It's always a bit of an itchy feeling, staying in this human shape for too long. But it's a point of pride, too, because of how good he knows he is at it. He can blend in with any group, convince them he's one of them, that he comes from the same sort of background. And he loves that moment when they start to consider him a friend. He loves it more when they shower him with praise. He craves that feeling of being accepted.
But it feels good to drop the disguise for a while, too. Even in the military most people don't know his true identity, but none of those people have access to this section of the base. He shakes himself off a bit, and lets his tail and ears pop free, and then stretches it out, arms above his head.
"I always feel like I might forget my true form if I stay as a human for too long," he says, arms dropping down as he turns towards Jouno. "Do you ever feel like that?"
Jouno sits perched atop a table, nine tails splayed out behind him. He listens with disinterest as Tachihara changes his form, one ear twitching at the noise of him stretching.
“It’s because you stay with them too long,” Jouno answers, tone clearly distasteful. Unlike the younger kitsune, he isn’t fond of humans or being among them. His dealings with the military’s supernatural sect are rare — today he’s really only there to see Tachihara. “You should come back to the forest before you forget us.”
Humans, Jouno figures, are really only good for two things — eating and fucking (which usually results in eating them afterwards). He doesn’t understand Tachihara’s desire to fit in with them, to want to be like them.
"I wouldn't forget you." Tachihara dismisses that easily. Sure, he doesn't think too much about the forest while he's with humans, but then he's always had a tendency to get caught up in the moment, and the situation he's in. And the forest had always been lonely for him in the past.
He tilts his head as he walks closer. "But I understand why you don't like them."
It's better to placate Jouno on that, he thinks. Jouno can be terrifying at times - he learned that the hard way - and he does want to get along with him. They just don't agree at all on that one point. But that argument is too old to be any interesting.
Jouno’s nose wrinkles involuntarily as Tachihara approaches. “You even smell human,” he complains, hopping off the table. His tails puff up behind him before settling.
It’s true that there is no real point in arguing about it. Jouno has said his piece time and time again (and most likely would repeat himself before Tachihara left again today). They simply couldn’t agree. It was, perhaps, the one disappointing factor when it came to Tachihara.
But the younger kitsune was good at what he did, so at least Jouno didn’t have to worry about him being caught, even if his choice to infiltrate a rival group of the military’s had been an odd one.
“Come here.” Jouno closes the distance between them, nuzzling against Tachihara in the process, more to rub his scent glands on him than anything. Anything to get rid of that putrid smell.
"I had a bath before coming here," Tachihara objects. But that had been before he left the city, so the human smell most likely stayed on him. Tachihara is too used to it by now, and Jouno's nose is a lot more sensitive than his.
And Jouno does smell good. Tachihara relaxes when he realizes what Jouno is doing, tilts his head to makes it easier for him, small shivers building up at the intimacy. He'll smell like Jouno for a while now. Any other kitsune would be able to tell exactly who Tachihara belongs to, just from that. The fact that he's always seeking out new groups to make friends with doesn't change the fact that this is the man who found him when he was at his lowest and most desperate, dragged him away by the scruff, and gave him somewhere to really belong. Not that Tachihara had gone willingly, at first.
Be bends forwards, exposing his neck more. "You never get any human smell on you."
“Not enough of one, it seems.” Though truthfully, Jouno’s nose was just that sensitive. Since he’d lost his sight hundreds of years ago, his other senses had more than made up for it other time. As convenient as it normally was, there were times — like now — when it caused problems more than anything.
Jouno takes advantage of the exposed neck to nuzzle against it until he’s content with how Tachihara smells. Like him. Like his. After he’s satisfied, he tilts his head and sinks his fangs into Tachihara’s neck, biting harshly enough that it will surely leave a mark.
“That’s for leaving again,” he notes, pulling away and smiling down at Tachihara. “Do you know how much of a pain it is to take care of everything when you’re out here playing with the food?”
Tachihara yelps, caught by surprise. He really should have expected it, but he'd been lowering his guard, enjoying the nuzzling... He wonders if it bleeds enough that the blood will stain his fur.
"You're the one who set me up with this kind of job," he says. And they're not food, he doesn't add, because thinking of them as friends never ends well, if the human military wants to bring them in or have them killed. It's the part he likes the least about this whole arrangement.
