text | un: SKULL

[sakabroto]

[This is via text because NO ONE SHOULD SEE HIM RIGHT NOW HE'S HIDEOUS and also he's hyper depressed about losing his best friend, but mostly HE'S HIDEOUS. His roots are showing like mad and he's resorted to wearing a beanie. A BEANIE in this weather. It's horrific.]

yeah so glad everything's all back to normal and whatever, but i got an important question:

where can i get some hair bleach and dye? 'cause like hell i'm going out like this

[p r i o r i t i e s]

Comments

[heorot]

[ well that was easy. and now james has to be creative. ]

a whole bottle of whiskey
four slices of bread
thirty quid
fourteen marshmallows
and abbey road on record

[ because he doesn't actually need any of it and why not. ]

[sakabroto]

wtf is a quid
and i can't get you a whole damn road, that's impossible

the rest i could probably find. dunno if they'd sell whiskey to a teen though

[GOD, JAMES. Taking advantage of this poor kid. how dare]

[heorot]

its a quid.
ya know? a pound?
cmon mate where are you even from
and its not
actually
just forget that point its fine

be creative you can manage it im sure

[ listen it's fine ITS JUST HARMLESS FUN. ]

[sakabroto]

uh no? that's why i'm asking?
i'm from japan and we don't use pounds
that's an american thing, right?
we use kilograms

[look, if he needs a road to dye Ryuji's hair, this is getting way too complex for him]

i mean i'm sure i can manage it cuz this place doesn't seem to give a shit about age restrictions, but i'm just sayin' i can't get you a road so if you need everythin' on the list, we're gonna have a problem

[heorot]

[ oh for merlin's sake okay FINE ]

forget the quid/pound/whateva
i don't need everything
get what you can and we'll make it work

[sakabroto]

if you don't need everything, then why ask for--

[oh.

OH]

Not cool, man. If you want an errand boy, you should pay up for one.

[heorot]

hey
it's all in good fun :)
besides
i can make it so you don't have to dye your hair
and im still down to do it

[sakabroto]

...i can get some of what you want then as payment
but not the whiskey, that stuff's gross

[helping anyone get alcohol after living with his shitty dad is not something he's cool with]

so where and when do we do this?
my name's Ryuji btw

[heorot]

oh come on
the whiskey was the only important one

[ he's only half kidding. ]

anywhere's good for me
just tell me where to show up
and name's james.

[sakabroto]

sorry man, i don't think they're gonna sell it to me

i can meet you at the markets
unless you need someplace specific, then i guess i could give you directions to my house

[But Stranger Danger says that's a bad idea.]

[heorot]

markets it is
see you then in twenty minutes?

> action;

[sakabroto]

sure np
see you soon - i'll be the kid wearing the shitty beanie even in this heat


[And true to form, Ryuji will be waiting in the markets, an old black beanie on his head, pulled down enough to cover all of his hair. He's leaning up against a building where the owners won't see and yell at him, idly tapping the toe of one foot against the ground.]

> action;

[heorot]

[ james doesn't bother responding to him, mostly because he doesn't really need to but honestly because he's still not really...used to this technology yet. being a wizard from the 70s makes texting a very strange experience that james tries to avoid when he can. unfortunately, he can't usually, but in moments like this he will.

and just about twenty minutes later, james will turn a corner near the markets, smiling when he recognizes the kid in the beanie and lifting an arm to get his attention. ]

Oi! [ and when he does, james continues to approach him, slipping his hands back in his pockets and around the wand he has stored there. ] You alright there?

[sakabroto]

[His head whips up at the sound of someone calling out, but the tension drains out of his shoulders when he sees it's James and not another shopkeep. Pushing off the wall, he bobs his head in a greeting and then sticks his hands in his pockets.]

Yeah, I'm good. You're James, right?

[heorot]

That's me.

[ he nods back to another alleyway, just out of the crowds of the markets, and starts walking in that direction. he just needs them out of the MIDDLE of the crowds, really. but beyond that it's not super necessary how private the place they end up. ]

And for the record- [ he starts off conversationally. ] That beanie's not shitty at all. Kind of stylish, really.

[sakabroto]

[He follows and huffs at the comment, slouching further if that were even possible. He has a bag in one hand and he holds it out to James as they go.]

My roomie might agree, but definitely not me. I got some of the stuff you asked for.

[including a small bottle of what sort of looked like whisky but could actually be something entirely different. He has no idea because he shoved it in at the end of the purchase so the shopkeep couldn't say no.]

I'd prefer to keep my head uncovered.

[heorot]

[ james will take the bag when it's offered to him, searching through the contents, pleased. hey, something is better than nothing. ]

It's whatever you want, mate. I'm just saying. [ he'll pull out the small bottle of whiskey out and looks it over, approvingly. then he'll put it back in the bag, nodding to himself. ]

Pull it off. We can get it taken care of.

[sakabroto]

[This sounds so much like a back alley deal and if he hadn't already been accustomed to going to the shady-ass airsoft shop back in Tokyo, he would actually worry he was about to be mugged for his hair or something. As it is, he just looks back over his shoulder to make sure no one else can see him and then pulls the beanie off begrudgingly. His usual shock of bleached blond hair ends about one inch from his scalp, giving way to his natural black color.]

Ugh, just don't laugh. It looks awful.