9 to 5 (Luca and Raph Job Thread)

[Akira Hinosai]

"Is there anything else I can get you?" I really wish I wasn't here right now. Luca smiled, trying his best to play his part. "No thank you, that's fine." Luca nodded and left to check on other tables. The two girls whispered something to eachother and stared at him as though he were some model. That was a nice feeling. It was the whole point of taking this job, really. Luca looked cool for the ladies, and he also got paid! That was how he phrased it to Raph, anyway. Though truth be told, girls always made him nervous, especially talking to them. Though Raph didn't need to know that part.

All the male servers had to dress like Edwardian butlers, which was a look Luca pulled off well. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his outfit was a dress shirt, black linen vest, black dress pants, and the nicest shoes he owned. He didn't mind the outfit, really, but he was going to keep that to himself. As far as Raph needed to know, he hated it but considered it a necessary evil to pick up chicks. He did have a reputation to maintain, after all. He was lucky enough to avoid having to wear cat ears. That was a bridge too far, even for Luca. His dweeb of a partner would never let him hear the end of it if he wore those. What was worse, though, was what would happen if someone else he knew came in to see him like that. 

Luca was hardly vein, but when he looked good, he looked good. He was sylph-like and exotic to most of the Japanese girls, which would have had him drowning in tips, if this wasn't Japan. For some reason the Japanese considered it rude to offer a server money. As far as Luca was concerned, that was the dumbest cultural practice he'd ever heard. His boss had already yelled at him for not being "personable enough" but there was little incentive when tips weren't a factor. Still, the lady who owned the little cafe was clear. He could play by her rules or find another job. His only solace was knowing that Raph was also earning money, but also at the stupid butler cafe. At least it meant they'd have the money sooner. It all seemed like a good idea at the start. The job listing was easy to find, and with two openings, they were sure to make the money they needed. That was the only reason Luca suggested it, which as actually a terrible mistake. Now Raph would forever hold it over his head and say "Ha! Remember that time you wanted to work at a butler cafe?".

They did have to work a job, though. He and Raph were dealing with the kind of people you didn't want to piss off. He wasn't above begging for money, but with something like this, finding a financier would mean telling someone his plan. That would mean they'd try and stop him. What if I just invested in crypto like a smart person? That was certainly more appealing than the work part of his job. After a few hours, he'd thought of half a hundred complex scenarios in which he got the money he needed without working, but each was least likely than the last. He knew that. If he didn't he wouldn't be working at some stupid western-butler-cafe-thing.

"You know what we need?" Luca said to Raph as he unpacked his bento box from home. "Labor unions." After all, if Luca had better wages and working hours, he'd have the financial aspect of his plan down in way less time. But to his surprise, half his fellow servers were unperceptive to his plans to collectively bargain. Honestly, you'd think I was the only guy with two brain cells to rub together! If this gets worse, I swear I'll steal money from the register. Raph, at least couldn't make fun of Luca too much. After all, he was wearing the same outfit. So long as Raph wasn't intent on tormenting Luca, their hour long break was going to be kind of nice.

[Raphael Laurent]

“Is there something else that I can do for you?” Raphael asked, keeping his head held high, feet together and knees only slightly bent. The women at the table, still watching him quite intently, shook their heads, none of them saying anything that might break this spell. Raphael gave a bit of a bow, only a bit as he had to make sure he didn’t bump another table or another worker, and then walked away to his next table. Raphael hadn’t exactly been sure of this when Luca had suggested this as a job for the two of them to get money for the next phase of Luca’s plan.

Every time that he passed by a table and asked if anyone needed anything, he got a lot of giggles from Japanese women as well as a lot of looks. He hated this. He hated this whole “being in the spotlight” thing, that Luca had decided to drop them into. But, like with anything that he did, including when he started working with UE, Raphael stood there, tray on his hand and gentle smile on his face. Each table he passed he asked if anything was needed with a gentle, polite yet authoritative voice and each time he got more smiles and laughter and some cooing women. He’d seen Luca experiencing very similar reactions and he wasn’t sure if it was worse because they were what the Japanese most often called “gaijin” or if it was the combination of their looks and the butler uniforms. He’d stand in front of their tables, let out a gentle smile and ask what they needed, talking with them as they wanted.

“U-Um, excuse me!” Raphael turned as someone called out to him, one of the tables that he was supposed to be taking care of. Without a second thought, he approached and gave a bit of a low bow, eyes closing and another smile gracing his face. “Yes, ma’am? How may I be of assistance?” The three girls watching him seemed to be staring at the one that had called him over. “C-Can you please give this letter to your friend over there?” She muttered, thrusting a letter towards him and gesturing at Luca.

