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Takuya’s plans for the day have shifted pretty drastically from the noble death he’d prepared himself for a few hours ago.
Now, instead of being dead and crushed first by guilt and then by a collapsing building, he sits quietly on a futon in a far corner of Inazuma City’s jailhouse.
He pulls his knees up to his chest and prepares for a long, long sentence. Surely his crimes are worth at least a year, if he’s lucky, and if he’s not lucky (and let’s face it, when has Takuya ever been dealt a good hand by life, right?) maybe it’ll be half a lifetime.
Being an accessory to kidnapping a small village worth of people is pretty bad, as far as crimes go. Even if Takuya is allowed to state his case and say that he didn’t ever want to hurt them, who would believe an oni? A Blue Oni, at that. People shouldn’t even know that they’re still around.
And he’d framed an innocent man, too. Itto had still saved his life despite the framing, still thrown his arm around Takuya’s shoulder and laughed the whole way to jail.
So maybe more than a lifetime. And, even after that, maybe the Tenryou Commission will keep his ghost here, and this little square room is all he’ll see for the rest of time.
But as long as Itto’s connections are taking care of his kin, Takuya thinks he can handle a life and an afterlife in prison. And then, when he's served all his time, he'll finally—
“ Hey ! This isn’t my prison cell. You Tenryou Losers can’t even rent me the right one!”
Arataki Itto, one cell over, bangs his hand against the bars holding him in.
Takuya winces, too stunned to scramble over and tell Itto to quiet down, lest the Tenryou Commission punish the two of them even further. Or lest the people’s view of oni get worse.
But as soon as he regains his control of himself, he sees that nobody is reacting very much to Itto.
One of the Commission guards sends him an annoyed look. Itto shakes his bars harder to force their attention to stay on him, but there’s little else going on. There’s no cursing of their lineage, or threats to keep them locked up longer, or any of the other punishments Takuya would assume noisy disruptive oni would get from humans.
“‘Scuse me! I’m talkin’ over here! You’re ignoring The Head of the Arataki Gang, y’know. I’ll let my boys know about this one and, ho ho let me tell you, they will NOT take too kindly to it!”
“It’s not supposed to be comfortable, Arataki!” A guard on duty finally snaps, just as Itto has started making faces at them, “It’s a jail cell!”
“Well, for your information, I like that one.” Itto sticks his arm out and points across the room, wiggling his fingers vaguely in the direction of the other wall, “It’s got a window. Feels homey.”
The Doushin glowers at them from the desk where she is likely filing the reports of their arrest. Takuya refrains from saying that he’s quite alright with where they’ve placed him. Truth be told, it’s a lot nicer than the wilderness where he and his clan have been living.
“Kujou Sara has instructed us to stop placing you there. She believes you’ve been getting arrested on purpose to use it. Hearing you say ‘rent,’ we are inclined to agree.”
“Whaaaa— How’d she find — Wait. Hey. No! Nuh-uh. No way, got it? I— pffft, hah, as if — I’d never do something that obvious.” Itto lets his arm fall back into the confines of his prison cell. He puts his face right up against the bars. Almost as if he’d be trying to wriggle his way out (and into the windowed cell, surely) if he weren’t woefully too large to do so. “It’s just that you guys keep catchin’ me, and everytime I just happen to stay here overnight, honestly not even my fault, you all have got to stop putting me in here. This is honestly on you wayyy more than it is on me.”
In all of his time spent imagining how badly it might go if humans caught him, and Archons he imagined it a lot in his time hiding out, Takuya had never envisioned… joking around with them? He’s not sure if Itto’s joking, actually. He wants to laugh, because this is absurd, there’s no way this isn’t some crazy trick being played on him, but neither the Doushin nor Itto look very amused.
She gives up trying to reason with him and scoffs, turning to address another officer. “Have we heard from Ms. Kuki yet? Usually she’s faster than this.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Ha! Now you’re stuck with me!” Itto snickers, and then he fully bursts out laughing, stomach clutching and all, with even a little snort. The Doushin sends him an incredibly sharp glare. Itto winks in reply, clicking his tongue as if the two of them are sharing a joke. “Ahh, that’d be a good one.” He slumps back against the wooden walls of his holding cell, “Kuki, just leavin’ me here. She keeps sayin’ she’s gonna do that! Let you all deal with me forever. She’s so funny like that.”
“Who, exactly?” Takuya asks, sorely out of the loop. Clearly there’s some kind of understanding here that he isn’t privy to.
“Aw, right!” Itto jumps up, “You don’t know my Numero Two-no yet! I gotta give you the ol’ intro as soon as we bust outta here.”
“We’re busting out?!” Takuya furtively glances at the shockingly unalarmed Doushin. He lowers his voice to a whisper, “Shouldn’t we discuss that in… secret?”
It’s likely that, given time to rest up, they could properly break out of this place. Takuya won’t lie to himself and say it hadn’t crossed his mind as soon as he entered the building. He was sure he could still do plenty damage even with his cuffed hands. But causing trouble isn’t necessarily something he’s dying to do, and paying penance for his kidnapping is something he believes he deserves.
