Hey, I know you [open]

[magnetiferous]

Who: Erik and YOU!
What: Erik makes the terrible, terrible mistake of visiting the planet. Would you like to suffer with him?
When: Nnnooow?
Where: On the planet.
Warnings: ....fourth wall breaking? I started with prose, but feel free to respond in whatever format you're more comfortable with.

Comments

[congenialsinner]

Hakkai had made a similar, terrible mistake in deciding to take a small tour of the planet. He had heard that there was quite a collection of stores dealing in rare, difficult-to-find books, and of course his curiosity had been piqued. Unfortunately, all he'd managed to find was a collection of stores packed to the rafters with manga - which, while not without its merits, wasn't quite what Hakkai had had in mind.

On top of that disappointment was the puzzling behavior of several complete strangers. Quite a number had very politely asked for his photograph, which he'd bemusedly allowed. A few had accosted him violently and demanded his picture, which he had allowed out of annoyance - if it would make them go away faster, he was perfectly willing. One odd young woman had asked for his autograph, which he thought was downright strange, but had provided. She had then exclaimed in admiration as though he had done something extremely clever by signing his name in Chinese. It was at about that point he knew he was ready to leave. Once he returned to the Thor, he definitely would not be coming back here. The combination of unpleasant smells and puzzling inhabitants did not, he felt, require a second examination.

Getting back to the shuttle port was proving to be a pain, though. It felt as though some unknown signal had gone off between his arrival and now, as the streets and buildings seemed to have doubled and tripled the body-count since he had arrived earlier this morning. Normally he had little difficulty making his way through crowds, but until now he'd never attempted to navigate one so ridiculously attired. A creature wearing a series of brightly-painted cardboard boxes slammed un-apologetically into Hakkai, causing him to bump unintentionally into the person on the other side of him.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry. Please excuse me."

[magnetiferous]

Erik felt someone bump into him, which would have been nothing unusual if it wasn't for the polite apology that followed swiftly after. He had been under the impression that no one on this planet appreciated personal space, or flat-out didn't understand the concept. (Such as the two in costume next to him who were still too close for comfort.) Apparently, he was wrong.

He craned his neck to the side to put a face to the voice and spotted the man, who stood out from the crowd. Not necessarily in clothing but rather in propriety and lack of fervent, borderline insane enthusiasm the rest shared. It was a welcome sight, even though Erik wasn't acquainted with the man.

It also appeared that he had been going against the flow of the crowd, if bumping into him was any indication of the difficulties he was having. Erik ignored the group of incessant people still taking pictures of him, even without his attention, and spoke.

"Are you leaving?"

A simple question, but an important one. He could use this opportunity to follow the man to the exit, after all.

[congenialsinner]

"Hm?" He had already half-turned away, quite used to his apologies going unnoticed at this point. He hadn't been expecting a response, much less a question, but turned back willingly enough. "Ah, well. I'm trying my best." The person he'd bumped into appeared to be human, possibly of European descent, and had that sort of 'new refugee' look about him that Hakkai had started to notice some of the new arrivals had. He also couldn't help but notice the man's hangers-on, costumed strangers who persisted in photographing him even as he addressed Hakkai. "Is safe to assume you're attempting the same?"

[magnetiferous]

Erik's accent was one of a travelled man, i.e. one that was hard to distinguish as anything specific. But it was easy enough to tell that he had been a travelled man within Europe for much of his life, nonetheless. Both this accent and the loudness of his voice were being put to the test, as Erik practically yelled over all the noise.

"Attempting," he responded, loudly. He promptly shook off the costume girl's hand that was attached to his arm, much to her chagrin. But Erik was in no mood to entertain politeness with people who had modicum of it themselves. "Care for an escort?"

[congenialsinner]

"Amiable company at this point would be quite welcome," Hakkai replied, with a trace of a smile. "I'm fairly certain the shuttle terminal is in this direction." To his chagrin he was forced to indicate the direction most of the crowd seemed to be coming from. There was no visible attempt made by the masses to leave room for persons walking in the other direction, possibly because having just arrived themselves, they couldn't comprehend why anyone might want to leave. "Perhaps two will have better luck than one."

