Work Text:
Jail isn't fun.
This is a fairly standard take.
One could argue it's not supposed to be, being imprisoned is supposed to be punishment.
But for Takuya, jail was hell.
The conditions weren't much different from how the blue oni had spent the last several years. Wooden floors and straw beds weren't comfortable, but they also weren't weren't the muddy rocks under a cliff hang. He wasn't trilled to be so limited on sunshine, but its not like he was getting rained on.
Life on this side of the bars was more restricted, but somehow he felt the tiniest bit less trapped in depression.
He didn't even have to work. His roll now reversed, people now brought him meals.
The food was honestly a step up. There was rice or bread at almost every meal, and sometimes it even came with protein. Better than anything he had been able to scrape together for the hostages, that's for sure. Guess the bar is slightly higher when you have the funds.
"The bread is WAY better if you dip it the water left behind from the lavender melon dish."
No, the real problem was the company.
"Last time I was here the chef served this really good forage dish-"
Itto, one cell over, talked constantly.
About what? Literally everything.
Stories about his life, prison tips from the last time he had been here, plots from light novels, describing a weird shadow in his cell, full play by play recalls of beetle battles, the rules to some card game he played, ideas about what colors to paint his horns.
It never ended.
Takuya had never meet such a talkative person in his life, and hoped never to again. If only the bars between their cells would disappear so he could knock him out and get some peace.
To make it worse, Arataki would often ask his opinion on shit the blue oni had never heard of.
"But you have tried Dango Milk right? I know it seems weird but I really think it will catch on-"
"There's this light novel series I've been meaning to check out, you've probably heard of it already-"
"What do you think of the new hot springs bath, I heard its mixed bathing, I'm not sure what that means but I'm pretty sure it means we can both go in at the same time-"
The red oni rambles on, and the blue oni leans against the cell wall, trying to wrap his various bandages.
"So how did you get so banged up man?"
"Did you forget a domain collapsed on top of me?"
"Yeah but like. You had all those bandages before that. What was that about?"
Takuya ignores the question.
At some point, they get a visit from another visit from the frightening tengu who Itto attempts to flirt with.
At least, that's what Takuya seem's to pick up from the interaction.
She has an annoyed look on her face, but she must be familiar with him, because instead of kicking the shit out of him she just asks us more questions about the kidnappings.
"So is she the one?"
"Who took my vision?" Itto's stirred up after she leaves, bouncing around his cell and shadow boxing ghosts, "Yeah but like, it wasn't a really a fair fight. And she refuses to rematch!"
Takuya's wish for the bars between them to be gone comes true in the most backhanded way, as they are moved a floor down in the prison to a shared cell.
"Might as well keep you oni's together so no one else has to bunk with you" a guard jokes, though, he is promptly reprimanded by the tengu general overseeing the move.
Takuya was not, in anyway, prepared for the amount of casual physical touch that came with Arataki Itto's existence.
If he doesn't sit against the wall, Itto will slide behind him and they'll sit back to back until Takuya gets annoyed enough to stand up and pace the floor. If he sits against the wall, then he'd slide down beside him with an arm stretched over his shoulders.
Randomly grabbing his arm to show him something, little shakes, fist bumps, pats. The blue oni began to wonder if he'd become a pet dog. Did he treat everyone like this? As an oni, there was no problem, but it had to hurt humans if he used this same strength level.
Simply, Itto had no respect for personal space.
Well, that wasn't true. He would leave him alone if Takuya very clearly expressed his discomfort, but the next day of the red oni making sad puppy sounds from the other side of the cell wasn't worth it.
"Here let me help you with those"
He's sitting against the wall trying to change the wrapping on this hands when they're stolen away from him.
"I can treat my own wounds," the blue oni grunts.
"Shut up and let me do this."
Itto sits cross-legged in front of him, carefully pulling old gauze from between each finger.
He never thought his hands to be small, but with Itto holding them, inspecting the scars and still healing cuts, they feel tiny.
"Wow, your nails are really fucked up under here aren't they?"
A weak attempt to getaway is made, but he's trapped by strong hands that pull out a cosmetic kit before spending the evening massaging in oils and filing broken claws back into points.
"You had a nail file this whole time and you never thought to use it to escape?"
"Do you understand how expensive files that can handle oni nails are?"
In the end his hands are so revitalized he barely acknowledges them as his own, and he doesn't bother re-wrapping them.
Itto isn't obsessed with his looks, but he's a step away from it.
He summons a comb like he does his weapon (is it stored in his vision?) and spends any time he's not bothering Takuya working on his hair, fixing his outfit, filing his nails or reapplying extra pigment to his oni markings.