If Itto’s considering breaking down walls, and considering it so boldly , in front of the Doushin, then he must be even wilier than the rumors his family has heard. Takuya hopes he can trust whoever Itto’s sent to look after the Blue Oni clan to not be equally wild.
God forbid Granny is some red herring nickname.
“Yeah totally!” Takuya can’t hide the horror on his face.”Oh, hey, come on, ’cuz, not like bam, pow, pchooow breakin’ things ‘bust out,’ I just mean we’re gettin’ outta here soon. ‘Bustin out’ like BOOM! The boys are in town! ” Those two options sound awfully similar to Takuya. “Promise. Don’t even sweat it. Kuki’s probably high-tailin’ it here right now.”
This is not reassuring in the slightest. Takuya is pretty sure he’s sweating now. If they’re not breaking out from the inside, are outside forces coming? Are they going to overpower the Tenryou stronghold? Takuya doesn't know how many men Itto has on his payroll, but the rumors that make it back to Yashiori say he’s got a whole gang he commands. How else would he have people to just go take care of his family at his immediate request?
He needs clarification or he'll spiral further. “What exactly are you… planning to do, Itto?”
“Well, I'm gonna have to go pick up some more night jobs after all this, so that’s what I’m thinking about! Which sucks! ‘Cause I’m a pretty busy guy at night— y’know, lately, I’ve been thinking about nabbing fireflies n’ teaching ’em how to fight, just like Onikabuto. They’re pretty tricky to get a hold of! So they’d probably—”
The doors to the Commission slide open. A new Tenryou Commission officer steps in. “Kuki Shinobu has just arrived. She has the bail.”
“For the both of them?”
“Yes.”
“Alright!” Itto whoops. He throws his arms up in the air and Mmm mmm mhmmms his way through a little shimmy. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Real cash bail this time too, none of that eval junk! She’d never let me down. I knew she was kidding around— talking about leaving me, pft, who’d run the gang then, huh?”
Bail?
So someone’s got bail for them?
Oh, thank the Archons.
Takuya smiles with relief. No crime needed. They’re getting out the proper way.
A few moments later, the lead Doushin returns with a pouch full of Mora. The other officers make quick work of the locks on their cells. Itto exchanges loud greetings with the Doushin opening his cell, and they respond quietly in kind before ushering him out the doors.
As they’re walking outside, Itto jabs a thumb back the direction they’d come. “That guy’s family runs a shop ’n’ they’re always hiring me to help ’em out carrying stuff. We are pre tty tight, I think.”
“I had no idea you could afford our bail, Itto!” Takuya sighs. It feels nice to see the sun, considering he’d earlier resigned himself to the possibility of life in eternal holding.
“He can’t! ” A new person cuts in before Itto can boast. And then they issue a hard smack to Itto’s arm. Takuya looks down and catches sight of them, a woman glaring at Itto. The pattern of her mask looks like bared fangs, a perfect match for the annoyance on the rest of her face.
“He can’t afford it, so he’s gonna be spending as long as it takes paying me back! Unless he gets any smart ideas, huh? Remember last time? I remember last time. I’m missing half of my Mora for that one, still, by the way. In case you forgot!” Itto has the decency to avert his eyes, in such a way that suggests he maaaybe, kinda, sortaaa definitely did. “I’m going to have to think of a new way to get you idiots out of here that doesn’t involve personal funds. You’re lucky I’m here to clean up these messes.”
“Okay, okay, okay. ” Itto says, sounding the meekest (though still very loud) Takuya’s heard him yet, “Got it. I promise, super, super cross-my-heart swear on my word as our esteemed and very reliable and trustworthy gang leader this is the last time!” Kuki stares at him. “This month!”
She stares.
To his credit, Itto seems unintimidated by the intensity of her glaring, more like he’s a kid trying to avoid a lecture. He tries to subtly point towards Takuya, but subtlety is pretty far out of his wheelhouse. Takuya side steps being jabbed in the ribs by Itto’s prodding fingers. “ Not in front of my new bro, come on. ”
At the mention of his presence, Kuki turns to him abruptly, like she’d been so preoccupied with telling Itto off she’d forgotten the bail was for two . She scans him from top to bottom like a wolf familiarizing itself with its prey before the hunt.
Takuya has lived his life knowing that humans are nothing to fear. Oni are easily stronger than a vast majority of them, and they tend to run off in terror before fighting them even has to become an option.
These life lessons fly out the window under the scrutiny of one Kuki Shinobu.
She might be shorter than him, but the distance between them simply leaves more and more room for her narrow glare to become increasingly pointed as it reaches him. She holds herself with a more self-assured demeanor than even some of the Blue Oni back home, and with how willing she’s been to chastise Itto, her apparent commander, it’s surely not a bluff.
Takuya feels a sudden, foreign to himself, urge to avert his eyes.
So he does.
Seemingly satisfied with this reaction, she finally stops staring him down and puts a hand on her hip, relaxing.
