I'm listening. I just want to look at you a little better.
(takemichi's older, he said. it's fine that he is, but there are things he won't say. mikey asked not to, after all, and that way, it's perhaps a little lighter for takemichi to relieve some of the pressure of things he has done knowingly that mikey would not enjoy it.
it's gentle, like in their first meeting in this place, the way he lets his index finger roam. eyebags underneath his fingerprints, a tension between his eyebrows... oh, takemitchy. what fight have you been fighting?)
[Kinda close there, Mikey! It flusters him a bit, but he doesn't pull away. Rather, he's frozen in place, still except for his shifting eyes and hesitant lips.]
W-Well, there was some kid in the woods alone. I asked him what he was doing there, and he showed me this creepy place hidden in the trees. It looked like a military bunker, the kind you'd see in those actiony B movies, surrounded by an electric fence. There was even a gun turret poking out of it. That's why he was watching from so far away. He's pretty convinced that's where all the frankenstein'd animals are coming from, so he won't stop watching it.
And is that what you want to do? Help him? I'll help if you want me to.
(it's the mikey way. he couldn't give less of a shit to the kid alone, in danger, hungry, tired-- but the moment that takemitchy is involved, the moment he cares, mikey does too. it's how it works, mikey can't care for nothing other the ones he cares about.
he sees the flustering, but he hardly cares. he's trying to look at the scars he doesn't recognize.)
[He trails off, unwilling to put words to what would happen next. He's seen enough death already.
Takemichi's older scars are faint, nearly invisible by now, but fresh cuts adorn each side of his face. The only wound worth notice would be the nasty slice down the length of his right arm. It hasn't occurred to him to go out of his way to hide it yet, but he's not about to show it off either. It'll be staying safe under his uniform sleeve, where no one can see it.]
So I've been staying out there with him, grabbing food and running errands, stuff like that.
(mikey wouldn't care. deep, deep down, he thinks it's a small act to just guard a place. he'd storm in normal conditions -- but he knows that he lacks like that. kenchin would probably agree with both of them, and make mikey volunteer his legs to deter any trouble. he knows he's incomplete like this, and it brings out a sigh, quiet, like it was unrelated punctuation, solely to his own thoughts.
he's done with the face. there's even more desperation in those eyes, he can't help but notice, but most importantly would be the slash, which he couldn't really get his eyes to avert even if he wanted to. a... sword...?)
I won't meddle. If anything, just tell me what you need. Also, off with the uniform. Caught Sanzu in a bad day? Let me see it.
(he's going to just jump out of bed real quick - he knows somewhere in here, there's a first aid kit. he can clean, and bandage it a little bit. he returns victorious!)
He's a very difficult person. Short-fused in his own way. Using the katana on you is a low blow though.
[Hearing Mikey call Sanzu "short-fused" is surreal after everything Takemichi has witnessed. The guy is homicidally devoted, that's what he is. It's terrifying.
This insight is entirely lacking in self-reflection.]
Well, he wasn't the only one at fault. [Takemichi rubs guiltily at the back of his neck.] I didn't wanna back down either.
[A little butterfly flutters excitedly in his gut, making it difficult to sit still while Mikey fixes up his face.]
Of course, I forgive y- him! [The words are out of his mouth so fast that he stumbles all over them.] I mean- I know why he was fighting. I just had a reason to fight too.
It'd be weird if you didn't. Thank you, though, for showing him some compassion. Sanzu's been through a lot and doesn't know how to calibrate. I hope his Division helps him, at least.
(there, his face is done, and mikey punctuated it with gently booking his nose. next is that katana split on his arm.)
(if only takemichi was better at the lying part. mikey asked not to be told, but those expressions, the moments where takemichi can't hold his expression-- they don't really help. he guesses there's only so much the boy can do, but damn.)
I still have a long way to go, though. I'm not nearly as good at it as my big bro. If I were, Pah-chin would still be with us, Baji'd still be with us, and Kisaki'd be dead. That's the first order of business when we're back.
(oh, yes, he's gonna tear kisaki in two. that's his plan.)
[Takemichi will never learn to lie well. His brain's just not built for it. He tries anyway, pretending that being unable to make eye contact is a minor obstacle instead of an enormous tell.]
If you wanna do it, you'll do it. Definitely. [That's about as close to telling Mikey what's going to happen as Takemichi is willing to get.] I'll help however I can.
I fully intend to hit him right in the head with a baseball bat until he stops breathing, that motherfucker.
(he couldn't be more angry. his time here will be spent like this, wishing, eating his own feelings, and fantasizing. kisaki is so toast. too bad he isn't faster than truck-kun.)
You can provide the bat. I don't want you getting bloody hands or anything like that.
(leave that to him, apparently, he can't help himself!)