Giving a sigh of relief that it was Luca that seemed to be the object of their affections, he sighed contentedly, took the letter and nodded to her. “I would be more than happy to, my dear. Is there a certain name that I should give him?”

The question caused her to turn as red as an apple and she started shaking her head. “Uhm, n-no! Just the letter will be fine!” Still smiling, he rose quietly and put the envelope into his front pocket. He’d give it to Luca when they were on lunch. He didn’t mind the whole “lack of tips” thing. Raph had always thought the idea of “tips” was an odd thing. It meant that customer service workers had to practically bend over backwards to get any kind of pay from a restaurant and one bad day could mean the difference between better ones to come or a horrible week.

“I can’t blame you…” As he began to walk towards the door to the back of the facility, he could still hear the girls talking, at least a little. “But the one that just served us was pretty cute too, don’t you think? Yeah, he had that normal smile, but it was the way that he carried himself. That confident walk, like he knew that no matter what happened he wasn’t going to spill anything. I’ve got a feeling you could order eight trays of food and he’d carry them all out one handed…” Again, the spotlight was decidedly NOT his thing. When he finally rounded the corner and was in the back, he took a deep breath and sighed.

Spotting Luca, he went to his own locker, grabbed a metal box and sat down beside his friend, opening up the box and pulling out a sandwich. “Labor unionsh?” Raph said through a bite of his sandwich. “Not at thish juncture… You’d just as soon pray that the boss pays us more for today.” He sighed and tugged at his uniform a bit, loosening it to breathe easier. “I know that you like to be in the spotlight, but this is a bit too much for me, sometimes. OH. I also have a letter for you, from an admirer at table eight.” Raph muttered, chuckling as he pulled the letter out and handed it to Luca. “If you decide to, you should try going over there and talking to the poor girl. You’re giving her heart palpitations as you strut about.” He chuckled again and patted his friend on the back before taking another bite of his sandwich. “But eat fasht. We’ve shtill got another four hours to cover.”

[Akira Hinosai]

"What can I say, Raph? I have a way with the ladies!" Luca's words were contrasted by his face flushing red as he spoke and the awkward laughter that punctuated his sentence. With normal girls, he understood the theories of courtship. All you had to do was act like you're above it all and you don't care about anything, and then they fell in love with you. Luca was good at that since he really didn't care and really did think he was above the ordinary world. It was way easier proving himself to them considering how low their standards for power typically were. He didn't have to kill tons of hollows in front of them. They didn't even know what hollows were. But Luca was still always a knife's edge from looking like an idiot or looking like some otherworldly prince that girls fawned over.

Why he was even capable of being flustered by them, he wasn't sure. Being fawned over was certainly different, since usually he didn't talk to girls, let alone notice their interest in him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had to prove himself at the same time as he had to hold back his real life and interests. Hi, I have superpowers and fight monsters! Did you know I'm utterly insane? It seemed like any moment the lies would come tumbling down and they'd just think he was crazy, and he'd be powerless to stop them. After all, normal people couldn't know about the spiritual world. That was rule number one.

Luca realized all too late he'd been staring into space for a minute rather than correcting Raph for being wrong. "Well, we get an hour lunch break and we get paid for that hour. I know my rights!" Luca had searched the protections given to Japanese employees, hoping to take full advantage of what few there were to make working as pleasant as possible. He didn't care how busy they were, he wasn't doing any more than was required. Though enforcing the hour lunch break did leave him the chance to talk to the girl that had left him a love letter. He assumed it was a love letter, but he didn't dare open it as if it was cursed. It could be for all he knew. The weight of the situation hit him at once. Why can't things be easy for once?

Luca opened his bento box to see chicken katsu on a bed of white rice. Probably one of his favorites, but now that was of little comfort to him. With a bit of soul command he was able to bypass the need for chopsticks, willing clumps of rice to fly into his mouth. After a bit, he opened the letter slowly, but averting his eyes so he didn't read it. Upon quick scans he saw at least 6 instances of the word "love", and that was enough to confirm his fears. "Oh hell... Take a look at this, Raph. Poor girl's in love with me!" Luca assumed the usage of the word love was meant to imply that, rather than some wildly different meaning.

