We Are Bulletproof

It's a date. ;)

I feel you won't regret it. ;)

Of course. Most people don't contact me through ChatterPage for work purposes.

Drinks are fine but really, not necessary.

Ah. Well I'll be honest as well.
I'm quite disappointed.

But yes, I can do that for you.
I do owe Dusk one.

Oh?
And why not?

Am I scaring you now?

;)

Scary?
Haha
They must be easily intimidated.
Intensity is a turn on.

At least you're not one of those people telling me to cut it.
You wouldn't believe how many people think they can get away with pressing their preferences on you.
Shame the man bun. 🙄

But thank you.
You are quite the looker yourself.

Hah! Of course.
Who else would it be?

All these kids were having little mental breakdowns. Kotaro looked away, running a hand through his hair and wishing that he'd never answered the call of that little one. The littlest one was still huddling in his jacket and looking uncomfortable. A little like he was gonna start bawling, actually. And the oldest one was definitely bawling. All right, quietly crying, but he was crying. Kotaro didn't get into this whole business to watch kids cry.

There was nothing here to save them from. He answered these calls when there were hunters present. He answered these calls when there were conflicts between packs or families. He didn't answer them to explain that the presence they just met wasn't human and he could pretty much destroy all of them if he so chose to.

That or make "life" much worse for them.

Hazleton was more his than any of theirs--they were just a bunch of kids and an older man who worked in the shadows.

"No, I can't. That's not within my wheelhouse, kid." He looked back over at the kids, at the middle one, the one staring at him. "It's not like it's dead," he said finally after a long moment. "Dragons like that, they have a different kind of... body makeup. Yeah?"

"Because, this is just one universe," he said, as if it was obvious. All right, he knew full well that it wasn't obvious to these kids but if they were messing around with the Other Side of Hazleton then they were going to learn about it one way or another. Kotaro wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea that he might have to play babysitter, though. He'd only come here because there was a child in danger but he never intended on doing anything more than protecting the kid from a one-time danger. He hadn't anticipated being tangled up with the being that called himself Ryan now.

"Even if this dragon is gone, there's multiple others." He leaned his head back and eyed the skyline, but he was really tilting his gaze about the area, wondering if Ryan was still nearby. His presence was noticeable if he was but that meant so little when one was dealing with something like Ryan.

"Of course, that means the others don't know or remember you so..."

Kotaro shrugged.

The older kid was staring at him slack-jawed for a moment but there was something in his eyes. He didn't like what he'd heard, eh? Well... how did they put it? Them's the breaks.

"Look, you kids should stop meddling in this. Crossing a guy like... Ryan, that's not going to end well. For any of you."

Phrasing it nicely--that they wanted to take the dragon home--didn't seem enough for the kids. They were smart kids. Crossing his arms, Kotaro looked the kids over. They were passionate. They wanted to do good by somebody. Their friend, the dragon. It made his cold heart feel a little fuzzy, seeing kids like them. It had been a long, long time since Kotaro was anything like them but it reminded him of why he'd rebelled from his past life. Maybe he could find a way to help them without letting Ryan take his dragon back.

Not that he was really Ryan's, not any more than Kotaro considered himself Ryan's. And the dragon probably didn't have a strange and bumpy lifetime history with him. Ah, he hoped not. Where was the dragon now? He peered around. It might have done as it was bid and tried to run but Ryan's hold on it was strong. If the dragon ran, he wouldn't get very far.

"Your brother?" Kotaro asked with a lift of a brow. "What does your brother have to do with this? What are your names?"

Dragon. The kid kept calling the dragon... Dragon, like it was a name. It would have been something he would have laughed merrily at had the mood been lighter. Instead, things were tense, even before the kids burst in. It was cute that they were playing protector and all but... Kotaro eyed Ryan for a brief second. In this new body, he looked so innocent and tame, a normal young man. The kids probably didn't even realize there was anything off. For all intents and purposes... Kotaro likely looked like the villain. He hadn't done anything to the dragon, though. He assumed this was the dragon the boy had called him about.

There were a handful of people like himself here in Hazleton--cops that worked with the supernatural. There was a special code in the emergency number one could call if they were privy to the supernatural world of Hazleton. It could have been anyone that got this call but it was Kotaro. He couldn't help but believe it had been fate. Or something more sinister. He barely looked at Ryan.

He turned his attention to the kid shouting about his dragon friend. Slowly, he reached out to touch the kid's shoulder but his little friend was like a yapping dog and he immediately flapped his arms in his over long jacket, jumping between his hand and the other kid. Then he pushed his hand away and stared at him, a lot like a small yapping dog. Was he sure he was a red panda...?

Slowly, Kotaro lowered his hand.

"Look," he said, "if you were taken from this realm and placed in another one, you would find the new realm... hostile to you. The dragon comes from another realm. He doesn't belong here."

What in the spirits' name was going on here? There was this kid coming at him shouting about leaving Elk-something-or-other alone and he had to surmise that was the name of the dragon. At least, he thought as much up until the part where the kid started shouting at the dragon to run. Finally prying the little fur ball off his face but leaving stinging scratches down his face, Kotaro shook out the animal and gave it a stare. Red panda from the looks of it. A little one, too, half grown.

"You kids have no idea what you're doing," he said, and he had more to say but the panda bit him nice and hard right in the crook of his hand, where the thumb met the palm. Letting out a shout, he finally dropped the panda and it rolled onto the ground amidst dried up leaves and dirt.

He felt the magic as it occurred. Shifting took a bit of magic; it didn't surprise him that the panda was a shifter. Mostly because 1. these animals weren't native to the area and 2. they weren't known for dropping from the sky onto unsuspecting mens' faces.

And it wasn't much of a surprise that it was a kid when it shifted and pointed at himself and the man he'd met. "You two are in... cohorts with each other!"

Cohorts?

Sounded like a frightened little kid on the phone but when Kotaro appeared at the park, he found himself facing down an old and familiar face. The one who created creatures or summoned them to this realm in order to cause mayhem. Kotaro raised his brows, not having expected to face him. Hazleton was something of a nexus for supernatural activity in the world but it was one of many--he didn't think this little place warranted the attention of somebody so powerful. He said as much, and he wasn't sure what was going on but the dragon that the kid had called about... his energy was diminishing rather quickly.

Mid-conversation, however, he found himself assaulted by a small, furry animal. The thing dropped down from a tree and grabbed onto Kotaro's face and clung to it and Kotaro struggled to pry the thing off. It made some kind of sound as it clung to him with all its strength and then a moment later there was some human kid coming charging at him.

With an ungainly motion, he threw a hand out and tried to keep the kid at bay while the other hand was still on the furry creature that doggedly would not let go.

@Blue