[Takemichi tenses up. In stark contrast to the hesitant fidgeting he'd displayed while dodging the truth, suddenly he can't look anywhere but directly into Mikey's cold eyes.]
I didn't join Toman to be pampered. If I have to get my hands bloody too, I will. As many times as it takes.
I am not pampering you. Kisaki hurt my sister with a baseball bat, and that's not even all of the things he's done to me. What he ever done to you? This one is on me.
(oh, takemichi. those eyes don't help, at all. it'll make mikey flop on bed, arms up.)
[Rather than answer, Takemichi bites his lip. What Kisaki has done to all of them is off limits right now, and what he did to Emma... really was unforgivable.
He sighs, slumps his shoulders, and follows Mikey onto his back.]
Fine. I'll find you a good one, with his name scratched into it and everything.
but this is nice, at least. the gaps in their knowledge, manjiro reads them, and understand that it's impossible for them to expect this to not be a wall. it is. mikey's just not ready to know. not when he already feels furious at another generation of the manji. either way, it's... not something he has done yet, so he can stop it. that's what's giving him some sort of comfort.
whatever that ends up being like. what he can do right now is rest his head against the other's chest, moving a leg around him to keep him in place. enjoy your new life as a literal body pillow.)
[Even Takemichi eventually learned that sometimes murder is the only thing that gets through to people.
He wiggles and squirms as Mikey wraps around him, but it can hardly be called a struggle. If anything, it's an awkward attempt to get comfortable with the Mikey-shaped growth now attached to his body. The warmth of a familiar person, a familiar Mikey, is just not something he can pull himself away from right now.]
I didn't really get to read it. [A half-lie. He skimmed it. Part of it. Before shoving it out of sight.] Got interrupted by some creepy voices in the woods. Now that I know the kinds of things they say, I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't read the rest.
(it feels nice. the neck his forehead rests against brings a sense of tranquility, the fact that takemichi is here, talking to him, does too, equally. he allows a moment to breathe, to close his eyes, fingers idly caressing the skin of the chest over fabric.
it's... good.)
You should. I learned some things. Apparently, they do put us on trial. A guy I'm seeing - he's been charged with 'loyalty' and he's been sentenced to snitch on his friends. Get ahead of it, Takemitchy.
[Michi's brow furrows as he attempts to comprehend the many layers hidden within this new information. Loyalty is apparently a crime now? And for the punishment to be betraying others... That's cruel irony in its most uselessly literal state. He cranes his neck so he can better see Mikey's face.]
Is that something you can even get ahead of?
[...Especially when his crime involves reckless timeleaping.]
(hey, don't look at him, he's too close, and this forces him to set his chin on takemichi's shoulder and raise his own.)
I don't know, it's not like you're telling me the fuck yours say, is it? Just, keep track of what it might be. Since mine's murder, I don't know, they might make me hug a puppy or some shit. Don't know what they'd do in that case.
[Yeeeah. He tries to keep Mikey in his vision for a few seconds longer, but its too much of a strain. He quickly gives up and flops back, resigned to his fate as Mikey's body pillow.]
I hope that's all they want. I don't even understand how they decide what's a crime and what's not. How am I supposed to predict what punishments they'll dish out on top of it all?
(little things are what mikey usually notices. the scars were a start, but he has to wonder -- what other changes has takemichi undergone in these two years? is he different, fundamentally, or is he-- exactly the same? smells the same, he can attest by the way he nuzzles against the boy's neck. talks the same. plays the same.
doesn't feel the same. his fingers can't help the shapes they idly draw and he sighs a little as his eyes close.)
I don't think you are. I just mean-- be mindful. Don't just go rushing into everything head first until you know what you're diving into. Can you at least give me that?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
EXPIATION
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(takemichi's older, he said. it's fine that he is, but there are things he won't say. mikey asked not to, after all, and that way, it's perhaps a little lighter for takemichi to relieve some of the pressure of things he has done knowingly that mikey would not enjoy it.
it's gentle, like in their first meeting in this place, the way he lets his index finger roam. eyebags underneath his fingerprints, a tension between his eyebrows... oh, takemitchy. what fight have you been fighting?)
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[Kinda close there, Mikey! It flusters him a bit, but he doesn't pull away. Rather, he's frozen in place, still except for his shifting eyes and hesitant lips.]
W-Well, there was some kid in the woods alone. I asked him what he was doing there, and he showed me this creepy place hidden in the trees. It looked like a military bunker, the kind you'd see in those actiony B movies, surrounded by an electric fence. There was even a gun turret poking out of it. That's why he was watching from so far away. He's pretty convinced that's where all the frankenstein'd animals are coming from, so he won't stop watching it.
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(it's the mikey way. he couldn't give less of a shit to the kid alone, in danger, hungry, tired-- but the moment that takemitchy is involved, the moment he cares, mikey does too. it's how it works, mikey can't care for nothing other the ones he cares about.
he sees the flustering, but he hardly cares. he's trying to look at the scars he doesn't recognize.)
