synflux | Guys' Night [OPEN]

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Guys' Night [OPEN]

WHO: Dudes, dude. Bring all your dudely Outsiders, bro.
WHAT: ~~Man I sure wish I could tell you~~ Cracking a cold one open with the boys
WHERE: The Onsen
WHEN: 4/11
WARNINGS: Alcohol, nudity, dad jokes... This'll be updated accordingly

[ A few days after the girls have had their fun (cause girls just wanna have fun), another blanket text sweeps over the Outsiders' inboxes. This time, it's from Kaito: and he is proposing a very original idea that all the guys should come by the hot springs in a few days' time. Gossip and bathing are optional, but an empty stomach is mandatory.

Several pictures of newly purchased smokers, grills, and even a fucking pizza oven can be seen at various points throughout the message. There are also mountains of stacked beer and soda cases. Kaito's apparently going to be cooking enough to feed the whole base, or so he purports.

Where did he get all the money for this? Whatever, it's free!

He also adds in no uncertain terms that if any girls try to show up and sneak a snack, he will send them home with a stern warning and a bottle of water.

If you take him up on the invitation, welcome! It's a spring cookout and Pitmaster Kaito Nagano is going to be serving up enough barbeque to temporarily turn the onsen area into a Texan territory within Japan. Seriously, there's gonna be a metric fuckton of food and booze, and the hot springs will be right there when you're ready to get hot and hungover.

There are absolutely no plans after food. Feel free to stick around and socialize, but you will not be publicly shamed for just yoinking a plate and dip setting. Probably.

Aside from the barbeque, there are some horseshoes and cornhole boards set up (google it, it's safe, this is not a bit it's just a funny name for an american game) for dudes to try their hand-eye coordination at after having one too many drinks.

If you're feeling particularly brave, Kaito's got an ice box full of artificial fish (all the meat's artificial, let's be real) that you can try to attract a feral cat with. Good luck. ]

(( ooc: hello yes i didn't want The Boys™ to feel left out so feel free to make top levels and just get some general cookout social time in with your boyos. make it as friendly or awkward or awkwardly friendly as possible. go nuts. get naked. cause a ruckus. [ insert toxic masculinity here ] ilu ♥ ))

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[Previously, Raidou's failures in battle rattled him, but he trained even harder to keep up with the other Outsiders. This time was much different. The things Yuji said to him after the battle was done play through his head all these days later. He was so afraid of Raidou getting hurt that he nearly killed himself trying to keep him safe. He can't keep fighting knowing that.]

...He had. Choso's something akin to a demon. Close enough, I suppose, for he and I to form a pact like summoner and demon, anyway.

[They were a big help to one another in battle. It's probably the most Raidou has felt truly like himself again since he arrived here, fighting alongside a demon ally, using each other's strengths to push themselves as far as they could go.

in the end, he pushed himself too far, dangerously so.

Bakugo mentioning that last bit, though, is good enough to distract him from spiraling down that path again for a minute.]

... Swallowed? [Horrifying!] Ah, I'm glad it was almost? [Trying to be optimistic here.]

[That... is something Bakugo would have strong opinions towards if he learned of it. Enough to certainly have some words with the two of them. Separately. But since he's in the dark about that, nothing comes of it. Know however, both sides of that commentary hit uncomfortably close to home for Bakugo. A similar situation at home... So if ever it's wanted...]

Hn. A curse and a demon. [He muses over the comparison under his breath, not able to find too much surprise at the reveal. Who knows how inter-world play works out. The second part gets a twitch of his head.]

You made a pact with him? [Why surprise?] You have to kill them with your sword for that.

[Is what Bakugo's been thinking all this time. Sword plus other summons to beat down the demon and then "convince" it to join Raidou in the battle as another summon. ~~How very Pokemon~~ It makes him think while Raidou responds to his exclamation. Sorry of that gets some looks around...

Oh, to this topic, huh. The memories are not pleasant and Bakugo pulls a face at recollecting.]

Tch. Cause getting puked back up was so much fun.

[Guess it was better than the other end...]

[Raidou shakes his head lightly, with a slight smile.]

No, not always. If a demon is willing to make a pact without a fight first, that's acceptable. It does happen.

[Defeating them in a fight is often the best way, but some demons want money, some demons just want the power, some just want the companionship.]

I had no intention of hurting Choso. [What would Yuji think??] Besides, it was even his idea.

[Bakugo frowns as he leans back in the water. That's a new facet of Raidou's power.]

I take it that's not common. Why would a demon make a pact anyways?

[Weren't they just out there to tempt people and help revenge or anger in order to claim souls or some other kind of worldly monopoly? Then again, he's learned about different devils from Denji too...]

No shit. [He could tell that without the obvious statement.] His idea?

They benefit from my energy, and they help me in battle, or investigations, or... whatever they want to help with.

[They're his allies. His friends.]

Now Choso can use my mag-- my energy, you can say -- and use it to enhance his own abilities.

[The myriad abilities the Outsiders use seem much more effective than his own sword or firearm skills. If he can help others fight better, he's happy.]

Perhaps that means there are others here I can help in the same way. We'll have to see.

[Next on the pact list: Yuji. Of course.]

[And here Bakugo thought they were summons that showed up, did what they were told to, and then fucked off to the netherworld around Raidou until the next summoning.]

So they can rebel if they feel like it?

[His main concern with summons that have, apparently, so much free will... Though if there's a contract, maybe both parties have to trust the other to hold it.]

So what, now you're Mess Head's battery? Or is it like dumping adrenaline into his system?

[Just getting an idea of how Raidou's ability works. He's a nerd like that. Rude nerd, but nerd.]

Don't overwhelm yourself making pacts with everyone, Shashou.

[He doubts it'd be healthy to battery pack a whole dorm.]

