(inbox) probably too busy eating to pick up the phone

[bulletfool]

This is Kohei Izumi.
I'm not available right now, so please leave your name and message.

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[bulletfool]

[ After everything she endured, this is how he pays his mother back.

Turning to face the approaching Otome, Izumi nods in both greeting and acknowledgement of her thanks. ]

Still no word from Karl-san, Yanagiya-san?

[mombastic]

[ His poor, poor mom.

But Otome slowly shakes her head, her smile dropping. ]

Not at all. I want to believe he's just incredibly busy, but...

[ This isn't like him. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Busy with what? Izumi finds himself genuinely curious, having more time than he's used to in the colony. ]

Well, that's why we're here. Do you know his usual spots? We can check those first.

[mombastic]

Empty, abandoned alleyways.

[ She's only 1/8th joking. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Izumi senses the 7/8th seriousness in that answer. ]

How many of those are there?

[mombastic]

More than I would like. I've checked about half already, though.

[ Of course she has. ]

[bulletfool]

It's time to check the other half, then! You'll have to lead the way again.

[ He slides his hands into his pockets. ]

At least with his hair color, we're not likely to miss him once we're near.

[mombastic]

That's very true! Karl's incredibly hard to miss.

[ Which is half the reason she's worried, because normally she would have spotted him by now. But still... Otome hums a bit and moves to take the lead. ]

So I'm sure it'll be fine.

[bulletfool]

[ While Otome worries, Izumi shall be the voice of optimism as he follows suit beside her. ]

What does he do in a place like that, anyway?

[mombastic]

Good question! I think he just tries to gather his thoughts?

[ Or hide his injuries/suffering/problems, but hopefully that doesn't happen all that often. ]

[bulletfool]

[ It probably happens all the time. ]

Aren't there better places for that? I guess Karl-san likes being alone.

[mombastic]

I think you'd have to ask him... I can only guess.

[ And she's not entirely sure how accurate these guesses are. ]

[bulletfool]

Even more reason to find him, then.

[ It is a mystery . . . And he vaguely recalls Otome mentioning "some people" being difficult to find, so he might as well cover that, too. ]

Did you get in contact with everyone else okay?

[mombastic]

Yes, thankfully. [ well, Hiro and Saiduq were both gone, but that had happened before Karl had vanished. If anything, Otome's only grown more proactive at making sure those she knows are still around and safe. ]

It just hasn't been easy with the colony the way it is.

[bulletfool]

[ Good news! And while the colony leaves nothing to be desired for those with simple needs, Izumi does have a better sense of how nuts things can be once something goes down. ]

Things seem to be calming down, though I wasn't expecting the plants to start going crazy. They've been calm lately, so walking around like this should be fine, right?

[mombastic]

If not, I've got a few ways to keep them well-behaved... so as long as we're cautious, I think things will be fine.

[ Don't fuck with her, plant life. ]

[bulletfool]

[ Ooh, sounds promising. ]

Is there a way to stop them from attacking people?

[mombastic]

Well, you can freeze them, or break them, or zap them... it doesn't stop them entirely, but it does discourage them.

[bulletfool]

No way – you can do all that? I had no idea.

[mombastic]

It's not really something I broadcast, if I can help it... but my other job right now is Demon Tamer.

[bulletfool]

What? So you tame demons for a living? [And make dough with medicine in the meantime?] How did you manage to land a job like that?

[mombastic]

[ ... Haaaa. ]

An apocalypse.

[bulletfool]

[ It escalated. ]

Huh!? When?

[mombastic]

[ ... That's a bit of a complicated question, and Otome grimaces ever-so-slightly. ]

You could say fairly recently, if we don't count my time here.

[bulletfool]

But . . . there wasn't anything like that before I got here.