exsiliumlogs | At The Place I'll Return to Someday [Closed]

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At The Place I'll Return to Someday [Closed]

Date & Time: August 7th
Location: 1888 Japan
Characters: Kido & Kano
Summary: Mission here a.k.a. frolic around Japan, steal some dogs, spend time together, w/e
Warnings: THEY NEED TO HAVE EMOTIONAL TALKS AT SOME POINT

[It started with a text. Want to go somewhere? Let's go to Japan. Come on, you and me. Was she homesick? Did she just want to get out? Maybe she wanted to prove she could do this again; leading, fighting, being someone stronger. She'd had enough rest.

But it wasn't just that. She texted him for a reason. They were on the verge of...something. Just in the distance, she could see some sort of change waiting. There was a different future if she could grab his hand and drag him forward with her.

He agreed. Maybe he wanted to get away with her, too?

Kido changed into the clothes given - thankfully they let her take male ones - and pocketed their spending money. She listened to everything in their briefing, already focusing on the mission. They could easily hit up a few of those targets between their combined abilities. If they got done fast enough, they could enjoy themselves a little, too...

She walked down the streets that weren't familiar but closer to home than anything they had been given so far and thought out loud to Kano.]

This shouldn't be too bad. I can steal the artwork from the one member... we can probably both take the dogs from the other... Just get the one drunk and encourage the daughter to go out on her own...

[A beat.] We'd have to go with her though. I'm not letting her run off and get kidnapped or something...

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... I'm fine.

[Kano says it nonchalantly, as though they've decided to stop and rest at a park bench instead of hiding in this cramped closet. He is a little scared right now, but anybody would be startled at almost being caught. That's all it is. But he won't deny that her hand on his is a comforting touch.

Even though he wants to close his eyes, he doesn't at the same time. He can hear his heartbeat too clearly that way, making it harder to lie.]

Ah, do you think he's still out there?

I don't know. He might be watching over her so she doesn't sneak out. The footsteps didn't sound like they went that far...

[Even if they did, they now have proof that someone is patrolling. And these narrow hallways aren't the best for Kido's ability to work in. If they got cornered...]

we'll wait awhile. Might as well get comfortable.

[Comfort would be difficult to find in a space like this. Kano shifts, trying to move his legs in a position where they wouldn't fall asleep.]

The whole night, then. [It'll be a long one.] How troublesome.

[Kido tries to bunch herself up for him.]

...You can sleep if you want to. I don't mind.

[She has to stay awake, though. Her eyes can protect them.]

I can't sleep when Kido's so close to me. [A tease? Right, but it's also sort of the truth.] Besides, if the guard wanders off it's better if I'm awake as well.

[She assumes it's mostly because he can't get comfortable.] I'll wake you up if the coast is clear. You seemed kind of restless last night... ah, well, more than normal. [Maybe because she keeps prodding him about his problems...] So if you want to nap it's fine.

I don't remember having any trouble with sleeping last night. [It's fine if she pokes and prods. She'll get tired of it like most people would.] Anyway, I'm not sleepy right now. If anything, I'm way too full of energy to sleep! Being stuck in this closet isn't really helping, to be honest.

Well... just sitting here is going to get boring, though.

[And her legs are getting cramped already so she shifts to stretch them out a little over him.]

... if it's boring, let's talk.

[Well. She isn't going to pass up this rare chance. They're together, he can't dodge or runaway easily, and they have all night. Even if she's going to get tired at some point...

Kido tries to get more comfortable, back against the wall, and her red eyes focus on him.]

...It's the same for you, isn't it? When you started to think about that girl, you started to think about back then, didn't you? ...Way back then...

[He doesn't bother to look at her, even if he'll cast the illusion of doing so. Thinking about that distant, hazy past... he doesn't want to, because it's painful.]

Maybe, maybe. She wasn't too different from how some of those kids at the orphanage were, huh?

[It does hurt. But she keeps pushing on anyway.]

...I was thinking of us. Well, I guess... she's more like me, but didn't we all have that wish? 'I want to have friends. I want people who accept me. I want to be loved.'

She probably...feels like we did.

... it's a little cruel to send us on this sort of mission, if you think about it. We'd probably be the first friends she had in a while. [He's unused to baring his heart so openly. So he'll try to deflect a little.] But at least she'll know what having those wishes granted will be like.

When we go, she might cry. [She pauses. If he's nervous about opening his heart on this - and she can't blame him, she is, too - then she'll start.] ...If I had met you guys before the fire, I would have cried all day when you left. What about you? You had some friends didn't you? But...

[She knows he probably wasn't close to them. He couldn't be. Their wishes were born from a certain pain, after all.]

I didn't have many. But that was fine. It really wasn't a big deal, since I usually stayed home anyway. [He won't speak ill of his mom. Plenty of people have done that already.]

So... things like not having many friends... it didn't bother me too much, since going out wasn't what I liked to do.

[She remembers. When he was figuring out his eyes, all those bruises and scars...]

...You tried really hard, didn't you? [For his mom.]

[He's quiet for a moment.]

... making friends is a lot harder than it seems. Kido knows, right?

Of course. You two were my first friends. Before then no one wanted me alive, right?

But out of us, I think Kido probably tried the hardest. [He still remembers how she used to smile.]

Huh? What makes you say that? I was such a weak kid. You... [I won't let Kido disappear.] ...You were always a really strong kid despite everything.

... I think, as we were growing up, Kido and Seto both tried their best to really make others smile. Even though they were the most scared. Before that, before that too! You wanted a better future with a happy family and friends. It was very admirable.

[She glances down.] ...I admired you. You kept everything scary away. I-I mean, that's what I thought, when I was small. You used to drag Seto into our games so he wouldn't be left out. You were amazing.

[How much time has passed? It couldn't have been less than half an hour, but it already feels like a long stretch of time to him. He lets his head fall. Maybe he should fall asleep instead.]

I was just being a good friend. That's all there is to it.

...You can't say it like that. Like it's something... that doesn't deserve praise.

[She reaches out and hesitates a moment, though it's difficult to see that in the dark. Where was it...? It's been a long time since she saw him without his eyes hiding everything but it was...

There.

Kido rests her hand on his arm, where she remembers a particularly bad cut had once been. Maybe there's a scar there or maybe not. But she remembers it. She tried to kiss it better. The memory embarrasses her.]

...Thanks. For always trying so hard for us. But you know... we're here for you, too. [A pause.] I'm here for you. So don't disappear, Shuuya. I'll just find you anyway.

[Kano stays still, very still, for if he moved it'd betray the truth, that she touched a wound he painted over with a lie. Though she called him Shuuya, he must not move. Even if his heart aches at that name, he can't drop his cover.]

... I'm not disappearing. That's ridiculous. [Notice me. Listen to me. I'm scared. Even if he made up his mind and opened his mouth, that dirty taint will always be there to tarnish those words.

Shuuya wasn't here anymore. That little boy he used to be drowned a long time ago when the liar stepped to the stage at the funeral's end. The person she was looking to save no longer existed and that reigning liar wanted nothing to do with being found. In the end, even if she offered it--]

If I did something like that, it'd be terrible. So, so, don't fret about that idea. Disappearing isn't my act, anyway.

[The closet walls are pressing in. It's too tight in here, with no room to move away or hide. He's keenly aware of the unpleasant tingle on the skin beneath Kido's hand, how strong her gaze is even in the dark.] ... if I have any trouble, I'll come to you guys, no problem.

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