savethecitydesu | Dazzling!? Hiyoku-cho nights!!

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Dazzling!? Hiyoku-cho nights!!

Who: Akito Terumi, NPCs, (open.)
What: Night-time in Hiyoku city
Where: Shinku Boulevard
When: Anytime pre-Magic Day.

Hiyoku may not be a city the size of Osaka, or even Tokyo, but it does have its attractions. One of the oldest and fast-changing (and, therefor, surviving) ones is Shinku Boulevard. The Scarlet Road.

You can learn about it, easy enough. There's plenty of people in town who can tell you that their parents met there, for example, or you may have gone there as a kid, no matter your social class, because it's fun for everyone (if you know how far down to walk.) You could also pick up the facts from one of the pamphlets at either of the starts of the street - which runs south to north.

Once upon a time, this was a big street for merchants and performers on their journey from the southernmost ends of the country to the bustling city of Osaka, and then down in return. It made for a place of bright colors, slightly loose morals, and bright attractions. More importantly, a lot of lanterns burning about the sides of the street, under red-tiled roofs or banners of warm colors, dancing, like fire, in the air, visible even at night. The street is now lined with tall buildings, all of which seem to dip into the warm, gold and scarlet glow of the road, and arcades and cinemas have joined with small kabuki theaters and street performers in keeping people entertained. The northern end of the street is reserved slightly more polished entertainment and restaurant, leaving most of the fun stuff for the southern end. The alleys are often where some of the less reputable business lies, hidden behind more wholesome attractions.

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Well. That's interesting..

Akito didn't recognize the performer (mixed ethnicity?). He'd seen a fair share of magic acts over the years on Shinku Boulevard to tell a good performance from a bad and this guy was definitely in the former. It wasn't just the skill - though as Akito had been told, it's only 'magic' as long as people could see the trick; it came down to stage presence and charisma, and he had an appropriate balance. It was enough that Akito clapped with genuine approval.

Akito had managed to slide near the front area of the crowd, looking as entranced as everyone else. It was more accurate to say though that there was a sharper look in his eyes though as he tried to figure out where the 'magic' stopped and 'trick' began. He could guess, of course, but it wasn't the same as seeing and knowing.

He would have to look very hard. And in fact, that would probably be the most peculiar thing for Akito: The more he'd look, the more it would seem that there was no such thing. No threshold between 'trick' and 'magic'.

He'd see that there were distractions, moments where the magician would do some gesture, something that diverted your attention-- the kind of moment when you'd EXPECT the trick to come, but if you ignored the distraction, you would still be hard pressed to spot how he turned that napkin into a candle again. And there were fake-outs. Moments where the magician didn't slip, but purposefully made it seem like the trick had happened-- subtle for most, but glaring for the keen eye, like the difference between sincerely tripping and faking a tumble down, though it wasn't easy. This guy was a really good actor or--

He was meeting Akito's eyes. For a second there was curiosity in his look, and then a sort of dawning understanding, and a spark of playfulness. He winked once, and then took padded steps forward on towards the edge of the stage, as if approaching him when his hakama apparently caught on one of his feet, making him trip with a yelp, and fall forward, to everyone's horror, gravity rapidly bringing him close the candles that could very much burn his face! He covered it with one sleeve on the last second...

Except that, mid-fall, he wasn't there anymore. The flutter of the clothes became flapping as they fell, empty, to the ground. Ah! Surely there was some sort of trap door there, right? Indeed, that's likely how he suddenly got behind one of the shocked kids on the audience, one next to Akito. "Scary, huh! Gee, I hope that guy's okay," he said. The kid looked up and gave a little squeak of awe, just as the magician's mouth formed a curious 'oh', "Hm? What's that behind your ear?" he asked, prior to 'searching' there, and producing a dove. In the bright glee of the boy's amazed face, the performer straightened up-- he was wearing a red t-shirt now, and tight, black jeans, and black slip-on shoes, "Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming!" he said, to around of applause, after which he excused himself. "I'll be back in thirty minutes! Hold on for another great show!"

