Diabolik Lovers, and canon plot based panfandom RP.
Raven
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Eri
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Ogo
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STAFFER NAME
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Karl Heinz and his wives, and Richter are not available for application by the gen public. They will be written by admins or admin upon request. Any and all outside of the boys will be up for interaction for personal plot advancement upon request.
"Oh, so you're the man of the house basically? You take care of them?" Jen's expression softened again, "I respect that, honestly. Not many people could shoulder that responsibility."
Again, she wasn't terribly surprised that Ruki opted to drop the topic, and she was more than willing to roll with that, "Fair enough. I can honor that request."
Jen instinctively reached for the door to the rooftop, and again, held it open for Ruki without a second thought. The rush of perfectly warm air caused her to beam as if by a reflex, even as it blew her nigh-impossible-to-tame hair into her face, "I don't have any siblings. Parents tried to have another one but I think the stress of their life together made 'em dry up early or something. So, I ended up an only."
Hey, if he didn't want to talk about himself, she was more than willing to talk about herself. Why shouldn't she? If you couldn't be proud of what you've done in your life, who else really could? That was her philosophy, anyway.
"Before we get too into this, where do you wanna sit?"
[attr="class","textieno"]Ruki is after all the leader and the “Brains” of the Mukami family. It’s not like he wanted to be in that role, he was chosen to portray it. From then on, he had to guide his brothers, they had protected each other at all costs and even to this very day (despite all the shenanigans that happens at the Mukami manor), they still have each other’s backs. Not just because of the plan that must succeed, but because they do care about each other. They are brothers, after all.[break][break]
There was nothing much to say after that, and when Jen respected the decision to drop that topic for the sake of conversation, a small bit of relief formed inside Ruki. As much as he hates to admit it to himself, he’s sort of thankful that Jen’s not one who keeps poking onto personal topics any further. The livestock, Yui can certainly learn a few things out of her.[break][break]
Jen held the next door open for Ruki, and once again, she didn’t need to really do that. He could’ve done so himself. But since he held the first door open, taking her place, might as well let her do the honors of holding the door open, this time. He’s not going to complain about it, that’s pointless.[break][break]
Ruki listened to Jen talking about her being the only child while he made his way through the door. There was an urge that wanted to say he was also an only child before his adopted brothers became a part of his life. Still, that’s his childhood and he’s not going to talk about really personal facts about himself.[break][break]
“I think the stress of their life together made 'em dry up early or something.”[break][break]
Could the stress happen to be caused by the secret she’s probably not going to mention about? It wouldn’t surprise the eldest Mukami that this is so. Then again, any other outcome could be the cause of that stress. At least her parents did manage to have a child before losing the chances. They can look at the bright side of that.
“Have you ever had times, wondering what it could’ve been like to have a sibling?” He may as well bring that question since she’s talking about herself.[break][break]
He look around the rooftop to find a spot to sit. Beneficial part about eating here is that it’s quiet and always empty, most of the time. Some students come up here, every now and then but today, it’s just the two of them...great?[break][break]
“Anywhere is suitable. I don’t really care which spot to sit at.”
Once Ruki had cleared the path of the door, Jen stepped off and let it close behind her, answering his question rather casually as she did so, "I mean, what only child hasn't wondered that at some point, you know?" She shrugged, "I can't really see myself having an older or younger sibling. I'm too bossy, and, well... if I'm being honest, I have slight authority issues. I could maybe picture myself having an identical twin but, heh~ one of me is enough, two would probably be apocalyptic."
The dhampir glanced around. Huh... guess they were alone up here tonight. Usually there were at least a couple of other students lingering about, but nope, not a soul in sight. Not that she had intent to do anything risque, gods no. The privacy is nice, though...
She spotted one of the long brick planters, at just the right level for sitting and perching on during a meal, and since it faced outward, a great view of the city came through the iron gate barring the perimeter of the roof. Years of belly dance and capoeira lent a sway to Jen's hips as she strode toward her goal, and she settled down, promptly inviting Ruki to join her with a single glance. Without waiting before he sat down, she began to fetch the food from her bag and set it down on the side of her where she was certain he would not.
Let's see... did I grab another set of utensils? ...no, I didn't. Fuck!
Jen momentarily hoped that Ruki wasn't a germaphobe, though she did have at least a temporary solution; she set to combining the rice and the curry - both still warm from being reheated - and stirred it together with the fork she'd brought. Once it seemed properly mixed, she looked toward the vampire again, "I only have one fork with me, and I'm not really inclined to run back down to the cafeteria to get another one. Hope you don't mind... but in case you're squicked out by that kind of thing, you're free to take the first bite."