“Oh!” Itto crows, “Nice one, nice one! You got him good!”
Her relaxed posture melts away when she elbows him, back to admonishing, “Quiet down! We’re in the middle of the city!”
As Takuya watches them, awfully red-faced for a Blue Oni, he swears he sees an amused roll of her eyes as Itto cheers to congratulate him on his First ever Shinobu death stare down! He’s not sure of the protocol for handling whatever this situation is, so he wallows in feeling embarrassed and waits for their bickering to die down.
Once it's quiet again, she holds her hand out towards Takuya. The look in her eyes has reverted to one of serious business, “Well, nice to meet you. I’m the deputy of the Arataki Gang, Kuki Shinobu. I see you’ve got horns too, so let me tell you, I’ve got enough on my plate keeping up with this guy—” she points back at Itto, whose chest is puffed out in this guy pride, “—so you watch out for yourself, got it? Unless you want to owe me, too.”
Takuya stares at her hand and nods. Itto mouths ‘Shake it! Shake it!’ from behind her, so Takuya grasps her outstretched hand into both of his own and shakes his arms about until they feel sore. A show of gratitude and human manners and all that. He’ll have to ask Itto for a crash course on whatever other human customs he’ll be expected to know.
“Geez!” She pulls her arm back and rubs her palm, “Who’d you say this guy was again, Itto? The Traveler and their little floating friend were running all over town asking if anyone knew how to bail people out of jail, and I just knew it had to be about you. So I was following them along, asking what got you locked up this time, and they said assault and theft and destruction of public property. I almost lost it! The gang’s funds barely had enough Mora to cover for two people, you—” she hits him in the arm again, but Takuya can tell there’s no intent to hurt behind her punches, “—you big, loud jerk ! You owe me double-time!”
Itto makes a big show of sadly rubbing at the wound on his arm, like he’s a dog who’s being scolded for tearing its owners' fineries apart. “I was gonna introduce you, and then you went all crazy on him,” he sulks.
But the prospect of introducing his newly discovered relative perks him up, because he’s back on his feet with a grin pretty quick. “But, since you’re just normal Shinobu again, lemme tell ya! Ahem, hem, ” he coughs into his fist to clear his throat, “A- hem! If I may have your attention please…”
Kuki waves her hand in the air as if to say ‘Yes, yes, now get on with it.’
“I introduce — Takuya, drums please — the second one and oni, Numero Uno of the Blue -no, my new best friend , Totally Heroic, Thought He was Dead But He Is Not, Definitely Not a Criminal At All, Takuya—” He stops dead in his tracks. He leans over to whisper (loudly, once again) in Takuya’s ear, “ Hey, man, what’s your family name? ”
Takuya whispers back, much quieter, more properly whisper-like, “What?”
“What’re your family called? So I can go on intro-ing you?”
“We’re the Blue Oni clan.” Takuya says gravely, a brow quirked. He takes serious pride in his heritage, and so does Itto, so he must know that. Is this a joke? Some kind of human joke he’s not in on?
Itto puzzles over this response, but he can’t quite put it together. Takuay gets the distinct feeling that he’s answered wrong, but he’s not sure what he was supposed to say. His family are the Blue Oni. It’s as simple as that.
“Um, okay, then, uh, this is… Blue Oni Takuya! Ta da!” Itto waves his hands in Takuya’s direction. She claps politely, playing along. “He’s like my brother now. Or my cousin. Or something, not really sure how we’re going about this. But we’re oni relatives! How cool is that!”
“You mean there’s more of you?” She asks.
Itto nods enthusiastically, “Totally! Takuya says we got a whole family somewhere hiding in waitin’ and Granny’s lookin’ out for ’em like she does me.”
Takuya frowns, letting Itto’s words sink in and then swiftly waving his hands in front of himself as if to dispel the thought from even entering his head, “Well, wait, hold on. I don’t know that we’re really family, but—”
“Uh, oh no you don’t! Don’t listen to him, Shinobu! Hey, you—” Itto snaps his fingers, loud, and points, hand level with Takuya’s face. Takuya can’t help but stare. “—big blue guy, you see these horns?” He claps a hand around a red horn atop his head and then reaches out to do the same to Takuya’s, but he quickly dodges Itto’s sweeping hand by ducking.
Itto flounders and stumbles before regaining his balance with a glare.
He clears his throat and brushes himself off — though it’s not like he’s wearing very much that could get dirty in the first place.
“‘Kay. Fine, no touchy .” He resorts to pointing once more, which is a lot less impactful in his humble opinion, “But you see those horns, too? The ol’ blue ones? Well, that means we got the same oni blood! So we totally get each other, you know what I mean? And that’s brotherhood ’n’ stuff — gettin’ what the other’s puttin’ down, saving each other — like I saved your sorry butt back in that little base before the cops got us — you know. So we’re totally tight like that now. Homies are like family, but this time the homies is the family! No take-backsies.”