"What do I say? Hi, sorry I'd love to date you but I'm busy fighting monsters every other night? Oh god, she's gonna cry when I tell her no, isn't she? Girls who write love letters are also the ones who cry when you reject them." He didn't know the veracity of the last part, but it sounded true enough. He wasn't exactly keen on making girls cry. "Ok, Raph. Let's plan this out. I let her down gently, and we avoid her making a scene and me feeling like a total asshole!" Luca paused for a second but wouldn't let Raph respond "Too late! I've already volunteered you! Now, let's think this through, cuz we're smart!" Luca channeled his nervous energy into nudging Raph with his elbow in an attempt to seem endearing.

[Raphael Laurent]

I’m sure. That’s why you look so embarrassed that someone wrote you a love letter… Much as he wanted to say it, Raph couldn’t quite bring himself to tell Luca that this idealized “great with the ladies” persona, was definitely all in his head. He needed to relax, let himself cool down and just accept who he was and THEN women would be all over him. Or at least, that’s what Raph had always believed. Unfortunately he wasn’t fully confident of himself, and he’d never exactly been someone that women flocked to nor could he boast that he “had a way with them”.

“I washn’t shaying that you didn’t know your rightsh or that we don’t get an hour.” He swallowed another bite. “All I was really saying was that we have an hour for lunch and I don’t want to waste it gabbing about a girl, ya know what I mean? Besides, why’re you even letting yourself get this worked up over it? Surely you’ve had girls write you love letters before, right? I mean, you always walk around with your head held high, I’m sure that women must be fallin’ over you left and right!” He was hoping that Luca knew what rights they had as laborers in Japan, it wouldn’t have surprised him if his friend hadn’t done any research before choosing something like this, entirely because he knew that Luca wanted to look good.

It was strange, though; despite how embarrassing the overall situation had been, Raph actually couldn’t bring himself to be mad at Luca. The idea itself was, relatively, genius. They didn’t need something to make themselves stand out and if Kazura questioned them as to why they were working in a butler café, they could just say they were trying to make some extra money. Taking initiative, so to speak. Luca’s actual plan was much more ambitious than that, but hey who was judging? Kazura would, at most, view them trying to get extra money as something of a good thing. Perhaps they could even spin it so that they were trying to see if they could find other fullbringers.

But those were Raph’s plans. He had no idea how far ahead Luca had thought into any of this and, truthfully, he didn’t want to know. Worries danced in his head like bumblebees upon the honeycombs of a hive, but he did his best to suppress them. If they actually made it inside, hopefully his next gadget would keep them from getting detected. That was only a maybe… If only he was able to tell Kazura about the idea, but he was pretty that would get both him and Luca in serious trouble. So he’d have to go with a close second: utilize spirit particles to create something of an EMP. It was a gamble and he’d need to try it before he knew whether or not it would work, but those were the breaks.

Raphael watched, a bit entranced as well as stupefied that Luca would use his soul command where other people could easily see him, but ended up not saying anything. Quietly munching on his sandwich, he watched while Luca ate and read the letter at the same time. The look on his face, however, made Raphael want to laugh. He wasn’t REALLY reading it, just skimming it, but even he could see the word love used way too many times for any sane human being. Yet before he could say a word otherwise, Luca began going on about what to say. When he said she was probably going to cry, Raph shrugged. He had no real experience with women, much less girls, so he had no real experience.
“Wait, we? Wha-?! You can’t just go volunteering me like that!” He sighed, though, knowing that Luca needed help, but what was the best way to go about it? “You’re best off going with the truth. Just tell her that you’re flattered but that you’re not interested. But I guess that’s not letting her down gently, is it? You could always tell her you need to think about it, get her number and then tell her that you’re flattered but not interested later. I’m not exactly good with women. I have next to no dealings in the opposite sex unless its business, so I’m not the best person to be asking about shit like this.”

[Akira Hinosai]

"Uhhhhhhhhhg! I GUESS I'll just deal with this myself." Luca absentmindedly floated more rice into his mouth. Running his fingers through his hair, he began to strategize. Option one, lead her on as little as possible, let her down gently right now. Complications? Well her friends are present, and friends who witness another friend get rejected probably will laugh at said friend and increase the whole embarrassment factor of this whole thing. So in all likelihood she'll just end up crying and the entire thing I set out to avoid happens anyway. What if...what if... Ok, ok, so the problem is that she's with her friends? What if I get her when she's away from her friends, tell her I can't be with her because cool sounding reason, and then bam, it hurts a little but she gets over it and everything is great? I mean, sure I'd have to lead her on by implication by getting her phone number...

