(no subject)

[concretejungles]

court overflow

Comments

[concretejungles]

Ooh, what a nice guy.

[Don't mind him, he's just going to take something right out of your pocket. Some dangly necklace or something.]

You're really going all out! They must be the type to get reeeally mad.

1/2

[apriori]

[His first instinct is to grab Kida's wrist and snap it -- he tenses when he feels fingers in his pocket and clenches his fists. There's no reason to break anything. Stay calm. G o s h.]

[apriori]

[He takes a deep breath and stares back at Kida, eyes fixed on the stolen trinket.]

Maybe a little. I just wanted to say sorry for being gone, and I thought girls would like stuff like that...

[concretejungles]

Probably.

Hey, you mind if I keep this one? I'm treasure hunting myself, so it'd be a big help.

[apriori]

[On one hand: that is his????

On the other: Friendly-type person asked. Make him happy? Happy is good. Let's go with happy. Shirou looks a bit uncertain with his own decision, but still, he nods slowly]

[concretejungles]

Great!

[He has no problem being rude. He'll just slap Shirou on the back like a real friend.]

Thanks!

[apriori]

[If he was less built like a fucking tank, the sudden slap on the back might have sent him off balance. He wasn't quite expecting it, and honestly he's still not horribly used to displays of...friendliness like that.

So he flinches slightly and gives Kida a startled sort of look]

You're welcome?

[concretejungles]

...You're a weird kid, you know that?

[What a reaction. He kind of wonders where this guy came from.]

[apriori]

Yeah - I think that's because I'm crazy.

[He heard it from Byakuya. It makes more sense to him than any other explanations for his life right now.]

[concretejungles]

Crazy, huh...?

[watching him a little more carefully now]

You say that pretty easily.

[apriori]

I had to admit it, I guess! Remember what I said about villains?

[concretejungles]

[...oh. Now he's suspicious.]

...Yeah?

[apriori]

Oh, good! Then I guess I could say... I'm not totally reformed yet.

[He's trying, of course - but it's easy to forget himself, and he still can't forget the sort of rush he feels when he slips back into old habits. Even now, Kida's expression, something like guarded suspicion, seemed to get his blood pumping.]

[concretejungles]

[It's subtle, the shift in his posture when he hears that. He tightens his grip on his crowbar, and slides his feet his a little further apart.

He can read the change in Shirou's mood well enough. He's been around a long time. He's seen a lot of dangerous people, and his worst enemy is someone who can smile easily and with complete malice. He doesn't trust that kind of behavior. He doesn't trust people in general, and his own friendly facade is slipping in response to the cracks in Shirou's.]

You should work on that, then. I can't have Mikado hanging around with villains, y'know.

[apriori]

It sounds like you're a really good friend to him!

[Oh... are you scared? Defensive? He can't understand why, but you shouldn't be getting him excited like this.]

Maybe it is a good idea to keep him away from me.

[concretejungles]

I'm more than that. Actually, I exist to protect him. So why don't you tell me more? Otherwise I won't know what to do with you at all.

[His tone is chatty, but it's definitely not friendly. He doesn't take threats to Mikado's safety well.]

[apriori]

[He can't help but laugh - that's a threat! That's definitely a threat! And it's funny because he's certain he'd do exactly the same thing if someone seemed dangerous near Shinji. He knows exactly how this works. If he just pushes a bit more, he'll have a fight on his hands, and wouldn't that be fun?

Shirou knows that he should resist. He always knows, he stubbornly reminds himself, but as a creature of habit, well--]

You don't need to know too much! Just that I like hurting people -- I've tried to stop before, but nothing else gets me excited like this! It would be fun to cut up your friend and watch him bleed, or see what would happen if he did the same thing to someone else! Do you think he'd cry when he saw the blood? Or is he crazier than that?

[concretejungles]

It doesn't matter what Mikado is like.

[It doesn't matter what Shirou's motivations are, either. That's he's tried to stop. That's he reforming... he doesn't seem like he's trying very hard. All that really matters is that Mikado is being threatened, and that Shirou is obviously baiting him right now.

He knows it's stupid to provoke it. It's stupid to push. So far, he's had zero luck defending Mikado by starting shit. But... But this kind of thing pisses him off. It's really tempting to just take a swing. He can barely swallow the urge.]

I wouldn't let you touch him. If you try, I'll stop you, even if it means killing you.

[apriori]

Then kill me! Why not just stop me right now? I'm dangerous, right?

[In a way, he's baiting Kida. Right now he wants a fight, and he's been programmed to instigate.

In the back of his mind, though, he wants to know -- how far are you allowed to go to protect someone? Does keeping people safe and being a hero mean eliminating all possible threats? And how soon is too soon to do that?]

[concretejungles]

I thought you were trying to reform. Did you quit? If you're going to go back to hurting people, maybe I will.

[apriori]

Oh, I don't really know how to quit on things - but the going's been sort of slow! I guess I wonder if I'll snap eventually, or if I'll ever be 'good' the way people are meant to be.

[concretejungles]

I'll give you a clue. Threatening someone's a bad way to start.

But I'll turn my back on you for now. If you can resist that, I won't attack you yet.

[And then he does. It's probably not safe, but... He's just going to give himself once chance to walk away, because this is bad place to fight alone.]

[apriori]

[It's almost too easy. He could let it go here and find his way out and forget about everything.

...but honestly he's pretty riled up, so instead he draws a knife and takes a swing with what probably sounds like a yelp of delight]

[concretejungles]

[He was expecting that, honestly. So he whirls around, clearly practiced on his feet. It's not enough to stop him from getting cut, but a knick on the arm isn't bad. It doesn't slow him down in countering with a job of his crowbar towards Shirou's ribs.]

That was a quick fail.

[apriori]

[He laughs at the crowbar connects, then quickly rights himself.]

Well you really put me in the mood!