#pucks inner monologue is just 'o shit he pretty'

[west-tokyo-incidents]

"Met an old friend of yours, Irimi."

"Hm?" The woman looks up, "Which one?" She smiles pleasantly at Renji.

"Puck." Her smile fell as Renji sat at the bar of the coffee shop, "He asked if the dog was enjoying chewing on his bones."

"Ah, that... doesn't surprise me. He's hated me ever since I took his arm " She sighs, "Where'd you see him?"

"Close to the border of the 15th ward."

She scoffed out a laugh, "Well, he's never been smart. The Oni Clan aren't his friends."

Renji hummed under his breath, "Is he going to be a problem?"

Irimi shook her head, "He might harass us some. I doubt his wild friends would be bothered with his grudge. They would have already attacked." She began putting away the dishes she was cleaning, "And he knows if he tries anything by himself that the manager will put him in his place."

"Hm." Renji leaned on the counter, "I wonder if he actually ever went to see Uta."

Irimi looked up at him, "Why would he do that?"

"He had one of Uta's masks." Renji shrugged, "It didn't fit right, so I told him Uta would fix it."

She laughed, "I'd love to be a fly on that wall."

---

The new bell on the studio door jingled softly. Uta barely glanced up, simply noting to himself that there was someone in the studio. His current project was more important.

Something bright orange flashed in the corner of his eye and he had to do a double take. Orange was an unusual color to see, especially on someone's head. He recognized the man almost immediately. Orange hair, dark skin with tiger-striped tattoos, and one of his shirt sleeves tied an inch or two below the cut-off.

He leaned back and tilted his head, watching him as he looked over his artworks. Puck's head turned to the side, and two thoughts rapidly flipped through Uta's mind.

One, he was on the man's blind side. Two, he was wearing one of his masks.

He contemplated that second part for a moment, until he was spotted. The man turned to face him and jolted at seeing Uta's kakugan on full display. His own flared to life as he flicked to take in the rest of the artist. He shifted position, as if bracing for an attack.

Uta blinked and then gave a lazy wave, "Hello there. You're certainly not the usual face I see around here." He sits up.

Puck narrowed his eye, but didn't let his guard down, "Well, I've had two stunning reviews of this place handed to me recently, how could I stay away?" His voice was rough, but he kept a pleasant tone.

"Three, if that mask has anything to say. I didn't sell you that, I think I'd remember." Uta pointed a painted nail at the ill-fitting half mask. Puck hummed, then his Kakugan bled away as he reached up to remove it.

"I was told you could make it fit me better."

Uta eyed the man's face. The scars that littered his flesh so uncharacteristic for a ghoul were no less jarring than he imagined before. His darker skin and the darker stripes tattooed in. He's certainly... Unique, up close. To say the least.

He stood to take the mask, "I can make it suit you better, yes."

"... I meant just keep it from digging into my nose so badly."

Uta shook his head, "It's a tiger, sure, but I don't think it quite fits The Tiger. I'll resize it, but I'd have to alter the look anyways for the new size." He plucked his measuring tape up from his desk, "So I may as well have some fun with it, hm?"

Puck just grumbled under his breath, but the tone was fairly agreeable, so Uta took that as a go-ahead to do what he wanted.

"I know one of those reviews came from that darling creature with horns--" Puck chuckled behind him, "But who was the second?"

"Said his name was Renji."

Uta grinned, "I see!"

After that, a kind of quiet settled back in the studio as Uta measured his face and took some notes.

Puck settled himself in, though, and Uta took a pause.

"It's going to take a bit, I have other works to finish."

Puck blinked at him, then flustered in embarrassment, "I-oh. Sorry. I thought-- yeah, that makes sense."

Uta laughed and waved a hand, "It's fine. Give me a couple days and stop back by. Oh, and tell that horned friend of yours I said hi, will you?"

"Yeah, sure! Its name is X, by the way." Puck grinned, "It's really come out of its shell since getting your mask. Actually started talking some, so I'm sure it'll be happy to hear that."

Uta nodded and waved the man out of his shop. Things just got odder and odder. How fun!