[This Was The First Time ( As Far As Nanashi Could Recall ) That Steven Had Ever Been This Angry With

[This was the first time ( as far as Nanashi could recall ) that Steven had ever been this angry with him -- it was deserved, though. Nanashi had pulled a stupid move that could have easily gotten them killed. That and, apparently, the sight had all been in Nanashi's head -- he'd gotten them both hurt over a delusion. He should have trusted Steven's lack of reaction as a sign that there was nothing there.]

[He shrank in his seat; he felt like a little kid again, upset and frustrated with himself for disappointing his dad. Of course, this scenario was objectively worse -- he was actively being a burden to his boss because he couldn't get his shit together. That, and he was dying. Not a good look.]

[After a moment, Steven collapsed against his headrest, then apologized for snapping. Yeah, this definitely resembled a lecture from his dad...albeit with deeper repercussions. He reassured Nanashi that they were okay and hadn't hurt anyone, which -- though partly obvious -- was a big relief.]

[It did, of course, raise some questions. Who was the kid he kept seeing? Were they connected to that suit, somehow? Or maybe it was one of those things where he'd been seeing some manifestation of the grim reaper, kind of like how people on their death bed would see otherworldly shit. God, he was in bad shape.]

[Nanashi quietly nodded as Steven offered to drive -- slowly, this time. His gaze absentmindedly drifted to his window. He stared at the road; the kid was nowhere to be seen.]

[If he saw any more "visions," huh? Yeah, Steven probably thought he was crazy now, on top of everything else. Alas, he was in no position to argue or defend himself...he'd just shut up for a while. At least his throat might heal.]

❝ Deal. It's a left...a-at the next light. Then you turn...right, after the park. M-My house's on...Rocky Road. ❞ [Might as well get instructions out of the way now -- it'd be easier than trying to navigate from the backseat, and remaining silent was a good solution to...a lot of problems right now.]

Yeah, Nanashi better be sorry. That was reckless, and dangerous, and not in the ways in which Steven is used to.

The sound of retching makes Bell turn his head, hard-wired to immediately clean up any unfortunate accidents before parents start explaining, but he can see all the way from inside the vehicle that whatever Nanashi has thrown up is more blood than anything else. Oof. Now they really need to get the poor kid some rest.

Steven quickly averts his gaze and shifts his focus back to the car. It’s still running, which is good, and hopefully Nanashi’s place is close enough that the vehicle can limp along the last few miles even if there’s damage that Bell can’t see right now.

Looking back at Nanashi through the mirror, Steven grits his teeth, frustrated.

“There was not. The road was completely empty.” …it’s not Nanashi’s fault. If he had hallucinated a kid in the road, then he had… maybe… done the right thing in making sure they hadn’t hit it.

Bell sighs, letting his head fall back against the seat with a painful thump.

“I’m— no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get short with you. We’re okay, and I promise, we didn’t hit anyone.”

Nanashi needs some serious help. As soon as Steven gets him home, he’s going to call up the guy’s family if they’re not already around and demand that they get his head checked out (in addition to everything else wrong with Nanashi right now). Then Steven will go back, fix things, and— and everything will be just fine.

“I’m going to start driving again, okay?” At a far more reasonable speed, this time. He doesn’t want Nanashi to throw up more blood.

“Tell me if you start seeing any more, uh, visions, and I’ll tell you if they’re really real. Deal?”

concept: a blooper reel from when akira first became king of mikado where he's just trying to figure out how the fuck people talked in 1800s england

me when "goodnight demonslayer" starts playing on my nanashi playlist

what does it say about me when i have several nightmares in a row and ALL of them are about me being late or missing work/an appointment

NANASHIPOSTING ! 2 !!!!

feat. some demons also

[Nanashi beamed as Dave gave him a thumbs-up, a sign of approval ( and in this case, agreement ). He reciprocated the gesture -- he was happy to have a kindred spirit. A good parent made all the difference in the world!]

❝ I ain't calling you a truther! ❞ [Nanashi laughed, matching Dave's lighthearted attitude. They were joking with each other now! Baby steps, but man, this guy was cool. He really felt bad about that shitty introduction now.]

[He listened to Dave's recollection in absolute awe; it was wild to think that the company had gone in an "adult" direction, considering that the franchise had ALWAYS been for kids. Why didn't they just offer alcohol to adults, like a NORMAL kids' pizzeria chain?? This cursed "sister location" apparently existed in Vegas, if Nanashi was interpreting correctly, and the flow of booze was non-stop. He wished he could have seen it. Not entered or participated, but witnessed its existence. Horrible.]

❝ That sounds AWFUL. But kinda cool, in an "I wish I'd seen it crash and burn" kinda way. ❞

[Another enthusiastic grin followed Dave's praise; it was in jest, sure, but someone like Dave remarking that he was "managerial material" made him indescribably happy. Gee, he'd gotten attached fast. He hoped that this entire conversation WAS real, and not in some weird parallel dimension or lucid dream...this guy was his new hero.] ❝ Hehe, I promise I'll thank you in my managerial acceptance speech! ❞

[Wow!! Dave had even returned his salute! This was almost too good to be true. He'd made friends ( so he hoped ) with the coolest big brother figure ever!] ❝ See, you get it! It's a shame that nobody's as enlightened as you. ❞

[And now, introductions -- right, with that awful start, Nanashi didn't think he'd ever get to this point. Smiling from ear to ear, he finally offered his name ( or, technically, lack thereof ).]

❝ I'm Nanashi -- certified practitioner of thrill-seeking and death-chasing! ❞ [Boy, was he. One look at his scars and you'd be able to tell. As Dave extended a hand, Nanashi excitedly shook it -- it was becoming more and more obvious that he was starting to idolize this guy, and frankly, it was embarrassing.]

❝  Amen  t'that,  brother  !  ❞  Dave  smiled  with  a  thumbs  up.  Good  fathers  were  lifechanging  !

The  boy  begged  to  hear  more,  but  not  before  questioning  it  (  fair  to  be  honest  !  )❝  Y'callin'  me  a  liar,  kid  ?  ❞  It's  stated  as  a  joke  with  a  smile,  not  a  legitimate  criticism  .  .  .  improvement  !  He  folds  his  arms,  grimacing  a  little  as  he  recalls  it.  ❝  A  controversial  move  to  try  to  appeal  to  the  parents-and-guardians  market  .  .  .  went  about  as  well  as  you  think  it  would,  havin'  a  no-rules  adult-oriented  Freddy's  location  located  in  Sin  City,  with  alcohol  flowin'  on  the  premises.  I'll  let  your  imagination  take  it  from  there.  ❞  This  kid  still  has  his  whole  life  of  him,  no  point  in  scarring  him  for  it.

Oh  he's  willing  to  commit  CRIMES  ?  Well  that  just  gave  him  a  LOT  of  approval  points  !  ❝  I  like  your  thinkin',  kid.  See  ?  You're  already  perfect  managorial  material  !  ❞

Dave  chuckles  and  returns  the  salute.  ❝  Oh  absolutely  !  Alliterations  make  everything  better,  included  plans  and  life  tips  !  And  as  a  bonus  ?  Makes  it  much  easier  t'remember  !  ❞

It's  a  brief  flash,  but  for  a  moment,  he  sees  himself  in  the  teenager.  He  really  does  hope  this  kid  is  happy.

❝  Oh  fuck,  right  !  Did  we  ever  exchange  names  ?  I'm  Dave  Miller,  dayshift  worker  'n  certified  cool  guy  with  a  license  in  fuck  yeah,  certification  in  fuck  that.  ❞  He  extends  a  hand.  How  polite  !