maskormenacelogs | [Open] We could just run them red lights

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[Open] We could just run them red lights

WHO: Kaneda

rassera and YOU!
WHERE: Nonah 05, Maurita Falls, All Cities
WHEN: All of October
WHAT: October Catch All! Basically for all your Kaneda needs all throughout October when he isn't posting to the network.
WARNINGS: Will edit if need be!

[Prompts available on request, just hit me up if you want me to post something that doesn't fit in these perameters!]

Nonah 05 - October 6th - 16th

[Kaneda will mostly be at the house, and although he won't freely admit it or say that he cares, he's worried about Ken's absence. He'll most likely be doing one of the following:

Wandering around the house-- Losing Ken's going to mess him up a little, and he'll often just be wandering around the house trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. He'll probably avoid most conversation, but feel free to bug him to try and get him out of the house. With Tetsuo moping in his room, it's not exactly the most stress-free environment.

Backyard- Since Bull taught him how to use knives, he'll be practicing with those, or on other days, he'll be training Capsule some commands and/or playing with him. A nice distraction AND it gets him out of the house!

In his room--Looking at the schematics he drew (which are rough at best) of the inside of Tetsuo's comm link.

Kitchen- Kaneda may or may not be learning how to cook Tamagoyaki after his crash course with Minato. You know, just in case someone comes back.]

All Cities - October 16th - 31st

[There's nothing like getting out on the road when you need some time to yourself, and with Kaneda, that was pretty much the equivalent of going for a jog. It doesn't matter the city, honestly, because he was going to learn all of the eventually by street, nook and cranny. And what better way to do that than breaking traffic laws and seeing where the road takes you?

But there's more than just driving. Kaneda's been trying to test his limits here with his bike. You may hear the engine rev of his bike as he gears up on the sidewalk, putting his goggles on and sitting himself onto the bike.

Care to catch him just before he takes off?]]

Maurita Falls - All Month Long

[3-4 days of the week from 9pm til past midnight Kaneda heads out to Maurita Falls for his other job. What is this other job? He stars in an underground fighting ring to make some 'extra' cash.

Most, if not all the times he visits will be him actually fighting, although you can find him spectating a fight every now and then if that's an easier way to talk to him. He'll most likely come home with bruises of some sort, as his fighting strategy does tend to lead to him getting beat up more often than not.

As to specifically where you can find him, he'll most likely walk home. Or if you want to catch him going TO Maurita Falls, that can work as well.

Or if you even want to see him in the ring! Anything goes with this.

Note: Nonah 05 you can feel free to find out about this either by him coming home and seeing his condition or catch him going out!]

Wildcard

[If there's something you want to do, feel free to post it! If you need to hit me up for plotting feel free to contact me at this journal or

RCeus! I'll be happy to write starters for you!]

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[A whole day after Ken's return, and half a day since he came back to Nonah 005, the boy is sitting with Koromaru on the couch, talking quietly to him while petting his fur. Despite his cheerfulness the day before he's more subdued right now, not quite dazed and staring off into the distance just... burying his face in the dog's fur and hiding himself there. Either way, he's not really looking at the world.

Because twenty-four hours later, it's finally caught up. The emotions he sweated off with that spar against Hisoka have come back now, and he finally has to face them again.

In truth, he didn't cry at all in March. He didn't cry when Minato's death was confirmed, he didn't cry when he was cremated, and he didn't cry when they thought they lost Aigis, too. But that was easier because it was simpler to accept that people didn't come back. Shinjiro wasn't coming back, Minato wasn't coming back, his mother wasn't coming back, and Ken can grit his teeth and keep going. But here, it was different. Here, Minato's messages were waiting for him, and they wanted to see each other. They had a bond they never shared before, and it's impossible to ignore the ache in his chest now because back home, back home...

Ken's quiet enough not to be audible, but Koromaru is, whining worriedly and nudging the boy's hair.]

