Recovery is a form of being grounded, right? [Open Log]

[iamtetsuo]

WHO: Tetsuo and YOU
WHERE: Nonah 05/Nonah's Ark
WHEN: Post bike crash through october
WHAT: Karma caught up to him and he's stuck in Nonah 05 for a month. Waiting for your body to heal the rest of the way naturally SUCKS. Boredom, resentment and pain don't make a great combination, but he's down for the count.
WARNINGS: Tetsuo. Copious amounts of Tetsuo. Drugs, threats, all that fun stuff.

[Prompts available on request; for the most part:

Sept 29-Oct 18
Largely stuck on his bed being a wet cat. At some point he'll start meandering out into the living room for TV if no one's out there, but he's not really going far or doing much. Expect a lot of network or texting abuse, possible threats of violence, and probably hurting himself in the attempt to follow up on said threats.

For the curious, he's got a broken collarbone/some ribs; nothing life-threatening but definitely extremely annoying, not to mention painful. While this may take longer normally to heal, he's had some healing done, so we can just assume it'll be pretty much good to go by the end of the month. He might be getting a limiter forced on him at some point during the month.

Oct 18-on

As he starts feeling better, his goal's to be out and around Nonah as much as he can manage (not that much, but you bet he can try). He's supposed to be on bedrest for the month? Well, that's not exactly what he intends to do - just try and make him.

That said, he's not going to be up to doing anything strenuous, which is good for all of us. If you can't find him in Nonah 05, he'll be in the arcade or nearby areas. What are good judgement calls?

Action, audio, video, text, it's all good (update: oct 3 evening until oct 9 Tetsuo's comm is not working)]

Comments

October 21st - Action

[rassera]

[Kaneda didn't even try talking to Tetsuo yesterday. Even with his coin flip on his side, he didn't trust that the guy would be all to happy to see him after..whatever yesterday was.

Which was the thing. What the hell happened? If anything, he thought he was making progress with Tetsuo. The pills, the cake...hell, even the comm fix got him at least social again.

If that's how a guy gets thanked around here...


Whatever. He huffs and moves up the steps to the house, having come from a drive around Nonah. What did it matter? Tetsuo's mood changed at the drop of a hat. He really shouldn't be as surprised as he is.


But when he walks into the house, Capsule isn't there to greet him, which was...odd. Even the pitter-patter of feet isn't heard. A part of him wonders if Ken took Koromaru out for a walk, and by tradition, Capsule would come with, but the leashes were hung up, and it was about time for Koro to go pick Ken up from school. So that left one dog in the house that wasn't coming to him.

A quick walk into his room, and he sees the dog there, curled up in his bed, wagging his tail almost gratefully as he hurries over. Exchanges of affection were had, of course, but it doesn't take long for Capsule to return to his bed. Now THAT was strange.

Raising a brow, Kaneda exits to go take his coat off and...That sure is Tetsuo. Right in the living room now.

Suddenly everything makes sense.]


...



[A moment to think of something to say.]

Well look who's up.

[iamtetsuo]

[Hazel 'forgetting' her game system out here ended up being the best thing ever. Until she came back to actually get the stupid thing, he had free reign, right?

It was also a reason for him to leave the room, and the better he started feeling, the more he started doing that. He tended to try to time his little cheating/practice sessions to when no one else was around, but it was probably inevitable that eventually, someone would catch on. So, he kept the sound off, trying to minimize attention. At first, it even worked; Kaneda walked right by without noticing.

Like hell Tetsuo's turning off the stupid thing just because he walked in here. He can go away, mind his own business. And just like that, as if following unspoken direction, Kaneda does. If only for a while.

Tetsuo doesn't bother looking up. He doesn't even act as if he heard Kaneda - even though there's no possible way he could have missed him. Instead, he keeps at what he's doing, trying desperately to figure out just what sequence he needs to beat this stupid boss.

But the game betrays him; he dies almost instantly after Kaneda speaks up. Fucking Kaneda, throwing off his concentration... probably did that on purpose. Probably timed it exactly, that moron.]

[rassera]

[There's a slight glance of curiosity at the game, eyebrows perking up as he watches Tetsuo die--if he'd just jumped two seconds earlier, he would have missed that thing completely, and the boss would've been left open. Not that he's going to mention it right now. That was more of a thing you mentioned when you weren't last shoved forcibly out of the room.

His hands are shoved in his pockets, reconsidering what he was going to say.

Tetsuo was up on his feet, he had to be in order to get to the couch.]

