Norie-K has spent the better part of the morning making texts. Watching TV. Laughing at TV. Remarking at how everything felt and then also making breakfast.
Norie-K would had lead Kukai-N to the coffin in the basement- but whether she rested there or in a bed upstairs was up to her. She heavily suggested the coffin.
He was currently sitting at the table writing a long note and aswell trying to figure out how they were going to explain an extended absence or.. what were they going to do about their families.
He yawned. "I forgot.. how grogginess feels." he says.
"I feel like a butt." he says to himself.
Kukai-N had spent the better part of the morning curled up in her coffin, arms around herself. Nothing felt good. Nothing felt right. It was all she could do to get up out of the coffin and pick up Norie's phone. Sometime during the night she had changed from Norie to Lacrima, and it had only enhanced the sensations and feelings she'd felt. Sleep had been a blessing, but it had intensified the whispers from the dark corners of Kukai's mind.
Kukai-N climbed out of the coffin and slumped into a chair nearby. "... I'm hungry." He knew what that meant, and the thought sent terror through him. "... who all have you been texting? And you are a butt."
Norie Okana looks to Kukai-N. "I see you've turned off the.. uh. Disguise." he says. "That's good. It eats energy to keep it up." he slides over a plate of eggs. "Jia-chan keeps a lot of eggs in here...." he says. "So there's plenty of them. I know that's not what you mean when you say 'hungry'." he says. "But eat. Eat a lot if you can. It does nothing for you, physically, but food still tastes like food and it's about the only... human thing. I could still do. Like that." he says.
His tone isn't monotone, it is filled with worried.
"I've been texting Jia-chan and Kunzite because I know those two are best to help." he says. "I haven't texted anyone else."
"How... hungry. Do you feel?" he asks.
"Is it. A nagging feeling? Or does it feel urgent?" he asks.
Kukai-N hmphs and leans forward. "I didn't turn anything off. It just went away when I went to sleep. I dunno how to turn anything off or on or anything." She stares at the plate of eggs, then picks up a fork and takes a bite, then sighs. "...It tastes like scrambled eggs. But eggs make me think of my brother Unkei in the kitchen, scrambling eggs for everyone to have breakfast around the kitchen table. I can remember how happy I was, but I can't... feel it. I don't feel any happiness at all, thinking about them. And now I'm thinking this'll be permanent despite what Sakura says." She pushes the plate away, a sense of depression running over her.
She looks up at Norie-K and hmphs. "... Your girlfriend and the big wall. I guess that's ok. You go smooching Jiaying, though, and I'm gonna be annoyed! That's my body and I don't want weird rumors getting back to Nadeshiko and Nagihiko!" She winces. "Oh, no. They're... I dunno what they're gonna think. This is awful." She ends up with her chin on the table.
At the question of hunger, she feels contemplative, looking up at Norie-K. "...Like I had a big meal last night, but most of it has digested. Most of the time I'd get a breakfast sandwich or some miso, rice, egg, and natto, and that would take care of it until past lunch... It's not urgent, yet."
Norie-K blinks. "Jiaying isn't my girlfriend...." he says. "Jia-chan is a close friend. Natsumi-chan and Eilam-kun...."
A blink. He hadn't actually. Thought of either. Oh god, he's blushing. "Those are the two I.. love...?"
"...I do!" he says with wide eyes. "I do! I do love them!" he says rapidly! "Aha---!"
A pause, he tries to calm down. That isn't fair to Kukai right now.
"It stinks. Doesn't it? You want to feel happy. You know you should feel happy. But you just don't." he says. "Don't. Try anything too new. Is my suggestion while we're like this."
"I handled things and feelings I was familiar with easily enough? But when I was confronted with. Love... I wasn't In love. With anyone before. When I was a human, so I had no baseline for it like I did everything else!- and that clashed into confusion and frustration and back to irrationality."
"Nrg... you shouldn't be feeling that for another day. So I think last night you burned though some of it somehow." he rubs a hand up across his face.
"Or maybe..."
A pause.
"...Kukai..."
"Where's Dachi?"
Kukai-N hmphs and shrugs, then arches an eyebrow. "You ..." She snorts. "Well. I'm so happy for you, Norie! You have something nice to be with while I'm having to avoid MY love because I'm afraid I'll EAT THEM!"
She glares at Norie-K until he calms down, then groans, leaning forward. "This whole thing is new and crazy. I don't know how you get along like this. I have never been this miserable. And angry." She listens to Norie-K talk, then sighs and nods. "I will try to avoid new things. That goes totally against everything I do - I used to like new things, so this is awful. But... maybe you should see the two of them. No. You shouldn't. We shouldn't. That would be weird. You kissing Eilam and Natsumi with my mouth."
Kukai-N suddenly sits up, looking around back and forth. "... Oh god. Oh, gods in heaven and devils in hell, where is he. Where.. Daichi! Norie! Call for Daichi! I don't know where he is! He was on my shoulder when we changed and then I don't remember seeing him since then!"
