Down and Out (Jesse/Open)

[Deleted]

Ryudo was in a bit of a tight spot lately. The game store had closed, and now he was job hunting. It really sucked, considering he was lazy as all get out. Onimusha tended to get that way without constant stimulation, nd aside from the small business he worked for going under, life was fairly average lately. Nothing out of the ordinary except for y'know, existing.


Trance techno blared in his earbuds as he downed a seventh mug of mead, not yet feeling the effects due to his inhuman constitution. Soon enough, he reached into his black jacket and thumbed the skip button, and some euro dubstep came on. After a few more mugs of mead, he started to feel it. Not much, mind you, just a mild tingle in his fingers.

It wasn't like he was in a drinking contest or anything, though. Oh wait, he was. The man in front of him fell over and began to vomit.

"Pay up."

The man's friend grudgingly slapped a fifty dollar bill onto the table, and Ryudo popped it into his wallet.

"Next."

Ryudo didn't drink to get drunk, really. He drank because he enjoyed the taste of mead. Really, his liver metabolized alcohol at an inhuman rate, so he was rarely drunk for more than an hour at a time, no matter how much he drank. It was his ogre's blood, really. Seven more mugs of mead and he had made fifty more dollars. Eventually, there was a line, and he was making money hand over fist. For about two hours he challenged drunks, and then he used the money to buy some bar food. AKA Nachos.

Gotta love nachos.

[Special Agent Cox]

Jesse sighed and stared at the glass in his hand as he sat at the bar alone. Today was just one of those days. It was rare for the thirty year old man to feel depressed. Jesse had always been more of the outgoing type. Always smiling, cracking jokes, and generally being good natured. Like any man he had his ups and downs. He got angry like anyone else, and sad at times. But those feelings always died down quickly, once the man let it all out he was normally back to his old self. That wasn't the case this time though. This time it was different. Jesse finished off the drink before asking the bartender for a refill. A lot had changed in his life since joining the PIDA, but all the pressures from his new job and the fears that came with it hadn't affected him for long. But this latest project that the agency had given him was doing him in. “Stupid damn Gil and his stupid bullshit.” the man mumbled to himself. It was a mistake for the agency to give Guillotine over to him to try and reform him. From the start Jesse had hated the idea. Guillotine had been the enemy after all, Gil's case was the first real case that he and his group had to work with. From the start Gil was a pain in his ass, the man was not as difficult to find as the other suspects had been, but Gil was the hardest to capture and the most dangerous.

The two had fought twice when the hellhound had been nothing more than a criminal. The first time they had been on pretty even ground. But the second time had cost him greatly, the hound had ripped open his arm, breaking the bone and leaving him to bleed out and die. It had taken TB using his gift and his gun to save Jesse's sorry ass. Jesse had to get stitched up and wear a cast for awhile but at least everything was over. Or so he had thought. Jesse had been sure that everything would be over once they interrogated Gil. It was clear that Gil was the one that they wanted, he was the sole person responsible for not just the death of one of the employee's at Luna's, but of countless other victims before and during his life on the run. He was sure that the PIDA was either going to keep the mad beast imprisoned forever or execute him. Instead his employers thought it would be a better idea to use the hound. Guillotine would be forced to work for the agency as a way of punishment. He was to be watched over by a fellow agent and reformed if he wanted to avoid being put to sleep. And out of all the available agents that could take the hound they chose to force the hellhound on him.

Jesse sighed again and took a swig of his drink. Out of all the missions that Jesse was currently working on reforming Gil was the most important one. At first he had hated the task and even his best friend for suggesting that he should be the one to live with the monster. But over time he came to accept it. Hell, eventually despite himself he was growing to like his unwanted roommate. Guillotine was an asshole and was dangerous, but he was very simple minded and easy to please. The longer they spent with each other the easier it was to get along. Gil was like a big puppy dog, he could be friendly to those that treated him right but needed a firm hand to keep him from miss behaving. Once Jesse learned his nature he was sure that he could reform Gil, and was even willing to give his all to do it.

But it wasn't enough. Try as he might Jesse was failing, and he was failing hard. The most he was able to do was keep Gil from chewing on his furniture and marking everything. While Jesse kept Gil on a firm leash the hound didn't always listen to his orders. Jesse had warned his companion several times about wandering off on his own since he was still recovering from his injuries and Jesse wanted to keep him out of trouble. Even with him taking Guillotine out on daily walks so the poor hound wouldn't feel so cooped up all the time Gil still left the house when he wasn't suppose to. He even snuck out to the same party Jesse and some of his friends went to and almost mixed alcohol with the meds he was taking. Jesse had rushed him out and scolded the hound for that. It seemed to work for awhile at least, for awhile Gil had become more obedient. Eventually Jesse felt comfortable enough to allow Gil to go out on walks of his own so long as the hound informed him that he was going and where. So long as it wasn't too far away Jesse was sure he could at least him trust him that far. That was a big mistake. The moment Jesse let his guard down Gil repaid him by frightening a little girl at Akhtar's place, making the girl flee and leaving herself vulnerable and making the poor wizard prince worried and stressed out.