Takuya is not getting what Itto’s putting down! He’s not putting anything down — he’s standing like a fool in the middle of Hanamizaka, gripping his horns like he’s an unruly horse and they’re the reins he’s trying to lead himself with.
Still, he’s tactful even if he’s confused. “I’ve already got a clan,” he says placidly, hoping to calm the wild horse that is Itto’s enthusiasm, “They’re the ones your companion is helping out.”
Itto’s drumming out some kinda tune on his horns now, humming along with the melody he’s making up, while Takuya trails off, murmuring something about the Blue Onis’ clan structure and how introducing a stranger would wholly disrupt it and, well, really it’s just not the way these things work, the Blue Oni are all pretty convinced you’re some kind of divine nuisance ruining our kind’s reputation and—
Itto’s eyes slide over to meet Takuya’s, and he finds himself silenced despite how silly Itto looks. Then they narrow. Horse not calmed. Horse as far from calm as it can get. Itto throws his head to the side, looking like he’s about to spit out some kind of threat like the ruffian all the Blue Oni called him, but all he says is “Oh yeah? Well none’a that garbage matters. Now your family’s bigger. That’s all’m sayin’. It’s simple as that.”
“A lot bigger.” Kuki adds, standing dwarfed in Itto’s long shadow under the midday sun. Itto smirks, though she quite clearly meant it as a jab, and juts his chin up pridefully.
“We don’t know that we share blood.” Takuya insists, “That’s not a proper comparison. And, like I said, you don’t just join a clan like that. It— it’s weighty business. ” but with the way neither Kuki nor Itto are paying him much mind, he feels a bit like a kid throwing a fit and whining over trivialities.
It’s just that Takuya is pretty sure that's not how family works. That’s not how a clan works either! Oni or human. You don’t just declare yourself related — blood is a serious thing to disregard like that, as are the bonds that forge a clan together. Itto should be wary to throw something like that around onto a near-stranger like him.
Among the Blue Oni, a lot of rumors had spread about Itto. That’s why Takuya had been so set on getting his revenge, defending the honor of his clan. People throughout camp shared stories, tales of how the face of the Crimson Oni was careless, utterly naive, how he had forgotten the pact their people had sworn to uphold for the sake of his own foolish pride. Takuya had agreed wholeheartedly.
But Itto is none of those things.
Well…
Not in the way those rumors meant, at least. Prideful, perhaps, but that pride was what led to Takuya being alive, and someone as careless as the gossip claimed would never have been able to save his life while he attempted to sacrifice himself in repentance. And there was no way to deny that Itto remembered the pact between oni clans well and held it closely to his heart, same as Takuya did.
Itto was clearly an oni. Beyond just his appearance, the horns, the stature, the markings on his skin — Itto held himself like an oni even when he was being foolish, arguing with his little terrifying human sidekick (she’s looking at Takuya expectantly now, he’s not sure why. Her serious stare ruffles him regardless) or hollering about the quality of his jail cell. Takuya lets himself settle on that forgone conclusion, turning Itto’s words over in his head — ‘ oni brothers.’
His oni brother is throwing an arm around his unsuspecting shoulder before he can finish his contemplation, tugging and steering him (maybe Takuya’s the horse now, and Itto’s got the reins) down a new pathway. He’s talking, but when Takuya catches up to Itto’s fast pace it seems like he’s been talking for quite a while and Takuya hasn’t heard a word of it.
He hopes just nodding along will be enough to get him through the rest of this interaction, maybe he can be subtle about asking what’s going on and —
“Hey, Takuya, my man, stop mutterin’ to yourself like you’re making some big ol’ grand plan. Last time you did that it almost got you dead, remember that?! Can’t have you pulling that kind of move again. Don’t even sweat it,” Itto tugs him even closer via the arm around his neck, jiggling Takuya around a little like he’s trying to wake him up. Considering he’d been so lost in thought, this is a pretty effective wake up call, “The boys are gonna love you, ’cause they’re real chill guys, mm’kay? Right, Shinobu! Back me up, number two!”
Who? Boys? What boys?
“I don’t trust any of our guys around people they haven’t been warned about. It’s like how you have to introduce dogs to one another when you’re moving them in together.” Kuki replies. Takuya spots her a few paces ahead of them. Dogs? There are dogs now? “You’re going to have to take responsibility for whatever happens here, Boss.”
“ Pssh, dogs are great with people!” Itto tightens his hold on Takuya, like he’s expecting him to be speaking up in agreement about now. He’s got him grappled, half a headlock and half a hug, but it’s wholly keeping Takuya in place, and he can’t find anything to say in his befuddlement. “Gorou introduces me to tons of fancy looking guys all the time and they seem like great friends’a his. ’Sides, Takuya’s waaaaay easier to handle than some badge-wearing know-it-alls. Right, man? He’s a cool guy. We’re all cool guys here. Kuki, tell him you’re a cool guy.”
Kuki doesn’t say a word. If Takuya’s not imagining it, the glance she casts his way is dancing between amused and pitying — maybe heavier on the pity. In combination with her wolfish appraising stares from before, this does not seem to bode well.