[attr="class","textieno"]He couldn’t imagine her with an identical twin. But the idea of it, torturous. Especially if he were to mistake one with another. She can say that again about it being apocalyptic. Perhaps it really is a good thing she’s an only child. But back on to the subject of herself, he can see the bossy trait as a part of her. Authority issues, for someone who tends to not stand down, that does seem to be strong with her.[break][break]
“Have too much pride for yourself?” Why ask that? Of course she probably has a lot of pride in herself. On the other hand, so does Ruki and thinking back to the other conversation where Jen once said that they could have some things in common…[break][break]
...He really doesn’t want to believe that they are alike in some way of sorts. The comparison would be cringeworthy, and that’s if there are other facts about them that are very similar to each other.[break][break]
He saw that sway on the hips as Jen walked to the spot to sit at. It wasn’t intentional, reason why he believes this is because of dealing with Kou having to sway his hips, on purpose. He’d prefer not to think about the time when Kou was in heels and shorts that are defining his...yeah, forget it.[break][break]
Walking over to where she sat, it’s obvious that she only has one set of utensils. It’s her lunch, Ruki’s sure it was only meant for her. It just so happens that she decided to share it with him. He may as well take the first bite.[break][break]
“I’m not that hungry, anyway. But I’ll take a taste just to end the curiosity.” He sat down beside her, something he’d never thought he would do. It’s making him wonder why on earth is he doing this?
"Guess you could say it's more like... I've always been a tad contrarian. You can ask me to do something and I'll be like, 'Yeah, sure' but like, as soon as someone demands things from me, I get a little obstinate."
It was, admittedly, more of a problem when she was younger - and it was partly why she got in fights a lot. Combining defiance with a hot temper didn't tend to end well; again though, the martial arts training helped her curb this tendency... to some degree, anyway. Jen still didn't really take well to being bossed around, but at least she was less likely to be openly ornery about it.
Once Ruki settled in next to her (well, with about a two foot gap between them), she gathered up a sufficient-sized bite on the fork: a little pork, a little rice, a bit of vegetable, just to make sure as many flavors were represented as possible. Initially, Jen handled the fork as if she were going to feed him herself, but then she got the feeling he'd take some kind of offense to that. Instead, she held the loaded fork out, with the bowl underneath in case anything fell, so that he could take them himself.
"Let me know what you think. Eat however much you want, as long as there's something left for me when you're done, I don't care."
[attr="class","textieno"]This is probably why she never exactly backs down from him; she’s someone who’s not fond of people demanding her to do what they want her to do. That explains a lot about her. He couldn’t say he’s not the same way, because he’s usually the one demanding and not the other way around. No one tells him what to do because he doesn’t allow it, except if it’s from Karlheinz or anything that involves taking care of business.[break][break]
That’s definitely something Jen and him have in common. That’s bad. What really did happened to the whole “we have nothing in common”? Ruki didn’t expect her to have some similarities, not to him. The more he learns about her, the stronger the feeling of sickness came onto him when it comes down to compare and contrast. [break][break]
He didn’t want to think about it any longer, he couldn’t even respond to what she said. Ruki could only listen on, and left no comment after that.[break][break]
The food was being handed to him. Best to serve himself, than having her feed him. He could honestly, just to tick her off, demand her to feed him. However, the mental image of her doing so is...no way. Not going to happen, not in his lifetime. It’s odd enough since he would actually take the advantage of demanding someone he would view as “livestock” to feed him.[break][break]
So what on earth?[break][break]
He took the bowl and fork from her, here goes nothing. It’s not her cooking, anyway and he’s not going to eat much, either. He took the food from the fork to his mouth. There’s the spice taste kicking in, the pork is well-cooked, the rice and vegetables were mixed in just about right. If there’s anyone who may really like this dish, it would have to be Azusa. The flavors in the curry were not too spicy or overdone with the flavor, in conclusion, Ruki can handle the taste. He put the fork and bowl down between himself and Jen.[break][break]
“Your mother’s cooking is pretty fair.” He isn’t usually the one who compliments, but it’s something. Though…[break][break]
“Question, what’s making you have the idea to share your food with me? Aside from not wanting people you know go hungry.” Now that he thought about his question, it shouldn’t have been what, but instead why is she doing this?
Just 'fair'? Jen was almost offended for her mother, but then something told her that even that bare-bones compliment was somehow special coming from him. In fact, it still seemed that getting him to speak a good word about much of anyone or anything was an uphill battle.
“Question, what’s making you have the idea to share your food with me? Aside from not wanting people you know go hungry.”