"That's it! Raph, all I have to do is get her phone number, let her down gently when she's alone!" Luca said, careful to keep his voice down so he wouldn't be overheard. "Am I a genius or what?" Luca raised a hand for a high five (but in all likelihood would be left hanging) before walking over to the table where the girl sat with her friends, enjoying her meal. "Hey, so ,like, I got your letter!" He tried to sound unintimidating, the end result seemed strange to his ears. It wasn't often he was in the "comfort emotionally vulnerable teenage girls" branch of hero work. The girl's face had gone tomato red as soon as Luca arrived. "Don't worry, I'm not here to tell you off. The letter was really sweet." Does that sound dumb, god these broads think I'm some total airhead, don't they? "And I think you were really brave to do it, also."

That wasn't a lie at all. It wasn't putting her life on the line, but it was certainly way out of her comfort zone. Besides, she didn't have superpowers. Something like this was the closest thing to adventure she'd ever know. "Do any of you ladies have a pen?" Before they could answer, Luca decided they were taking too long and remembered he had a pen tucked away in some pocket or other. "Oh, not to worry!" Luca patted himself down quickly before finding the pen he used for taking orders in his front left pocket. He quickly grabbed a napkin and began quickly writing his phone number. "Might I have a name, miss?" 

She did not answer for a moment, and looked like she would bolt for the door at the slightest provocation. "Sayuri...my name is Sayuri." Her voice was so quiet Luca might not have got that if one of her friends had not stepped in to cover for her "Her name is Sayuri."  Luca nodded and handed the napkin to the blushing mess of a girl. She was not unpleasant to look at. Kind of cute in her own way. Her black hair was in a sort of bob cut that was cute, but made her look younger than she likely was. "My name's Luca." he said, still trying to sound gentle, but it was a foreign experience. He'd dealt with kids before, but with Akira at least, Luca could talk to him with the same tone as he would use with adults. Well, let's hope this works out. She's probably a smart girl, she might understand.

Luca nodded his head and left the table. Adrenaline, catharsis, pride all seemed to flow through him, that his hands were shaking. Once he left it hit him in one wave the immense odds he'd overcome with his quick wits and amazing ability to stretch the truth. All for the greater good, of course. When Luca returned to Raph, he bowed theatrically as if he was expecting applause. "What did I tell you Raph? I have a way with the ladies! Now we got this whole mess avoided and still some time leftover for break! Next thing you know we'll have money and we can-" he stopped himself. "Yeah, we'll have money!"

[Raphael Laurent]

“…I mean, I just gave you some options, but whatever floats your boat.” Raph muttered in reply. As infectious as Luca’s enthusiasm could be, sometimes, Raph was also a bit preoccupied with his thoughts. If he were to be honest with Luca, the main reason that he’d even agreed to go along with Luca on this mad cap adventure was because he was worried that if he were to let Luca goon his own that something bad would happen and he wouldn’t see the young man again. Ultimately he was concerned about the young man, and that was what was pushing him forward.

But when Luca gave his grand idea, Raphael could only stare at him a bit blankly. That’s…that’s what I just told you, though… Whatever. Long as he gets the lesson. Raphael just shrugged and waved him on, as though lightly encouraging him, but really he just wanted to see what was going to happen. Luca embraced a very strange look on things and watching him simply approach some things gung ho and without any trepidation, well it was certainly something to behold. Raising up his canteen of water, he gave a simple flick and the water rose from the canteen and flew into his mouth. He simply had to see this…

He watched through a nearby window as Luca approachedthe group of giggling girls. The one that had handed him the letter looked like she either wanted to shrink down and vanish from the table or to run for the door right then and there. Raph couldn’t blame her. If he had ever had a crush on someone and they came to confront him he would’ve wanted to get the hell away too. But still, the way that she kept retreating. He shook his head and went back to his lunch. She was punching far above her league, whether she knew it or not. In a way that made him slightly pity her. Being without powers, Luca would never even really consider someone like that. Or, at least, he’d be a fool to do so.

Taking another bite of his sandwich, he tried to ponder what something like that must be like. His mind wandered back to hundreds of years ago and wondered how many times someone with powers like theirs had fallen in love with someone that was without. How that must’ve ended… Though he was pretty sure that it had always ended horribly. It couldn’t really have ended in any good way. Then he thought about mythological figures like Merlin and Morgana le Fey and wondered if they’d just been humans that had managed to get exceptionally powerful. At the time, there must have been entire gatherings of people that had studied and become what would’ve been called mages.