That said, he turned his attention to Akito personally, giving him a white, broad smile, as if he were an old friend. Maybe an old friend who just so happened to successfully rob a bank. There was just a little spark of mischief to it. "Gosh, giving me such a look! What sort of creature are you? A fellow performer, or a critic?"

Trick' had to be there somewhere, you just had to know where to look for it. Akito didn't know them all but even if you couldn't guess fully how there had to be some sort of tell, the movement where you could at least see where the shift must have happened. The magician had to have been aware too with how he was good an actor he was.

But Akito couldn't see where 'trick' and 'magic' began. He knew that there were standard explanations - trap doors, spare clothing underneath, even having a double - but it didn't feel right. He thought about it from all angles. The tricks were seemingly perfect and it was infuriating, even more so when the magician looked right at Akito with that sort of smile and look. It was like he knew what Akito had been thinking of.

So, Akito pushed down that irritation deep down, hiding it behind his own smile and an that disarming 'sheepish' look and head scratch. "Was I staring that much?" Chuckle. "I'm sorry. Consider it a compliment, coming from a critic."

And performer.

The actor chuckled and grinned a bit at the explanation. "Gosh, I was hoping you weren't one. That's a little terrifying," he said, clicking his tongue and starting to walk, though with the clear (and bold) indication that he expected Akito to come along. "I think I've seen you around. Come here often?"

"Then 'observer'? But that would make me sound rather stalker-like, wouldn't it?" Akito replied. He followed, pushing down more irritation (who did he think he was?), and continued, tone still light.

"Occasionally. I'm afraid I've never seen you, though. Are you new to Scarlet Road?"

"Oh, I'm not... but you normally don't see me. I'm usually in the back," the young man said, clicking his tongue, "You know, carrying crates, helping around... but I've had my time to practice my show. Can't say I expected a stare like yours, though."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "How about a treat on me?" he asked, passing by a flashing TV screen doubling as a billboard then. It was showing a local, rising celebrity, "Miki K", often shortened to MK the most handsome, shallow-looking idol that had been born in generations, singers with the most catchy earworms you really wish you didn't like. The magician looked at the image with undisguised condescension.

"I did say I was sorry for that," Akito said, looking appropriately 'sheepish' again. "But, for a performer, it is better when people bother to stop and stare."

"Hmm? That's rather fast for someone you just met." Akito saw the billboard too, internally rolling his eyes. There'd been more advertisements, more insipid fan girl (and occasional boy) gushing, and Akito didn't even listen to his music but he knew more than he wanted to anyway because it was every. And of course, it was popular, so of course Akito needed to know about it.

The magician, at least, didn't seem to be into MK. Akito simply smiled a little and, with a teasing note, "Not a fan?"

"Hmm? Aww, no. Not to say I'm jealous, but all that man's got going for him is a pretty face, and gods know where he picked it up. I'm more of a traditional performer, anyway... can't say I like the autotune, either," he said, rolling his eyes and beaming a little, now with a contagious smirk on his face. "Oh, well, maybe we just met. But, oh, it's just how I was raised. If you're going to talk to someone, you may as well sweeten things up with a full stomach first," he said, a warm, rustic kind of cheer in every word.

He passed by a stall with some dango sticks. In a swift movement of his hands he snatched a pair-- the merchant selling them shouted something at him, but they were in good enough terms that the magician just joked it off, proceeding to give Akito one of them. "Food tastes better when it's stolen. On that note, there's a small stand down from here that makes some great okonomiyaki. Do you like those?" he said, taking a bite off the dango before asking. "So, what kind of show are you into?"

"Unfortunately, a pretty face can get you pretty far, despite talent levels, as long as you're smart enough to know how to spin it," Akito said with a 'what can you do?' sort of look. And Akito knew all about it, except unlike MK, Akito knew he actually had talent that went beyond looking pretty for the pre-teen, teen, and occasional housewife.