Gettin' around okay?

[iamtetsuo]

[The 'game over' screen vanishes, replaced with a blinking sprite and a countdown. New game, new try. But instead of moving forward and spawning enemies, the sprite waits, bobbing in place. Tetsuo's head is pointed forward, but his eyes aren't on the screen.

There's still no reply, but he's watching.]

[rassera]

...

[Okay, if Kaneda couldn't get an answer out of him this way, he'd try another way.]

Just follow me, alright?

[He doesn't want to make this a bigger deal than it has to be.]

[iamtetsuo]

Why should I?

[Going back to his game now.]

[rassera]

[Ugh, don't play this game with him, asshole.]

You want it back or not?

[iamtetsuo]

[THAT gets his attention. The controller falls to the couch as Tetsuo looks back at Kaneda with a look of genuine surprise. He hadn't pursued it further after getting the pills back; of the two things, those were by far more important. But... he hadn't really thought Kaneda would honor his word.

It's strange how it wasn't really all that long ago that Tetsuo never thought he wouldn't... but that was a world ago.]

Tell me where it is. I'll get it myself.

[Getting up gingerly here, but it's not like before when he literally dragged himself out here on willpower alone. He doesn't need to brace himself much to get on his feet again.]

[rassera]

[Kaneda watches Tetsuo get up, his hand instinctively reaching out to offer some help, knowing full well the other wouldn't take it. Still, it was there, and only lowers when Tetsuo's got himself up and ready.

After his behavior the other day, he wasn't sure if he wanted to. But Kaneda was a man of his word, and...well, the worst that could happen? He'd get shot.

He could handle it...right?]

You'll never find it without me.

[iamtetsuo]

You think I'm stupid? I'm not following you anywhere.

['Hi, enemy, come with me somewhere probably remote so I can pull out a gun!' Yeah, no.]

[rassera]

You can't follow me out to the sidewalk?

[How does he put this delicately.]

It's not that you won't find it, it's that you can't find it without me, alright?

[iamtetsuo]

Sidewalk, huh?

Don't think I can? Just watch.

[That does have the desired effect, sort of, since he's going to start heading out towards the sidewalk. WATCH HIM KANEDA HE'LL FIND IT WITHOUT YOUR DAMN HELP]

[rassera]

[A hand slaps itself to his face, fingers dragging and pulling his eyelids down as he follows, just...ready to straight up watch this trainwreck.

He doesn't move to stop Tetsuo, that would be one of the dumbest things to do right now, but he's certainly ready to see him fail.

Because there's just...no way he'll find it on his own.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo doesn't care. He stalks around, looking for anywhere half obvious first. Drain ditches? Vents? Small holes under the house?

The immediate problem is he's not feeling all that agile. Though he's feeling better than he was, his injuries mean he can't easily bend down to get at these. But Kaneda said he flat out couldn't do something, and he's not going to let that stand anymore. He's had enough of that his whole life. It's close? GOOD, that should make this easy.

Cue ripping at various things with psychokinesis for a while and getting more and more frustrated.]

Where IS it?!

[Stop this before he starts causing property damage.]

[rassera]

[Kaneda watches at the doorway as this little scene plays out, trying to find a good point that he can step in. It goes on for a few minutes, arms folding across his chest as he watches it play out.

...

Brows raised.]

I told you. You -can't- find it without me.

[He unfolds one of those arms and snaps his fingers, the bike appearing on the sidewalk in true fashion.]

No one can.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo pivots around, then stops as it suddenly clicks what Kaneda meant.

That bastard... he set him up!]

Rrgh... Just hand it over already!

[rassera]

[He walks down to the sidewalk, shoulders slightly hunched as he passes him. As if holding onto every ounce of patience that he can muster to not tell Tetsuo to screw off.

Keep your word, Kaneda.

His fingers run over that bike's frame affectionately, like he was greeting a mount or other animal, trailing up the glass and to the edges of the windshield before reaching 'inside'. Towards that glove compartment.

Opening it up, in sits Tetsuo's gun, exactly the way he would last remember it. He takes it, pulling it out and snapping the compartment shut before turning to lean against the bike, turning it over in his hands.]

Remember your word, got it?

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo's eyes follow him with keen, almost predatory intent. He almost expects Kaneda to tell him off. And they'll have a rematch here and now. The depressing thing is that Tetsuo's still in better shape than he was for that fight.