And perhaps he had just jinxed them both, but hopefully not.

[magnetiferous]

"How amiable I am right now is still questionable," he added, wryly, obviously referring to what these crowds could do to a good mood. He was already tired enough as it was, and his decision on visiting this world was going to be quickly regretted.

He stepped forward, quite ready to leave and therefore more than willing to follow. He looked in the direction of the exit, as well, and the sight of people pouring out of it was not the most optimistic view.

"Are you ready?"

[congenialsinner]

"As long as you're not requesting my photograph or touching me inappropriately, I'm willing to bend my definition of the term for a bit." Not that this man seemed the type to inappropriately touch someone he'd just met, but Hakkai - who avoided shaking people's hands when he could help it - had reached his limit and beyond today in the 'being groped by strangers' department. Only his rigorous and rigid self-control had prevented the last young woman who'd grabbed his ass from enjoying an unexpected trip to the emergency room.

"Let's go." Stepping forward as well, he began to do his best to lead the way in the direction of the exit, trusting his new companion to follow.

[magnetiferous]

Erik gave a humorless laugh at that. His patience was thin enough, and he hadn't even suffered through the latter of what the other man had just described. He must have been the epitome of self-control, he thought to himself dryly.

He followed, weaving in and out of the oncoming crowd, but it wasn't exactly the most graceful sight. It was difficult to sidestep every single person, especially when no one seemed to care if there were a pair of gentlemen who obviously did not wish to go in the same direction as everyone else. There was a lot of bumping into people and the props they clumsily held, but Erik didn't bother uttering an apology as they made their attempts at striding past.

[congenialsinner]

For all Hakkai was an introvert who preferred to be on his own, there were definitely times he appreciated company. Now was a fine example one of those times. It was oddly comforting to have found someone in apparently his exact situation, harassed and fussed over by complete strangers for utterly mysterious and incomprehensible reasons known only to themselves.

Making headway through the crowd was slow-going; the vast majority seemed to be absorbed in looking at the other people around them and not where they were walking, so Hakkai was having to excuse himself quite loudly and firmly very frequently.

They had almost reached the exit without any untoward incidents when a young woman happened to step into his path. She was quite pretty - red hair, brown eyes, rather voluptuous...and wearing clothing identical to the outfit Gojyo had once favored while traveling. He blinked in surprise, and so did she...just a moment before she squealed loudly in delight and threw herself at him, latching onto him as though she never intended to let go, and babbling loudly against his shoulder: "Omigawd you look so amazing you're absolutely a dead ringer! You're even the right height and build and everything! This is the luckiest day of my life, you have no idea, no one cosplays from Saiyuki much less men, much less hot men, holy crap, we have to hang out together, it would be a crime if we didn't..." And on and on, the words pouring out a mile a minute while Hakkai stood frozen, trying to fight down the nausea that had occurred with the combination of disgust, upset, and anger he was suddenly feeling.

[magnetiferous]

It took a special kind of footwork to make it as far as they did, but for all their weaving through the crowds it appeared that there was still an obstacle between their freedom, in the form of one excitable, noisy girl. Erik abruptly stopped walking to avoid bumping into his companion he was following. He quickly stepped to the side to see what was causing their delay.

He found that another girl (obviously in some form of costume) had attached herself to the man, babbling something mostly incomprehensible. That part wasn't surprising, as it tended to be the trend on this planet, but Erik's attentions were more directed toward her target. To say that he looked uncomfortable would have been an understatement; it was easy enough to see signs of disgust on his expression.

The straw that broke the camel's back? Perhaps so, or perhaps another sign of strict self-control in disguise. If Erik were in the man's shoes, his reaction might not have been quite as pleasant. Still, he was frowning at the ridiculousness of it all; stepping forward, he put a firm hand on the girl's shoulder, and made an attempt at wrenching her away, perhaps a little rougher than necessary.

"We're in a hurry."