Akito's eyes automatically followed how quickly the magician's hands moved (and again he thought back to the tricks he had seen, including switches that should have been impossible no matter how fast you were but must have happened) before replying, "Occasionally, though I prefer paying," he said with a slight quirk of his lips, before casting a 'concerned' look back to the merchant the magician had taken the dango from before looking back at the magician.

"Oh, pretty much anything. It's a lazy answer, I know, but even less than stellar shows can have something worth watching." Such as, something to privately critique and laugh at when everyone else was too polite too. Akito too a bite of one of the pieces, stopping to appreciate the sweetness, before continuing, "Though I suppose I've always preferred the dramatics."

"Paying generally makes no one happy. The person paying is losing money, and the person being paid still feels they could've made more money out of you. And far be it from me to just make people unhappy," the magician said, before smiling. He ducked slowly, and whenever the crowd allowed it, slipped behind Akito, to come and walk by his other side. In the process, and taking advantage of the blind spot behind his back, he changed his appearance a little.

But he didn't really alter much-- and yet the change was there. He buttoned up his clothes rapidly, he pushed his hair back in just the right way, and adjusted his posture to walk a little more elegantly. "The dramatics, huh! Indeed, all the world's a stage, I think..." he said, tone a little more tempered. Though he was still nibbling on his food. "And yes, yes, every show does have something to offer."

"Perhaps," Akito said with a thoughtful bite. "I prefer to think of payment as an acknowledgement. I think people appreciate something rather than nothing at all. Well, for the most part."

When the magician ducked back and around Akito, it couldn't have taken long. Akito's eyes didn't follow the magician fast enough and by the time he was back, there were changes done exactly right in the brief amount of time. The magician was a really good actor but there was something more there that it was as infuriating as during the show. It was like dealing with a video game that presented you a puzzle that developers said was perfectly reasonable and possible to solve but really required you abuse a secret glitch of some sort.

"So the Bard would say," Akito replied, still 'amiable'. "Speaking of shows, I am rather curious. Why magic? Besides the obvious of you being very good at it - which makes it even more surprising you would usually be in the back than showcasing yourself more."

This was a good question-- and something about it tickled the magician just right, so that something in his demeanor changed. You can tell when an actor breaks character, and it was something like that.

"Oh... because there are changes coming to this town. Big changes. And while it was fine for me to just lug around boxes and make do with as little attention as possible... I'm going to need what I can only get from people when I'm on stage." With a pause, he winked, and it was a sly little thing that made you an accomplice to whatever he was thinking before he even said it. "Of course, that would be money. And for that, I need to take out my best talents..."

He clicked his tongue. "So, what is it that you keep looking for? I've noticed you've been making eyes at me," he said then, gesturing to the counter of the small food parlor he'd mentioned earlier, hopping on a stool and turning to face Akito before he would sit down, and crossing his legs. If Akito were so inclined to look down, he might notice the young man, who had been barefoot since his stage performance, hasn't caught a single speck of dirt on his soles. "Flattered as I am, I'm sure if you were making THAT sort of eyes at someone, it would be at someone else than a poor lil' street performer."

"Oh? What sort?" Akito tilted his head a little. "Change is always coming, after all. But if you're looking for money, then south end's the less likely place to get it." Not to mention being a performer in the first place very rarely paid off in the ways that mattered.

Akito simply smiled. "I'd be making THAT sort of eyes at anyone I really wanted." He absently tapped his fingers on the counter as he took a seat. "Consider it, curiosity-" irritation, "-as well as horrible habit I have of people watching. And there I go and make myself sound like a stalker again." There was that sheepish, disarming head scratch again.

The young man chuckled at the comments, buying the sheepish act as he gestured something to the man tending the food stall. There didn't seem to be a particularly broad selections of meals, or rather, it was that most of them were pretty much the same: very large dishes for you to pick from, full of steaming and nice-smelling food.

"Bad change," the young man said abruptly, while he took a plate and began to pick out some things for himself. "But I'm not one for being TOO vague, aahhh, that sort of thing bores me. Let's just say that I'm privy to the fact that there's someone planning to rock the boat in this town. Mmm, I think you may say it's a thing of politics?" he said, tapping his chin, before shrugging and going back to picking food. "Curiosity, huh? Well, what do I get if I satisfy your curiosity?"

