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[crouching_sin]

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[belheir]

What, like a drink of water or to go to the bathroom?

[He taunts, but only because looking at that circle sets his nerves alight instinctually. He knows he'll be trapped, that's what the primal part of him is telling him, but it also tells him that he probably wouldn't be trapped for long, if it came down to it and he really desired to escape.

More things to shove down deep, and he exhales a breath and carefully, carefully forces himself to step over the bounds of the circle.

And Naoya is right. He feels it activate the moment he's inside, and he pushes his hand curiously, cautiously at the invisible barrier now separating him from his cousin. The result is an unpleasant zap to his hand, which he quickly shakes off. More a deterrent than anything else, but it is unpleasant. Confining. He's never actually felt claustrophobic before, but it's getting to him a bit as he shuffles from foot to foot. ]

What next?

[crouching_sin]

Yes, exactly.

[There's no sarcasm in his tone for once - he genuinely means it. He closes his eyes and takes a moment to center himself - he's done this before. And it's Kazuya for fuck's sake. He doesn't need to be worried.]

[But then again, it's also the King of Bel. He'd be a fool to underestimate that amount of power.]

[He opens his eyes and looks at Kazuya - though not truly at him. He's more looking at the demon part of him.]

I stand here with an offer of a pact. I seek your power and your aid. What would you demand of me in return?

[belheir]

[The demon part of him is incredibly unhappy about this turn of affairs. Incredibly unhappy about being confined to begin with, and Kazuya himself can tell it's also unhappy about the question posed to it.

As if a human can bind a God to their will.

But the question itself comes as a surprise to him, because he'd really thought that Naoya would be the one to offer something to him. It leaves him grasping at straws, suddenly trying to figure out what an appropriate price would be.

Sacrifice part of him whispers. Something bloody with a terrible amount of carnage.

He absolutely can't say that, and reflexively, he touches the barrier between them again, only to get zapped. The action only feeds the restlessness growing in him, and his left eye flickers red in response without him knowing.]

What could you offer me?

[crouching_sin]

[No you're supposed to make demands - his eye twitches slightly but he does his best to keep his composure.]

Battle against common enemies. A wealth of knowledge if you but only ask. And the ability to have someone stop you before you go too far.

[Honestly, not a very fair price considering the demon he's contracting with. That being said, it's Kazuya. He's not going to offer something that he can't go without here, and Kazuya... doesn't know the pricing rules that tend to go with this outside of macca.]

[belheir]

[He chews the inside of his cheek at that. Kazuya doesn't know the prices that tend to accompany these things, but the demons inside him do, and it's not enough. Not nearly enough.

Though... Battle against common enemies. He does want to fight by Naoya's side and protect him.]

I want... You to ask me for help when you need it. I want you to stop hiding things from me.

[They're fairly simple requests honestly, but the next one that comes out is probably much less so.]

I need you to help me figure out this whole magnetite situation.

[Of which Naoya may have had an inkling might be a problem, but this is the first time Kazuya is bringing it up.]

[crouching_sin]

... If you ask me, I will tell you. As for asking for help... I will promise to attempt to do so.

[He's not going to promise for certain. He can't do that and he knows that. But magnetite... ah. Yes, that would be an issue.]

I will do my best to provide you with what you need. We will figure out a solution to that.

[belheir]

Naoya... I want you to ask me for help.

[Another touch of the barrier, and this time his hand lingers a little longer before retreating. It doesn't even seem like Kazuya is aware of the shock this time.

The demon clock is very much ticking.]

Everything else... is acceptable. But I need you to agree that you'll ask me for help if you need it.

[crouching_sin]

I am trying. I'm used to relying on myself. It's not as if I'll turn around and suddenly be able to ask for help whenever.

I can't promise that I will. I can promise that I will try.

[belheir]

[That's not good enough. It's nowhere near good enough, but it's what Naoya is offering in return to his request, and isn't Naoya the one with more power here anyway?

(No, he's not, but Kazuya can't help the part of him that thinks that.)]

Fine. I'll accept that.

[But his tone suggests that he's very much unhappy with that.]

cw: blood

[crouching_sin]

[He may want more, but there's only so much Naoya can give. He regards Kazuya for a moment before continuing. He can't - shouldn't, won't - keep Kazuya in the circle for much longer. It's claustrophobic, and as much as it would be amusing to leave him there to stew it'd likely end up poorly for him.]

Then the contract is sealed. With words and with blood.

[Did he always have a knife in his pocket? Well he apparently did, because he slices his palm and lets the blood drip onto the circle. It flares for a moment and then the barrier disappears. Naoya winces and smudges the edges of both circles with his foot to open them.]

[belheir]

[His chest feels tight, as he watches Naoya's blood drip onto the circle that contains him. It doesn't feel... much different than how he felt before, other than the fact that none of the Bels inside him are particularly happy with him, and make it known, loudly, as he half stumbles out of the circle.

He feels like what he imagines a dog with its fur brushed the wrong way would feel.

