Seto arranged the two milk coffees before Yami with a proud wave of his hand and pointed at the first cup.
"Try that one first," he said encouragingly, gazing hungrily into Yami's face for a positive reaction, but he only saw a nervous frown in the middle of the mage's brow. "Do you like it less sweet? More bitter?"
"I have…no preference," Yami struggled as he reached for the first cup, secretly hoping for another electric touch. He didn't know how to get one, other than to perhaps…openly ask…?
"Will you connect with me again if I taste it?" Yami asked carefully as he stared at the white lid of the cup, willing his heart to stop pounding.
Connect with…him? Seto frowned heavily before he understood in an instant and his face split into a grin. Suuuure, he could do that.
"Yes, one connection for one sip. But be honest," Seto said bossily, leaning the small of his back against the counter as he folded his arms across his chest, eyeing Yami steadily. "If you hate it, tell me what needs improvement. I take these drinks seriously."
Understood… Yami broke out into a cold sweat and took a tentative sip, feeling the liquid pool thickly over his tongue, nearly making him gag, so he pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and gently set the cup down. O-Oh gods. That was disgusting.
"I'm sorry. This one will be better," Seto said hopefully, pushing the other cup closer and knowing he was killing the sexy mood from earlier, but he was too selfish to care. He wanted to know if Yami could even begin to like coffee, because it was fucking spider's blood in their dimension. Yami wouldn't allow him to openly harvest the blood if he didn't like the taste…dammit.
Yami swallowed thinly and lifted the second paper cup to his lips, afraid to take a sip but he did anyway, reminding himself that the feeling of human pleasure would last longer than one terrible taste of this drink. And thankfully, this one wasn't as bad. It had a dull sweetness and a sharp bitterness.
"I definitely like it bitter," Yami announced as he set the coffee down with a delicate wrinkle of his nose. "Thank you for showing these to me—"
"We're not done. I have eight more cups brewing," Seto interrupted, turning to eye the machine behind him that was counting down. One minute and thirty seconds left on the next drink…
"You owe me something, or did you forget?" Yami replied carefully as he swiped the pad of his finger underneath his lips, now wondering if his breath would taste bad because of this drink.
Right, a connection, Seto thought playfully as he leaned forward to graze his lips over the bridge of Yami's nose with a teasing air before he dipped down to capture his lips, enjoying the way his chest tightened when he felt Yami's breath hitch and then wash over him steadily in a heated wave when he deepened the kiss with a slight part of his mouth. He was about to pull away when Yami boldly threw his arms around his neck to pull him down further, and their tongues tangled lovingly, with almost too much familiarity that it made Seto's gut wrench. Yami would figure it out…eventually… He was kissing the same person over and over again, just in different bodies, but Yami was blissfully unaware. He'd regained some of his confidence.
After mentally fighting with himself did Yami finally give in to the wonderful shivers running down his spine every time the human's tongue entered his mouth, and Yami never wanted it to end, so he made sure to lock his arms tightly around the other man's neck to keep him there. The cold metal of the human's glasses was gently poking him in the cheek, but he didn't care.
Seto tried to pull away but realized he was firmly trapped. Yami wasn't going to let up, and that much was clear when he felt the mage yank him lower to his height and give the roof of his mouth an insistent prod, sending a wild jolt of electricity down his spine. Oh shit…
Maybe they should stop! O-Or not, because it felt…amazing!
Yami's breath was intoxicatingly sweet, with a hint of coffee at the end, and Seto let himself sink into the lustful frenzy that overtook him.
He raked his palms down the sides of Yami's slender body, bunching up his robes so he could get a good grip underneath his thighs to lift him up, high enough to slide his ass over the counter and get a nice firm grope.
Yami's breath hitched again as he found himself sitting atop the sales counter, with the cups of coffee dangerously close to the human's elbows. A hot breath was trailing down the side of his neck again, and a sharp bite stung his collarbone.
"Take off the cosplay," Seto growled, the corners of his lips twitching upwards at Yami's obvious confusion.
"I-I'd rather not disrobe here," Yami replied with as much conviction as he could muster, because he was slowly melting on the inside, the longer the human's hands remained on his bottom, and the sweet, warm breath against his cheek was making it hard to breathe.
"Okay, fine by me," Seto said plainly, diving forward to kiss Yami furiously again while his hand roamed boldly down between Yami's legs to grab his erection, which was severely stifled by his tight pants and belt.