Snapping back to reality, he turned back to Luca as the young man walked back in. He was either shaking or was incredibly proud of himself, Raph really couldn’t really tell. Yet his overdramatic, theatrical bow, gave Raphael the impression of bravado. He chuckled, even as he took another bite out of his sandwich and another drink of water from his little canteen. It made no sense why Luca would be so cocky. Well, at least to Raph it didn’t. He knew Luca would at least make up a reason for his confidence.

“I never doubted ya for a second.” Raphael replied rather nonchalantly as he ate more of his sandwich. “But since when was there a mess? You could’ve told her no. If she isn’t mature enough to woman up about it and just accept that you aren’t interested then that’s her problem.” He shrugged, as he said this. He wasn’t all that concerned with how others saw his actions. At least not when it came to social dealings. “And you’re correct, we will have money. After which, we can enact your…” Raph paused for a second. “Your brilliant plan.”

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca prickled at the words "mature" and "woman up". Luca didn't care about normal people, but sometimes they were just so pathetic, Luca felt the urge to help them somehow. Sayuri was like a three legged puppy. Something about her just made Luca feel bad, but there was little he could do beyond what he'd done and what he was going to do. For certain, he knew he couldn't just tell her to be better. There was a better conversation hook to latch onto anyway. "You feeling any doubts? You better not be." Luca's tone was playful rather than accusatory. Twirling a strand of hair with his finger, Luca stopped himself from saying more.

Luca and Raph would likely keep talking through the break. When the remainder of the hour passed, Luca would be sure to point it out. "Well, guess that's it, then. Better get back to work before the Queen Bitch has our heads." sure to speak in English so his boss wouldn't understand he just called her a bitch. It was a risky thing to say, but life was about taking risks. "See ya when we're done for the day!" and with that, Luca and Raph were back in the meat grinder that was working at a butler cafe. It was easy to get caught in the monotony of waiting tables, but never so mind numbing Luca could go on complete autopilot.

Luca did what was asked and nothing more. He put on a show for the people he waited on, and never got an order wrong...well sometimes he did, but it wasn't his fault. Luca couldn't help but think about his plan. It was something that made his heart flutter and filled him with a certain enthusiasm he hadn't felt since he unlocked his fullbring. There was a new world of possibilities he was going to unlock. What if I blackmail the shinigami or sell the information...That would make some enemies. I could rob them blind, but then they'd send their spirit gestapo on me and Raph...Though to infiltrate them, to figure out who is who, that would take a while, and might even be fun to take them for a ride.

I could be anyone, when we're setting up cover. Someone new, someone cool. Someone free of human weakness. It was strange to think about. Luca didn't hate himself, but there was some thrill to being someone new for a bit. He would exist on their playing field. Well, they'd think he did, anyway. That was what mattered. Not some spirit freak, an accident of nature, but a real shinigami. They were genocidal assholes, but they were powerful. Some part of Luca admired that. It was might that made right in the world. You could either accept that or fight it until you die, but it won't change the truth.

Thoughts of the future swirled with lamentations of the present. He had to do this. He had to get some sick ass gadgets and he'd be able to traverse reality and Raph could hide his presence. Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. He moved around a lot, which was the only thing that kept Luca sane. He had some way of channeling his energy. Sitting at some office job would be the death of him. Soon enough Raph and I are going to stand on top of the world. They'd be on top and everyone would know their names...or code names. They needed code names. Luca would have to run that one by Raph when he got the chance.

By the end of the shift, any lesser man would be tired, but Luca was only stir-crazy from being so bored for so long. Luca would meet with Raph outside the cafe as they left. "So, uh...code names...or aliases, cuz we can't go around using our real ass names during the thing. Come on, what's something that doesn't stand out but is like really cool?" Luca was dying to know, and he'd made extra sure to try and sense shinigami, and found none. They couldn't possibly have the whole town bugged. Luca would still speak in a hushed tone as they walked together. "I mean...I look pretty white, so a japanese name would only raise suspicion..."

"Oh we need cover stories too! See, this is why you need me. I'm the one thinking about this stuff..." Luca would continue talking Raph's ear off. After this, there would be another day of work, and another, and an indeterminate amount after that. Luca had to find his entertainment where he could. Soon enough, Luca would get a text message from someone claiming to be named Sayuri. His heart dropped and his face went red. "Oh crap I totally forgot about that! Uh...see you tomorrow, Raph, I gotta go! Bye see you tomorrow!!!" Luca bolted off, trying to hide his blushing face.

