we say that we won't but you know that we will

[amadaman]

WHO: the residents of Nonah 5, and anybody else who thought they could simply walk into Mordor this house.
WHERE: Nonah #5
WHEN: Throughout April!
WHAT: Catch-all for interactions at Nonah #5. Top levels for residents, as well as any open top levels, will get linked in the post as they're added! Residents and guests, all welcome :)
WARNINGS: Mark threads accordingly!

TOP LEVELS
Kaneda & Capsule • Ken & Koromaru • Tetsuo • Phoenix • Bull

Comments

Kaneda & Capsule Catch-all

[rassera]

[If you'd like to plot something out with me feel free to throw something here or contact me at RCeus ]

Tea Time, the ReTea-ening

[missleadingquestions]

[It probably won't be a surprise to Kaneda by now to see Maya already downstairs at the usual time, though now she's no longer hindered by a lack of memories and a small form. This time, however, she hasn't bothered to make herself tea.

Maya sits at the kitchen table with an array of credit-card sized polaroids taken by Mayoi the previous week, pouring over them as if trying to remember every detail.

When Kaneda approaches the kitchen, he may hear the cheery humming of a familiar tune coming from her lips, but her attention is all on the brightly-lit photographs of her younger self meeting all of her new friends.]

[rassera]

[The tune carries itself through the kitchen and just outside it, catching Kaneda's ears as he softly approaches about his usual time. With everything that happened, getting back into such a routine was easier than he cared to admit. Tetsuo was upstairs, and everyone safely tucked in...

Things could return to normal. So with footsteps padding down the stairs, he swings around the banister to head towards the kitchen.

Upon hearing the tune, sung in the same pitch as he was used to hearing all these months, he slides in, picking up at the small dip between measures. There's no announcement or anything, just a tenor joining in as he makes his way over to the stove, eye trained on her in his peripheral vision.]


...Oi, Mayoicchi.

[The nickname that he'd gotten so used to calling her that week had stuck, with or without his knowledge. It's soft, not quite a whisper, but much less staccato than his normal tone.]

Whatcha lookin' at?

[missleadingquestions]

[At first the addition of Kaneda's voice is welcome. She'd taught him the song, after all, and though she may never hear it in her sister's voice again, Maya's comforted hearing it from someone else. For a few moments she continues sifting through the polaroids, humming along with him, and then he calls her name. A name she hasn't heard since that portion of her training had ended.

Immediately, she looks up at him like a deer in the headlights, red all the way up to her ears, and pulls the polaroid she has in her hands to her chest. It's not even a bad polaroid, really, but the instinct is there.]

--Huh?

[rassera]

[By then, Kaneda's next to her, hand leaning on the table while waiting for the kettle to boil. His eyes browse he polaroids as he waits, but the one she pulls to her chest, complete with the reddening of her face...

It's enough to get him to question.]

Your pictures.

[There, that was harmless enough, right? He puts on that smile, picking one up.]

Any of me?

[There's something different about his tone, tonight. It's not caked in the rough language he was so used to using. His tone, while still sharp as always, flowed easily. Like conversation was a delight. That just talking to her lit up his night.]

[missleadingquestions]

Oh.

[That's right. In these pictures, she must have been Mayoi. She watches him for only seconds, but it feels much longer. Her grip on the polaroid loosens and she lowers the picture down, still playing with it between her hands.

His voice is nice. It's warm, like he is, and why is she thinking about the fact he's warm, anyway? But he talks to her like he's glad to see her, like he wants her to be here, and she finds herself sinking in her seat just a little, because all that warmth is now inside of her.

The flush in her cheeks becomes just a little less apparent, but she doesn't quite put her eyes on him. She looks between the photo and the one he's looking at, and after just another moment, holds out the one in her hand.]

There's this one.

[It's of both of them, really-- one of the many selfies Mayoi had insisted on taking, this one with her in Kaneda's goggles and her arm around his shoulders, and it's obvious he's lifting her, because of course she'd been even shorter that week.]

I can't believe how many I came back to.

