oh…? Have I interrupted something? I thought we were trying to save a girlfriend. What's all this?"
"You're hilarious…" Kusanagi's humor was dry, reminding her this was no time to play.
"I'm here to serve." The mock bow gesture she gave made it difficult to tell if she was still joking, but she soon after got down to business. "We know where she is. At the—"
Kusanagi cut her off, "Don't say another word." He had already taken out his phone and began dialing numbers as he walked off.
Totsuka knew he was going to the storage room and who he was going to call when he got there. It was clear by the look on the face of the green clan member that she didn't, so he explained, "He went to call the rest of our clan. They'll want to hear this too." After she barely acknowledged this, he decided he wanted to stand, commenting to himself, "I probably should find a better place to sit, shouldn't I?"
Azami watched curiously as Totsuka first seemed to get dizzy, and then had his knees buckle on the second step. Her eyes widened when he nearly didn't catch himself on the counter, and she scurried to his side. She didn't need to offer her assistance, though, as he basically fell on her. Once she had shifted around to better accommodate the weight, she began guiding him towards the couch.
"What happened to you?" She inquired, somewhat roughly. His forced smile made the answer obvious enough. The attackers in the picture must have gotten to him as well. Two things confused her, however. First, she hadn't seen him there when she had chased the yakuza's car. It was easy to assume he was simply attacked separately from her to resolve that issue. Secondly, other than being exhausted, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him.
Azami and Totsuka's First Meeting – Take Two by Kateracks
Kusanagi looked up as the bell above the door chimed a guest had arrived. Instead of a potential customer, though, he instead saw the black and neon green combination that he had become accustomed to recognizing as Hayashi Azami. She looked rather worse for the wear; her hair was not done with its usual flare, her sweaty physique and slumped posture told a story of how she could have quite possibly gone to hell and back to get there, and her face sported a deep scowl.
She slammed a bottle of liquid down on the top of his bar with a huff. Shooting her an irritated look, he then glanced at the label to see what was in the offending jug: unscented laundry detergent. Not a second later, he caught a whiff of something awful and nearly voiced how he thought she may need the added relief of a fragrant aroma. But, after seeing her allergy at work, he settled for something less offensive.
"You're starting to feel comfortable around here, aren't you, Hayashi, Azami?" He remarked about the way she was leaning her elbows on his counter just the same as another boy he knew would. From the lack of urgency in her body language, he decided to stay crouched by Totsuka.
From that angle, Azami could easily see behind the man and caught sight of Totsuka sitting on the floor. It had been logical for the owner of the bar to be ducked behind the counter, possibly getting into lower cupboards, but now she could tell that whatever Kusanagi had been doing was related to the younger boy.
For this reason, she responded in kind to the blond, "Oh…? Have I interrupted something? I thought we were trying to save a girlfriend. What's all this?"
"You're hilarious…" Kusanagi's humor was dry, reminding her this was no time to play.
"I'm here to serve."
The mock bow gesture she gave made it difficult to tell if she was still joking. As she stepped around the bar, though, her cocky attitude dissipated and she crouched next to Kusanagi, concern at Totsuka's still ashen skin lacing her face.
"Damn, man, what are you even doing out of bed?
Totsuka looked up then with a weak smile on his face, but lacking the necessary luster in his eyes. He hadn't met this girl before, but he had picked up bits and pieces about her from half-heard conversations. Kusanagi had even mentioned offhandedly once how she had gotten involved in the search for Emi so he diverted around the normal wariness of first time meetings and went straight to friendly, in spite of his now having noticed what the wrinkle in the bartender's nose had been about.
"I'm fine. Do you have anything to report, Hayashi-san?"
Azami met Kusanagi's gaze with her own and then admitted, "Yeah, I've got some good news for you, but maybe we should get you in a chair first. Come on, lean on me."
She handed the bowl of noodles to Kusanagi and he felt a strange mix of inconsiderateness, weakness, and awkwardness as he watched a girl who wasn't even of their own clan sling his friend's arm around her shoulders and heft him up so she could limp him over to one of the sofas. In the end, he justified himself by concluding that Azami's motherly instincts had reacted faster than his friendship ones.
As they passed the doorway which led to the stairs to the second floor, heavy footsteps and a powerful presence drew the girl's attention. Mikoto stood in the entryway for a moment, looking at his friend being mostly carried by their unexpected addition with a bit of confusion. Azami felt fire race from head to toe as his amber eyes burned into her and she ducked her head so that her hair fell to hide her face while she urged Totsuka onward.
"Good afternoon, Red King," she said so that she appeared less intimidated.
Totsuka attempted a fond smile up at the redhead as the girl sat him on the couch. "King, Hayashi-san has news on the whereabouts of Emi-chan."
Mikoto hummed an acknowledgment that preceded the blunt question, "What died?"
Totsuka's smile turned almost apologetic when he directed it to Azami and she could almost swear she saw a sweatdrop forming on his head. "King, we were trying to be discreet."
Suoh sank into the sofa opposite the blond and shrugged in a manner that said, Did you expect me to play dumb and lie?...
~~~And you all know how it really turned out.~~~
Please look forward to a sequel sneak peak next chapter!