[Audio / Action]

[outtahere]

[Audio]

[We open to the sound of a small explosion and loud, colorful swearing.]

How did that thing get back in here!?

Olu?

And what are you doing here? Fine, make yourself useful and get that thing out of he- It's reset already? Shi-!

[There's the sound of another explosion and the feed cuts off.]

[Action]

[Banzu's not looking to be in such a good mood as he walks through the Business district later in the day, visiting the Salvage Shop and any places that sell chemicals. It could be the Voltorb doll following him around. It could be the Riolu he doesn't want to deal with following him around, grabbing the Voltorb doll whenever it's about to explode and tossing it into the air so it doesn't damage anything. It could also be the bits of metal growing out of his body: striking surfaces on his knuckles, larger pieces around the backs of his ears, little plates on his cheekbones, lines on his jaw, and several more unseen under his clothes. What? Where did those come from? It's not like he's secretly been an Enlightened all this time or anything...

Yeah, the jig is up. There's no way he can hide that he's a Steel-type any more. He's not looking forward to the inevitable responses to this revelation. The Voltorb doll and the Riolu are just icing on the cake.

Note: While the patches of metal on him are silvery today, in all future encounters they will be a dull black. Alloys!]

Comments

[outtahere]

Hm? Oh, hey. Nothin' too exciting. Just lookin' for stuff with cobalt in it.

[Not saying anything about evolution.]

[creamsouda]

[Pausing, Kazuichi and Belaire both give each other a look before slowly turning their heads back to face Banzu.]

E-eheh. Co-cobalt, huh? Youuu, uh, have a special project you're workin' on?

[Maybe they shouldn't mention it. Maybe, maybe that's the point. He can be quiet, right?

Belaire, however, fidgets uncomfortably at Kazuichi's side.]

[outtahere]

[Subtle you two aren't, Kazuichi. Banzu isn't going to point that out though.]

Trying to make a black alloy, and cobalt sulfide seems like my best bet. Course, who has pre-made cobalt sulfide kicking around, so I'm gonna hafta make it myself.

[I'm not sure if this is actually workable in reality but the picture on Wikipedia showed cobalt sulfide as being black so I'm just running with this.]

[creamsouda]

Ah! So you're gonna mix it with gold, or are ya gonna plate silver?

[Well, at least nerding out seems to distract Kazuichi from it enough.]

Yeah, you're probably gonna need a good 25% to whatever other metal you're usin', too. Whatcha usin' it for?

[outtahere]

[Still not saying anything, but this conversation will go nowhere if he doesn't acknowledge this, so he just taps the metal on his cheek.]

[creamsouda]

[As though he's been letting out a breath he's been holding for ages, the questions come like a flood.]

D-dude, can I ask? Hell, I've gotta ask-- bro, did you evolve or something?

[At the very least, he seems more excited for him than weirded out...]

[outtahere]

Yeah. Twice.

[His Stage 1 evolution was easier to explain away as piercings and metal dust on his skin from working.]

[creamsouda]

Aha! I guess I kinda missed a lot, huh.

[Kazuichi tries his best to keep the conversation in good spirits, but it isn't like Banzu's annoyance is lost on him.]

So I mean, congrats, dude!

[outtahere]

Not really. Ain't exactly as big a deal as people act like it is.

[He was really hoping his evolution wouldn't be obvious at a glance.]

[creamsouda]

You kiddin'? Means you been workin' hard, and you got proof!

[He's almost envious-- but not in a resentful way.]

I woulda killed to be able to do that as a kid!

[outtahere]

Already had proof I was working hard. Didn't need this kind too.

[creamsouda]

[Despite his initial excitement, Souda's mood drops pretty quickly.]

Y-yeah? What's so bad about it, man?

[outtahere]

I'd rather people judge me for what I've done on my own rather than something that's just an accident of birth.

[creamsouda]

...Y' really think of it that way, don't ya?

[Souda seems a bit baffled.]

Everybody's got somethin' they're good at. I mean, just cos you're enlightened doesn't mean ya don't work at it, right?

[outtahere]

Of course, but you know how people are.

[creamsouda]

[Kazuichi looks like he's about to say something-- but he'd be a hypocrite to say 'then don't worry about that!']

...Nah, you're right.

I get it, man. Sorry it's so out there, then.