[RL with the Zombie boys.]

[nevergiveitback]

This is it.
That was the simple thought that Kuroro had as he prepared to go collect his zombie companions. He'd desired the jewel for quite some time, the Shattered Life Stone, but he'd never been motivated enough to get it. Whilst it was true that it was difficult to get his hands on, it was far from impossible for him. The risk, and the effort

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[tiedbydestiny]

"Fuck, has it really been that long?" Chika stared at his right hand, and counted back in his head. "Damn, it has. Shit, that means we either have to pay off the loan or extend it, next month."

The thought was depressing. At this time a year ago - once he'd gotten over the shock of the whole zombie thing - he'd been sure that he would be able to pay off his loan in a year and be back to normal. He'd kept up on his interest payments with no problems and even made a fair bite into the principle, but he was nowhere near finished yet.

He could extend the loan easily enough - there were zombies who did that year after year, effectively remaining immortal and frozen at the same point in time. But the longer Chika took to pay off his loan, the more obvious it would be that he hadn't aged, and the less likely he would be able to return to his real life and his family.

Grimacing, he closed his hand into a fist and looked up with his eyes full of determination. "Well, we'll just have to make a pile of money between now and then," he said, flashing a grin at Kuroro.

[nevergiveitback]

"A year?"
A year...In that time, they'd probably at least made a superficial connection of some kind. Or they well and truly hated each other, but that was a connection of a kind.

His smile grew larger when Chika mentioned the money, and he gave a casual thumbs up.
"You stick with me, boys, and a pile of money is what you'll get."
He stopped to ponder for a moment, before speaking on.
"Say, do you boys age whilst you're like this?"

[tiedbyfate]

Shito wasn't as worried about the extension as Chika was. It wasn't as though he could lose more of himself if he stayed as a zombie for longer. But he did feel some urgency.

"That's why we're doing this," he said, glancing at Chika. "To put a dent in our loans. Even if we have to extend, we'll do a lot better this year with Kuroro's help."

He glanced at Kuroro again and shook his head in answer to his question. "No, we don't age."

[tiedbydestiny]

"Right, I can handle another year." Chika's eyes had lit up at the reminder of how much money they could make with Kuroro, as always. "Even if it means I'm still stuck with you." He grinned, taking the bite out of the familiar insult.

"We don't age, we don't get sick, and barring getting torn apart, we won't really die again," Chika said, shrugging. "Well, or getting Reaped, but that's a whole other issue. Some people stay this way for years, as long as they want. But there's downsides. Even if you're not tied to someone else like we are."

[nevergiveitback]

"Hmm. In that case, we must make sure to get your loan paid off as soon as we can. I was a teenager not that long ago, and I wouldn't want anyone to be one longer than they had to be."
Thoughtfully stroking his chin he added, "Although I do miss having such weak facial hair I didn't have to shave everyday. Not to mention the cougars."

He gave a wistful sigh. His early teenage years had in fact been incredibly disturbing, learning what exactly he was, the rot seeping into his mind until he was sure of it. Murder was his drug, his reason for living. But after he had accepted that, his late teenage years had been...enjoyable.
"Do your families know?"

[tiedbyfate]

Shito rolled his eyes at Chika, but he wasn't really offended - he felt the same way. Intensely. The sooner he got Chika's loan paid off, the safer he'd be, as far as he was concerned.

He blinked at Kuroro, though. "Cougars?" he echoed blankly.

He ignored the question about families - let Chika field that one. Shito never talked about his family, and he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he didn't seem to have one.

[tiedbydestiny]

Chika took a moment to answer - he was choking on laughter, both at the 'cougars' comment and the fact that Shito didn't know what it meant. He coughed and finally managed to bring himself back under control. "Can't say shaving is a problem for me, or ever will be," he said, still snickering a bit. "And I've got better things to do than cougars."

He bit his lip, and looked out the window, his laughter fading more as he considered the other question. "My family doesn't know," he admitted. "I mean, they know I was in the accident that killed us, but as far as the media is concerned, Shito and I were left 'miraculously untouched' by the whole thing. They were a little bewildered when I suddenly wanted to switch schools and move into the dorm, but." He shrugged. "How the hell do you go home and say 'hey dad, sis, I'm dead but don't worry, I'll fix it soon'?"

[nevergiveitback]

Kuroro was laughing just as hard as Chika- but the difference was Kuroro's laughter was entirely in his head, just a gentle smile. Oh Shito, you're hilarious.

"That's true. It just seems to be something pretty awkward to hide. Do you have anyone, apart from community members, that you can trust with this sort of thing?"
Kuroro was giving off an air of interested concern, but it seemed to be completely lacking pity. Perhaps a little empathic, but far from sympathy.

[tiedbyfate]

Shito glared at Chika, irritated by his laughter. And even after all that, no one told him what cougars were! At least Kuroro wasn't laughing at him.

He scooted his chair a little towards Kuroro, still irritated at Chika.

"The other people in Zombie-Loan all know," he growled. "Everyone at our dorm works for Zombie-Loan, and there are others involved in the company - the Ferryman, Bekko, for example. He gives us our assignments and arranged for our cover story, that sort of thing."

[tiedbydestiny]

"It's all pretty hush-hush, but really, we don't have to work that hard to keep it quiet," Chika said. He grinned at Shito, not having missed that motion towards Kuroro. "I mean, who would believe it if they saw it?"

He blinked, and reconsidered. "Well, the gopher believed it. But she turned out to have special powers to see when people are gonna die, so she's kinda an exception."

[nevergiveitback]

Kuroro also noted Shito's edging towards him. Most people got caught in his web pretty quickly-it was skill he had crafted early and practised constantly. But what he really loved, what was almost as good as killing people, was when he found someone who so desperately wanted to be a part of that web. It was an odd thing he'd noticed; the most distrustful, fearful people were often the ones which tangled themselves up. Chika obviously liked him, but he seemed to be the happy go lucky type that didn't think much of connections. Shito, on the other hand seemed to be so carefully guarded, in that way which attempted to hide that wariness. Perhaps it was because Kuroro was completely without fear. Death, pain, loneliness, going unloved-they were things he'd avoid, but he was literally a fearless man. And perhaps it was that void of fear that drew in those who had it. Whatever it was, Shito's reaction to Kuroro had been most satisfying. Once he had finished grooming him, he'd move on to Chika and then pull them both totally into his cloak of maddened, distorted happiness until they'd give their already gone lives for him.

Hah. Funny.

"I see. That's quite useful then. I didn't know the system was so organised." He responded to Shito, then slid his eyes to Chika. "Oh yes, Shito mentioned her before. Why Gopher? Big teeth?"

[tiedbyfate]

Shito snorted faintly, and smirked. "Not big teeth. She's just our slave. We saved her life, and now she has to help us. It's useful having someone like her around, because she can identify zombies."

[tiedbydestiny]

"It cost us a ridiculous amount to save her life," Chika added, rolling his eyes. "Added to our existing loans, of course. For that much I'd've let her die, myself. But Shito talked me into it." He shrugged at his partner. "She's been useful, but I dunno if she's been that useful. Maybe if we could get her to take the damned glasses off more often."

People who'd known Chika from before he'd become a zombie would have been shocked to hear him so callously stating that he'd have kept the money and let the girl die. Though he'd been a zombie for less than a year, already the soul-numbing process had begun.