"I see," Akito replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Politics and politicians were always causing things, one way or another. He was sure he'd care more if he were older or were getting hit by the effects more but they just didn't apply to him for the most part.

"Hmmm..." Akito picked a plate with an absent shrug. Satisfied with his pick, he looked at the magician with a slightly raised brow. "Why? What would you like, Magician-kun?"

The magician smiled. It was a foxy, playful, and beguiling kind of look. "Oh, well, why don't you start by giving me your name?" he said, tapping the plate with his chopsticks. "And we'll take it from there."

"Fair enough," Akito said, tapping his fingers, still irritated by that smile. "Akito Terumi. And you?"

The magician let out a mirthful laugh, and, smiling like he'd won the lottery, full of cheer and triumph, said, "You can call me Akamichi Hibiki. But my stage name is 'Akato-kun'."

He beamed. "Now, you're entitled to a secret, but just one," he continued, starting to eat. "So pick well."

'You can call me' was a flexible phrase Akito automatically noted, along with the growing mental cabinet he was making for Hibiki. It was already filling up with more things than Akito probably didn't needed for someone he'd probably never meet with again but his mind couldn't help but note. If Akito had picked apart that one nagging thought of 'Where is the divide between magic and trick?' he would have less interest, he was sure.

"I'll have to then," Akito replied lightly, but his mind was already running through possible questions and answers. It depended on how 'helpful' Hibiki wanted to be. He could easily see a question of 'how did you do that?' being easily brushed off with one of those irritating smiles and an excuse like 'magic, of course!'.

And even if the magician did give Akito a straight answer to what Akito really wanted to figure out, he wouldn't enjoy it. It wasn't the same if you flipped to the answer section. That was boring and made him feel cheated.

After several thoughts, Akito simply went with the one that would give him something to chew on and follow if he was lucky (and if it got a useless answer, then Akito would figure out his own answer eventually). Without preamble, Akito asked, "Where did you learn to do your magic?"

It wasn't the best question you could have bought with your name, but it was unusual, for sure, and Hibiki could tell that the boy across him had thought it over. Enough that it put a different kind of smile over his face.

It belonged to a chess player that had seen his opponent make an unexpected move, and was respectfully impressed, if not worried, by it.

"It runs in the family," he began, eating a little more before idly adding, while pointing his chopsticks up. "You would find it strange, but that we are: a family of eight! Could you believe it? And all of us are good at it. It's practically how grandpa and grandma came together. He was a merchant, but he dabbled on tricks and wordplay, you know, like most merchants, and now grandmother, ah, she was a lady who liked to play by the rules... but clever as they come. Not to say that they wanted to pass it ON to us, but let's just say when there's people like them around, you HAVE to learn a trick or two. Magical genetics, if you may want to call it that, though oh," pause for a bite, "Ours is a case that makes a very good argument to the whole 'nurture' instead of 'born that way' thing, since it seems to happen even with family that isn't all that related. My side of the family, well, we've always been good at illusions, sleight of hand, that sort of thing."

He smiled then, but didn't immediately ask a question in return. He was waiting for Akito's next move.

Akito's eyes rarely stopped noting what passed on Hibiki's face, even as he began picking away at his plate. Hibiki'd been smiling almost the entire time but those smiles still had their own tells. Based on the last one, Akito had picked a good track to follow.

"I see." Akito chewed thoughtfully. After he was done a particularly tough piece, he flashed his own smile. "It sounds like your family has an interesting history. If they're as good as you are, it's unsurprising you picked a thing or two up from them, one way or another. I don't suppose I would recognize any of them from anywhere?"

"Oh. You're bound to see them. Probably all of them, sooner or later, but you may not recognize them," said Hibiki, smiling a little playfully before turning his eyes up, as if in deep consideration. "We just look rather different from one another. My brother likes to hang out at Kochi Jinja park. He likes the botanical gardens. Grandfather runs an antique store downtown. He's probably around Hiyoku-cho some nights. And I have a brother who tells fortunes. Best fortuneteller there is, if you ask me... but a bit hard to find."