[congenialsinner]

"Ow ow ow! Okay okay, jeez, you don't have to be such a jerk, I'm sorry...!" Hakkai shot a grateful glance at his companion as he all but peeled the strange young woman off of him. Thankfully, the man's demeanor seemed enough to turn her off to the idea of hanging out, and she merged more or less wordlessly back into the crowd with only a disappointed backwards glance.

Jaw clenched and the corners of his mouth tight, Hakkai nodded his thanks to his rescuer and took off once more into the crowd, though now instead of politely apologizing his way through the press of bodies he's merely glaring poisonously at anyone who steps into his path...and the ones who notice this give him a wide berth.

[magnetiferous]

Erik always had the propensity for looking a bit imposing when he wished to be, and he always found it to be a useful trait. Such as now, when he watches the girl finally detach herself and scurry off to the rest of her kind. Not that he has time to revel in his victory (nor would he wish to waste such time doing so), because they're off again, heading to the exit which is drawing so much closer than before.

From behind, he can notice a distinct change in his companion's stride and overall demeanor. There's no more politeness, just something reminiscent to scathing poison, and a fair warning to anyone else who might get in their path. He doesn't question it. And he doesn't say anything, not until they've left their chaotic situation and finally near the area of the terminal. There are considerably less people here, and he's glad for it.

"Did she offend you?" he asked plainly, carefully eyeing his reaction.

[congenialsinner]

He thought he'd been doing well; he becoming was more social, able to interact with friends he'd made here, able to not think about Gojyo and how he wasn't here. All it had taken to ruin his delusion was one abysmally stupid young woman dressed in a copy of one of his best friend's favorite outfits. He found himself searching for his pack of cigarettes, patting his pockets until he located it; he'd been doing better with that, too, lately - smoking less, eating more - but suddenly the need for the taste and the smell of the smoke is painfully urgent.

"No," he responded to his companion's question as he shook the last stick from the pack into his hand. Placing it between his lips with his right hand, he located his lighter with his left, and quickly lit up. Once the end caught, he inhaled deeply, almost completely closing his eyes at the first hot, dry rush hit the back of his throat and entered his lungs. Exhaling slowly, he turned his head away from the other man and directed the smoke up and away from them both, towards the NO SMOKING sign he had only just now noticed.

"She pissed me off." It was a testament to how truly upset he was that he'd use such language, especially in front of a stranger. Not that the man would realize that, of course.

[magnetiferous]

It was a curt response, but obviously a truthful one. It was true that Erik had only just met this man, and thus wasn't a very good judge of his real character, but the politeness that defined his first impression? All but lacking. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted its way to his nostrils eventually, permeating the air like all smoke has a tendency to do. He didn't mind; Erik was the type to take pleasure in unbridled irony, and the NO SMOKING sign was providing that for him quite nicely.

He was usually fairly decent at reading people, even strangers. He sensed that this man's sudden anger was more than just that, that there was something a bit deeper than mere agitation. And yet it was clearly none of his business, and none of his concern.

When he spoke, he sounded tired, because he is.

"There's only so much fawning admiration that a single man can take. I thought you handled it well enough."

[congenialsinner]

The smile Hakkai managed was a bit strained around the edges, and self-deprecating at best, but he pulled it off; there was something to be said for constant practice.

"Truthfully, I'm grateful you stepped in. I'm afraid I wouldn't have handled it very well for long."

He was slowly relaxing, allowing the nicotine and the smell of the smoke to ease some of the tension from his muscles and drain away his anger. There was no point in holding onto it, after all. Letting it go was difficult - as always - but the cigarette made rationalizing easier, somehow. It was just a stupid, ignorant girl, enthusiastic and excited about something that was a complete mystery to him, and looking (presumably) to have fun and enjoy herself. She didn't deserve a violent, painful attack regardless of how poor her manners were.

[magnetiferous]

He could see that the man was slowly relaxing, no doubt a consequence of the nicotine entering his system, despite the slightly forced smile. He studied him for a moment before responding, turning towards the area where they could expect the shuttle, and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Either way, I don't think either of us will make the mistake of visiting here again. Will we?"

Another pause took place as Erik considered something.

"What's your name?"