And then, just to placate Jouno a little: "But if anyone can handle taking care of anything, it's you, Jouno-san."
The yelp (and the slight smell of blood that wells up from the wound) brings a smile to Jouno's face. Licking his lips for a faint taste of it, he responds, "You were to reckless in the forest. You needed something to redirect your energy." Besides, this way, Jouno could keep tabs on the human world without having to participate in it much himself.
The compliment does it's trick, and Jouno practically preens. "Of course," he agrees, tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind his ear. As far as he's concerned, everything would fall apart without him. "That doesn't mean I enjoy it, though. Things were much simpler when I had a scapegoat around."
"When did I sign up to be your scapegoat?" He didn't sign up for any of this, technically. He wouldn't change any of it now, though, even the part where Jouno bosses him around and gets him to do all the menial tasks he doesn't want to do himself.
He likes the part where Jouno bosses him around.
Which doesn't mean he can't give him a bit of attitude for it. "Isn't it better if they see you as someone reliable?"
“I’d rather they didn’t,” Jouno replies, but they both know that isn’t the entire truth. Jouno likes being needed, likes being the person people turn to when they require help, if only because he likes the praise that comes with it.
“But you signed up for it when you started following me around.” That’s also not the entire truth — it wasn’t as if Tachihara was given much of a choice when it came to following Jouno. The older kitsune had more forced him into recruitment than anything.
“Tell me, though — how have you been?” Jouno may not understand Tachihara’s fascination with humans, but he cares enough about knowing everything that he bothers to ask how it’s going.
Tachihara rubs at his ear for a second before answering. He always wants to be careful with how he phrases himself, talking about humans.
"I'm good. It's always a bit lonely when I have to leave, but that group was a bit boring, anyway." A rare statement from him about humans, but there hadn't been much for him to get up to, not enough oppourtunities to cause a bit of mischief. "And being away is always lonely, too."
Away from Jouno. Away from Tetchou. Away from the people here he likes. Away from the forest, no matter how boring it gets there after a while. It's always so quiet compared to human cities...
Jouno notes the caution with some distaste. He’s aware when people are speaking around him to not set him off, and Tachihara is a master of doing so, carefully dancing around topics to not offend the listening parties — Jouno, of course, being one of the most dangerous.
“Will the military send you with that group again?” Jouno questions, ear twitching curiously. He doesn’t understand Tachihara’s issue with loneliness. Peace and quiet is desirable as far as Jouno is concerned. That’s part of why he despises human nature; they’re always so rowdy and loud.
This time, he just shrugs. "I don't think so. They got the information they needed."
It's a smaller group, and Tachihara has a feeling it won't be around much longer. That's the lonely part, really - sure, they were boring, but they were nice. They were still his friends. It might not be the same as where he belongs, which is always here, with Jouno, but to him it's never been enough to have just one person.
"They mentioned plans for something bigger in the future. But I have some time off now."
“Then you have time to come home for a while,” Jouno comments, leaving no real room for protest. Tachihara rarely says no to him, but either way, he’s not going to give him room to start. Jouno’s tails swish behind him happily, pleased to have his little subordinate back under his thumb.
“Though it might have to be a short-lived visit. We’ve been having some trouble as of late.”
Tachihara wasn't going to argue. He'd just be dragged back by his scruff, he knows, which would be humiliating. And a short stay does sound nice...
"What kind of trouble?" But of course that's what immediately catches his attention, long ears perking up. If he's been out on some mission with boring humans while Jouno has been having the fun kind of trouble... Well, he's back now, which means he can throw himself into the middle of whatever it is.
“Something has been targeting magically-inclined humans as of late,” Jouno answers, resting a hand on his chin. “The usual suspects are accounted for, so I’m afraid we have someone new to contend with.”
While Jouno hardly cares what happens to the humans, magically-inclined or not, he does care when it starts to affect their kind. If the humans try to fight back, they’re rarely smart enough to limit their decision to the culprit alone.
"Sounds like it could be interesting." Tachihara's tails swish behind him before settling. Throw a problem at him, someone new to meet, and he's always immediately excited. But... No, he did want to spend a bit of time with Jouno before leaving again. He'd been gone a while this time, or at least it felt that way to him.
