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Who: Souji [

breakthecurse], and EVERYONE!
Where: The Diner
When: December 26
Rating: PG at most, likely
Summary: Christmas chicken and cake has to be a little late this year, but Souji and Tohru aren't balked by that.
The Story:
This year is the second annual KFC Christmas in Wonderland. At least, it was planned to be. The Jabberwocky, Mirror switching, and Souji's amnesia caused a slight delay, but when everything went back to normal last night, he remembered his and Tohru's plans.

They convened in the diner this morning to get things ready before setting a signboard and the Colonel (plus twinkling fairy lights) outside the door to advertise the post-Christmas special.

Fried chicken (with Souji's best approximation of the 11 herbs and spices), a few appropriate sides, and plenty of Christmas cake complete the menu today. Cocoa, coffee, tea, and various other drinks are available.

Come on in! Feel free to use this log to mingle.

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It's about an hour into the party that he makes an appearance.

He doesn't approach anyone right away; he's back to wearing the long, black coat he'd favored before all of the soul loss shenanigans began, hands sunk deep into his pockets as he lurks near the door, darkly watching those assembled with some degree of hesitation. To go in, or not?

Eventually, he does, cautiously approaching the counter. His presence isn't a welcome one, and maybe it never will be again, but Christmas seems as good a time as any to make amends with someone, doesn't it? Especially now that his heart is back in his chest where it supposedly belongs. Not beating, of course-- but it's there.

He looks anxious as he searches for any sign of either Tohru or Souji-- he has a good deal to say to both of them, all things considered, but he doesn't expect to be well-received.

Souji is wary of Angel, but not, for the moment, alarmed or hostile as he comes to the counter to meet him. He'll at least hear him out, if he wants to talk.

"Coffee?"

That makes Souji a brave kid, in his book -- braver than he'd initially given him credit for. He looks almost startled at the offer of coffee, but had the good sense to look humbled, hesitating before he nods.

"Yeah, that-- coffee would be great." Off to a decent start. "You and Tohru-- you put this together?"

Brave isn't normally a word Souji would use to describe himself. To be brave, one has to overcome fear, and it takes a lot to really scare Souji, especially when it comes to people--supernatural or otherwise. His relationship with Adachi has prepared him for a lot.

Souji nods as he gets a mug and fills it for Angel--he always keeps a pot of coffee at the ready. It's a pretty common request.

"We did it last year, too." It's something of a tradition, if something that's only happened twice can be called that. "It's a little late this year."

Angel gives a wordless nod of thanks once the coffee appears, taking the mug and wrapping his fingers around it as he pulled it close, allowing the warmth to creep into his cold hands.

"I'm sure people don't mind. It's-- after all that's gone on," he amends, fumbling over his words. "It's nice. Good that you did it at all. People need a little cheer. Some normalcy."

Souji rests both hands on the counter top, listening to Angel, nodding. He and Tohru agreed with that same sentiment, and Souji thought there was nothing more normal than good food (if he could say so himself).

"Was it hard to come here?"

The question is abrupt, but the way he says it isn't. His voice stays conversational, as though that were the logical reply to what Angel had been saying.

He pauses, stiffening slightly as though the question itself is enough to stop him in his tracks, then relaxes a moment later, though not enough to look as though he's truly comfortable with his surroundings.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was." He looks up, pained. "I wasn't sure you'd even let me in. Tohru-- is she here?"

Souji nods. Tohru is there, busy as always, but he isn't going to call her over right away.

"I'm glad you did come." It's the right thing to do, he thinks, in most situations--not giving up. "Can you tell me what happened?"

His expression darkens, troubled. What a question to ask. He swallows hard, as though it takes real effort to get through the next few moments.

"I wasn't myself," he starts off, his voice careful, halted. "I came to ask for forgiveness, for--"

He cuts himself off, sighing.

"I can tell you exactly what happened that night."

Souji stands in silence, considering how difficult this seems to be for Angel.

"Do you want to?" Souji can't promise he'll stop being nosy if Angel says no, but he might at least drop it for now.

"I should."

