closed ⇢ human beings in a mob

[copia]

Date & Time: september 5th; post-kano's bridge-burning with kido & pre-kaede doing the same thing

Location: somewhere within the city
Characters: shuuya kano & kaede kaburagi

Summary: brainwashing has commenced & they’re being hostile to each other

Warnings: none

 

It feels like she is looking at this city in a new light, as if she is a new arrival to this bullshit.

Yeah, that’s right.  Bullshit. Because these idiots are dragging in innocent people to help do their dirty work for them.  What the hell?

Kaede walks through the streets of the city, a frown on her face as she eyes down any hostile Exiles who dare take a step (or more) towards her.  If they wanted a fight, she would give them one.  It’s not like they could do much anyway — she is the one with the gifted powers, not them.

They would make nice ice statues, she thinks as she continues her trek, heading back towards the Hold.  Too bad their monthly allowance isn’t enough for her to get her own place.  She wants to separate herself from the Initiative as much as possible.  Hm...maybe she could use some Mekakushi Dan money to do that…

Strutting the streets with a cheerful whistle is Kano, having disguised himself in an illusion as an innocent native. At this point in time, when he's still trying to get the rest of the Dan off his back, he wouldn't want to be recognized by anyone who knew him. Let them gossip. Let them make up their own ideas of what he's doing. It doesn't matter because, in the end, as he always does, he's making the right decision for them. If he doesn't have them to worry about, he can focus on the job at hand.

Besides... they should know better than to trust a liar like him. He's overstayed his welcome with the Dan a long time ago, anyway. Someone like him should've bowed out and exited the stage that year when everything began falling apart.

He hasn't seen or heard from Kaede since that letter. So when he spots her, he looks up in interest.

It'd be safer to leave her alone. But Kano's already walking towards her, laughing a little already like he's found a funny joke.

"A small child like you walking around in a dangerous area like this... you know, you're bound to get into trouble when you're so careless!"

She has already put that letter behind her — it was her letting off steam, separating herself from the group.  She could take care of herself, she didn’t need to have Kido & Kano watching over her like hawks.  Kido had yet to respond to it, if she is going to, but Kano, on the other hand…

And speaking of the devil, look who it is.  She cants her head as he closes the distance between them, an unimpressed expression donning her face as he launches right into a tirade.  She certainly doesn’t hold back the giggle that comes up at his pointing out the obvious to her.

“No, really, Kano? As if I wasn’t aware that the Exiles can’t stand us Transports!” She shoves her hands into her pockets, her head remaining tilted as she watches him. “Is there anything else you need to tell me, O Great One? Otherwise I’ll be on my way — alone.”

"Where's Kaede running off to? Ah, is this what they call teenage rebellion?" He gives a shrug, as if to say what can be done? "You're going to break your poor parents' hearts with the way you're acting. We're reaaaally concerned, y'know?"

He even presses a hand against his chest for good measure. He knows this conversation will probably be a repeat of their banter earlier. But he can't say that it isn't a fun game. Arguing like this and pushing back when all he's done is take and take and take since he was little--it's some release he hasn't permitted himself for a long time.

"C'mon, if there's some sort of problem, surely you can tell Big Sis and Brother."

“Why do you care where I’m running off to? Was my text to Kido and you not clear enough, idiot??” She rolls her eyes dismissively at the word “parents,” and scoffs at the word “concerned.”

“Yeah, yeah, my parents must be crying right now, thinking of everything I’m going through! Having to actually kill people and do things like steal and cheat to survive — their hearts must be breaking into soooooooo many pieces.  Cry me a river.”

A turn on her heel and her back is facing Kano, taking a few steps forward as she hums lightly for a moment. “I don’t have anything else to say, Kano.  But…” And Kaede turns to face him, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. “It seems like you want to say something to me.”

"Me? Ha ha. Kaede's a strange girl." Kano tilts his head at her when she looks back, appearing unruffled by her retort. "Anything I say won't be taken in because you're the stubborn and independent sort, huh? You don't need anyone's advice. If I say something, ah, I bet you'll scrunch up your face and say, 'Kano, you're a moron' and plug your ears."

He waves a hand. "I can't talk with a kid having a tantrum. So, so! Forget it, it's not important~"

“Kano, you’re a moron!” She giggles and sticks her tongue out. “But no, really, speak your mind.  Unless you’re going to lecture Kido’s ears off and ruin your relationship.  Then again…”

Kaede starts closing the distance between them again, a smirk on her face as she continues to speak.