"Can you help me with my back?"
Some oni markings are from birth, remnants of lost skin tones from their ancestors. But others are drawn on with the same pigments they use for their horns. Horns rarely lose their color, but the complex skin designs lose their vibrancy after awhile.
"Just follow the lines?"
"Yeah dude, or just draw whatever you want. Sometimes I let the kids do their own designs."
That was fairly evident by the various faded patterns across his shoulders.
The blue oni uses his finger to trace over the the vertical lines down both sides, patience growing thin as the man twitches under his touch.
"Stop moving around so much."
"It tickles, I can't help it."
The patterns don't end up perfect, but he knows Itto's shirt will cover them anyway, so it barely matters.
"I should have given you a brush, your finger is gonna be stained," the red oni grabs his hand and without warning wraps his mouth around the now red digit, trying to suck the pigment off it like some sort of candy.
Itto spends the next while nursing a bump on his head, while Takuya fails to scrub off pigment and tries to ignore the bite marks a surprised oni left on his finger like a ring.
"And that is how I almost won my 528th battle, the trick was offering the beetle just a little piece of rice before we got down to tumble-"
They're sitting back to back again, Itto rambling on and Takuya staring unfocused at the wall.
"Why do you talk so much?"
The sudden question seems to stump the crimson oni.
"I dunno."
He's silent for a while, and the blue oni wonders if he's fallen asleep.
"I think I'm just anxious a lot, and I have to speak," Itto says suddenly, breaking the silence he's created, "Like the world will end if its to quiet. Like I'll burst if nothing comes out of my mouth and I have to just sit here in the stillness."
"And there is nothing I can do to shut you up?"
"I mean, you can talk too."
It takes a few more days, but suddenly he starts, and it all tumbles out of him.
He tells him about the clan. About his childhood.
Stories pasted down by the blue onis.
Takuya rambles on about how much he hate crab, how he missed looking at the stars, that time he was addicted to naku weed, his love of hard candy, how depressed he is having to scrape by like this, how he secretly stashes and reads copies of "That's Life" whenever they come across it in a raid.
"Oh do you read Miss Hina's advice column? I write into it all the time."
At some point it stops just being just him talking, and they discuss their mutual dislike of beans (turns out Itto's inherited a full allergy compared to Takuya's intolerance), horn maintenance (no one ever showed the crimson oni how to use a proper wax) and what they'll do when we finally get out.
"Maybe your kin can come out of hiding. Establish a home in one of the ghost towns."
"I don't think the elders would like being so in the open"
"I mean it can't hurt to ask they can it? We can protect them."
Itto uses the word 'we' without second thought. Like he never even considered a future apart now that they were together.
Every other line of his starts with "when we" or "we should"
"When we get out I'll take you to get ramen, Yoimiya told me about this place that does it completely soy free."
"We should get fireworks made for the festival while we're at it."
"I think if we put our horns together we'll think of something amazing."
Itto is released first.
Well actually, his gang, which had been held on a different floor, were released first. Itto was released second.
He tried to throw a big fit "I don't go unless he goes too" but that's not exactly how jails work.
"I'll be waiting for you when you get out okay? I'll pick you up right outside and we'll all go for ramen"
Takayu agrees to appease him, and to make it easier on the guards trying to escort him out. He can see the visible frustration on the tengu generals face as she grabs him by the collar and drags him away.
Its quiet without him.
He thought he'd finally have peace being alone again, but the silence he had once begged for was now insufferable. Hours drag by at an alarming slow rate.
After all this time he finally asks for a blanket. It's cold. Never before had he gotten chills, but after a month sitting beside a man who seemed to produce the heat of literal furnace, his resistance had fallen.
Without the heat from Arataki's body close by, he shivers once the sun sets.
Kujou Sara appears again, this time with a familiar blonde.
They clarify a few more details, the generals mood seemingly much better without the Crimson Oni's presence.
The majority of the kidnapped people have testified now, many noting how much he took care of them, how he brought them food and tried his best to keep them all alive.
"It can't overturn the fact you were involved in their kidnappings, or the various robberies that are being linked to your profile," She notes as they review the other charges, "But along with the travelers statements in your defense, you will most likely be free in the upcoming weeks. We will return after the reviews have finished to inform you of the decision."
Before they leave the Traveler hands him a note and a box.
He's never seen the handwriting, but he knows it must be ittos.
Hey buddy, miss me yet?
The traveler and myself are pushing hard to get you free as soon as possible! Your kin are all doing fine! We've moved the camp. The kids keep destroying me at beetle fights but I have a feeling my lucks about to come around.
See you soon!
Your best friend,
Arataki Itto
The box is filled with sugar candies.