But there's more pressing concerns. Naoya's cut his palm, and he's... incredibly interested in that, though he tells himself that it's because Naoya is hurt and not for any other reason.]

Where do you keep the bandages?

[crouching_sin]

... Under the kitchen sink.

[He'll be fine, it's not a deep cut - but it's still bleeding. And he knows Kazuya won't exactly be dissuaded from that sort of thing.]

[... He can clean up the salt and the rug later. Probably burning it is the way to go. But he sits down and stares for a moment - where is he going to find the magnetite? Maybe something with the journals... he'll have to figure it out.]

[He should... warn Kazuya, but...]

There might be side effects from this. Other than the obvious like you being able to sense where I am and the other way around.

[belheir]

I mean... [Kazuya makes a face that Naoya can't quite see as he retreats to go grab the bandages.]

I kind of already know where you are, most of the time.

[He's got the increased senses of a demon, after all. Though beyond that... It's not like Naoya really goes out much. Or at least that he's seen while he's been here.]

What other side effects could there be?

[And... Got them. He'll return to Naoya, bandages in hand as he takes them out, and doesn't even hesitate before grabbing his hand to wrap it. It smells... less enticing, now that it's covered.]

[crouching_sin]

Mm.

[He doesn't resist being taken care of - not like Kazuya would let him get away anyway.]

... Occasionally for powerful demons our dreams can... mingle. I don't know how it'll affect things in a dream world.

But you did ask me to not hide anything anymore, so...

[belheir]

[That's true. He can't stand to see Naoya hurt, even for something as minor as this. Especially since it'd even been at his request.]

Mingle?

[... That sounds... Weird. He doesn't know how much he likes that, but that is the reality that he's living now.]

Well, hopefully you don't get too many of mine, then. Might be awkward.

[Though he's fairly confident that Naoya already knows about the people Kazuya wants to kiss so desperately.]

[crouching_sin]

As if I've never been a teenager with hormones. Or raised them.

[He huffs and leans into Kazuya. He's a bit drained after that. There's a reason he powered the summoning circles with emotions from the internet.]

... I need a nap.

[belheir]

[Oof.]

Seriously?

[He feels... pretty fine, actually. Other than the fact he still feels weird, like, internally. It's probably just the contract, he figures.

But he'll support Naoya all the same, letting him lean against him.]

You're going to ruin your sleep schedule.

[crouching_sin]

I have a sleep schedule?

[He's used to being up all night - he's mostly up during the day here, but he's still a night owl at heart. He blinks slowly and tries to regain composure. He should... head up to the bedroom.]

But I was powering that whole thing. My magic's drained, essentially.

[belheir]

[No wonder he's tired, in that case. Maybe he shouldn't have taken so long. Maybe they should have figured out a price before even considering the circle, but, well, whats done is done now.]

... Can I give you some of mine?

[It's an honest question. He has no clue. And if he can, is it even safe? Naoya knows way more about this kind of thing than him anyway, so he figures that he'll know the answer if he asks.]

[crouching_sin]

It's... in theory possible, but I've not drawn on someone else's energy directly in a while. Yours is likely to be extremely potent though, so it's... safer to go for a small bite rather than eating the whole thing, if you get my meaning.

[He doesn't want to overload his system. He struggles to pull himself upright again with a soft grunt, trying to maintain some measure of composure.]

[belheir]

I don't think you could "eat the whole thing", honestly.

[But he's quick to help steady Naoya as he needs, because he can't help but fussing. This is his fault, at least marginally. Entirely, even.]

But I'm willing to let you, if you think it's possible.

[Especially since he just wants to help...]

[crouching_sin]

[He nods and steadies himself on his feet, reaching out and grabbing Kazuya's hand. There's a slight sting on Kazuya's end and then Naoya lets the hand go, straightening up a bit.]

[... It's probably not enough to really even make a dent in the other's energy.]

There. ... Now... what to do...

[He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, glancing at it. He can't really send anything, but...]

Should probably figure out a way to reliably charge this.

[belheir]

[Actually, the sting just has him more curious than anything. It's more like he was zapped by static electricity than anything else, and he isn't even really aware that Naoya did anything to him other than grab his hand which may or may not have just zapped him.]

Maybe we could get a handheld charger somewhere?

[But he is watching, very keenly to see if Naoya unlocks his phone in front of him without thinking.

He wants that password, dammit.]

[crouching_sin]

Maybe...

[He sees you staring, Kazuya. The phone goes back into the pocket.]

Given that this is a dream world, I'd be surprised if you couldn't get anything you wanted somehow. ... Though there are this bauble things that I've found. I'm not sure what to do with them. I think someone said something about a wishing well?

[belheir]

Baubles?

[... Like the things they put on christmas trees?]

Actually scratch that, a wishing well? That'd make it so much easier to get a handcrank charger. Though maybe if Atsuro ends up here we can just use the one he got.

[There's no way he wouldn't arrive with it. Kazuya would very much bet his life on that.]