[The door to Nonah 05 opens, Kaneda entering soon after. There's no announcement just yet, but Capsule seems to hear him from the foot of the couch, ears perking up as if they'd float off his head if they went up any higher. The puppy scuttles over towards his human, Kaneda immediately kneeling down to ruffle those ears.]

Hey buddy...where's Koro?

[Usually they came in twos, but looking up, he notices that the Shiba is in the room too, and Ken also.

Huh.]

Hey.

[That's really all that needs to be said as he stands back up, heading over to the back of the couch to lean his arms on it, craning himself over to see Ken's face, and maybe reaching over to scritch Koromaru behind the hears too.]

What's eating you?

[He can't help but get a twinge of apprehension. After all, Ken was only back one day. Don't tell him something changed--

Did Tetsuo do anything?...]

Edited 2015-10-19 08:33 (UTC)

[Ken didn't actually hear Kaneda come in. His headphones, though they're not playing any music, are pulled up over his ears, blocking out most of the softer noises around the house. It was comforting to isolate himself in the muffled silence the same way pulling up his hood was.

Koromaru's whining and Kaneda's voice when he leans over the couch, however, he does hear, and Ken turns his head slightly to show that he was listening. His face is still pressed into Koromaru's neck and his face isn't visible, but he tries to keep his voice level as he answers with his first attempted lie.]

... 'M just tired. Coming back, um, adjusting, after the Dark Hour again.

[Ken, you're no better at lying than Tetsuo is. Okay, no one's worse than Tetsuo, but he sees through that wet paper bag of an excuse and raises an eyebrow, hands running along his opposite forearms idly. He wasn't Bull, wasn't as good at reading people as he was, but he could still tell that this wasn't just about coming back.

There's a glance to Koromaru, as if to see if the dog would agree with Ken on that statement. ]

Okay.

...

So what's the real reason?

[Koromaru's not exactly selling Ken out, but there's a sad look on his face that reveals one thing: Whatever it is that's bothering Ken, it's also weighing down on the dog, and in the months before no matter how jumpy Ken had gotten, Koromaru was always a constant, powerful presence. Right now, his ears are pressed back against his skull and he's resting his head on the boy's shoulder, seeking comfort from him too.

And Ken, without looking at Kaneda still, shakes his head.] It's nothing... nothing to talk about.

[Nobody can know.]

[Kaneda studies Koromaru for some time, noticing how distressed both he and Ken look, at how they're supporting each other. Something happened, he's sure of it, but finding out just what is going to be a bit more of a challenge. Whether Ken gives more info or not, Kaneda's not leaving the room, moving to flop onto the other side of the couch, kicking his feet up to that coffee table.]

Nothing, huh.

[A pause.]

You're not always this bad with lying, are you?

[Finally, at that, Ken pulls back from Koromaru far enough to cast a glance in Kaneda's direction. His mouth is curved down in a grown, his eyebrows are creased together, and his eyes don't quite meet Kaneda's. But there's an expression there that, surprisingly, doesn't cross his face often: sadness. Not grief mixed with anger. Not regret mixed with self-loathing. Not self-sacrificial determination.

Just pure, overwhelming sadness that he doesn't know how to release.]

... Nobody else has asked, [he answers, sounding defeated.]

[Nobody else has asked.

Kaneda leans forward at that, head tilted up to try and read something from those eyes. Sadness clouded them, and masked what could possibly lie underneath. Kaneda wasn't good at reading emotions as it is--but Ken was harder to read than most sometimes beyond the basics.

He just had a feeling.

Intuition, he guesses.]

Kid...

C'mon, what's eating you?

Don't look.

[It comes out quiet and sulky, less like he's sad and more like he's grumpy, but it's all the same. Ken shifts uncomfortably where he sits, although his protests are weak and half-hearted. He has the promise of Nico's silence. Erebus' presence hasn't been detected by anybody at him, and with time, it'll fade. It's not like he's never kept secrets before. Minato must not ever know.]

It's nothing to talk about. I can't talk about it.

[The way Ken shifts away from him is not unexpected, but it's not like Ken, either. Despite trying to draw attention away from himself, it's doing the opposite, and now Kaneda's more alert to this than ever. He doesn't push it again, leaning back onto the chair and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

Laying himself back.]