Norie-K frowns. "It's hard. I don't hold what you're saying at me against you, because I know how that feels." he says. "I won't go.. kissing. Anyone. I don't think. It'd feel weird too. Because Natsumi likes girls and Eilam likes girls and I am a boy right now." he sighs.
He frowns. "Everyday's a struggle being that thing. It isn't easy. I learned to stop aiming for happy and aim for 'comfortable'." she says.
"That still isn't happy." he wilts.
"But I was finally at a point where I could accept my current state for a long time. Then this happened. I dunno how I'm gonna react when I get back in that thing..." he says quietly.
"You haven't..." he says with shock- cutting himself off. He stands up. "Dachi!" he calls out.
"Dachi! Where are you? Dachi! Are you okay!?" he calls out.
Kukai-N sighs and then sits up, still glaring at Norie-K as he talks. "Well... that's good, then. And yeah. I guess that's a good enough reason." She thinks for a minute, then pokes Norie-K. "And no kissing Nagihiko or Nadeshiko. I guess" She at least sounds less grumpy than she did beforehand.
She sighs, rubbing her head with both hands. "...Comfortable, huh? I guess I can get there, maybe. And... don't even think about that. I hate to imagine either of us in this thing. It's horrific. I've got to get out of it..."
Kukai-N looks around for a minute before standing up, looking around. "Daichi! Daichi!! Where are you, you little punk! We need you!" After a minute or two a exhausted, drained looking little Daichi flutters down from the rafters and plops onto the table between the two of them. He looks tired, already. Kukai-N crosses his arms, staring at the little Chara. "Why can't I feel you, you..."
Oh god it's Dachi and he looks tired and exhausted. At least he's there.
"....Kukai." Noire-K says. "Kukai you don't have a 'magical heart' for Dachi right now." he says with genuine worry. "Just.. dark energy. A mass of dark energy."
"...and being a sports star isn't my dream or wasn't my dream. When I was human." he bites his lip.
"Nrg. If he's... living off you. That'd explain the extra drain. Why you're running out now..."
He looks at Kukai-N.
"Look..."
"You're going to hate this. But. But... you need to feed.. to eat. Before the day is over." he says.
"... Talk to Amu. Amu will give it willingly. Or..or..."
"I mean..."
"You could always hit me too, right? I'm a human now. Right?" he says.
"I need to teach you how anyways..." he says.
"You touch someone and you say 'Drain'." he says. "It'll do the rest. If you learn to concentrate, you can control how fast and how much. But that took me a lot of time to get down..."
Kukai-N looks at Daichi and then leans down, reaching in with one hand and patting his head, trying not to shudder all over. "...Daichi? Daichi, it's ok. It's me, it's Kukai. Please, it'll be ok... Just hang on, all right?" Daichi sniffs and then stands up, nodding to Kukai, a look of worry and slight fear running over his features.
"Well... crap. I guess I... we need to go find somebody to eat." She shivers all over, then pats Daichi again. "You should stay here, Daichi. Or maybe..." She looks at Norie-K. "Maybe he could stay with Amu or Na-chan or Tadase..."
She listens, then hmphs. "I ought to drain you half to death for being involved in this crap, but that'll just hurt me in the long run." She stands up, then hmms. "Just reach out and say drain and ... see how it goes? Maybe I can find some thief or idiot who deserves it. Let's ... get out there and see what happens."
Norie-K frowns. "I'm going to suggest you peek into alleys and I'm going to tell you to take the first best opportunity because I know it's really easy to think there's countless thugs in this city but there's not actually a lot and never when you need it...." he says quietly.
He frowns. "This isn't my fault and you know it." he says a little sourly.
"Before you go we need to get stories straight, Kukai." he says.
"Are we pretending we're away somewhere while like this. Or are we putting on an act for others, when it comes to our families."
"Because I just got back from running away for nearly half a year and I can't just...dissapear... for a month again." he says.
Kukai-N hmms and then nods. "Yeah. And the sooner I... eat... the less damage I do to anybody. And yeah. There's never a villain around when you really need one." She looks up at Norie-K and grins. "Well it is a little. If I hadn't grabbed the thing maybe this wouldn't have happened."
She sighs and then looks down. "I don't know anything about your family. And you don't know anything about mine. ... But I know my family would take care of you, and I hope yours would take care of me." She rubs her head and nods. "I guess we can go... wherever. Why do I sleep here if I'm supposed to stay with them, though?"
Norie-K blinks. "Oh! No. This was. A manor I found. It used to belong to... someone called Melanite? I lived here when I ran away. I still... keep it around. For situations like this." he says. "Well. Um."
"I think we should sit down and talk and figure out details. But we need to tell people in the know, too. Your friends and my friends because they can help and cover for us, right?" he asks.
"I... I'm sorry. You have to experience this." he says guiltily. "It isn't fun. And it's awful. I know it's going to hurt me a lot when I get back into there." he says softly.
"...and it's really tempting to maybe run away..." he quietly admits.
"But.."
"That's wrong. I can't do that. I can't do that!"
"So.. tell me. About. Your family then." he says quietly.