Ruki posed this question to her just as she was reaching for the food, and her eyes flashed up to meet his. She took a moment to think about this, and her movement slowed as she pondered on how to answer that. Then, it hit her, and she smiled as she looked back to her companion, "I guess you can also blame my upbringing for that. My mom especially always would cook way too much food whenever we'd have guests over. I internalized this message that, like... sharing food is one of the most basic ways you can show someone kindness, you know?"
Jen gathered up a bite of her own on the fork, "Long story short, it's a way for people to come together, have a conversation, and just be sociable. You can handle that, right?"
She took her first bite, and truthfully, since the curry had been made the other day and had had time to let the flavor steep, it was even better after some time had passed. So good, that Jen took a moment to let her eyes close as she savored it - the slight bite of cayenne, the savory pork that damn near melted in her mouth, the tangy touch of tomato - it all came together beautifully. Once she finished, she let out a soft, contented sigh, her eyes vaguely focused on the city of Kamina, illuminated in the distance.
"Much as I've been liking staying here in Japan, I do start to miss home sometimes," she set her curry and rice down in her lap, and shook up her milk tea, "depending on where you go in the States, you find this colorful mix of people from all over the world. All of 'em looking for a better life, all of 'em bringing bits of their own culture with them."
The dhampir popped the cap off the bottle, and took a few swallows, her voice getting soft and dreamy, "Maybe one day I'll get to experience those cultures firsthand, in their own homelands. Just... get immersed in it all, you know?"
Jen picked her food back up to eat it again, "Hell, I'd love to go back to Iceland, or maybe go see my mother's homeland, Trinidad. Well..." she paused, trying to decide if that was really the right thing to call it since Mama Bayassi - as she was sometimes called - didn't exactly end up there voluntarily; though, she seemed to take the most from that culture, having spent a couple hundred years there, "...yeah, Trinidad."
[attr="class","textieno"]Well she isn’t wrong about that, much to his annoyance. Since apparently this is a token of kindness, why is she showing it to him? He’s been nothing but negative, or indifferent. Besides, Ruki’s not exactly doing the same, in return. Unless keeping up with the conversation, or have it keep going is something to view as “kind”.[break][break]
Can he handle being sociable? Is she seriously asking that question? The calm face expression stayed on his face, but that doesn’t include his tone of voice,[break][break]
“You’re talking to the person who has been attempting to avoid you since the day we texted each other. I’m sure someone like you, could have figured that out by now that I’m not the kind of person that likes to socialize.” He’s going to be honest about it, no matter how bitter it is. He’s been trying to avoid this girl, and unfortunately, failing by sheer cases of bad luck. No matter where he goes when he tries to keep his distance from her, she just so happens to be standing near him, somehow. It’s like this is truly punishment for an unknown wicked crime he’s committed. Whether Jen’s going to be offended by that comment or not, Ruki’s speaking out total honesty.[break][break]
Yet Jen seems so sincere on getting to know him, but he’s so arrogant towards her. Most of, if not, all of the time, any other person who would talk to Ruki would end up walking away, in the end. It’s the intimidation, they just hate the fact that he can be rudely blunt. Still though, is that really his problem, or is it just that people lately are just fragile? Who cares, most people nowadays aren’t really that bright. But Jen however, is she strategic or is she simpleminded on attempting to get to know him further?[break][break]
He shouldn’t be caring about this at all, the door’s right there. Ruki can honestly just leave, and ignore Jen. However, for the most rare times, curiosity is getting to him. He wants answers and that means, sticking around with her. Even if it’s annoying and breaking the promise of him being distant from her, he wants to know. How is he going to ask or just figure it out, is another story.[break][break]
Jen continues to talk about cultures and home, how much she wants to go her mother’s homeland and Iceland. So she wants to travel around.[break][break]
“If you so badly wish to do so, why can’t you do it? What is stopping you from doing this? I’m sure your parents would let you do what you want.” Isn’t she independent? Surely, she can go around, right? Unless, her parents have stricted her to stay around the region.
Well, it wasn't exactly an answer that she liked, but yet again, Jen did rather appreciate his frankness in a way. She'd taken a few more bites in the process, and washed them down with some more milk tea before addressing him, "You know... I still don't understand your thought process here," she locked eyes with Ruki, her expression calm but serious, "you say you want to avoid me, and you don't like to socialize. Okay, but then answer me this: why did you agree to come join me for lunch tonight? Seems you're experiencing a bit of a conflict of interests there, yeah?"
Jen shifted in place to get more comfortable, "I'm not forcing you to stay. If you really don't want to be here, all you need to do is excuse yourself and go where you need to go. But I kind of like your company... I daresay I find your brutal honesty rather refreshing."