[rassera]

[Maya's internal struggle about why boys are so warm is unread by Kaneda--after all, he's not the psychic around here. But his weight leans on that table, reaching over and picking up the selfie that Maya had gestured to. The one he remembers so clearly with little Mayoi....taking her out to lunch in one of the Nonah courtyards, looking out over the freeway....

Letting her wear those goggles so she could feel 'cool' for once in her life.

It's enough to get him to smile warmly, finger running along the edge of the corner of that picture.]

You were pretty popular.

[The photo is set down as he slides into the chair across from her, dark eyes lit up in the dim light of the kitchen.]

Is this one with Ken? He's actually SMILING!

[missleadingquestions]

[It's good. She's not sure what she would do, really, if he noticed that she is taking him in the way she is. Hell, she isn't even sure what to make of it herself. Something's different, it feels, and it hasn't been all at once, but it feels like this is the first time she's noticed it's different. Like it's the first time she's noticed the light in his eyes.

Kaneda's practically branded by his red. To most it looks boasting, a neon sign that announces his presence. It's as iconic as the country's favourite cola, impossible not to notice, just like him. But to Maya right now, the red that is Kaneda is something so much warmer. Not an overpowering heat like the lick of a flame, but as warm as blood, as warm as the prickles under her skin on her cheeks. He is warm and he is bright, and Ken's smile makes him brighter.

And Kaneda's smile makes her brighter.]

Right? He never looks like that. I'm pretty sure somebody photoshopped these, somehow.

[She's joking, and she looks up at him with an expectant little smile, hoping to keep his smile burning bright.]

[rassera]

[Her tone is bright, like a star in a city, outshining the most artificial lights and producing her own, practically radiating in the room more than the light could ever give. He can see her nostalgia for what was only just last week, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't one hell of a good time.

The kettle sounds off, and Kaneda's quick to stand back up after only momentarily sitting. But it's not without catching her eye, getting lost in them for only a second as he hoists himself to his legs.]

Well, I'm not gonna speak for Mayoi's talents, but if she's anything like who she grows up to be--I think she can swing some...what was it? Photoshop? [His accent may have caught up with him in that word.]

[A thought.]

Is that where you...buy photos?

Kotetsu, April 9th 10PM

[rassera]

[You always find out you're fresh out of tea at the worst possible times. Kaneda had taken up a habit of having a mug of it every night before bed, and when you realize you're fresh out of the usual kind, and Aunt Cass's boxes had been long gone, it was time to make a late night grocery run.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side for that moment, flipping tails and making him forget his comm at home. It wasn't entirely noticeable at first--walking the streets left him to recognize things by landmarks only, and whatever foreign signs there were he used colours and shapes to determine where to turn next.

And it wasn't until he got to the store, meandering through the aisles and enjoying how deserted they were at this time of night that he makes a left into the tea/coffee aisle, matching his steps to the usual area and getting out his c-

...Oh.


Of course that'd be his luck to forget. His comm was sitting right there on Tetsuo's nightstand, wasn't it? Stupid...

Guess he'd have to do it the old fashioned way and go by colour--but there's tons of green ones now, and the writing is as foreign as Japanese is to anyone else in that store.]

[earnedmystripes]

[Kaneda's not the only one who's run out of something. Kotetsu's in the middle of making himself a fried rice dinner when he realizes he's out of mayo....and you can't have Kotetsu Fried Rice without mayo.

Unfortunately, the grocery stores in Heropa are out of his preferred brand, and if at first you don't succeed, try another Porter city, right? No? Well, whatever, no one ever said Kotetsu made the best life decisions in the world.

So that's how he ends up at the grocery store in Nonah at 10 pm that night, and on his way to inspect the aisle containing various kinds of condiments, he happens upon Kaneda squinting at those various boxes.]

Huh. Somehow I wouldn'ta pegged you for a tea guy.

[Usually, he talks to his fellow Japanese imPorts in Japanese if that's the language they speak to him in (the nanites never translate it, considering he's already fluent), but as happens sometimes when you're bilingual, he has a momentary slip and says it in English instead. Whoops.]