"Will you take it off down here? We can't do anything if you don't," Seto's tongue itched with longing, and to his relief, he didn't have to wait long, because Yami reached down with trembling hands to undo his belt and the top button of his pants, inching it down to give him a wonderful view of his boner clad in dark underwear.
Excited and flushed, Yami didn't wait for the human to ask, and he slid himself out quickly, seeing the harsh lights reflected in the human's glasses. The man carefully took them off his face and hooked them to the front of his shirt.
His eyes were startling, clear blue, and Yami's heart froze in his chest at the familiar color.
Why was it that everywhere he turned, someone would remind him of that demon?!
The thought quickly left him when the human's hand wrapped around his length and gave him a few quick strokes, followed by a careless, rough suck from the mouth that sent a violent jolt down his body that was nearly unpleasant.
"H-Hey, do it properly," Yami protested weakly, and he received a heart-stopping glare.
"What does that even mean? I'm already doing it, now shut up and let me see your hole," Seto raged, now thinking he'd been too giving in the previous two encounters. It was time to feel pleasure the way he liked it, because he was tired of explaining himself.
M-My…what? Yami flushed so hard, his cheeks and ears burned. That was dirty and indecent. He didn't have a pleasure hole like a woman, so this human was sorely mistaken.
"I'm a man," Yami said evenly, his heart threatening to explode from his chest when the human laughed at him again, sounding almost evil when he replied, "Yes, I know. Show it to me."
Yami swallowed his confusion and half-shook his head, watching pale hands creep down between his thighs to pry them further apart, and he was leaned back farther on the counter, his lower body on fire as cold fingers slid down his crack and gave the rim a suggestive rub.
"One second," Seto said darkly, and he hastily got up to find lube from one of the store shelves, wincing when he heard his knee pop from standing too fast.
H-Holy shit, this body was too realistically old.
He scanned the shelves and found a small, nondescript black bottle with the health care items and snatched it off the hook, keeping his gaze nailed to Yami's flushed face as he knelt before the mage again and placed his hand along Yami's inner thigh, showing him the bottle.
"May I put some of this on you? It'll help with the feeling," Seto said as calmly as he could muster, and to his surprise, he received a tight nod.
Oh. Okay. Fucking Yami might be easier than he thought.
Spurred on by this, Seto tipped the lube into his palm and slathered it up and down Yami's dick, enjoying the heat seeping into his hand from the marvelous stiffness. The odd bumps on the side of the member didn't even bother him anymore. He discovered if he tightened his fist over the curve of each one, Yami would tense and tremble a little.
This is good! Seto grinned to himself as he slipped his hand down underneath Yami's ass again, his blood running hot and then cold when he realized Yami was missing another part of male anatomy that he'd previously missed in all his earlier rushing. Balls.
He paused and sat back on his heels to take a good look at Yami's penis, forcing himself to take steady, even breaths while the blood thundered in his ears.
Yep. Yami had no balls.
"Is something wrong?" Yami asked tentatively, his ears burning with embarrassment from the way the human was merely sitting and staring at him, causing him to break out into a cold sweat. Again, all three humans who had seen him here stared for a long time.
Was it…u-ugly?
"Yours looks different from mine," Seto replied simply, and he reached his hand down between Yami's legs again to touch his hole, earning a sharp gasp and thighs clamping down over his hand almost painfully, making it hard for him to move.
"I said I'm not a woman. I don't have that hole," Yami said steadily over the frantic beat of his heart, but the human man shrugged.
"I'm not looking for that hole," was the cold reply he received before his legs were pried apart with a bit too much force, and a cold finger slid intrusively over the rim of his opening again, giving him a hot and cold shiver that was almost unpleasant.
"It feels strange. I don't like that," Yami said instantly as he kept his grip tight atop the human man's slender shoulders, and he received an impatient hiss.
"It'll feel strange for a while before it starts to feel good," Seto snapped, deciding to slide his fully lubricated finger up into Yami's heat in one quick motion before the fluid dried, and he received an undignified shout, and a bit of a struggle from Yami as he shifted from left to right on the narrow counter, his cheeks dark red as he tried to ride out the cold shivers raking down his legs, while the blue-eyed human showed no signs of letting up. The cold finger began twisting and shoving into him repeatedly with agonizing slowness, making him squirm so much, he knocked over one of the coffees.