"If you so badly wish to do so, why can’t you do it? What is stopping you from doing this?"
That really gave her pause, to the point that her food almost went down the wrong pipe, and she had to hit her upper chest a couple of times before it dislodged. She took a few more swigs of her tea to wash the remainder away, cleared her throat, then responded, "...excuse me. Sorry about that. I guess technically nothing is really stopping me. But the thing is like, if I'm gonna go abroad somewhere, I..." her voice grew just a mite softer, and she diverted her gaze, "I guess I just don't want to go it alone, you know? Always figured it'd be more fun with a couple friends... or I guess a romantic partner, if we're really being hypothetical here, but I don't think that's in the cards for me."
[attr="class","textieno"]“I only accepted it because it’s somewhere quiet and as I’ve said before, unless you’re really forgetful, I’m not exactly that hungry.” Ruki actually had to think that one through on what to say. Jen was practically onto him, it’s so different to have someone actually questioning his thought process.[break][break]
Wait a minute, liking his company and brutal honesty? That sounds like a joke, but she’s been sincere throughout this night. As of current, Ruki became unsure how to feel about that. It’s rare for someone to actually appreciate that about him, because almost everyone feels intimidated by him. With that, it’s his best usage to push people away from him. However, it’s not working on Jen.[break][break]
“Why is that?” He spoke out what was supposed to be a thought.[break][break]
And she nearly choked on her food. How foolish of her. Ruki even closed his eyes, and slowly shook his head at her.[break][break]
So, the reason of being held back on this travelling idea is because she’d prefer doing this activity with friends or a partner. To think she always seems like the one who’s very social amongst others. Then again, he remembered back at the lounge that she has moved around a lot before coming here. When was that again, a week ago?[break][break]
“Surely, you’ve made some allies throughout your time being here.” He glared at her. If she did so, then why doesn’t she just talk to them, instead? Unless these people were occupied throughout their life.
“I only accepted it because it’s somewhere quiet and as I’ve said before, unless you’re really forgetful, I’m not exactly that hungry.”
She shook her head, "See, but there's literally any number of other places you could go that are quiet. Can you honestly tell me that if I hadn't asked you to come along with me, that you would have ended up on the rooftop anyway?"
Jen wasn't sure why he was apparently being so dodgy, when normally it seemed he either pulled no punches, or he would simply decline to talk. How come on one hand he denied enjoying her company, but turned around and agreed to accompany her despite that?
"Why do I like it? Because I don't deal well with ambiguity," she took another bite of curry, "some people will give you everything except a direct answer and then get upset when they don't get the response they wanted. It's really shitty and underhanded. I don't have time for all of that mess."
“Surely, you’ve made some allies throughout your time being here.”
Jen met Ruki's eyes again when he asked her this, and she lingered for a moment, not sure why he opted for a glare. However, she broke contact and directed her gaze to the skyline once more, "I guess I've made some acquaintances," she flashed back to him for a split second, "but I wouldn't really call them friends yet, let alone close friends."
She began absentmindedly digging through her curry with the fork, under the pretense of trying to gather up another good bite, "Moving around all the time and..." she stopped herself, "other things... didn't really allow me to let people get close."
There was, of course, more than one reason why this was the case. She left it ambiguous, and although the vampirism was a fairy strong factor in this self-imposed distance, there was something else that she could use to attempt to cover her tracks...
Though knowing this guy... he might see right through that. I guess that's the downside of dealing with smart folks...
[attr="class","textieno"]“Whether it would be a yes or no, that doesn’t really matter. Why do you even care about that?” He knew she’s trying to figure him all out. On the other hand, it’s like she knows his type which she probably does. Admittedly, she’s had a better argument. Unbelievable. This is a downside of someone who actually doesn’t back off. Despite it being difficult, it’s rather interesting for someone to manage to stand against him, for the longest time.[break][break]
She has a fair point about ambiguous people. They can become such a nuisance, and dealing with those kinds of people thin Ruki’s patience so terribly. He can’t really argue with her about that because he’s been through many situations when it comes to people who are rather vague on their decisions.[break][break]
“I see.” He looked out at the view of the town surrounding the school. “I guess you can say that’s one of the reasons why I don’t tend to socialize, knowing how many of those kind are around here.” It’s annoying and he loathes it.[break][break]
Still can’t argue with her about the acquaintances she’s made. But that eye contact they’re making, Ruki had to stop glancing at her. “Perhaps talking to them more frequently would be a way to increase your relationship towards them.” Like how she’s been doing with him. It’s weird to know that he can’t argue with her in many of these topics. That’s good, right?[break][break]
Others things? Aside from moving around, there are other reasons that caused her to not get so close. Should he bring it up? The urge to smirk began kicking in, he may as well,[break][break]
“Other things such as the ‘secret’ you can’t tell me, right?”