[Raphael Laurent]

Raph chuckled, shaking his head. The last thing that he was doing, for such an operation as this, was getting cold feet; quite the opposite, in fact he was feeling more and more ready for it. But, at the same time, he wasn’t entirely sure how well sucha plan would go through and there were other things that he was doing, that he wasn’t telling Luca about, to prepare for this. He wanted their infiltration to be as quick as possible, though Luca seemed to be a bit more intent on utilizing the shinigami in order to further his own powers. Most likely he would seek someone that had had little to no contact with humans, no doubt to try and avoid any ability to connect them to any such attempts.

That was a lower priority on Raphael’s list. Realistically, he didn’t care whether or not he received any kind of training, the main reason that he decided to go on this was so that he could prevent Luca from getting discovered. There were a lot of risks, as well as rewards, behind such an interaction and they needed to be ready to vanish, just in case. Through a few new contacts of people that he’d met at Taka’s bar, he’d heard about not just a black market, but several other shops where he might be able to get some supplies that would help a bit better. Much as he didn’t really want to start to enlist the assistance, or even go into debt, of someone like black marketeers. But with the kind of operation that Luca was wanting to do…well that could potentially be just as necessary.

At the mention of their boss, Raphael nodded, tossed the rest of his sandwhich into his mouth and threw away the remainder of the plastic bag that he’d brought it in. He got to his feet, readjusted his outfit and got ready to head back out. It was a fascinating thing, this job. Raphael had done retail jobs and food jobs back in the states, but here in Japan this made almost no sense to him. Women that giggled at the men as they walked past, the plastic, albeit gentile, smile that he put on for every customer that he answered and served… He did like people, but they were just so strange to him constantly putting their agendas at the front of their dealings, which all caused the world to turn. He’d done it, when he’d met Kazura.

Unlike Luca, however, Raphael’s motivations for doing this weren’t necessarily personal; he could care less about getting training from the shinigami. But this would be a wonderful chance to learn more about their world, how they saw things, opportunities as always. He needed to brush up on his honorifics, however, and working here was without a doubt a way to do so. The air that he was maintaining was a simple one: confident, kind, aloof. The people seemed to enjoy the detached way that he seemed to be speaking with them, the girls especially as they giggle whenever one of them walked by, held high up and balance immaculate.

He watched, dispassionately, as the table with Luca’s new girlfriend got up and left. It was here that his façade broke, momentarily, as he thought about how much heartache that poor girl was about to go through. Luca was…a slightly disturbed young man, through no fault of his own. Raphael felt like there was something in his past, something that he wouldn’t reveal, that had set him along this path that he was on now. He was deadset on gathering power, as much power as he could, and something like could change someone fundamentally. He was worried about Luca, worried about what depths the man would go to.

But from what Raph had seen of shinigami, individuals still had many of the same problems as people: they were cruel, sadistic and unkind but they also had the same benefits of people, too. Now and then, he’d steal sidelong glances of Luca and feel that concern welling up in him again, though he’d quickly push that back down. Luca wasn’t with Uzaki Enterprises for the point of being a hero, at least not entirely, he was wanting to be much more than any human had been. But, to Raph, the best way to do that was to master the powers of a man in order to use the powers of the others.

The shift ended soon enough, but much still sat poorly with Raphael. Everything Luca had explained to him, and the way that the young man viewed the world, concerned Raph and he knew that he needed to get stronger, master more abilities and become powerful with abilities from the living world. Luca and Raphael would always differ on their philosophies of strength and Raph just had to accept that, hopefully Luca would as well.

But as their shift came to an end, Raph couldn’t help but feel a bit a bit more optimistic about their future, for no other reason than he was planning something with someone. Luca approached basically as Raphael was leaving and immediately began on additional aspects of the plan. It was something that made Raphael ponder, however. They would indeed need both aliases as well as backgrounds that would be believable to shinigami. That would be the more important and/or frightening aspect. But when Luca looked down at his phone, and turned red, Raphael couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, which turned into laughter as soon as Luca was out of earshot. He knew what was going on and why the young man had been embarrassed and rushed off. He was still at that age where appearances meant everything, where your reputation and the way that others see you was more important than how you see yourself.

Or maybe, how he saw himself was based on how others saw him. Raphael watched as his friend vanished into the evening. “Luca… Please remember who you are. Losing you would be a huge disappointment…”

[Col Arana]

48 paragraphs total so that works out to a nice, solid 14,400 Ryo.