The cup went spilling messily down the back of the counter, and Yami let out a frantic gasp, but again, the human didn't mind it at all. Seto's gaze was fixed intently on Yami's length which was slowly deflating, so he surged forward to take it into his mouth, wincing when hands came down into his hair to hang onto him while Yami hissed furiously and tried to shift himself off his fingers, only managing to sit down further, trapping Seto's index finger up his hole.
Fuming from his own inexperience, Seto lifted his head up from Yami's dick and spat, "stop that! You'll like it when I can find your spot."
What spot?! Yami reeled as he hesitantly obeyed and balanced himself easily on the counter, propping one leg up to give himself traction while he shivered, watching the human continue earnestly by dipping his mouth down over his length, and Yami's stomach twisted with a mild jolt of pleasure, and another strange tingle from his hole while the fingers prodded and stretched him with tentative care.
It was strange every time this happened, but this was by far the most uncomfortable encounter.
Maybe human pleasure is waning for me already? This would be my third time, Yami wondered faintly as he felt another finger sliding up into his opening to give him a burning stretch, and he winced, thinking he'd had just about enough of the fingers.
"Are you done moving your hands around?" Yami asked curiously, raising one leg up to stare at the crop of brown and white hair between his legs. "Your other hand can stop. I'm happy with just your mouth—"
He was silenced with a rough kiss when the human stood up suddenly to shove his tongue into his mouth, and Yami's entire lower body went cold when the heat disappeared too fast.
His mind raced with dread when he tasted an odd tang on the human man's mouth, and he tried not to swallow anything, terrified that he was tasting himself on the human's breath. Oh gods, this was so dirty. Their mouths and parts were connecting…too much…!
You want my mouth? You can please shut up, because I don't know what I'm doing! Seto cried silently as he moved his hands around his front to undo the front of his pants but realized the shop's apron was in the way. He pulled away briefly to untie the knot from around his neck, but Yami's arms locked around the back of his back made it hard for him to do anything other than fumble while Yami's hot breath seeped into his body, making him throb uncomfortably in his pants. Finally managing to untie the apron, Seto tossed it aside and shoved his hands down his front to unbutton himself, seeing trembling hands coming to help him.
I haven't seen myself! What if I can't stand the way it looks? Seto panicked internally while Yami had a similar feeling.
I've never seen a human's parts up close other than in photographs… What if I think it's disgusting because this human is elderly?! What face should I make?! Yami balked when he saw the band of white underwear peeking out from behind the zipper, and he struggled to keep his expression pleasant when the band was lowered, and he was greeted with a very uninteresting version of his own member.
A-Ah… It was quite plain, with a rounded head, slender, a smooth shaft, and two…eggs at the bottom. Odd, but not unsightly.
OH GOD…! Seto had a mini crisis while staring at his own erection, his stomach curling with disgust and dread at the obvious ungroomed hair—much more than he was accustomed to seeing on himself, but Yami didn't seem to mind, or care.
But if he glanced past the neglected manscaping, it looked like what he remembered himself being. Just…older, with a few strands of white, even down there.
I can't do it anymore. Sex is over for me, Seto raged as he made a move to button himself up, but Yami's hand reached out to wrap around his wrist, and he received a heart-stopping look of wide-eyed curiosity from angular, violet eyes that made his stomach churn.
"I see what you mean by the difference," Yami said kindly, secretly thinking his own was larger, but probably only in girth, and mostly because he wasn't human…
I'm being punished. I hate this afterlife, Seto raged and ranted, his hands moving on autopilot because now he just wanted to get it over with. Yami's puppy eyes were killing him inside, and hopefully he could perform well enough to give the mage and orgasm, and then dip out of this dimension…forever. He'd learned a solid lesson in shapeshifting and time travel.
He didn't know how to control it other than how to arrive at the desired location.
Yami was aware of the human's obvious distress, so he inched forward as much as he could on the counter and draped his legs around the human's waist, only mimicking what he could remember from his encounter with the human girl, and gave the man a shaky smile.
"Are we continuing? With yours into my hole?" Yami asked sweetly, and his breath left his lungs in a tight whoosh when the human daringly prodded the tip of his member against the rim of his hole, and his heart clenched with fear, thinking for a moment that it wouldn't fit, or perhaps wouldn't feel like anything, but his stomach dipped again when the human leaned away from him, cursing under his breath as he reached for the black bottle to pour the liquid into his palm.