You can't?

So you want to, but something's holding you.

[Ken knew there were no chances of hiding the secret the moment Kaneda caught him. He was never good at talking his way out of things, and more than that, with Kaneda he'd never kept any secrets. He'd been the person Ken went to, after all, at the end of September when he just needed somebody.

And the person who would, probably, understand better than anybody else.]

What if telling them is worse? [he asks in an almost word-for-word echo of the question Kaneda threw at him, months ago on their first bike-ride together.]

[And that sentence rings in his brain like an old memory, a bell he'd heard once before just a few months ago. The only difference? It wasn't him who had said it this time. Eyes widen at Ken's slip, sitting a little closer to the boy and his dog. Searching for something that Ken's still hiding.

Something had happened back home. He's sure of it.]

Oi...what's that talk for? Telling me? Or telling someone else...

Not you.

[Although, in truth, it's best not to tell anybody. Nico, he felt he had to; the boy can sense death as part of his nature, and he didn't want him to notice and bring it up to Minato. Everybody else was different. They wouldn't know, and they didn't have to know. And he didn't want those soft-hearted friends of Minato -- like Jaime, especially -- to have to carry that weight.

But Kaneda moves closer, and Ken looks up at him with a sad, sad expression. But it's not the expression of someone who's lost -- no, behind the expression is a strong, determined light. There is no real doubt in Ken's mind. He looks straight at him.]

People aren't meant to know the future, Kaneda-san. They aren't. Time unfolds no matter what, as it should, as it's meant to. If someone's 'time' stops at a certain point... he shouldn't be told what comes after his passing, or else he'd be tied to it.

[His heart leaps into his throat at that revelation, listening to Ken talk about what had been on his mind since the beginning. Since Tetsuo had shown up on the doorstep of Nonah 05 and he'd said the two things he wished he could take back. People aren't meant to know the future, Kaneda-san. That's what he told himself every time Tetsuo asked. Everytime that someone said they should talk about what happened. He couldn't, now with the way things went down.

But it's weird, hearing this from Ken. He doesn't know what happened back in his world, or how badly things took a turn. But those eyes are strong, and for all that must've gone wrong, something certainly went right.

Right now, there's no one who understands Kaneda more than Ken right now, and for once...for once in a long time, someone understands.

Someone understands.

It takes a moment before he speaks up again, leaning his head back against the chair, head tilted to ceiling.]

It's not your job to tell 'em, either. You don't want to ruin their life now with what their life could be.

[How close is he?]

[He watches Kaneda's reaction, but he didn't need to to know that he knew. Ken had known since the very beginning of their relationship what he was going through, and Ken knew, the moment he remembered him, that Kaneda would understand better than anybody else. That was why he had hesitated. Would the understanding bring relief or pain?

He still doesn't know the answer, watching him. He can't see his face. But now that he's taken this step, he, like everybody else, can only move forward. He releases his hold on Koromaru and the dog slides down to lie on his lap, snout resting in the crook his arm.

Ken looks down and closes his eyes, murmuring a response.]

... There's no 'could be' to him, anymore. He's dead, and he must know. It explains everything... everything he didn't tell me before. If he found out what happened after his death, he'll never be able to move past it.

[Kaneda exhales, thinking it over. Both he and Ken were essentially guardians of the future, weren't they? Keeping that information safe from the people important in their lives. Sure, Minato knew his fate, and from his own stupid mouth, so did Tetsuo. But it wasn't information they should know.

Kaneda's eyes close as well.]

So you wanna keep it from him for his own happiness.

Edited 2015-10-30 02:12 (UTC)

Yeah.

[Happiness sounds like something that's steps ahead, but Kaneda's on the right track. Ken doesn't look up, but with his free hand he starts to pet Koromaru's head, gently pressing the fur flat and smoothing it.

He takes a breath.]

