"Unresolved... grievances. Remnants... of hope. Other influences? It... could be... any number of... reasons." He glanced towards a spot next to him and extended a hand. When he pulled it back, a paper cup that was steaming appeared, as if he pulled it out from-

"In this world... most of them are... abandoned. Or have... a cult... following. Not that it changes... much where they... go." He explained, glancing into the distance as if he was recalling them. He had seen quite a few over time, heard whispers from some, simple things. Prayers -

"There are places... that offer things in... gratitude. Though, we... don't need or... use anything. But, I.. suppose it's the thought that... counts." If only they knew his affinity to sweets and coffee, they might swap their offerings. Though, he doubts anyone would take him seriously if he just-

"To be honest... I call it... work, but... it's really just a state... of being for me. I am... the embodiment... of Death... A concept... in flesh." He rubbed his fingers together to get rid of the last bits of the leaf, shifting to get move comfortable -

"Only a few... years." He nodded, moving his head to look at the leaf he had caught before, it was already beginning to turn brown in his hand. "I'm not the... best at noticing... when someone is... uncomfortable. Though, I'll learn.. in time." He admitted, moving his hand to scatter the remains-

"I only recently... began walking among... the living in the... flesh." Which easily explained his difficulty speaking and his inexperience with most emotions. After spending billions of years only speaking to souls, who didn't actually speak, he had forgotten how to. "Was it.. awkward? My...-

That statement made Death consider for a moment. "That's not true. You... are the first jinkininki that... I have seen in the... flesh." He admitted, moving a hand to crack the window open a bit more, to let some more of the breeze in. He blocked most of it anyway. There was silence as-

The being let out a sigh, shifting over to lean against the window sill, to make himself a little more comfortable. "You can't... escape fate. It's... relentless like that. You are simply... prolonging the... inevitable." He allowed his eyes to drift out and up at the sky. The breeze this time -

"Is it worth... doubling it?" The tall man inquired, his eyes finally fading, allowing him to fully open them, locking them onto the other. "It won't... make your punishment... any shorter. Simply more... painful." From his perspective, it seemed like he was observing the other's expressions -

"Fate will... cause you suffering... proportional to the... sins committed. There... is no need for you... to cause yourself any... extra." The beings eyes remained closed, but is head turned towards the other. Only after the other finished speaking, did his eyes crack open slightly, still-

"Reasons?" For a moment, his eyes seemed to flash, but he quickly closed them, turning his own head away. He had learned the hard way that the living didn't take kindly to him knowing all of their secrets. And he needed to get over his -

"Pain, whether physical... or mental, is... the body telling you something... is wrong." The being was annoyed, which was what caused his actions. Though, admittedly, seeing the ice cube of a man express any emotion at all could be amusing indeed. "You... said it yourself. It... causes you-

"If it causes... you so much... pain. All the more.... reason to avoid... being careless." A frown and another flick on the forehead given. Has the other not been immortal, he would have become food for the creature in the bathtub. And Death -

"You don't... get used to it. You simply... separate it." He crossed his arms, tapping a finger a few times, trying to figure out a way to explain what it was like. "It's like... a dream. I separate... myself from the person, for... they are not me. It makes the... sensation and the...-

A calm nod. As if they were discussing the weather. Still nothing seemed to bother the being much. Well, there were a few things, but they were very few. "I have." His eyebrow, however, rose after the other's latest statement, as if that was something he had never-

The corner of Death's lips curled up briefly at the reaction from the jikininki. And the next moment, his features had returned to normal and he seemed to consider the other's question. He had to take a moment, his gaze drifting off to something that wasn't there. "Perhaps... I have. But I -

"You don't... have to." Tomio is somewhat lucky that he lives in this world, unlike someone who has to grasp the concept of magic in millions of different worlds, where every world has different rules. Not to mention, they change. Constantly. "You still... have your soul. That makes... you-

It is surprising just how much of a pain just a single extra soul can be...

Please do avoid giving him more work...

"It's a.. construct. In simple terms, created.. by a mix of magic... and alchemy. They could be... classified as creatures, but.. they lack a soul. One can't create life... from nowhere." He explained, lifting his arm above the tub again and with a simple wave of his hand, the zapping stopped, the-

"Or chemicals... one or the other. Any number... of things could have caused this." He seemed very fascinated by the creature and how it came to be. Meanwhile, the creature was very much growing more and more frustrated with it's attacks not working. When it attempted to crawl up Si Shen's arm, -

"Something in your... tap water reacted with... the herbs." He stated, the water suddenly raising to wrap around his arm and trying to pull him down, but the tall man simply remained still, lifting his arm to watch the electrified cocoon of water that was trying to most likely kill him, unaware -

"It's too... late to say what.. I needed to or.. didn't need to do." He spoke while focusing on the turbulent bathtub. It almost moved like it was alive and trying to defend itself by repeatedly zapping Death's hand, which quite obviously didn't seem to do anything, the moment it reached his skin,-

"Regular plants, yes, but these... are bit regular plants, are they? I... explained before how they worked... What properties they have. They are infused with... magic." Speaking of magic, he pushed himself off the wall and slipped into the bathroom to look over the-

Death's hand moved up to rub the bridge of his nose. What is he going to do with someone who refuses to listen and walks into trouble themselves...? "How many...times did I warn... you about them?" His pupils shrunk, whether it was out of concern or frustration was not quite clear from the way he-

Guess who's back...