“What am I going to do about him?” Akhtar was not the only one that was pissed off with Gil's actions. Gil's antics did more than just make him and Akhtar mad, it made them sad. Jesse probably was the most sadden by Gil slipping back into old habits. He had been working so hard at making Gil's life better for him and improving his bad habits and it all felt worthless now. Jesse was a failure. How could he ever look Akhtar or TB in the face again if he couldn't do his job? The man had been sulking for days after the incident, barely talking to Gil, and drowning himself in his work at home. Eventually he decided to go out for the night, he had taken Gil back to the agency for the night so he could go out drinking and forget his troubles. Little good that did. The man still had Gil on his thoughts the moment he walked into the bar all up till now. Drinking wouldn't help him forget his troubles like he thought they would, but damn it he was going to try. Jesse watched the other customers as he drank and mulled over his problems. Everyone else seemed a lot happier than him, which only made him feel worse.

There was one customer that seemed just as down as he did. The guy was sitting not too far from where he was. While the stranger was in the middle of a drinking contest he seemed rather distant from those around him. Even when he won he didn't seem too cheery about it. When the man asked for another challenger no one seemed willing to move. Jesse chuckled, it looked like no one else was man enough to risk their cash with this guy. “I'll go.” Jesse walked over to the younger man and sat down next to him. The agent pulled a fifty dollar bill out of his pocket and laid it on the table. “It's been awhile since I've been in one of these.” Win or lose Jesse didn't really care. He just wanted to get drunk, and it was always better to get drunk with others than by yourself.

[Deleted]

Ryudo smirked as the man sat down in front of him.

"Mead. First one to puke is out."


The guy seemed just as down as he was, but regardless, Ryudo picked up his newly filled mug and downed it in one go. The mugs were big, more tankards than mugs, and the tingling in Ryudo's fingers was beginning to subside. The young Onimusha looked at the man sitting across from him, and as soon as he would begin to down his first tankard, Ryudo would upend his second and again down it in one go.


"You can back out now, I won't hold it against you."


Third and fourth mugs down, Ryudo smiled, although it was a wan smile. He couldn't bring himself to really smile. Stuff had gone too wrong, lately. Especially the whole job searching thing. Not many people were willing to hire someone who's only job experience was being a game store clerk.

Fifth mug down.

Starting on his sixth mug he he stopped reflecting on the past and focused on the present. Maybe he would hire himself out for mercenary work. But then he'd end up working for some warlord in Africa or something, and that would be a supreme injustice. Goddamn, life was crappy lately. All he knew how to do was fight and talk about video games, really.

Seventh mug, he accidentally let out a small burp.

Eighth mug, he was starting to tingle again. He would pause to give the guy a chance to catch up.

[Special Agent Cox]

Jesse smiled when the guy laid out the conditions of the game. So they'd be drinking mead for this huh? Jesse was more of a beer man himself but mead was good, and stronger too. If you wanted to get drunk and fast mead was the way to go. This kid would be in for a surprise here. Jesse wouldn't say he had a high tolerance for alcohol, but he did have a pretty strong stomach. It took a lot for the man to puke when he was drunk. This match would last for quite awhile, that much he was sure of. His opponent didn't waste any time downing his first mug, the kid downed that damn mug of mead faster than Jesse had ever seen. Damn, that was kind of impressive. Jesse couldn't even try to do the same even if he tried. So he didn't. Jesse took his time with it, downing it quickly enough for the average man but still not fast enough to match his opponent. By the second mug the other man was already telling him that he can back out. Jesse laughed at that.

“Back out now? Are you kidding me? Dude, I am just getting started.” This little match was already doing wonders for him. For the moment Jesse forgot about Guillotine and his problems. He was too focused on what he was doing now to really think about the hellhound for once. That wasn't the only thing that was happening too. Jesse could already feel the buzz by the time he finished his second mug. Damn, though he had been drinking a bit by himself before he started this drinking match he didn't think he would start feeling drunk this fast. Well good, Jesse wanted to get drunk tonight and that was what he was about to get. Third mug down and Jesse knew he had reached his goal. But his opponent on the other hand didn't seem as affected as he did. Besides the noticeably sad smile he seemed pretty fine. “Damn you're fast.” Jesse said. The kid was already on his fifth glass by the time he reached his forth.

“Let me guess, you are one of those high alcoholic tolerance types?” Jesse chugged down his fourth mug and let out a loud satisfied belch before grabbing his fifth. “Or is it because you are young?” the man chugged down the next mug, taking a little longer now than he had before. Man he missed the early years. Things had been so much simpler back then. Sure he had his ups and downs, but overall he was happier. Now look at him, having to get drunk at a bar just because he couldn't deal with someone else's problems. “It's good to be young. Though it doesn't look like that for you.” Another chug and he was finished his fifth mug and moving onto his sixth. “So...what's your problem?”