But that doesn't happen. Kaneda keeps going, pulling the thing out and playing with it. He doesn't aim it at him, he doesn't do anything. Then again, if Kaneda wanted to shoot him with it, he could have done so by now. So... he actually intends to carry this out, huh.]

I meant what I said, Kaneda.

[Unlike the pills, Tetsuo doesn't snatch it out of Kaneda's hands. He walks forward instead, holding his hand out expectantly. It's not that he doesn't trust his power - of course he does, he's got perfect control of it, shut up. It's just that this is.. uh... symbolic.]

[rassera]

[A part of Kaneda expects it to be ripped from his hand. After all, Tetsuo wanted this pretty badly, didn't he? The tug on it never comes, he never feels the thing go against his fingers. Sometimes, maybe sometimes Tetsuo can behave himself.]

...

[His shoulders move back, the protective stance now gone as he stands tall before Tetsuo, that leaderlike quality returning to his frame. He and Tetsuo are probably only a foot away from each other by now, looking down into those dark eyes with a hard stare of his own. Were either going to actually do anything, this would be the place. A miniature Cold War, only seconds long, but enough to test to see who would escalate, if anything.


But it never comes.

Kaneda's arm lifts up, putting the gun gently into Tetsuo's hand. No tricks, no keep-a-ways, no takebacks. His hand lets go, and returns to his side.


He'd be lying if he said he wasn't internally bracing himself for a bullet.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo never wavers once, though he's tensed for a fight. And if it comes? He'll make Kaneda regret crossing him, and keep regretting it. Like Kaneda has already. But it doesn't. There's no words, no mockery, no snide remarks, no changing his mind. Nothing happens on either side, when absolutely everything could.

Now it's Tetsuo's turn to flip the gun around in his hand, checking it for ... he's not even sure what. A scratch or something. But he doesn't find anything; it's as cold and deadly solid in his hand as the day Rick put it there. He has all kinds of power, but he'd be lying if there wasn't something viscerally satisfying about a physical representation.

Without even a glance to Kaneda, he stashes it back in his pants for now, using the waistband to keep it in place. He didn't even seem to consider aiming it at Kaneda, let alone pulling the trigger. Just like he'd said - why would he need to? He can do so much worse.

See, Kaneda... he remembers his word.

But he's surprised that Kaneda remembered his.]

[rassera]

[He watches Tetsuo's movements like a hawk, eyes darting from his face to the gun in his hands, and then to where it moves. He doesn't flinch, not yet, but his muscles tense underneath that jacket as the gun is slotted into that waistband. The tension was high--he could almost feel it radiating off of Tetsuo as those eyes return to him, that cold hard stare met with his own.

Or rather...that's the mask he put on.

Where is the Tetsuo he knew...


His hand raises up, but only to snap his fingers once more to make the bike disappear, as if it had never been there. It was now just the two of them standing on the sidewalk, door to Nonah 05 open and waiting.

...]

We're done here?

[iamtetsuo]

[He looks back at Kaneda, brow dragging down further into an even darker look as he actually has to think about that for half a second. He can't even find reasons for the anger anymore; there's too many. Who cares? All he knows is he didn't shoot someone he's got nothing but hatred left for, because he gave his word. All he knows is he's planning on walking away, and not just because he knows Kaneda's going to keep providing chances for future engagements. Maybe he won't. Maybe Kaneda's really as done as he is. Maybe when he's better and he's got his bike, that's the end of everything.

Good fucking riddance.

Except... there's just one more thing of his he wants from Kaneda. One thing Kaneda denies knowing about entirely. Whatever, he can save that one for when he's completely better. Chances are he will have to beat that one out of the guy. One more thing.. and then that's it.]

Yeah.

[He breaks the stare and raises his head to an arrogant tilt, heading out somewhere. It doesn't matter that he has to walk slowly. He knows exactly where he's going, and it's fortunately not all that far.

We're done.]

[rassera]

[He doesn't waver as Tetsuo walks past, that arrogant head tilt gets a warning glare in return. Just because Tetsuo wanted to flaunt his ego doesn't mean Kaneda's not ready to put that back in its place. And he lets him know it too, shoulders squaring as he looks down, lip curling a little.

He watches him go, standing at the sidewalk as Tetsuo makes his way out of sight, watching until he turns the corner. Leaving just him outside the house, that door open and waiting for him to walk inside.

It's slow, and he keeps an eye as his feet make their way back, up the steps and into the doorway, stopping there a moment to slump against it, hand going to the bridge of his nose.



What did he just do.]