He really wishes he hadn’t gotten so lost in his head earlier. Itto might be noble and proud, but he's also wildly unpredictable and seems to be prone to whims.
Takuya doesn’t like whims very much. He likes knowing where he is and why he’s being dragged around.
He finds his bearings, tumbles some questions around in his head and thinks about what he can remember about their prior conversation, about the things he knows about human culture, and all the ways one interacts with a potentially dangerous situation when they’re undercover according to the Blue Oni code.
He thinks and thinks and thinks about all of this and from all of his consideration he manages a nice, loud “Huh?!” before Itto’s tugging him along even faster, down the brick-laid paths of Hanamizaka to the edge of a nearby cliff.
Takuya is going through quite a few big life changes lately. Typically, if someone had grappled him into a chokehold and tried carting him off, he’d have punched them squarely in the stomach and escalated the fight as the situation permitted until one of them (preferably the grappler, of course) was forced to relent and apologize.
But that kind of headstrong revenge-based mindset is what got him wrapped up with the ronin, so he’s telling himself to stay calm and show his gratitude to Itto for rescuing him by going along with whatever’s happening now. He’s doing a pretty good job of it even if he can’t stop thinking about how easy it would be to sock Itto in the guts and rush back to his clan.
He’s not acting on it and that’s what matters.
Alongside disavowing his hatred of one Arataki Itto and being friendly with one human so far (he hopes? Kuki Shinobu has mostly given him vague warnings about the boys . And when she wasn’t doing that, she was shooting him pitying little looks as Itto crowed in his ear, but maybe that’s how humans made friends) this is probably a good shift in himself. He’d give himself a pat on the back if not for Itto preventing much of his movement.
He extracts himself from Itto’s hold when the three of them need to climb down one of the coastal outcroppings at the base of Inazuma City. As soon as Itto gets himself righted on solid ground, he sets off to explaining something ‘really important that T-dog — that’s you by the way, Takuya — needs’ta know’ .
“The boys’re definitely gonna be expectin’ us, it’s about time head honcho Arataki heads back in. It’s just the five of us right now. Used to be a few more, but Tasaku had to bail on us ’cause he needed a job and I was like ‘Aw, it’s okay, I get it man, you gotta do what you gotta do!’ even though it’s suuuch a bummer. But he’s got a little brother and, y’know, gotta be lookin’ out for those little guys ’cause it’s not like they can be gettin’ jobs, kids are all tiny and weak and can’t do manly stuff like carry cargo around. But they’ll be so psyched about a new guy, like ‘ Woah, Bossman Itto, those super artistic posters are crazy effective!’ — we’ve been recruiting lately, it’s hard work finding someone with the right stuff, y’know — ‘ Now we can put four names on the poster!’ ” They’re picking their way through a rockier area than before, Itto hauling himself up along the slopes as Kuki nimbly picks her way along them.
Takuya, a few paces behind, scrambles his way along the stones that they clearly know much better than him.
He continues oversharing. “Anyway, yeah, so Tasaku dipped and then Akira was all ‘Itto, man, you’re the greatest gang leader, like, ever, so we’d never leave you like that’ which was super cool of them. Even though we’re definitely dirt broke right now, so I’d get it — you know how crazy expensive running a gang is?! But it’s like no big deal ’cause, guess what?!” Itto pauses and whips around to look at Takuya. He realizes a moment too late that he was actually supposed to guess, because Itto goes back to talking with a weighty sigh.
“Alright, no guesses, no points for you.” Takuya feels guilty despite himself. “‘ What is it, Itto?’ Great question, Arataki ‘Best Asker in Inazuma’ Itto. This is why the magazine’s are always replyin’ to your letters. Wellll , anyways, turns out you don’t even need cash if you just win everything you need fair ’n’ square, so the boys and I are scoping out all the good joints for competitions for all the provisions you could ever need! Pretty genius, am I right or what?”
“Um, who are all these people?” And, unspoken but pressing: do I have to remember them? The torrent of names Itto is throwing at him is washing over him like the tumultuous waves a few paces away.
Kuki has that I pity you look again, “Hard time following?” Takuya feels like he’s being scolded, somehow. He probably is. He nods his head slowly, and he can bet there’s flustered red creeping under the painted blue on his skin.
“Awww, I feel you, dude. I hate listenin’ to people when they just go on and on and ooonnnnn—” Itto says, going on and on and on himself, “—but, y’know, lemme clue you in on a li’l something, some oni-to-oni advice, yeah? You should always, always be listenin’ to me, ’cause I drop some pretty good info. I’m kind of like your one-stop Inazuma shop, if you get down to it. I got lots’a cool news. Those are my boys!”
Right. ‘Boys’ again. So that’s as much as he’s going to be getting.
Itto continues leading the way, chirping up every few moments with another stream of information — you know, I found this whole underground area fulllll’a treasure hunters but I kicked ’em out. Literally! My foot was sore for like weeks! — and Takuya finds that he much prefers this little trek to the bustle of the city with all the people watching them as they exited the jail, even if he’s foggy on the details.