[rassera]

[He can appreciate a man who goes to another city for his mayo, honestly. If you're not going to make your fried rice right, you might as well not make it at all! And if you're Kotetsu, there's probably not much more you can make aside from it.

So really....its a necessity.

Kaneda's head perks up at the voice, the lack of comm all the more apparent now that he's back to audibly hearing English, and how garbly it sounds when you're not a fluent speaker of it. This man...he'd met him once or twice, hadn't he? The seminar, and even before that, when they'd come back from Russia.

Kotetsu.

It was easy to remember, at least. It was Japanese. So why wasn't he speaking it?]

...

[Kaneda looks like a deer in the headlights as his face stares right back at him, a soft eto.... escaping as he looks back down at the box. Is he going to admit that he has no idea what Kotetsu said? Of course not. He's just going to assume he knows what the fuck this conversation's about.

Why would you do this on a bad luck night, Kaneda.]

I don't have a curfew.

[earnedmystripes]

[He blinks. Once, twice.]

E-eh? Curfew? What're you talking abou--ohhhhh.

[It takes a couple seconds for his brain to catch up with his mouth, there, and suddenly he realizes what happened, that expression of Kaneda's clicking into place. In Japanese, this time:]

Whoops. Sorry 'bout that. Forgot your comm?

[rassera]

[The change in body language when Kotetsu switches language is almost like night and day. What was hunched shoulders and defensiveness became a more lax, relieved look. That he didn't have to play guessing games at 10PM at night with someone who obviously knew both and used the wrong one seemingly for convenience.

Convenient to Americans, he guesses.

But the smile forms, recognizing words once again as his brows relax, giving a helpless shrug.]

Not my night I guess!

[earnedmystripes]

[This is why we communicate about things like not comprehending what someone else is saying, Kaneda. Not that Kotetsu has any room to talk about communication skills.

He lets out a soft snort.]

Anything I can help you find?

[rassera]

[Do you not know teen pride and not wanting to look like an idiot, Kotetsu? He's been called stupid by way too many adults to trust THAT tactic.]

Ah...

Tea.

They changed the boxes for all of em. It used to be the green one, but now there's...three.

[earnedmystripes]

[Kotetsu's looked like an idiot so many times in his life he's probably immune to worrying about it by now.]

You want me to read 'em out for you?

4/10

[iamtetsuo]

[It's been a while since Kaneda got him a bike. Tetsuo's tried it out a few times, or taken it to get to places, but he's not done that much riding on it overall. A good deal of the time, it stays in the shed, protected and safe.

But not forgotten or neglected. Far from it.

For the past two days, Tetsuo's been making a few forays out into Nonah without heading in the direction of the arcade, coming back now and then with bags of... stuff. It may seem weird that he's not been using the bike much for these, relying on his abilities for transport, but if asked, he'd shrug it off. Didn't feel like it. Wanted to walk.

He's out of the house again today, but apparently not away from it. When Kaneda gets a text, he'll be visibly in the back yard before heading into the indicated area.]

shed

[rassera]

[Kaneda noticed, but he didn't really say anything about it. Maybe Tetsuo just outgrew them. Maybe he only liked them because it meant being a part of something Kaneda was in. He doesn't regret buying it--the look on Tetsuo's face when he'd gotten him it said enough, and their ride through the city spoke more than words did. But he noticed it never really left the shed...and wherever Tetsuo went, he walked.

So it comes as a surprise when he sees Tetsuo willingly come and go, feeling he should ask, but figuring that if Tetsuo wanted to tell him, he would have.

Curiosity piques, and sometimes he's about to blurt out a question, only to stop at the last minute. It isn't until that it eventually drives him up the wall that he gets the text, looking down at his comm and then outside.


There he went, walking into the shed, and Kaneda soon to follow as soon as he puts Dalish down.]

[iamtetsuo]

[The shed has a light running into it, and while it's dim, it's reliable. It's a good thing that what he wants to show doesn't need much light to be striking; that's the elegance of the design.