He grinned a little then. "But I'm sure you didn't come hang with lil' old me to hear me vaguely describe my family... I'm sure you're in for something spicier," he said, tapping his lips with his chopsticks, both thoughtfully and invitingly, before supplying an answer. "You'd like to know how I did my act. You were looking for the trick."

'Surprise' crossed Akito's face; it was more auto-pilot more than anything.

"Well..." He scratched the back of his head again, 'anxiously' fiddling with his chopsticks. "It did cross my mind. Though I do believe your family really do sound like they have an interesting history," he quickly added. It was something that would be going away to the back of his mental cabinet for later use if he needed it.

"It's part of the reason for my curiosity," Akito admitted. "But," chuckle, "you know what you say about magicians. They don't just give away tricks."

"No, no we don't. I'm merely pointing out that's what I thought I saw in your eyes," said Hibiki, eating just a little more. Once he downed the bite, he pointed the chopsticks at Akito, "You're a fellow who wants something he can't have. And I respect anyone who wants what they can't have, and on occasion, what they shouldn't have. Let's just say that I'm open to some negotiation here."

"I wouldn't say 'can't'," Akito replied, picking away at the bits left on his plate. "I like having things to work towards."

And there was no point working towards things if there was nothing you'd get out of it. Why bother if the payout wasn't worth the effort? 'Shouldn't' wasn't a word Akito liked either.

"Negotiation implies there's something you want if you're open to satisfying my curiosity." Akito gave Hibiki a raised brow. "So then, out of purest curiosity.... What are you looking to get out of it?

Hibiki smiled then. This was a different type of smile, mostly because it felt honest.

The kind of honesty you have when someone reveals the secret ingredient on a delicious pie, or holds up a murder weapon. Put simply, the sort of honesty that you're not sure you want to see.

"I'd like to integrate you into my act. See, I don't feel safe! Someone with eyes like you... being on the wrong side of the stage. It's unnerving," he said, clicking his tongue. "Tell you what, when are you free to come to the Scarlet Road again?"

That wasn't a move Akito expected, and someone watching very carefully would've noticed how the genuine surprise in his eyes in the briefest instant. It made him instantly wonder what the catch was - what other things were Hibiki playing at?

"O-oh, I see...hmm..." Akito 'nervously' fiddled with his chopsticks in thought. "This weekend but I'm at a loss of what good I'd be for an act like yours. Unless you're looking for a patsy or an incompetent assistant," Akito chuckled, the 'sheepishness' still there. "As I already told you, I'm not a performer."

"We are all performers in a way, Terumi-san," Hibiki said, winking an eye shut. "But trust me, I don't plan to humiliate you on stage or anything. Should I expect to see you on the weekend, then?" he asked, taking out a smooth hand and offering it for a shake. Should Terumi do so, he would find the skin would feel soft, almost silky, and a little warmer than most people would have it.

Then what are you planning?

Akito seemed to consider Hibiki before reaching for his hand. "Perhaps. I'll try to make it. Do I at least get a teaser about what you're planning?"

Akito suppressed a frown as he felt Hibiki's skin. His hand was warm and soft...way softer than what Akito would've expected for someone who claimed he usually helped out carrying crates and such.

It was almost as if Hibiki knew that Akito would notice that. He was smiling a little shamelessly, as would someone who got caught with their hand in a cookie jar and simply took another cookie for good measure.

"Well, I really should get back to my act," he said, slipping his hand away in a lazy way, fingers ticking Akito's palm in the process, in such a way that there was leeway for Akito to think it was unintentional. "Buuut since you were my rapt audience today, I think I owe you a present," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out some money, roughly about the prize of the meal, which he left before them. "Come on," he encouraged, padding along towards a stall.

They were selling masks. Old-fashioned, lacquered masks of all sorts, a good few fit for just the everyday crowd of the Scarlet Road, but a few were good for Kabuki. Curiously enough, the man selling them was hidden behind so many of them that you could barely see his arms reaching out. You could TRY to look at his face but... well, there's better things to pay attention to, and your mind would immediately invite you to turn your eye to them.