It had taken a moment for Death to receive the news, after all, he was dealing with a mass death situation when the reaper he had stationed near Tomio's place had sent word of something happening. He still needed to finish what he was doing after that, too. It wasn't until he felt that calling-

Another messy job done...

"Very well... then." He nodded and took a few steps back, his face the same calm as ever. After that, he gave the other a small nod before basically disintegrating, as if he had just been an illusion, blown away by the wind.

"A dog...?" He straightened back out, retracting his hand. Eyebrows raised slightly before curving into a light frown. Had he been treating the other like that?

[ . . . ] the voice of the waves 　was now mixed with 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 . . .

The statement of 'I'll be just fine' caused a sigh to leave his lips and he leaned down to pat the other's head again. "Can.... never be too careful, you.... know."

"I'll try." He nodded, moving inside to place the cup in the kitchen before moving to stand next to the other for a moment. "If something... happens, call... for me."

The solitude wasn't exactly what he was worried about. As someone who had spent much of his time in his own company, he knew how comfortable it could be. "Correct. I... need to deal with a few... anomalies." Another sip and the cup was empty. Too bad he didn't get to enjoy that for longer...

When the other stepped outside, Death simply opened up the window more and took a seat on the windowsill, taking a few more sips from the cup. After another flash of his eyes, he spoke. "It seems they really can't... handle it themselves." A silent sigh escaped him. He-

"Thank you." He accepted the cup with a nod and took a sip immediately, ignoring the possibility that it might be too hot. Not that he really cares. After all, the spiciness would only improve the flavour, in his opinion. It would... be quite sad if he-

"I wouldn't... say no to a cup of... coffee." He admitted, following suit to stand up himself. Though, he took it a little easy, since one of his legs still refused to fully listen to him.

"Just... water me with... coffee once in... a while." It seems that Death can play along with some jokes, even if they are somewhat lame. "Need... anything?"

His eyes locked onto the other for a moment and after another sigh that seemed more like him releasing something that was bothering him, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "What I mean... is that... I am very... low maintenance. Not... much to take... care of."

In his case, this is confiding, absolutely. He doesn't even speak so much with his 'brothers'. Despite one of them constantly butting into his life. "That's... an easy ask."

He exhaled a silent sigh, his eyes glancing over at the window briefly before moving to the other. "Apologies." He stated simply. He wasn't ever sure what to apologize for. Overstaying what he had said, scaring the hell out of the other or showing a side of him that didn't quite fit...

"For the... living, yes. But I can't... allow it to... interfere with... my duties." He stated, it was still ridiculous to him in a way. A being that had lived for as long as life existed, yet the first time he walks among humans, he can't properly grasp emotions.

His head leaned back and his eyes stared up at the ceiling for a silent moment until he let out a 'hah' that almost sounded like he was mocking himself. "It will.. pass. I can't.. afford to grieve.. for long, after.. all." Despite whatever he was thinking or feeling, his expression was still calm.

"Usually, when... someone dies, their... soul is sent... to live on. The... destination... is determined by... merits or... sins." He explained, taking a moment to take a small break and adjusting himself in his sitting-

"It's... fine. Any damage... still heals, even if I'm not... there." He had to get used to human speech again, it seemed. Longer sentences made the slight hoarseness in his voice more obvious. "I'm not... so sure. He asked... me to... shatter him." Was that a glimmer of... Pain in his eyes?

"I'm... fine." He spoke, his body still remaining still for a while longer before he pushed himself back up only when the lines once again faded, his hand moving to take the towel off. Just how long was he out this time? "I'm sorry if-

Carefully, as if it was cautious of Tomio, the smoke flowed forward, slipping behind Death's collar and aiming for his back, entering his body as if absorbed by something. Once the smoke was gone, the lines on Death's skin grew brighter again and soon enough, his-

Despite seeming to be sentient, the smoke probably wasn't able to communicate. It's shape was too fluid to stay the same for too long, so it couldn't depict anything. Though, the moment a bit of it brushed near Death's body, the lines on his skin seemed to-

The smoke moved like it was sentient, recoiling the moment that Tomio got in the way, as if it was afraid to touch him. It would float around, looking for an open spot where it could reach Si Shen without touching the jikininki. It seemed quite adamant at reaching Death's body.

A few more minutes... It was the same for a few more minutes. Then, out of nowhere, a cloud of black smoke appeared out of nowhere, drifting in through the cracked window. The way it moved was enough to show that it wasn't just a regular cloud, besides, it headed straight for Si Shen.