So he won't run off immedaitely. But he's tempted. He'll wait to see what Jouno decides. "I wonder what kind of person it is."
"I take it you want the assignment." Tachihara's excitement is obvious, after all. Of course, Jouno had every intention of sending Tachihara out for information. He was reliable and unlikely to cause trouble.
"I'm not sure," Jouno admits hesitantly, hating that he has as little information as he does. "I'll send you the reports on it later, but for now -- let's get coffee." Coffee was one of the few things humans did right as far as Jouno was concerned, and he was going to take advantage of his time in the human world to get some.
"You know I do." It's new, it's exciting, it's a direct request from Jouno. Those are some of his favorite things. He'll have it all figured out in no time, just you see.
His ears perk up a bit at the mention of coffee, though. "Yeah, I could use some coffee." He says. And he'll stick close to Jouno as they walk, like he always does, most of his attention on him, as he's the most important person here. Really, one of the only important people.
“It’s yours,” Jouno assures him with a swish of his tails. “It needs to be resolved, but I have little desire to mess with the affairs of humans.” Tachihara was the ideal candidate for investigating considering he genuinely enjoyed being around them.
In a puff of red smoke, Jouno’s ears and tails disappear, leaving him in his human form —- he wasn’t about to go out to coffee in his true form, after all. Instead of his kimono, he wears a military uniform, all so he will look in place as they make their way through the military corridors. Not every soldier knew of the military’s dealings with the supernatural.
“The place we went last time was nice.” They also had been surprisingly good spirited about Jouno scrutinizing their coffee. Besides, it’s a familiar location so it’s easy for Jouno to lead the way.
"You just wanna step in at the last minute so people are impressed with you," Tachihara teases. Not that Jouno is interested in impressing just anyone, but if the right people are watching...
Tachihara follows suit, letting his own ears and tail disappear as well. Blending in with humans is second nature to him, but Jouno without his ears just feels strange to him. There's nothing human about him. There shouldn't be anything human about him. Without him, Tachihara would never have learned how to be anything other than a human himself... Or at least an imitation of one.
He scratches at his hair where his ears just were, not fond of these constant changes back and forth. "I remember the barista there was nice."
“It isn’t my fault that I’m naturally impressive,” Jouno protests, as if Tachihara is off base calling him out like that. In reality, Jouno does seek praise from others, the more important, the better. He wouldn’t have agreed to help the military out if they hadn’t offered him the accolades he wanted in doing so, after all.
“They were. They even made one of Tetchou-san’s awful concoctions once.” Though Jouno thinks that’s more stupidity than being nice. Where Jouno and Tachihara could blend in to human society, Tetchou, Jouno thought, stood out like a sore thumb.
"I didn't say you weren't also impressive!" Tachihara says, quickly. But he does mean it. Jouno has proved himself to him more than enough times, and continues to teach him so much. "Besides, you've already proved you can easily kick my ass if I ever actually doubt you."
The itchiness of shapeshifting alieved, he drops his hands, and then lifts them up again to straighten his military uniform, rolling his shoulders to adjust how it sits. He prefers his kimono, really. "Is Tetchou-san around?"
"Of course I could," Jouno replies, head held high as if it was remotely impressive that someone of his age could defeat a youngster like Tachihara. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear, briefly running his fingers over where his ears should have been, Jouno wrinkles his nose at the next question.
"No." It's a flat answer and it seems for a moment that Jouno actually isn't going to elaborate. It's short-lived, though, as Jouno can hardly stand to pass up a chance to complain about Tetchou. "Do you know how disastrous it would be to bring him here? He has no subtlety. He doesn't blend in with the humans at all." Shape-shifting only did so much. Tetchou's behavior was...
Well.
"It's a headache to try and keep him in line and personally, I think I deserve better than to spend my day fighting off a migraine." As if to exaggerate his point, Jouno rubs his temples with a frown on his face.
Tachihara tilts his head slightly. “Humans are not as suspicious as you think,” he says. “These days everyone has a weird uncle, or that cousin no one likes to talk about. They’ll probably just assume he’s someone’s cousin.”