Still, he manages to piece a few key things together as the three of them descend below Inazuma City. They traipse alongside the shore and brush until they come to a shadowed opening in the rockface. Itto raps his knuckles against the stone, hard enough to make Takuya wince because he’s practically punching at it.
Kuki rolls her eyes. Takuya picks up that she does that a lot.
Takuya takes stock of the situation with his renewed understanding.
One: They are going to Itto’s base — or, currently, it is being called their command center, but Kuki explains that it’s all the same. Its location changes every few weeks, which Takuya thinks is either very effective evasive maneuvering to escape their enemies, or a waste of time to move all of their supplies around.
Two: There are no animals, the boys are the Gang who Itto leads. Takuya is glad to hear this, because they are on his gratitude to-do list, alongside Itto and that blonde adventurer with their floating companion, for assisting his clan and saving himself and the humans.
(Another change in Takuya: Like Itto said, self sacrifice is a selfish action. He’s going to pluck up his oni pride and be the most grateful person in Inazuma for his second chance.)
Even if that means tagging along on strange little adventures with someone who keeps insisting they’re your blood relative (Takuya’s still not done turning that idea over in his head, it’s prickling at him like a thorny weed).
The final thing. Three: There is going to be a party, because whenever any of the boys (Kuki not included. She told him, with another roll of her eyes, that she doesn’t go to jail, she gets them out of jail with the help of her legal expertise, or some cash, or maybe some stretching of the truth, and some grumbling along the way) gets out of prison they celebrate it as a victory. Takuya asks how often they go to jail as a group, and Itto (rubbing his knuckles out after slamming them against the stone in some kind of janky melody) lets out an incredibly loud and unhelpful laugh in answer.
“Boss!” Someone cries out as soon as they’ve entered the hideout, voice thick with relief as if they thought he might be gone for good. Takuya hears the sound of things clattering to the ground and being shoved aside, presumably disregarded in relief or excitement at seeing Itto’s safe return.
Takuya observes the scene — their homebase (as Itto called it) is a humble little cave, crates (most emptied and turned over to serve as something like furniture, but some with random assortments of objects spilling out, clearly shoved inside carelessly to make room) littered about like a warehouse. The nearest one has what seems to be an arts and crafts project, ink still shining and wet on the recently abandoned brushes.
The member who’d called out runs up to the two of them and holds his hand out — a human greeting, Takuya knows now. Itto’s eyes dart to meet Takuya’s as he clasps his fist in the gang member’s in some sort of handshake-arm wrestling hybrid and pulls them into his chest, smacking them forcefully on the back. They do the same in return with a resolute grunt.
Itto gestures with his brows as if to say Ehh?? What’d I tell you? I’m Boss!
Takuya notes the prevalence of hitting in human hello s.
Several more minutes of dramatic Welcome backs! And I’m glad you made it out!s (and one unanimous Thank you, Shinobu) later, quite a lot considering how common of an occurrence Kuki made this out to be, Itto clears his throat to silence everyone’s heartfelt praise of him.
“Alright, alright! Genta, Mamoru, Akira,” he claps them each on the back as he says their name, so Takuya tries to commit who’s who to memory quickly, “that’s why you boys are the BEST!!” He throws his arms around them. “I can always count on my crew. What more could an oni ask for, huh? You gotta throw a celebration for the man with a plan, who defended his honor so hard down in town today, y’know? But, hey, I gotta share the man of the hour title today, y’know? Aht-aht, no, no, you don’t even have to say it, I know, Itto, who could be as awesome as you? Or… or, You’re so heroic savin’ that other oni ! Ahhh, I know, it’s all in a day’s work.”
He theatrically wipes an imaginary tear from his very dry eyes. “But, hey, lemme introduce you! You guys juuuust missed him when we were all totally kicking ronin tail! Great job by the way, gang, really showed those losers.” Takuya anticipates Itto grabbing him and steps forward from where he’d been hanging back to observe.
“Hello, I’m Tak—” he begins, just as Itto, unable to contain himself, shouts, “THIS IS MY BROTHER!”
“Brother?!” the one Takuya thinks is Akira exclaims. He pushes up the rim of his jingasa — it seems standard issue, save for Itto and Kuki — to get a better look. Takuya feels overly conscious of how he’s standing.
Mamoru’s mouth falls to form a surprised ‘O’. “Woah, I see it. He’s got your horns, Boss!”
“Um, they’re my horns,” Takuya says. Agh, details. Not important. “I’m Takuya.” He introduces himself again, this time without interruption.
At the very mention of horns, Itto has his hands up by his own, proudly gesturing to them as if they’re not an everyday sight, sitting up on his head. He does look awfully giddy the boys are comparing the two of them, though. The three of them are quickly drawn into what looks like an impromptu game of posing, each now flexing in turn.
“Just Takuya?” Genta asks, tearing his attention from Mamoru and Akira whooping over Itto regaling them in the events of the past day. Having gone through this before, Takuya can predict how the rest of this conversation will go. Is that all people care about?