It can't be about whether or not Angel wants to, not really. That doesn't fall in line with what it means to be accountable, to work for atonement. He grimaces, as if steeling himself, and exhales slowly despite having no need for breath.

"I can't lie to myself about it. Try to pretend it wasn't what it was. I was waiting for her outside of the diner that night. Knew she'd be getting off around the same time as usual; I'd been following her for a couple of weeks. She knew I wasn't-- Angel. Not anymore. She was scared, but she tried to talk me down, get me to leave by saying the 'real me' would never hurt her."

"Why Tohru?"

Souji can understand some things, even if he doesn't agree with them. He's been killed twice for what had seemed like no reason, or at best, bad reasons. But Souji isn't as completely innocuous and sweet as Tohru is, so, at least with what Angel's said so far, he can't understand his choice of target.

There's a long pause, heavy, as though it's a difficult question for him to answer-- but after a moment, he looks up again, and any sign of guilt has melted away, no trace of remorse or apology left behind, only a smile, broad and knowing and nasty.

"Because Angel loves her." The halting tone of voice is gone, forgotten, no longer playing at being his souled self. He was locking himself out of an opportunity to remind Tohru of what she'd lost, but this was almost as good. "She makes him feel almost human. Can't have that, can I?"

He pushes away from the counter with one hand. "Angel's gone, but I'll gladly stamp out every last bit of humanity he's got to keep him that way. I'm doing you all a favor. Nobody really likes having a brooding boyscout around."

Alarmed or even surprised are too strong to describe Souji's reaction to this transformation. It's just too much like his relationship with Adachi for it to be shocking. The only change in his expression is a slight twitch of his eyebrows, upward, then back down.

"Then who are you?"

He hopes he'll get an answer. He'd like to know what he's up against. But he's not really counting on things to work out that easily.

"Who Angel should be. Who he was before he got a soul shoved down his throat and started feeling all guilty and tried to make up for all the bad he'd done." He snorts. No matter how many times he says it, it never stops being offensive on an incredibly basic level. Having to sit back and watch all that do-gooding for over a century had never really agreed with him.

"Angelus," he goes on to introduce himself a moment later, smirk back in place. "I'm the real deal. Angel? He's just a gypsy's idea of putting me in time-out."

"So you're two different people." Just two people in the same body, with the same past.

Souji's not one to mince words when it isn't helpful, so he goes ahead and just asks: "How do we get him back?"

"I wouldn't really call Angel a 'person.' He's a punishment. The result of a curse. He's not real."

That's his story and he's sticking to it. It was the same thing he'd told Tohru, what he'd insisted on no matter how many times she'd said that Angel was real to her, that he had to exist and that he was, God forbid, good.

"Not sure you'll like the answer to that one, kid. You don't." Not if he can help it. "And if you could, you think I'd tell you? He's gone, pal. He ain't comin' back. Which is exactly what I came to tell little miss sunshine."

Souji eyes him up and down.

"Don't bother." He has no intention of letting this guy anywhere near Tohru. "You've got no business with her."

Edited 2015-01-25 23:03 (UTC)

He puts both of his hands up, taking half a step back, smiling all the while.

"Far be it from me to hang around where I'm not wanted." Despite that being exactly what he has a reputation for. "But you're kidding yourself if you think you can protect your little friend forever."

"You don't have forever."

That comes out sounding like more of a threat than it is. Souji means that Angel's just as likely to disappear from Wonderland tomorrow as he is to mess with Tohru again--the former might actually be more likely, considering how many people have Tohru's back. So Souji doesn't have to protect Tohru forever. Just for long enough.

Although that's what he means to convey, there's just enough of a rare edge in his voice to make it sound aggressive.

"I could."

Just as he could vanish tomorrow and leave Wonderland behind, it's just as likely that he won't, that he'll stay here, far away from anyone who might be able to actually do anything about the pesky soul he had floating around somewhere.

His smile hitches up higher on one side. The kid has guts, and that, that's interesting.

"Are you threatening me? Brave."

"To be brave, you have to overcome some fear." And Souji isn't afraid of Angel. "I'm not brave."

Just quite confident.

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