smash_logs | It's like the fun never ends.

It's like the fun never ends.

Who: Errybody
What: HOT SPRINGS: HOTEL EDITION
Where: The hot springs RESORT.
When: March 25th - March 29th
Warnings: Hotel shenanigans.

After a relatively normal bus ride, you find yourself at a secluded mountain resort.

title or description

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It seemed like the timing of his employment was pretty fortuitous. It'd been a while since Naoya had last been at such a indulgent hot springs resort - well, not that long, but you know, as far as his current incarnation was concerned. He didn't take days off very often.

In fact, judging by the fact that he continued to work on his laptop throughout the trip, he still wasn't really taking time off. But if there was one thing he wanted to take advantage of while was here, it was the massages. Sitting all day at a computer did horrors to the back. It paid to rejuvenate the body, even if it was a temporary one.

The programmer was easily found lounging somewhere with several plates of food at his side, smuggled out of the buffet area, typing away at some completely incomprehensible code.

Henry was told that he'd be given a 'computer' when they were safely back at the academy, but with all of this mind-boggling techno-babble, it was hard to tell what any of those words meant. So seeing a book-looking object flipped up and with a faint glow reflecting off of Naoya's glasses was sure to pique his interest.

"Heya," started the Plegian sorcerer, tucking his hands behind his back as he approached. "What are you doing? What's this?" Point point. The silver-haired boy seemed genuinely curious about the computer.

Glorious - this was probably another student from a fantastic land of magic and sorcery that had no reckoning of how to use a cellphone or send an email. Just what he wanted to interrupt his work. Naoya sighed, an expression of great disinterest on his face.

"Let me guess, you've never used a computer before."

Oh, wait. Wow. Hey Henry, look. There was a hell of a curse on this Naoya guy. Like, really, really big. The spell was incredibly ancient, the work of some astronomically powerful being - which was odd because the programmer himself was definitely no older than his mid-twenties.

Suddenly, Henry seems more interested in something else. That curse. He looks Naoya directly in the eye and stares in wonder, that smile vanishing from his almost constantly cheerful expression

Henry didn't believe in a god. He didn't believe in higher powers. And it wasn't too strange that this man appeared so young, considering the gravity of that curse. But the curse itself fascinated him beyond belief, and he couldn't hide it, not even if he wanted to. He was famed to know the most potent of curses himself and was the master at dispelling them, but never before had he met someone with a curse quite like this... But what did it mean?

"... ...No," he replied, delayed.

Meanwhile, waiting for a response, Naoya's supremely unimpressed stare only got more bored with Henry's reply. He narrowed his eyes. It was a waste of time and breath even trying to talk to him.

The programmer turned away, putting his attention back towards the coding he'd been working on. Dismissively, he told him, "Then you can bash your hands futilely on your own when you're back at school and figure it out yourself."

Nooo, the computer thing didn't matter anymore. The curse did! What was it? Henry had to know now.

So he was going to ask.

"Oh. Say, what's the curse for?" With tact, of course.

Naoya's eyes bulged, and he made a wheezing noise that sounded somewhat like he was choking on the air going down his throat. His entire body went tense. His heart skipped a beat. Even his fingers had stopped typing, frozen in place, mid-word.

What the hell... how did this kid...?!

Slowly, he had to ease himself back into remembering how to breathe. With clipped words, Naoya very obviously forced the words out of himself: "I... don't know what you're talking about."

"Nya ha, wow! I must've hit a nerve," he replied, that smile appearing on his features once again. "You can't hide such a massive curse from me! It's probably one of the biggest things in this room, now that I think of it! It's gigantic! The aura of it, you see. I've pretty much never seen anything like it~."

Well, wasn't that just what Naoya needed to add to his mounting frustrations. His fingers clenched into fists as he leaned back and tried to compose himself. Continuing to deny it would be useless, it was obvious that this kid wouldn't be fooled. No, if he knew enough to see how powerful the Mark was, then he had to have powers of some sort.

Shakily, Naoya's lips curled into a strained smile. "H-ha. So, how can you tell? No, let me guess... Mage of the dark arts, perhaps?" It seemed like the most obvious role for a kid that hailed from a world without modern technology, with a keen eye for curses.