Put off by the anger, Yami gave the human a gentle smile and said, "perhaps I should go home after all. We're having some trouble."
"No. I'm having some trouble. You're fine," Seto breathed, his embarrassment on high as he tried not to look at his own dick while touching it with lube, deciding to go back to pleasing Yami instead, because he couldn't stand himself at this point.
He rested his hand on Yami's bare thigh and his heart skipped a beat when Yami's arms once again looped around his neck and a soft kiss landed on his cheek.
"What is it? Will it change shape? What's happening? Tell me," Yami teased, trying to at least lessen the tense mood before he left, because he could tell the human was sorely embarrassed by their difference. "We'll never see each other again, so I wouldn't remain concerned…"
Right, because I'm another stranger right now. Seto thought darkly as he reached for the lube for the umpteenth time to cover his half-erection up with it again, gritting his teeth and pulling himself closer between Yami's legs, falling into his deep, angular eyes, forcing himself to relax enough to dive forward for another kiss, and he could feel Yami let out a content sigh the moment their lips met, so Seto thrust his tongue into Yami's mouth, daring to reach underneath Yami's ass to lift him up enough so the rim of his hole could meet the head of his dick, and he slid himself in slowly, his legs trembling as a familiar hot fire spread from his core down to his heels, and he could feel Yami's legs spasming on either side of his body, giving him his confidence back in a rush. W-Was it that good or was it painful?
"Does it hurt?" Seto asked nervously, half pulling out in a mild panic, but Yami's arms locked tighter around his neck as the mage struggled to get his words out through his shallow breaths.
"N-No…" Yami hissed, trying to see through the odd haze that had settled in front of his mind the moment the human stretched him fully with his length, and when the human backed away slightly, his stomach clenched in protest. His entire body was burning, and his chest was tight, filled with the human's scent mixed in with the light residual tang of spider's blood, making his hair stand on end. Now this was an amazing feeling…!
"Okay, then I'm starting," Seto said awkwardly, and he received a shocked look from the spiky-haired mage.
"What do you mean, you haven't started?!" Yami asked numbly, his legs feeling like they were going to fall off from how much they were trembling. "Then what have we been doing?"
"Not foreplay, I'll tell you that," Seto muttered darkly under his breath as he bucked his hips forward tentatively and earned a sharp gasp as Yami doubled over in his arms and shuddered, his fingertips digging sharply into the tops of his shoulders from the way he was gripping so hard, and Seto took this as a good sign, so he pulled out gently again to give Yami another slow thrust, feeling himself sliding in all the way until the hilt, and his head spun as he tried to recall when he'd last had sex with someone, because Yami's hole was an odd, wonderful, tight, wetness that made him see stars. Seto's hands went down to spread Yami's ass for a good feel, and he felt his chin smash painfully down onto Yami's shoulder as the mage grabbed him tightly and rocked forward furiously, demanding he do it faster.
"Stop it! You're d-doing it slowly on purpose!" Yami growled as his body kept vibrating with wonderful hot shocks of pleasure, but they were all of a medium intensity. He knew there had to be more to this feeling, and he was correct when the human slid one arm around his waist and kept the other on his inner thigh to keep his legs spread and began pounding into him with a steady rhythm that made it feel like he was floating out of his body.
Floored and mystified by the feeling, Yami threw his head back joyfully and rode out each pleasurable wave, his chest and stomach curling at different times when a hot breath trailed down his neck as the human showered kisses in a straight line from his ear to his collarbone, followed by the electrifying heat of a tongue dipping into the curves of his collarbone, the rhythm oddly out of sync with the thrusting, but the timing difference was amazing.
He likes it? Seto wondered hazily as he gazed into Yami's blissful face and drinking in his beautiful expression, his guilt still gnawing at him. But we're not even in a comfortable place… Maybe I should take him to a hotel—
I can hear his thoughts, Yami realized dimly as his body was rocked with another hot shiver, and a cold hand came wrapping around his front to give him rough, fervid strokes, giving him violent jolts of ecstasy as teeth came nibbling playfully on the shell of his ear, sending another exciting tingle down his chest, and the human's voice sent a wave of heat down his spine.
"Cum, and then I'll show you a better time somewhere else," Seto said anxiously, feeling his own shallow orgasm bubbling up in a quick rush, and it wasn't hard to throw himself into Yami's heat a few more times before his stomach clenched and heaved with a familiar tightness, and he came in a clenching rush, his head spinning with what he recognized was relief.