The note does little to convince him he'll be actually be released any sooner than the generals estimate, though an update on the clan is a positive. so he rations the candies out to last over the next couple weeks.
Not that it is necessary, before he's even finished the first box a second one arrives, this time delivered in the dead of night.
"Ah so this is the other oni. You don't seem to have the same air to you as our Ultimate TCG Champion."
A large fox sits in just behind the bars that keep him locked here. Its fur shimmers a soft light blue in the moonlight, a strange mist surrounding it.
"Not all oni are the same," Takuya replies, deciding this is not the weirdest thing that's ever happened too him.
"That seems to be the case," the fox's image flickers, like static, and suddenly it had taken a much more human shape.
A long flowing kimono, face half-hidden behind an elegant folding fan and soft blue hair topped with pointy fox ears.
"Please excuse my rudeness. Let me introduce myself, I am Ayato, and you must be Takuya."
The blue oni nods, not bothering to stand up.
"Your brother has told me much about you. He is very worried about you and sends you this care package. I've been told the drink is perishable." He slides a package through the bars.
"Brother huh? That's what he's calling me?" the blue oni pulls himself closer to the bars to grab the package. Among other things it does indeed have a bottle in it, so he fishes it out to inspect.
"Under the eyes of the commissions yes. Driving home the close familiar bond will hopefully get you released sooner. At least, that's the plan." There is a joyful tone in the fox's voice that doesn't match the prison atmosphere.
Too bad they were at best distant realities from hundreds of years past, Takuya notes internally.
The bottle is hard to read in the dark, but it seems to be some sort of milk. He pulls off the lid to take a swig as Ayato continues.
"In private he's been referring to you as his boyfriend."
Its unclear if its a reaction to the statement, the sudden texture or a combo of both, but the dango milk sprays out of Takuya's mouth into the fox's clothing in a comical fashion.
"He, ugh," The oni struggles to catch his breath, coughing between his words, "He what?"
Ayato seems un-phased.
"I'm not sure he understands the implications of the word," With a quick flick of a his fan water seems to dance around him and he's clean again, "I take it you're not in a romantic relationship with Arataki?"
Not one he'd admit too.
"No," he finally recovers from his spit take, "We aren't even friends."
"Ouch, that'll hurt him to hear. You're all he talks about lately," the fox laughs, "He's like a Takuya hype man."
What was there to hype, Takuya wonders.
"Thank you for bringing me this," he gives the fox a little bow, "Is there anything else you need or can I go back to staring at the ceiling?"
"I actually came with a job offer," There is an odd glint from his eyes as they reflect in the moonlight, "I'm looking for someone to run errands. My Thoma is being stretched a little thin with the tasks I'm giving him."
Thoma, he recognized that name, the pyro user who works for the Kamisato clan. So this man must be connected to them.
"And you can't get Itto to help with these tasks?"
"I'm looking for some with a different set of skills," The fox's eyes were sharp, scanning him knowingly, "A well connected individual like your self is required to take on some, lets call them, clean up tasks."
Ah, the shady shit he wouldn't be able to get the crimson oni to do.
"No need to decide now. It has no effect on your release if you work under us or not, so no need to commit until you're free. Just ask Itto where to find me when you're ready."
He snaps his fan closed, and returns to his fox form, "But don't tell anyone else I came to visit, we would be in big trouble if I got caught."
Ayato makes it a few steps away before Takuya asks, "Why are you doing this?"
"Ah," The fox pauses, raising a little paw to his chin as if he is pondering how to word his reply, before looking back into the cell, "I lost a beetle battle."
And he's gone.
A great number of questions hang in the air. Unanswered.
Could he trust that fox? How well did Itto even know him? What kind of dangerous shit would working alongside the Kamisato clan entail?
The blue oni sips the dango milk, finding it rather pleasant, looking through the rest the bag to distract himself.
More candies, and some dried cracker-like foods. Snacks. Dried meat. A hair comb, mirror and a couple of cosmetics jars. A second wrapped package felt like clothing.
The small window of moon light in his cell had passed, so he leaves it wrapped for now.
He packs it all back into the bag and hides it under the blanket they'd given him, doubting any of it would be confiscated if found, but knowing that explaining where it came from would be a pain.
"I'm not some child who needs care packages." he mutters as the lays down, suddenly exhausted.
The next few days are spent munching on snacks, reading the latest copy of "That's Life" and the first volume of a light novel that was tucked within them.
The clothing ends up being a new jacket. Its more bold than he'd ever pick for himself, but fits both his body and his general sense of style.
He removes any still intact attachments from his old coat to attach to the new, but leaves it all packed away. He had no one to impress in this cell anyway.