He waits there, a little uneasy already - he got the message, right? Tetsuo was pretty sure he's here. Patience is not a virtue he ever really had, and it shows as he stares intensely at the shed door. Finally (five minutes later), Kaneda shows up and isn't even met with a greeting before Tetsuo's launched into explaining why it sucks.]

It's kinda simple, but you can tell what it is...

[Tetsuo almost wrenches the door off the hinges as he forces it open wider, stepping back to let Kaneda see.

It's the same bike, same paint on it, but where there was an unadorned gas tank there's now a long eye running vertically across the top so that from any angle, side or above, it's unmistakably an eye pointed upwards.

It's large, too; strikingly white with a dark red pupil painstakingly made into a perfect circle that touches the edges. There's nothing else on it, but the whole thing looks almost as even as if a machine had laid it out. How long did he spend fine tuning this?]

Take a look. What do you think?

[In truth, he had no idea what else to even add to it. it's just two shapes, but .... it didn't feel like it needed more.]

[rassera]

[He'd only taken one step in before Tetsuo's voice sounds, as if he needed to explain himself before Kaneda could even see what he'd been hailed for. Confused brows perk, slowly walking through the doorway and adjusting to the dim lighting, Tetsuo's explanation lost as a buzzing mumble as he focuses on what lies in front of him.

The bike.

Of course he knew the bike would be here. For all people's assumptions and all Tetsuo's claims, he wasn't stupid--but there was something different about it. The mechanics part of it stayed relatively the same, he knew Tetsuo wouldn't take apart anything he couldn't put back on...but it was the aesthetics that eventually caught his eye.

There, right where the fuel tank had sat unpainted, now housed a design. It was simple, yes, two shapes at most, but the intricacy was what stood out the most. It wasn't sloppily done in the slightest, and for someone like Tetsuo, who didn't tend to make designs like he did...it was truly an accomplishment. No bleeding paint, no mixing colours. No bumps or globs of paint where they shouldn't be. If you didn't see the bike prior, you would've thought it'd came like this.

A hand gently reaches out.]

You did this?

[Fingers brush against the paint, knowing full well that it's dry, and feeling it's smoothness.



Amazing.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Oddly self conscious, Tetsuo looks away, down at the bike itself again. He's not really sure what to make of the reaction. Damn, it'd been a bad idea to bring Kaneda out to vet the design, anyway. Kaneda could just make art happen; compared to what he could do, this was nothing.

And it really was the best of Tetsuo's ability. He'd fought for ages working out something to customize it that he could afford, trashing design after design, never satisfied with anything but the base. Back when he was a kid, he learned pretty quickly how to draw flowers and houses. But he didn't really branch out too far after that, setting aside drawing anything for weird, geometric doodles that had no form or meaning.

Nothing he knew applied to this, and he knows it way too well. All he knew is if it was his bike, it had to have an eye on it. As.. an emblem, or... something. It was supposed to represent him, right? That's how it worked. Maybe that's why he's so anxious about it now; he never puts himself out there for others to see. If he does, it's always hidden somehow.]

Yeah. Just me.

[rassera]

[The dim lighting of the shed may leave the area rather dark, but Kaneda could've radiated enough light to illuminate the whole place once Tetsuo says that. It's not sure what it wants to be--pride...happiness...maybe a mix of the two.

But his eyes are glittering, crouching down to get a better look. Fingers continue to inspect before he turns and works his way around to the other end, noticing how perfectly geometrical the design is.

How perfect it looks from each angle, and how different it looks depending on where you face it...and yet it's still the same design.

One pupil, one eye...three looks.]

Suge...

[It comes out as a whisper, breathless and soft as he laughs.]

It's amazing!

[iamtetsuo]

You think so?

[He has to internally wince at how eager he sounds. But even that can't obscure the way the dark weight lifts from Tetsuo's expression at the words. Kaneda sounds genuinely impressed. Thrilled!

Tetsuo had expected an 'it's okay', or maybe some hints on how to make it better.. or just making it better automatically. Not this.

Maybe he actually got this right.]

[rassera]

Mm. Mm.

[Small nods follow as he continues to look, one eye closed for precision checking and attention to detail.]

It's...what do they call it. Eye trick?

Literally and figuratively!