"Pick one."

There was that feeling again that the magician knew what he was thinking of. Akito disliked it intensely. He preferred it when he could read other people, not the other way around, especially when he was still trying to untangle his mental cabinet on Hibiki.

But, like everything else, Akito buried it. The smile snapped on and he chuckled. "You don't owe me anything, especially after a show, food, and even an offer to satisfy my curiosity. If anything, I should owe you." He scratched the back of his head but followed anyway, eyes still studying Hibiki until he saw the stall.

It was strange. Akito rarely paid much attention to this sort of thing, but there was something that was tugging away, nagging at him to look. One mask in particular caught his eye. It was black fox's mask decorated with red and bronze lines. (http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/5203101/il_570xN.297934691.jpg)

Out of nowhere, Akato laughed-- mirthfully, charmingly. It was like bells ringing, somehow, an infectious noise of pure relishing. "Excellent choice!" he said, and before Akito could say much about it his hand was going to his pocket again, and he'd produced the money for the mask.

"You take it with you then, it's yours. A gift, a gift for a friend of the people of the Scarlet Road," he announced with flair before putting the money down. An old, wrinkled hand with long fingers came from between the masks and picked it up.

"You don't-" Akito started, but then gave up with a sigh, a 'good-humored' smile crossing his face. "Thank you, that's very kind. Though I feel like I owe you a lot for this evening, really..."

Which brought that thought to mind again: What are you really up to?

Akito barely noticed the hand reaching from behind the masks. The physical details 'old', 'wrinkled', and 'long' registered but the feeling 'Don't look at that...there are better, more interesting things....' repeated itself. Instead, he reached for the fox mask, carefully picking it out from the stall. He held it up to his face without putting it on, testing how the weight and what it'd be like to see through it.

For an instant, ever so brief, Akito would get the weirdest image in his mind: like he was seeing out of someone else's eyes and at himself. If he'd have time to think about it, he would've pinned down just WHOSE line of sight he was borrowing at the time.

But surely you can't just have such out-of-body experiences while wide awake. The brain would correct that quickly, and he would be back to looking through the eyes of the mask, out onto an Akato that was smiling at him playfully. "Well I think that fits you just fine. It's a fine face... I think you should bring it with you when you come next weekend."

Akito blinked rapidly in that instant, nearly dropping the mask.

The moment was over too quickly to pin down the whole picture but the suddenness was startling. In the next instant, his vision was back to normal, complete with Hibiki's irritating smile.

Akito slowly lowered the mask. By the time it was down, he'd slipped back to his usual self, "Hmmm, I don't know. The last time I wore a mask like this was when I was a kid."

"Well, right now this mask isn't terribly heavy, wouldn't you say? They only get heavy the longer you wear them. Besides," he continued, clapping his hands in front of himself to bow slightly, in the typical 'kowtow', palms-before-forehead pleading way, "I would very much appreciate it if you would come with it?"

"Well..." Akito looked skywards in thought, then back to Hibiki with that 'sheepish', 'amiable' smile, "When putting it that way...I guess I'd be hard-pressed to say no. Alright then, next time I see you I'll bring it."

"Thank you so!" the magician exclaimed, and with a smile, Hibiki began to back away, little padded hops from his bare feet getting him some momentum. "Well, 'fraid I should get going. I should get back to my act. I'll see you then, Terumi Akito-san!" he said, and with that, rushed away into the crowd.

"See you then! Good luck, Akato-kun," Akito called back, ending on a teasing note.

As the magician disappeared into the crowd and out of sight, though, Akito's smile faded. He stared after where Hibiki had been in thought, then at the fox mask again. After a several thoughts, many which he discarded or filed away, it did occur to him he could go to try and catch Hibiki's next show. Maybe this time he would see what he'd missed.

However...

He instead walked the opposite direction. He could afford to be patient.

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Dazzling!? Hiyoku-cho nights!!

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