Edited 2013-03-27 08:12 (UTC)

Henry nods, flicking up an index finger.

"Bingo~ Couldn't have said it better myself, actually!" he confirmed with a smile. "So of course I can tell! I'm an expert when it comes to curses and hexes, really."

"Hmph. Good for you." Sarcasm, of course. Naoya scanned him up and down, a sour look in his eyes. Even if the kid appeared happy-go-lucky, any practitioner of the dark arts, no matter how inexperienced, was still potentially dangerous. It would be unwise to underestimate him just for his youth and attitude.

All the same, Naoya had no willingness to indulge the kid on his curiosity whatsoever. "Regardless, it's none of your business."

Edited 2013-03-27 09:10 (UTC)

That was strange. He didn't want to tell him? Curious as he was, he could understand: some people just behaved this way. "Well, alright~ If you insist. I won't try to bother you about your curse if you wanna keep it."

That's just the way he thought of it. Most everyone else he met with came to him because they either wanted a curse set on somebody or needed a curse dispelled. He'd met plenty of people who needed a curse dispelled at sometime or another. "Still, I'm gonna keep being curious. I can't help its alluring power~"

"As a matter of fact, I do want to keep it," Naoya replied with a wry grin. "It has its uses."

The Mark of Cain did afford him some form of protection. And as torturous as his eternity could be, it was also instrumental in giving him the time and knowledge to fulfil his ultimate goals. No matter what happened, he'd just have to keep trying, over and over, through countless lifetimes.

Though truthfully, he had no idea what would happen if it was dispelled. Would he die on the spot? Or live out the rest of this life? No doubt his soul was destined for Hell, that much he was certain.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about it - but I have a feeling that's too much to ask." This dark mage didn't seem like the discrete type, somehow.

Edited 2013-03-27 10:02 (UTC)

Henry made a motion, as though he were sealing his lips shut. "Mmmhmm!" Then, he dropped his hand. "Sure thing! I won't tell a soul, not anybody. Living or dead or even the undead," he promised. Whether Naoya believed him or not, he meant it, and Henry wasn't the type to go back on his word, nor was he the type to lie.

"It's pretty rare, y'know? To find somebody content with their curse," commented the Plegian mage with a smile. "Usually they'd jump at the opportunity to free themselves of it. Is there anything so bad about a little hex here and there? Hee hee, I don't think so~"

Earnest as Henry sounded, Naoya wasn't in the habit of taking people at their word simply because they said so. It might have been true that the kid had yet to lie to him, but that didn't mean he was good at keeping the truth out of the reach of others' either. That meant, he supposed with some ire, that he'd have to keep an eye on him...

Sternly, Naoya told him, "I don't suggest trying your luck by giving me any add-ons." There was definitely a threat somewhere in the statement, and after a beat he asked, "...Your name. What is it?"

Edited 2013-03-29 09:49 (UTC)

"I'm Henry. Nice to meet you~" he chirped. Add-ons... well, he could try to avoid placing any hexes on him, at least for this guy. He was already dealing with something pretty big, right? But still, he didn't offer the threat much thought and just swept it aside in their conversation.

Hmph. Well, considering Henry's eternally cheery attitude, it was a long shot to keep trying to intimidate him. Resigned, he turned his attention back towards his laptop, doing his best to ignore the boy - but not before he gave his own name, with a dry, less-than-delighted tone. "...Naoya. A pleasure."

So now that they got the subject of that curse out of the way (which Henry was still dying to know about the nature of its extremity and the like), Henry figured it was as good a time as any to resume regular conversation. What regular entailed, one could never be sure.

"So, Naoya, are you somebody from Smash Academy?" Well, it was only polite to ask! "I'm going to be a student there."

"Yes." Naoya had returned to typing code now. As far as generic introductory questions go, this was easy and straightforward enough to answer while only paying Henry half a mind. "I'm the IT technician and programming teacher."

Henry laughed. "I don't even know what those things are," he said, amused by the foreign words. "What do you do with those things? Programming, like schedules? You've lost me."

Yeah, the word programming as applied to technology was not something he considered. That wouldn't make any sense.

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It's like the fun never ends.

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