“Yes,” Takuya says quickly, before Itto can make it a thing again.
Though, Itto seems far too busy basking in the amazement from his retelling of saving Takuya’s life, which has the boys enraptured.
Genta’s eyes grow wide. “ Woah! That’s sick .”
“It… is?”
“Yeah! Like, super cool , all wandering samurai, nothing-holding-me-back, no family name to tie me down.” He emphatically slashes his arms through the air, as he speaks either imitating his imaginary sword fights or suddenly very bothered by an onslaught of bugs, “That settles it. I like your style, Takuya. I’m gonna be just Genta now! Got that, bros?!”
But the bros aren’t listening, because they’re still hanging on Itto’s every word — he’s gotten to the part about arguing with the Tenryou Commission about his jail cell, though in this retelling, he’s now valiantly fighting against righteous injustice by demanding his comfy cell with a window and much better acoustics.
Genta frowns at the lack of acknowledgement, but then Kuki gives Just-Genta a thumbs up and he seems more than happy with her approval of his new decision.
“And that’s how we became super tight!” Itto concludes his long, arduous tale of his last few hours. He sniffs, feigning a suave unbothered demeanor. “Yeee uupp , we’re basically the Crimson and Blue guys from the legends right now. That’s how tight we are.” He crosses his fingers, “Right, T-Man?”
“Uh, yeah,” Takuya, also now known as T-Man, agrees.
With Itto done, the gang members’ attention is all on Takuya once more. He bows and grits out the heartfelt thank-you to them that’s been sitting in his chest. The three cheer for him like he’s the one worthy of gratitude, complimenting his super daring, super manly noble work to save his people.
Their lighthearted cheer has him grinning despite himself, infectiously supportive.
When they’re done celebrating, Mamoru directs them to an upturned crate with a collection of fruits and assorted snacks on it. “Here, Boss, and… what should I call you. Boss’ Bro…? ”
“We’re all bros,” Akira cuts in, brow furrowed with shock and horror that Mamoru could ever forget something so vital. “That’s the only rule.”
Mamoru frowns, “No, but this is his bro . Like blood, man.”
“Ahhh, nonono, bros, bros .” Itto steps in, hands held in front of him, eyes shut sagely. “We’re all brothers, my homies are my family, you’re my number ones — but I’m Number One number one, of course — but T-Man, he’s my bro bro, you know? There’s only so many oni and now we got two of ’em!”
Akira’s eyes seem to alight with understanding.
Itto nods solemnly, seriously. “I know.”
Takuya thinks if he never hears the word brother or any of its derivatives again it’ll be too soon. But the whole exchange is still… charming? Is that the word? It’s serious bros-ness, so he shouldn’t interrupt.
“Well, bros and extra-bro brother,” Mamoru settles on, “we got some food together to celebrate. All legit, of course.” Kuki nods her approval of his clarification.
Itto pumps a fist in the air. “Aw yeah! Lollipops?! Onigiri?! This is a feast .” He tugs Takuya along, “This is your ina… inog … the, uh, your day one! You’re all in! ‘One of us’ day! Welcome to the super exclusive best club in all of Inazuma, people are practically bangin’ down the doors to get in — sometimes, like, because they’ve got a warrant, but that’s like a certificate from the Shogun asking to check the place out — but I always say nuh-uh, nope! Only the best of the best and none of the rest!”
Takuya eyes the ripe Lavender Melons they’ve got on their table and the cheering faces of the gang members as they settle around it. He supposes it’s been a long time since he’s happily shared a meal with anyone… and there could always be worse company. He seats himself before the crate on bent knees. “Thank you.”
“So.” Akira drops down to Takuya’s side, kicking up some dirt as he settles. Takuya shields his meal from the dust and freezes when Akira throws an arm over his shoulder. “Now that you’re one of us, we should lay down the law of the land.”
“Number one — and only! — rule of the Arataki Gang! Treat each other like homies. And real homies are bros, so always be there for your gang.” He thumps Takuya on the back for emphasis. Takuya luckily shuts his mouth before he can embarrassingly cough anything out from the impact.
Kuki cuts in, “Rule number two is try not to be a public nuisance. Especially not to kids.”
“Hey!” Her eyes crease with amusement. Akira glowers. “One rule!”
Itto scooches over, digging his heels into the dirt to drag himself along inch by inch and sidle up to Takuya’s other side. He dropped yet another heavy hand onto his shoulder, pulling Takuya into something between a headlock and a hug. “He’s right! Real bros always have your back! Always defend your boys! Someone comes knockin’ askin’ where he is? Our lips are sealed! And we especially don’t rat each other out to Shinobu!” he adds gleefully.
Kuki, mere feet away, picks at the wrapping on her kunai.
Takuya has yet to fully puzzle out the dynamic here. “Should you say that… in front of her?”
She twirls the blade around her finger, expression hidden beneath her mask. “Oh, I already know. Don’t worry.”