They do have their own personalities and wants, much like people. Some are more cooperative than others.

[He thinks about those questions for a moment, though.] I suppose you'll have to ask Choso what it feels like. Perhaps it's both.

[He does smile at the concern though.]

I was trained well for this. I regularly carried nine demons with me at all times on investigations and in battle.

So it really is a contract, not conscription or coercion.

[All the "c" words apparently. Though that makes him wonder more about how Raidou's able to wrangle that many demons. It can't be because the guy's a charming smooth talker. Look, Raidou's awesome, but friendly silver tongue is not the first thing Bakugo would use to describe him...]

Tch. But he still drew on your energy. What's the cost to you?

[Concern is still concern. Mostly because he has a feeling Raidou probably won't be upfront to any potential contract about the cost to himself... CAUSE YOU'RE LIKE THAT, SHASHOU!!]

Carrying them isn't the same as using them.

[Batteries don't do shit until you plug them in and turn the device on.]

Just that - the energy. But it's fine, I promise you. [He has an incredible amount of mag, and the Kuzunoha's knew it when they took him in. They had found themselves a perfect future summoner.]

True, but I do call on them a lot.

[He can't help but smile a little.]

You really needn't worry. I've been trained my whole life for this.

Meaning you've got a limit.

[Just like how his classmates' Quirks often run on their own "ammunition" ranging from sugar, to calories, to stamina, to voltage, to sweat for himself. Does that mean Raidou has an unnatural amount of energy, weird as that sounds?]

Tch. I'm not worried.

[As he worries. Never will admit it.]

Can a contract be broken?

[Raidou doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to, but the questions will come until he does.]

Well, yes. It's not limitless.

[Energy is energy, and even if he has a lot to spare, it can run out.]

Yes, it can. I can end it if I feel the need to. Sometimes it happens. Not every demons thrives with teamwork.

[He looks down for a moment, smiling to himself. Not that anyone else is listening in, but...]

It's still so strange to talk about all of this.

[He takes that with the previous statement to figure Raidou has a large reserve of this energy. Nine summons regularly and his high station back home would indicate he's special in that energy regard. One reason he's special.]

They can't break it on their side?

[Raidou being able to dissolve it is an interesting aspect, but kind of expected. The demons he contracts how a lot more autonomy than Bakugo expected, so... An ashen brow arches into his bangs.]

what, people didn't talk about your skills back home?

It's a bit harder, but I suppose, yes. But if they don't want to work with me, I wouldn't continue to force them. [Wouldn't be good for either party, really. the better they get along, the stronger they are.

He shakes his head lightly.][They only covered "special cases".]

That's a lot different than the summoners in my world's media.

[Despite the superhero society dominating media, relics of the past, including fantasy stories and games, still made their way into the light every now and then. Including people with summons. Hell, one of his classmates had an avian shadow entity living inside him as his Quirk.]

You said nine normally, but how many did you have altogether?

[Well, even if Bakugo thinks Raidou's a special case, he's keen to question him about his skill.]

Ah... I'm not sure. Many. Dozens. They are being stored safely for me elsewhere.

[Really, he's never thought about counting them.]

I can't speak for other types of summoners, of course, though now I have at least met one other person who calls themselves such here. I also spoke with someone who had said to have met a devil summoner specifically, one who even had a demon that I had.

[He's a little jealous of that.]

You don't know? [There's a big difference between keeping track of how many explosions Bakugo lands over the battle and how many fucking demons you've got stored up somewhere to be your helper, Raidou! Unless he's just making contracts willy nilly without a care in the world. There's a strange mental picture.] That's a shit load of demons...

[Bakugo would be categorizing them like a nerd.]

Aside from you, I know three others who summon. [There are probably more. Bakugo arches a brow at the last part.] Same demon, different worlds.

[Not too surprising. He's thinking... thinking... ah.]

Did Abe no Seimei exist in your world?

[When Bakugo mentions that name, Raidou, in his usual understated way, looks sideswiped. He answers after a moment.]

... Yes.

[Look, that was an innocent question. Bakugo as a lot more questions now. Someone who looks T-boned after mentioning the name of a historical figure demands questions.]

The ancient guy from feudal Japan, right? In history.

[The dead guy.]

[Raidou tries to shake it off. That was a name he was hoping to not hear again.

He's quiet for a moment, thinking, forming his words before he speaks them as he so often needs to.]

Yes. The famous onmyouji who seems to be well-known in several timelines, it seems. According to legend, the fox spirit Kuzunoha was his mother. I am very familiar.

[Bakugo eyes the other boy...]

Then it shouldn't be a surprise if different worlds share the same demon. Alternate universes.

[Moving off the topic then.]

The Olympics are another thing most versions of Earth share.

[Probably an odd topic for anyone to suddenly get a little cagey on, but here we are. The diversion is welcome]

A fair point. There are some people I have spoken to here that have some commonality in worlds, and some that seem completely different. It's fascinating, really.

[Despite his attitude and personality, Bakugo's rather perceptive of other people's feelings about things, picking out fake attitudes and undercurrents in conversation. He doesn't want to deal with awkward crap unless it's needed.]

Aa. Some people's worlds are like stories or video games in mine.

They do seem quiet fantastical. [He smiles a little now.] Like hearing about a world where nearly everyone has superpowered abilities.

A world like this one is like something out of a novel where I am from. Hard to imagine it could have actually existed.

Yeah yeah. It's a fucking cool world too.

[May or may not flick some water at Raidou for being a smug little charmer.]

That's what a lot of worlds feel like. Even this one sounds like a kaiju film from mine. A whole series of videos where monsters attack the city.

[Though often those were fought by other monsters as well as human military/scientists.]

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Guys' Night [OPEN]

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