Yami shuddered and winced when the human's essence rushed into him, hot and fast, making his breath catch painfully in his throat when he heard the store notification spell chime loudly above their heads.
"Bing bong bing bong! We have a customer!...—Bing bong bing bong! We have a customer!"
And Seto swallowed thinly in fear as he turned his head to see a man and a woman in business attire walk into the store, both wearing face masks with a filter, and their eyes met briefly before the couple turned on their heel silently and left with their heads lowered.
Ohhh…shit….
He felt Yami shudder and cum between them, and he felt himself smile in spite of the situation as he gazed into Yami's blissed-out face. His cheeks were flushed, framed nicely by his spiky blond bangs while his lips were parted prettily as he gasped for air.
Okay. Maybe this was worth exploring somewhere private….
His head spinning, Yami leaned forward on the human's shoulder and struggled to come around faster, but the haze was stubbornly stuck at the front of his mind. His hole was thrumming happily with heat, and he almost wished they could…keep going…
But they had been seen by two other humans, and he'd felt the man tense in fear, stopping completely in his motions.
"I'm losing my job," Seto said robotically as he wondered if he should pull out now, and nearly had a heart attack when Yami's hand tightened on his shoulder and the mage rocked forward experimentally with a shaky smirk.
"Looks like you have a new job," Yami replied playfully, pointing down at the mess of fluids between them. "Keep going. It feels good."
H-Holy shit, I can't! Seto reeled as he backed out slowly and considered apologizing for the terrible sex. His body was coursing with a joyful warmth, but there was a cold pit of dread in his stomach. Possibly the worst, most awkward sex he'd ever had.
I can hear his thoughts because …we're connected now? Yami wondered curiously as his fingertips tingled with warmth and even his toes were happily warm while his entire body felt light and floaty. Amazing.
This was as good as the massage from the other human—possibly better.
But clearly this human was having other thoughts about it.
"So it can be better?" Yami asked purely out of curiosity, but he saw the human flinch so much, it might've been embarrassment.
"It could be… And I'm sorry for my inadequacy," Seto raged as he pulled his pants up and edged around the counter to see the mess of spilled coffee everywhere. Nice. Perfect. He grabbed a set of wet towelettes from a small cleaning station by the cash register and handed a few to the mage, but was surprised to see Yami outwardly performing magic in front of him, running a cleaning bubble down his front and even spreading it over the counter to vanish the coffee.
"You might not want to drink that, because it will have debris from the floor in it," Yami explained kindly as he pushed the two cups steadily across the counter. "I merely put the liquid back into the cup. I didn't clean or purify the drink in any way—"
"Holy shit. How did you do that?!" Seto kept his eyes wide and even fumbled to put his glasses on to sell the act. "What happened? Are you—am I…hallucinating?! What happened?!"
He had no idea what magic looked like through human eyes but could guess that anyone would see liquid vanishing off the floor and counters.
Yami eyed the elderly human and did a quick appraisal, whispering it into his fist while making a motion to politely cover his mouth, and raised his eyes slowly to stare at the information floating above the man's head.
Takeda Nishio
Age: 68
Blood type: A
Lifespan prediction: -NULL-
Ethnicity: Japanese
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 65kg
Hair: black
Eyes: brown
Odd! Yami blinked rapidly and tried to bow politely, but the human had turned away and was tapping at the register with a firm frown between his brows and a small bead of sweat curling down the side of his cheek.
He just appraised me! I need to learn how to block those! Seto raged in mild terror as he tried to find his own ID in the machine, in case Yami asked him anything personal he could see in the appraisal. Since he'd never appraised a human before himself, let alone met one face-to-face in the other dimension, he didn't know what information would show up.
Talk about a disadvantage.
Yami kept the demon child sheltered and safe in Mai's upstairs unit.
I can't predict his lifespan, or even see it! What does that mean? Yami wondered faintly as his ears rang with an unpleasant realization. Possibly because it meant the human would perish soon. He was old, plain and simple. But that didn't explain the blue eyes.
More research on humans in other dimensions was needed.
"Your eyes are blue. May I ask why?" Yami said conversationally as he leaned closer to the counter, and the human muttered under his breath, "cosmetic contacts, because I'm both farsighted and nearsighted, and I'm vain. Don't make comments about my eyes. They're going bad and I'm insecure."