Takuya ducks back to his food while Itto reprimands her for Lookin’ super super creepy when she pulls a move like that! (But also super awesome, let me try, c’mon, pleaseeeee—)
Before he can inch over and snatch her weapon from her hands, (or, more likely, attempt to do so and then find himself with a face-full of dirt when she trips him in the process) Genta clears his throat to call everyone’s attention, looking quite smug. He puffs his chest out, though the rice stuck to his chin does him no favors. “In case anyone missed it, by the way—” a quick, pointed look at his gang members, who don’t catch his tone at all. Takuya chuckles, “—from this day forth I am Genta!”
“Like, spelled different?” Mamoru asks through a mouthful of dango.
“JUST Genta.” Just-Genta clarifies with vigor. “Takuya—” Just-Takuya “—was being super cool and mysterious, like a real movie star or a legendary warrior, with only one name, so I’m following suit.”
“Of course!” Mamoru agrees emphatically.
Takuya shakes his head at the whole notion. “I’m not doing anything mysterious or impressive.” He feels like he’s repeating himself. “I only have Takuya, that’s all. Us Blue Oni, we all know each other, we don’t need more ties than that.”
“...But that sounds so cool!” Just-Genta insists. He’s practically complaining now. Doesn’t Takuya realize denying that he’s being cool on purpose is extra cool?!
Takuya does not realize. He feels all the more confused. “It’s just how it is,” he presses again.
The boys refuse to listen, too taken by his innate coolness to care that he’s doing nothing at all. Takuya gives Kuki a helpless look, but she offers no help, and Itto has his eyes shut and hand on his chin in the perfect I’m thinking very important thoughts sort of stance that tells Takuya he’ll offer nothing either. He relents to their unearned praise as he takes up another piece of food.
“You can be an Arataki,” Itto decides after some deliberation. He’s seated, legs spread, elbows balancing on his knees, in a pose that would probably have been menacing on anyone more serious than Itto. The boys look at him like he’s losing it, but Itto, ever undeterred by the horrified looks of the general public, soldiers on.
Takuya was under the assumption that, being invited to this secret hideout and all, he was already one.
“I thought I was in your, er, gang already, Itto?”
“No, no, nahhh, you are not gettin’ it. Let me spell it out for you. Like an Itto Arataki, not a Gang Arataki. Or, actually, an Arataki Takuya. I’m sayin’ that you don’t have a name, so I’ve been thinkin’ real hard about this and I’m giving you mine. Easy. Or, I’m lettin’ you share it, we both get to have it now. I can show you how to write it out so you can get to usin’ it on your forms ’n’ stuff! You gotta sign a lot of those when you’re getting arrested.” Itto draws a finger through the air in a series of strokes to demonstrate. Takuya finds this as hard to follow as every other time Itto’s talked real fast and dropped lots of information on him. “A stamp would be easier, but Granny keeps the one she got me. I don’t wanna go losin’ that!”
“Alright,” Takuya agrees. He doesn’t pick things up too quickly, but he thinks agreeing is better than asking more questions when he’s really confused with this sort of thing. He doesn’t think he’ll be signing many forms either way. The Blue Oni didn’t do much contract writing.
The notion of such a tie, that Itto clearly felt strongly about, was quite thoughtful. Takuya’s brow eased as the boys Ooh ed and Aw ed at his eventual acceptance, a bewildered unwitting smile replaced his uncertain wince.
The celebrating, afterparty included, because Itto declared any self-respecting party that’s not a total wimp has a super afterparty to go along with it, ends when the air outside is rich with the sound of cicadas. It’s nearly too dark to safely make the climb back to civilization from the cave hideaway (though Itto psssh ’s that concern away with a hearty smack on Takuya’s shoulder. The Arataki Gang were fond of those. “Real men can handle a little danger!” He’d cheered. Takuya supposed that was… reasonable enough).
Alone for the first time in hours, he allows himself a proper moment to relax. Cool air fills his lungs, and for the first time in ages he’s free to breathe without the sting of righteous anger, or guilt, or whatever other feelings he’d shoved down while working with the ronin.
He takes stock of his situation: He’s free, not trapped to work for the sake of his people nor trapped by the Commission, his belly is full, with plenty of sweets piled onto him by the Gang, and, back at home, his clan have someone looking out for them.
On the orders of the Crimson Oni, even.
He’ll have to tell them all that the supposed notorious criminal is the reason they’re all safe right now. Hopefully they’ll believe him! Clearing his name would be no easy task with all the wild rumors spread about him.
It might be easier if they met him, then they’d have to comprehend what Takuya now did.
Takuya would need to warn him against throwing his arms around every oni he spotted and declaring them bros, though. They might not take too kindly to that.
Not yet, at least. He began his long walk back to his clan’s hideout as he mulled it over. Itto introduced him to his people and invited him into their own makeshift clan of sorts, so it was only right Takuya eventually returned the gesture. He believed in repaying debts in that way.
Perhaps more Blue Oni could be crowned as Aratakis in due time.