At least that’s usually how humans seem to talk about each other. In the past strange humans might have been deemed threats, but these days people seemed to mostly ignore them. It had saved Tachihara when he’d first tried to blend in with them, before Jouno found and trained him. These days he prides himself on being able to pass as someone completely normal.
He continues easily. “I’ll have to go say hi to him later. It’s been a while since I last saw him.”
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jounosknot2023-05-18 03:27 pm
@pricelesstears
But it feels good to drop the disguise for a while, too. Even in the military most people don't know his true identity, but none of those people have access to this section of the base. He shakes himself off a bit, and lets his tail and ears pop free, and then stretches it out, arms above his head.
"I always feel like I might forget my true form if I stay as a human for too long," he says, arms dropping down as he turns towards Jouno. "Do you ever feel like that?"
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“It’s because you stay with them too long,” Jouno answers, tone clearly distasteful. Unlike the younger kitsune, he isn’t fond of humans or being among them. His dealings with the military’s supernatural sect are rare — today he’s really only there to see Tachihara. “You should come back to the forest before you forget us.”
Humans, Jouno figures, are really only good for two things — eating and fucking (which usually results in eating them afterwards). He doesn’t understand Tachihara’s desire to fit in with them, to want to be like them.
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He tilts his head as he walks closer. "But I understand why you don't like them."
It's better to placate Jouno on that, he thinks. Jouno can be terrifying at times - he learned that the hard way - and he does want to get along with him. They just don't agree at all on that one point. But that argument is too old to be any interesting.
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It’s true that there is no real point in arguing about it. Jouno has said his piece time and time again (and most likely would repeat himself before Tachihara left again today). They simply couldn’t agree. It was, perhaps, the one disappointing factor when it came to Tachihara.
But the younger kitsune was good at what he did, so at least Jouno didn’t have to worry about him being caught, even if his choice to infiltrate a rival group of the military’s had been an odd one.
“Come here.” Jouno closes the distance between them, nuzzling against Tachihara in the process, more to rub his scent glands on him than anything. Anything to get rid of that putrid smell.
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And Jouno does smell good. Tachihara relaxes when he realizes what Jouno is doing, tilts his head to makes it easier for him, small shivers building up at the intimacy. He'll smell like Jouno for a while now. Any other kitsune would be able to tell exactly who Tachihara belongs to, just from that. The fact that he's always seeking out new groups to make friends with doesn't change the fact that this is the man who found him when he was at his lowest and most desperate, dragged him away by the scruff, and gave him somewhere to really belong. Not that Tachihara had gone willingly, at first.
Be bends forwards, exposing his neck more. "You never get any human smell on you."
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Jouno takes advantage of the exposed neck to nuzzle against it until he’s content with how Tachihara smells. Like him. Like his. After he’s satisfied, he tilts his head and sinks his fangs into Tachihara’s neck, biting harshly enough that it will surely leave a mark.
“That’s for leaving again,” he notes, pulling away and smiling down at Tachihara. “Do you know how much of a pain it is to take care of everything when you’re out here playing with the food?”
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"You're the one who set me up with this kind of job," he says. And they're not food, he doesn't add, because thinking of them as friends never ends well, if the human military wants to bring them in or have them killed. It's the part he likes the least about this whole arrangement.
And then, just to placate Jouno a little: "But if anyone can handle taking care of anything, it's you, Jouno-san."
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The compliment does it's trick, and Jouno practically preens. "Of course," he agrees, tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind his ear. As far as he's concerned, everything would fall apart without him. "That doesn't mean I enjoy it, though. Things were much simpler when I had a scapegoat around."
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He likes the part where Jouno bosses him around.
Which doesn't mean he can't give him a bit of attitude for it. "Isn't it better if they see you as someone reliable?"
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“But you signed up for it when you started following me around.” That’s also not the entire truth — it wasn’t as if Tachihara was given much of a choice when it came to following Jouno. The older kitsune had more forced him into recruitment than anything.
“Tell me, though — how have you been?” Jouno may not understand Tachihara’s fascination with humans, but he cares enough about knowing everything that he bothers to ask how it’s going.
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"I'm good. It's always a bit lonely when I have to leave, but that group was a bit boring, anyway." A rare statement from him about humans, but there hadn't been much for him to get up to, not enough oppourtunities to cause a bit of mischief. "And being away is always lonely, too."