O-Okay! Yami sweat anxiously and held his hands up defensively, biting back a laugh.
"Well, since you said it could be better…" Yami paused for effect and waited until he had the human's full attention. Seto raised his eyes guiltily and tried to swallow the thick lump in his throat. What. What?!
"I demand we do it again until it is better," Yami said thoughtfully, eyeing the steadily brightening sky outside the glass windows. "I have until tomorrow night before I have to return. Want to try it again? Somewhere else like you wanted? Perhaps a hotel?"
Seto stared blankly at Yami, his heart flipping in his chest.
Shit. Yami wanted to go again with him. In this body?! Seriously?!
He wanted this old man's body but not the cute idol girl's body or the illegal host club guy's body?!
"Maybe your eyes are broken, but I'm old," Seto sneered as best he could, pointing at himself up and down with a shaking finger. "Like, on-my-way-out old. You're better off finding another person for tomorrow."
So I can make myself decent, maybe?! Seto pleaded silently, and he froze in furious frustration when he realized Yami could hear his thoughts now. For some reason.
When before this, he couldn't.
Shit.
Further proof that his knowledge of how magic worked in other dimensions was lacking.
"I think you're decent enough," Yami replied playfully with a wink, replying to the human's thoughts directly and seeing the man freeze, and he could smell fear lingering in the air, but he pressed on with what he knew humans liked. The promise of more pleasure.
"Imagine if we could do that again, but better!" Yami insisted as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter, now deeply excited to try it again so much, his stomach wrenched happily at the thought. "I have a very special skill, and you've seen. I can clean it up fast," he added, hoping this would help convince the man.
"Not the issue," Seto muttered angrily, pointing at himself again and trying for more honesty. "You don't want to give this a second try. Trust me. Even I don't want to—"
"Ah. You don't like me enough for a second try. I understand," Yami's adam's apple jumped noticeably and the mage's ears burned dark red as he lowered his head in shame for assuming the human liked him just as much. "My mistake. You're right, I'll go and find someone else for tomorrow night."
No! Oh my fucking god! Seto bit the inside of his cheek so hard, he tasted blood.
It was his own insecurity! It had nothing to do with the other person!
He faced the register and saw the old man's name hovering over the red 'LOG OUT' button that had appeared above the time, because apparently his shift was up. A yellow notification was blinking, "Hamasaki Miruko is 12 minutes away! Please clean your station and change out!"
"See? You want to? I can read your mind. I can apply that…in other ways," Yami continued to wheedle the human, understanding that it was partially his own reluctance to hunt for another human as pretty as this one. Besides, this one was old, he'd said it himself.
"What's wrong with trying it out a few more times? Are you really that old and on your way out?" Yami goaded, aiming to make the human angry. "You don't want to, say, redeem yourself? I'll leave you with pointers. First pointer: you could use less fingers—"
"Okay! I get it!" Seto cried as he whirled around to face Yami with wide eyes, feeling his glasses slip down his nose at the sudden movement, and he saw Yami smirk darkly at him, his violet eyes twinkling under the harsh white lights of the store. O-Oh shit. He was really trapped in this old man's body if he wanted another fuck with Yami in a comfortable hotel…
"I'm logging out, and I'll see you outside…in…" Seto turned around to check the register. "…Eight minutes. You'll see my coworker walk by. Don't speak to him."
"Eight minutes it is," Yami replied coolly, and he gave the human a wave before walking out the doors, hearing the bell chime over his head.
"BattaBatta! Good bye! Come again!"
Ugh, Seto glared at Yami's spiky silhouette on the other side of the frosted glass and sank into the small chair, gripping his head in distress. Shit Shit shit. He'd gotten himself into deep shit.
And maybe it needed more than magic to fix it.
Outside, Yami leaned casually against the wall and watched a young man stride across the empty street with a face mask on along with a hood, so he stood up straighter to make eye contact, wondering why all the humans in this dimension were wearing odd face coverings like Alchemists. Something was in the air… probably.
The man nodded politely at him and strode through the doors with a tired familiarity, and Yami leaned back to watch the interaction of the humans through the foggy glass, intrigued by how the elderly human would behave with the much younger one.
"Nishio-san," the man said cordially, ducking his head down and walking into the break room door with a casual glance over his shoulder at the old man who was sitting on the chair as usual. "You're without your mask. Did something happen?"