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[He trails off, unwilling to put words to what would happen next. He's seen enough death already.
Takemichi's older scars are faint, nearly invisible by now, but fresh cuts adorn each side of his face. The only wound worth notice would be the nasty slice down the length of his right arm. It hasn't occurred to him to go out of his way to hide it yet, but he's not about to show it off either. It'll be staying safe under his uniform sleeve, where no one can see it.]
So I've been staying out there with him, grabbing food and running errands, stuff like that.
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he's done with the face. there's even more desperation in those eyes, he can't help but notice, but most importantly would be the slash, which he couldn't really get his eyes to avert even if he wanted to. a... sword...?)
I won't meddle. If anything, just tell me what you need. Also, off with the uniform. Caught Sanzu in a bad day? Let me see it.
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[Both arms jut out, hands hastily rocking back and forth. Please to not take off his shirt! He's embarrassed enough as it is.]
But I'm fine!
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He's a very difficult person. Short-fused in his own way. Using the katana on you is a low blow though.
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This insight is entirely lacking in self-reflection.]
Well, he wasn't the only one at fault. [Takemichi rubs guiltily at the back of his neck.] I didn't wanna back down either.
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(for now, anyway. it's almost automatic, the replacing of bandages, the cleaning of the cut, and takemichi should be good to go.)
Can you forgive him, though?
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Of course, I forgive y- him! [The words are out of his mouth so fast that he stumbles all over them.] I mean- I know why he was fighting. I just had a reason to fight too.
[It was Mikey. Both of their reasons were Mikey.]
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(there, his face is done, and mikey punctuated it with gently booking his nose. next is that katana split on his arm.)
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Don't mind as he continues to not take off his shirt.
You really know how to collect guys like that, huh? It's amazing how you get them all to listen to you anyway.
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I still have a long way to go, though. I'm not nearly as good at it as my big bro. If I were, Pah-chin would still be with us, Baji'd still be with us, and Kisaki'd be dead. That's the first order of business when we're back.
(oh, yes, he's gonna tear kisaki in two. that's his plan.)
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If you wanna do it, you'll do it. Definitely. [That's about as close to telling Mikey what's going to happen as Takemichi is willing to get.] I'll help however I can.
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(he couldn't be more angry. his time here will be spent like this, wishing, eating his own feelings, and fantasizing. kisaki is so toast. too bad he isn't faster than truck-kun.)
You can provide the bat. I don't want you getting bloody hands or anything like that.
(leave that to him, apparently, he can't help himself!)
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I didn't join Toman to be pampered. If I have to get my hands bloody too, I will. As many times as it takes.
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(oh, takemichi. those eyes don't help, at all. it'll make mikey flop on bed, arms up.)
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He sighs, slumps his shoulders, and follows Mikey onto his back.]
Fine. I'll find you a good one, with his name scratched into it and everything.
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(SIR YOU ARE SPEAKING MURDER.
but this is nice, at least. the gaps in their knowledge, manjiro reads them, and understand that it's impossible for them to expect this to not be a wall. it is. mikey's just not ready to know. not when he already feels furious at another generation of the manji. either way, it's... not something he has done yet, so he can stop it. that's what's giving him some sort of comfort.
whatever that ends up being like. what he can do right now is rest his head against the other's chest, moving a leg around him to keep him in place. enjoy your new life as a literal body pillow.)
What was on your parchment, Takemitchy?
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He wiggles and squirms as Mikey wraps around him, but it can hardly be called a struggle. If anything, it's an awkward attempt to get comfortable with the Mikey-shaped growth now attached to his body. The warmth of a familiar person, a familiar Mikey, is just not something he can pull himself away from right now.]
I didn't really get to read it. [A half-lie. He skimmed it. Part of it. Before shoving it out of sight.] Got interrupted by some creepy voices in the woods. Now that I know the kinds of things they say, I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't read the rest.
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it's... good.)
You should. I learned some things. Apparently, they do put us on trial. A guy I'm seeing - he's been charged with 'loyalty' and he's been sentenced to snitch on his friends. Get ahead of it, Takemitchy.
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Is that something you can even get ahead of?
[...Especially when his crime involves reckless timeleaping.]
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I don't know, it's not like you're telling me the fuck yours say, is it? Just, keep track of what it might be. Since mine's murder, I don't know, they might make me hug a puppy or some shit. Don't know what they'd do in that case.
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I hope that's all they want. I don't even understand how they decide what's a crime and what's not. How am I supposed to predict what punishments they'll dish out on top of it all?
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doesn't feel the same. his fingers can't help the shapes they idly draw and he sighs a little as his eyes close.)
I don't think you are. I just mean-- be mindful. Don't just go rushing into everything head first until you know what you're diving into. Can you at least give me that?
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