“I guess you can say that’s one of the reasons why I don’t tend to socialize, knowing how many of those kind are around here.”
Surprisingly, Jen let out a short, clipped laugh, "It happens in a lot of places I've been. Not so much in New York though, oddly enough - maybe that's where I got it from. Everyone's so busy trying to get where they're going and get on with their lives, so they don't really have time to beat around the bush," a peculiar, but genuine, smile appeared on her face, "Maybe if you ever pop on over Stateside, you'll know where to stop first, yeah?"
Fuck, was her milk tea getting low already? And she still had two more things to eat once she finished her curry.
"Trust me, I don't have any issues interacting with people," Jen remarked as she finished her last bite, and pulled the knife out of her bag so as to start cutting the mango into chunks, "I've met some people here, believe me. Problem is, aside from you, there's only been like one that's engaged with me on something beyond the mundane."
Jen made a note to herself, to get in touch with that Raven girl again. Being in different years made things trickier, on top of Jen's other responsibilities keeping her busy.
“Other things such as the ‘secret’ you can’t tell me, right?”
"Well... hmm... I guess a good portion of it is because often, by the time I got to know someone, I was needing to ship off again, so I sort of gave up on having really tight-knit relationships anyway," she sighed, "but even if it weren't for that, yeah, it was just generally safer not to get close enough that they could find out. Even if not just for our own safety, why risk someone innocent getting dragged into the path of danger, too?"
Fuck. If he tried to get any more specific than that, she wasn't sure if she could dodge it effectively... but the dhampir supposed, if Ruki was as perceptive as she believed he was, it was inevitable that he would pry at it some more.
[attr="class","textieno"]“If it involves people minding their own business, I’ll think about it before consideration.” He looked at Jen, making eye contact with her. Though him and his brothers have traveled around before, they have never been to the U.S. at all. She would know about the place because she did say about getting the Brooklyn accent of hers while living there.[break][break]
Aside from him. Well, at least one person’s engaging with her that’s not him, and hopefully said person will distract Jen, if ever possible.[break][break]
“Have you ever considered trying to plan events, or so? With that one person, at least?”[break][break]
“Fair enough.” There’s got to be more to it than just that. Ruki felt that he’s close or onto something, if he were to keep up with this topic. Since she did once mention about it being able to put her father at risk, there’s got to be something more about her family than she’s putting out. The answer may be obvious, but clarification would be better coming from her. She’s giving out a lot of suspicious pointers that give out many hints that something’s not so...human about this secret. At least it doesn’t sound human, considering that her father does studies about the supernatural.[break][break]
“No one ever wants to put others at risk, especially if it’s rather...inhuman.” He looked away, a small smirk began to form on his face.
"It depends on the situation. For the most part, yeah, you'll be left alone," Jen let out another laugh, "New Yorkers tend to have a high tolerance for weird shit, so as long as you aren't doing anything obviously illegal, they'll mostly leave you be," she shrugged again, "but they can also be surprisingly helpful if you just ask."
“Have you ever considered trying to plan events, or so? With that one person, at least?”
The dhampir thought about it, "I talk to her via text sometimes, but it's tricky to figure out what to do since I don't know the city that well and she's, well... she's kind of introverted, like you."
Again, it wasn't as if this was a thing that bothered Jen by any means, she didn't mind introverts; it was just a bit harder to get them to go along with spontaneous outings.
She had to be careful not to cut herself as she started forming the perpendicular pieces in the fruit, but remaining calm when he specifically said inhuman was a bit tricky. He was onto her, she could feel it... or maybe, he'd already figured it out?
Would it still be too brazen to simply ask...? Just one more touch...
Jen decided against it, once again, though her voice became a bit colder, a bit softer, though she decided to slip in something that, perhaps, only another supernatural (or someone familiar with them) might pick up on, "No... that would be rather monstrous, wouldn't it? The last thing we need is blood on our hands, indirectly or otherwise."
Though she remained calm on the outside, she could feel her heart pounding, almost as if it were situated in her throat rather than her chest.
I should leave. I should get out of here before I get myself in trouble.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to move. Her body wouldn't cooperate; why? Did she really wish that badly for Ruki to be like her mother, at least in that sense? Was she really that desperate to feel such kinship? She'd lived five decades, perfectly content to move among humans, passing as one of them - why change that now?