His image in the mirror is more haggard than he was expecting. Dark hair had grown quite a bit being in here, blue horns lacked shine and his markings were fading even more.
Almost a week after the fox's visit, the tengu is back again.
"After much debate, it has been determined you will be released tomorrow under a year-long probation," She begins reviewing a great number of restrictions that will applied before asking him to sign several documents.
"Any questions?"
A million, but none he thinks she has answers to.
The last night is restless as he weighs his options. He'd almost hoped he'd had more time stuck here to think about it, but no matter how long he was here, he'd still be mulling things over on the final night like this.
Return to the underground?
Probation only matters if you get caught, but now that he was involved with Itto, chances were he would get caught.
Return to his kin?
He'd left them for a reason. He couldn't make a living being with them, the clan needed supplies not bodies to feed.
Go work for the fox?
It was honestly seeming to be the best option, they hadn't talked mora, but if its related to the Kamisato clan, the pay should be pretty good.
He rummages through the bag looking for any remaining snacks, pulling out the ignored jars and grooming tools, when a note flutters on to the ground.
Hey Takuya!
Whenever I'm stressed I take some time to fix my hair and make up you know? But you don't even have a cosmetics kit on you, so I decided to make you one.
I wasn't sure how to make blue dye, so I asked your kin and your granny (the one with the eye-patch) gave me instructions. I dragged the traveler around all day gathering these special mushrooms, and I feel like it came out darker than it's supposed too, but hey if it works it works! I tested it out myself, and now my fingers are all blue!
I've been thinking a lot about everything we've talked about, about the way forward for the oni, about my own anxieties and our pride. And I just want you to know, I'm happy you'll be in my life now.
Can't wait to see you again,
Your boyfriend,
Arataki Itto.
Looks like no one explained boyfriend too him yet.
He doesn't get why, but something about the messy handwriting and the nonsensical paragraphs creates a deep sense of longing in his chest, and before he knows it he feels the warmth of tears spilling from his face onto the paper.
Deny it all he wants, but all he really wants to do is see the idiot. To let him drag him all over these islands and show him all the best beetle spots. To get a meal together like friends do, to spar in open fields, to camp under open sky's.
He wants to lean up against the red oni as he fixes his nails, to retrace old patterns on his skin and paint his own.
He wants to do the thing he's always done, protect the crimson oni, but he wants to do it beside him instead of hidden in the shadows. He wants to fight back to back instead of being on the other side.
He wants his warmth, his voice and all the things that drive him crazy.
"I want to devote myself all over again," He says to the darkness, not expecting a reply.
But the Archons give him one anyway.
The blonde and the weird white fairy are the ones who come to escort him.
"You changed your look," the fairy notes.
"Can't be the same forever I guess." He replies weakly.
The hue of his hair has shifted, bright blue undertones that shining through to frame a face mixed with old and new markings. He's still not sure the new outfit suits him, but his bandages are gone, his horns are polished, and a shiny new vision dangles at his side.
The bite mark on his finger is barely visible, but the red dye has yet to wash off.
"Most people don't come out of jail looking better than when they went in," Kujou Sara notes as they finish sorting his paper at the outbound processing, "Oni really are a special breed."
The traveler leads him outside and down the block. The sunlight is a little blinding, the fresh air a welcome change.
They reach the outskirts of the city where a small group have gathered for what looks like a picnic. He recognizes some faces to be members of Itto's gang, and he thinks one might be the daughter of the fireworks store.
But his focus locks on a familiar set of red horns.
"Hey, you're finally back!" the speed in which Itto moves to stand in front of him rivaling the shogun, "The new outfit looks real good. I wasn't sure when I picked it out, I was like, shouldn't it be more flashy, but then Paimon was like, I don't think Takuya would want his jacket to have your face on it-"
"Itto maybe," the blonde tries to interrupt the oni with no luck.
"Its okay, let him ramble," Takuya sighs, "Stopping him only makes it worse."
Maybe it's because its been almost a month, but he doesn't bother to stop it as the oni begins a whole story, but instead lets his voice wash over him.
The crimson oni finally concludes his story, and for a moment they just stare at each other before Itto pulls him in for a hug.
It's warm, wrapped in those huge arms, and for the first time, Takuya leans into it.
"I missed you so much," Itto mutters, unusually quiet.
They stay embraced for what feels like an eternity before the he replies.
"I missed you too."
The crimson oni lets the blue oni free, and for another moment he stares awkward at the ground, before Itto grabs his hand and begins pulling him towards the group gathered on the hill side, "C'mon, I'll introduce you!"
Blue and red stained fingers interlock.
"It's time everyone met my best friend"