... We had a chance, actually, just before I got brought back here, to go back to a time before he passed away. Whether we wanted to move forward and face the next day, or to go back. When Minato-san first passed away, we didn't understand why. Without understanding, our regrets resonated and manifested before us as an abyss that trapped us in time.

[Now -that- gets his attention, head finally tilting back down. One elbow leans on his knee as the other reaches over to run a gloved hand over Koromaru's head as well, flicking right behind his ear to scritch it.]

You...stopped time. Minato meant that much to you, huh...

[He has no reason to doubt Ken. Any other time he'd shown the slightest doubt, Ken always proved it. He'd certainly earned his trust, and Kaneda? Well...he's seen enough to know that sometimes strange shit just happens.]

Even before we knew for sure, I had a feeling. I had a feeling he died using up all his strength in the last battle.

[Kaneda leaning in to scratch Koromaru brings him closer. Ken, without much deep thinking, closes the distance between them so his head leans up against the other's shoulder, but he doesn't move away upon realizing what he did either. This is fine...]

We all tried to find a way to move forward. Closing the dorm, disbanding SEES, graduate, force ourselves to look to a future -- but it's hard. It was so hard. We didn't even get to thank him.

[The weight on his shoulder raises his eyebrows, slowly shifting his gaze towards Ken, watching as that mop of hair finds a home on his arm. He doesn't make to move it, either, only continuing to rub along the inside of Koro's ear.

He listens, though, and it seems like Ken was gone a lot longer than just a few weeks back home.]

Shit like that's never easy.

[I know. I know how you feel.]

You took my advice.

You're right, after all. And... you've realized it too, haven't you? We're in a similar place.

I told everybody that I was in November. The truth is, it was already April. Between Aragaki-san and Minato-san, a lot of people died, and we all grew.

Minato-san died to give us the option of "tomorrow." We have the responsibility of making the correct choice.

[He realized the moment Ken said something. The he wasn't alone in his situation. That he had a duty to protect someone from their own future, as did Ken now.

His eyes flick up, moving to sit next to Ken to not disturb the boy's head propped up on that shoulder. Hand still stroking along Koro's ears.]

He's really that important, huh.

[There's a soft huff.]

So that's your choice? Keeping it from him?

[It's not accusatory. That'd be hypocritical. But he is curious...maybe to see if there's some validation in his own choice.]

Yeah.

[Ken's comfortable keeping his head there, not disturbed in the slightest by Kaneda shifting, and Koromaru's tail thumps once against the cushion.]

Not forever. I don't think that's right. If he has a chance to know, he should be assured that his friends are going to be all right. But not now. I can't tell him right now.

[Kaneda listens, thumb brushing along the top of Koromaru's head as he thinks--that he needs to eventually tell Tetsuo at some point too. Not now...now was not a good time for any talks of back home. But one day..maybe if he can get on some common ground with him.

He'd tell him what he needs to know. And only that much.]

Then you're looking out for him.

[There's a nod against his shoulder. Ken seems to relax as he does, closing his eyes, breathing in -- Kaneda's jacket is leather, but mixed in with the smell is that of what once existed in his world: mechanical oil, gasoline, cigarette smoke, spilled alcohol, sweat, blood... none of them were pleasant things, but they all made up the smell of Kaneda and his world. And now, he can smell other things, too. He doesn't think Kaneda would've smelled so much of dog back then, or of the axe Bull wore around and rubbed off on all of them, or of the cartons of Chinese food he scarfed down every day.

It's comforting. It's the smell of a living person, just like Minato's sweater had when he saw him the other day, just like the smell his mother had when he still had her. He can still remember it.

Ken's hand finds his way off of Koromaru and around to Kaneda's arm, fingers curling around his elbow, seeking the comfort of knowing that somebody else knew the weight of such a secret.]

I am. Maybe-- maybe I'm not right, and maybe, he'll be hurt that I kept it a secret. But... I have to believe that it's the right thing to do.

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rassera - 2015-11-14 03:50 (UTC) - Expand

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amadaman - 2015-11-19 05:05 (UTC) - Expand

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[Open] We could just run them red lights

October 17, midday

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