concretejungles | (no subject)

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.]

Crazy, huh...?

[watching him a little more carefully now]

You say that pretty easily.

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

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

...Yeah?

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.]

Edited 2014-02-03 09:19 (UTC)

[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.

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.

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.]

[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?

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.

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?]

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

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.

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.]

[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]

[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.

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

Well you really put me in the mood!

[That laughter makes his hair stand on end. Who can laugh like that after taking such a blow? He knows he hits ruthlessly... so obviously this kids's used to it. He's up against someone who takes pain and violence casually -- someone strong, too.

This is the kind of person he'd normally hope to surprise. A one-on-one fight in a narrow corridor puts him at a disadvantage he doesn't like.]

In the mood to die? That's pretty lame of you.

[It hurts -- well duh it hurts, that's what happens when you get hit, but as usual he can't bring himself to be concerned.

And this guy is pretty frustrating - he just has that sort of attitude Shirou can't stand. So really, he wouldn't feel too bad doing something regrettable to him.]

In the mood to see blood, actually!

[He's not concerned about getting hurt - he'll just fling himself headlong at Kida again, blade at the ready, aiming a swing at his side]

[He manages to dodge that one, by stepping back. But there's not much place to move. It's too small a space. Dodge-and-counter is a bad style to use down here, but it's all he's got against someone bigger than him with high stamina.

Still, he tries. He aims to disable a wrist with his next move, and at least he has the benefit of not holding back. There's none of a hero's fear of hurting people here. There's no filter at all, a bit of mental instability that helps offset his size.

Unfortunately it's not going to do a lot in the long run. He can hear the rumbling of a shifting wall, and the ground shakes enough to make him stumble just after he strikes. What was an open way behind him is now a dead end -- just another few feet. There's nowhere to go.]

[The crowbar meets his wrist with a dull thud and the crack of metal against bone -- and while it stops the knife swing and sends the blade clattering to the ground, that off-balance glint in Kida's eyes just goads Shirou on.

When he sees a solid wall conveniently between his opponent and a safe escape, an eager grin spreads across his face and he shoves Kida against the wall with all the force he can muster.

Is it a fair fight? Now, probably not the fairest -- he doesn't care. As long as it's fun, "fair" doesn't matter.

With one hand injured, he has to release Kida to get at another knife -- it'll be worth it, he's sure!]

Forgot it did that... hey, if I don't kill you completely, will you help me find a way out?

[All of Shirou's force is a good deal of force. Enough force to knock the wind out of him, easily. He manages not to hit his head on the wall, but it wouldn't take much to do that, when he has to pause to cough.

Of course he doesn't let himself just stop. He's in too hopeless a position to just stand there. So he tries to bring his crowbar up, hoping to shove the sharp end into Shirou's windpipe. It doesn't matter if it kills him. He doesn't care about the consequences of that kind of thing. He's just desperate to escape, particularly when he feels his face heating up from the objective kickback to the pain of his cut arm and bruised shoulders.]

You can die down here.

[His right arm already injured, he brings it up to block the crowbar. It feels good, even when the pointed end sinks into his arm, it feels so good, and he can't remember the last time he's felt so excited and alive and forget being good because honestly that feels miserable--]

You don't want to go back and see your friend?!

[Now that seems silly. You must not like him that much after all! For a moment, Shirou almost feels bad for Ryuugamine-kun -- if it were Shinji left back there, he'd do anything to get out alive. ~~and then kill the fucker later~~]

Guess I won't hold back, then!

[The knife is in his weaker hand, but it's still a knife, and he takes a swing at Kida's shoulder]

[He doesn't have room to move. There's nowhere to move to, so that one lands. He grits his teeth against the scream, but he can't suppress the shudder that comes after. It's not like he didn't know his objective could be unpleasant. He just hadn't really thought of it. It hadn't really come into play, outside of safe situations.

This isn't safe. This is the opposite of cozy and pleasant, so the reward for pain is anything but welcome. He needs to escape now. Maybe if he gets a knee to Shirou's groin?]

[He has enough sense to get out of the way of that, but oh, he won't let Kida get anywhere quite yet. Not with the smell of blood in the air and the sound of an all too familiar reaction -- he rounds on Kida again to give him another jab, right below the first]

You like it!

[His voice is all childish maliciousness - like an excitable brat pulling legs off a bug]

Hey, isn't that weird?!