“Maybe that relationship is a sham, too.  I wouldn’t be surprised if you dumped her when the moment presents itself.  I almost feel bad for her, sticking through the good times and the bad, only for you to drop her like a hot potato.” She stops with a foot of space between them, looking up into the deceiving eyes of her “big brother.”

“So, big brother, what are you going to do? What did you want to say? And you should be careful with your choice of words — you might piss off any surrounding Exiles~”

There's a moment of stoicness when Kaede brings up Kido, but it's quickly hidden beneath a smile again. Something dead shouldn't hurt. What she's saying is true. So... in the end... he did what he should've done in the first place.

"Ah, then it shouldn't surprise Kaede at all to know that it's already done for. Poor Leader's been relieved of her duty~ She doesn't have to worry about any of it anymore~ It's the right choice as the older sibling, right? To set a good example?"

To saw himself like the dead branch he was off that healthy tree his friends had sprouted into.

He bends down so he can meet her eye level. "What I want to say to Kaede is that she's free to go, free to die if she likes, too. And to thank you very much for those letters."

“Oh, so you’ve already dumped her! What a shame.  Will you be ditching the Dan, too? I doubt you could still be in it with your now ex-girlfriend being the leader of it.”

Yes, a healthy tree that has provided shade and coverage for Kaede from the harsh sun.  Now it’s a healthy tree she wants to move away from instead.  She couldn’t sit under it forever.

Kano’s following words make her frown, the smirk wiped off her face.  Instead of responding back to them, she simply calls upon her Initiative-given powers, and her hand cups Kano’s cheek as she coats her fingertips with sharp ice points, slowly moving her hand down his cheek with the slightest bit of pressure.

“Big brother~ You would really see pleasure in your little sister dying?”

The skin stings where the ice is prodding him, tingling with the anticipation of being pierced. But Kano makes his gaze steady, smoothing it out with his eyes. She can't hurt him severely here. He's certain of it. When he responds, it's with surprising softness.

"Ah, no. I'd rather see her live, so I can see the look on her face when she's realized what she's done."

“Hm.  I can never decide if you’re more of a sadist or a masochist.  You’re such a cheat, using your powers to hide how you really feel.”

Her hand drops from his cheek, but not before leaving a thin layer of ice in its wake.  The icicles fall from her fingertips, barely making a sound as they hit the street they stand on.  She pushes her hair from her face as she moves around Kano.

“Well then, is that all you have to say to me? Am I free to go and die and be free of your sibling services?”

Kano presses a hand to his freezing cheek, mustering the cheekiest smile he can. He doesn't bother to look at her as she walks away--he doesn't need to, after all. He said what he wanted to say to her.

A last goodbye for the sibling he wanted to wound.

"--I take it back, I take it back. What sort of kid are you, thinking that you have the right to do things like that? You're a brat, really a brat. You aren't so cute this way." He turns his head slightly. "But it doesn't matter if you die in the end, y'know. So go ahead, go ahead. Be the best little sister we trained you to be."

Kaede wouldn’t want him to look at her as she goes off, officially burning this bridge.  Why should she bother giving him one more glance of her cute face!?

She does pause as he speaks, a smirk forming on her face as he says his final “goodbye.” Good—no, great.

“Aww, does big brother not like the truly cynical side of me? Well, you know who to blame for that.  That’s what happens when you get kids involved in wars — we’re not so innocent anymore.”

Her hair shifts as she turns her head a bit, just enough to see him in her peripheral vision.

“But I will make sure to be the best little sister Kido and you have ever trained.  No one will beat me, you can bet on that.  Good riddance, Kano.” She continues walking once more, rounding the corner within seconds and disappearing out of Kano’s sight, and he out of hers.

He watches her go with that smile still in place until she disappears from his line of sight. Once that’s gone, he begins walking again, illusion in place once more. Ah, he really should’ve been harsher on her. But Kaede beat him to the burning already--they certainly won’t see each other again, he’s sure of it. So there’s no need to worry about her.

Light and airy, he hums. “Kaede, Kaede… ah, you really are a spoiled brat sometimes.”

And with that, he vanishes into an alleyway, leaving no traces.