"Yeah, spilled coffee on…everything," Seto replied darkly, pinching his brow and seeing the man nod understandingly at him and rush over to hand him a fresh packet of masks from his blazer pocket.
"You should quit, Nishio-san. I'm overstepping but…" The co-worker paused, and Seto sharpened instantly. Wait. So was this a borrowed body? It wasn't something he'd spawned like the idol girl?! Oh shit.
"Go ahead. Say it. I don't care anymore," Seto growled, and the younger man nodded, looking strained.
"You qualify for the public assistance home and combined with your social security, you can live comfortably off of that. You deserve a happy retirement—"
"And I'm done listening," Seto snatched the packet of masks out of the man's hands, guessing his age was about mid-twenties and feeling a rush of jealousy.
He looped the mask over his face and made sure it fit properly over his nose and furiously adjusted his glasses over the top metal band of the face covering as the co-worker continued to press him.
"Do you have enough to start your business idea then? I'll lend you the rest! Stop doing night shifts here! I-I …demand it!" The younger man was working himself up into a concerned rage now. "My grandfather is about your age, and he's done his service to society, just like you! Now what if you collapse here one day, and I come in and find you? You're putting me in a difficult position too, so stop being so selfish and stubborn! Accept my help!"
Yikes, Yami thought mildly as he wondered if the currency in his pocket would be enough for the human to comfortably 'retire'. But humans had a different definition of retirement.
"You just want my hours, because night shifts pay better," Seto shot back cattily and he left his discarded apron on the counter for the man to pick up, knowing he would do it out of obligation.
"Nishio-san! …No!" His co-worker protested furiously as Seto gave the guy the middle finger over his shoulder as he strode out of the store, hearing the man shout after him.
"You forgot your things! And you sure that's not the 'hang loose' sign, you old man?!"
Wow! Treat your elders with respect! Seto fumed as he turned around to grab 'his things', whatever those were, but the man was already bringing him a bag and a coat while glaring furiously.
"I'll change your mind one of these days," the young man said shakily, and he bowed to save face, but his fists were tightly clenched at his sides.
"Well, you win. I'm quitting," Seto said loftily, reaching into his bag to find his wallet, unsurprised that it was in the topmost flap along with a bunch of napkins. Like way too many napkins. Why did old people hoard so many damn napkins?
Shoving the thought aside, he flipped it open and was pleased to see the old man was loaded after all. He slipped out all the bills and handed it to his open-mouthed co-worker who turned red in the face and shook his head.
"A-Are you going senile, old geezer?" His co-worker tried for an insult even though he was obviously shaken. "Put that back inside your wallet! Why are you carrying so much?! No one pays with paper money these days anyway!"
"But it's untraceable and still worth something?" Seto offered cleverly, and the young man fell into a furious silence, still glaring at him. Ha.
Man, elder seniority was the best.
"So I need you to do a favor for me," Seto continued, aware that he was going to be scarring this guy for the rest of his life, but he didn't care. "This is a future payment for a crime you're committing for me."
The co-worker blinked and turned red, opening his mouth to protest, but Seto talked over him, "I did something disgusting earlier, from the hours of 2 AM to 4 AM. You want to delete all the footage and possibly loop it with anything old you can find of me sitting in that chair. Here."
Seto walked forward to shove the money into the man's blazer and thankfully, the man didn't fight him.
"Y-You suddenly know so much about technology now? After making me teach you for hours and hours how to work that register?! Was that for show?!" The co-worker whispered, and Seto shook his head, making a swirling gesture at his temple as he sneered, "nope. I'm crazy and senile, like you said. Now go do what I asked and try not to throw up, okay? Enjoy your bonus. Take your girlfriend somewhere nice."
"But I don't have a girlfriend…yet," the man whispered behind him, and Seto called over his shoulder, "then you're a failure to society. Get laid immediately!"
Yami swallowed thinly when he thought he remembered hearing another human say that same exact line, but perhaps it was a 'culture' trait?
The human appeared at his side with his cheeks pink from all the yelling, and Yami decided not to say anything, but the human asked him anyway.
"Did you hear all that? Of course you did," Seto growled, and he grabbed Yami's hand to drag him across the empty street, secretly wondering if he could pinpoint a love hotel when they were so many years in the future. Hopefully Japan hadn't changed that much….
Love was a universal sign after all.