Away from Jouno. Away from Tetchou. Away from the people here he likes. Away from the forest, no matter how boring it gets there after a while. It's always so quiet compared to human cities...
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“Will the military send you with that group again?” Jouno questions, ear twitching curiously. He doesn’t understand Tachihara’s issue with loneliness. Peace and quiet is desirable as far as Jouno is concerned. That’s part of why he despises human nature; they’re always so rowdy and loud.
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It's a smaller group, and Tachihara has a feeling it won't be around much longer. That's the lonely part, really - sure, they were boring, but they were nice. They were still his friends. It might not be the same as where he belongs, which is always here, with Jouno, but to him it's never been enough to have just one person.
"They mentioned plans for something bigger in the future. But I have some time off now."
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“Though it might have to be a short-lived visit. We’ve been having some trouble as of late.”
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"What kind of trouble?" But of course that's what immediately catches his attention, long ears perking up. If he's been out on some mission with boring humans while Jouno has been having the fun kind of trouble... Well, he's back now, which means he can throw himself into the middle of whatever it is.
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While Jouno hardly cares what happens to the humans, magically-inclined or not, he does care when it starts to affect their kind. If the humans try to fight back, they’re rarely smart enough to limit their decision to the culprit alone.
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So he won't run off immedaitely. But he's tempted. He'll wait to see what Jouno decides. "I wonder what kind of person it is."
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"I'm not sure," Jouno admits hesitantly, hating that he has as little information as he does. "I'll send you the reports on it later, but for now -- let's get coffee." Coffee was one of the few things humans did right as far as Jouno was concerned, and he was going to take advantage of his time in the human world to get some.
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His ears perk up a bit at the mention of coffee, though. "Yeah, I could use some coffee." He says. And he'll stick close to Jouno as they walk, like he always does, most of his attention on him, as he's the most important person here. Really, one of the only important people.
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In a puff of red smoke, Jouno’s ears and tails disappear, leaving him in his human form —- he wasn’t about to go out to coffee in his true form, after all. Instead of his kimono, he wears a military uniform, all so he will look in place as they make their way through the military corridors. Not every soldier knew of the military’s dealings with the supernatural.
“The place we went last time was nice.” They also had been surprisingly good spirited about Jouno scrutinizing their coffee. Besides, it’s a familiar location so it’s easy for Jouno to lead the way.
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Tachihara follows suit, letting his own ears and tail disappear as well. Blending in with humans is second nature to him, but Jouno without his ears just feels strange to him. There's nothing human about him. There shouldn't be anything human about him. Without him, Tachihara would never have learned how to be anything other than a human himself... Or at least an imitation of one.
He scratches at his hair where his ears just were, not fond of these constant changes back and forth. "I remember the barista there was nice."
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“They were. They even made one of Tetchou-san’s awful concoctions once.” Though Jouno thinks that’s more stupidity than being nice. Where Jouno and Tachihara could blend in to human society, Tetchou, Jouno thought, stood out like a sore thumb.
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The itchiness of shapeshifting alieved, he drops his hands, and then lifts them up again to straighten his military uniform, rolling his shoulders to adjust how it sits. He prefers his kimono, really. "Is Tetchou-san around?"
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"No." It's a flat answer and it seems for a moment that Jouno actually isn't going to elaborate. It's short-lived, though, as Jouno can hardly stand to pass up a chance to complain about Tetchou. "Do you know how disastrous it would be to bring him here? He has no subtlety. He doesn't blend in with the humans at all." Shape-shifting only did so much. Tetchou's behavior was...
Well.
"It's a headache to try and keep him in line and personally, I think I deserve better than to spend my day fighting off a migraine." As if to exaggerate his point, Jouno rubs his temples with a frown on his face.
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At least that’s usually how humans seem to talk about each other. In the past strange humans might have been deemed threats, but these days people seemed to mostly ignore them. It had saved Tachihara when he’d first tried to blend in with them, before Jouno found and trained him. These days he prides himself on being able to pass as someone completely normal.
He continues easily. “I’ll have to go say hi to him later. It’s been a while since I last saw him.”
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