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

[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

[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.]

[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.]

[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.]

[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.

Edited 2016-04-11 06:01 (UTC)

[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!

Edited 2016-04-11 06:11 (UTC)

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.]

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!

Yeah!

[Sort of. He'd only intended for it to be always an eye, no matter where. Eye Trick though, he likes the sound of that. Eye Trick... if he was in the practice of naming bikes...

But even more important is Kaneda likes it. Meaning it's worthy to be out on the streets now, and not just because he said it had to be because he did it. Encouraged, Tetsuo elaborates a little.]

I was thinking... if this is mine, it needed to look the part, right? Before it hits the streets for good. I'm sick of my bikes looking like anyone else's - yours doesn't.

[Apparently toothpaste is not a sufficient brand anymore.]

Yeah it--

[He freezes then, his eyes looking back into the one painted on the fuel tank, mind buzzing with what Tetsuo just said. Not the part about his bike having to look like it belongs to him, he understood that more than anything.

It was the fact that Tetsuo, who for the longest time had tried to ride his bike, tried to steal it, even... was saying that his bike belonged to no one but him.

Damn.

His little brother really is growing up.

He's glad he's not facing the boy right now--it's a toss up whether he'll be able to keep that cool facade he's got going on or not. So with his eyes fixated on the paint job, he runs his hand over it one more time, giving an approving nod and an exhale of breath before he stands up.]

--it's gotta match the rider, right?

...It's missing onnnneeeee thing, though.

[It is a good thing, too - Kaneda's been weird enough already lately without getting sappy over bikes. Tetsuo takes his reaction as further approval, right until Kaneda adds the exception. Here it comes. That 'but'. He did fine, but.

Not good enough...

A little wary, now, his face falls a bit as he watches Kaneda carefully. Come on, what's wrong with his eye? You can tell it's an eye. Other than it missing the black part... is that it?]

What's that?

[His foot pivots, turning to face Tetsuo.]

Your hard work's gonna chip and fall off if you don't seal it!

[Oh. OH. He had not thought that far ahead, at all. All that work to keep the bike locked up and safe while he fine-tuned this, and he'd almost risked it all...

The weight instantly lifts off his face, replaced by realization of what might have happened. If Kaneda hadn't said anything...]

Shit - I forgot all about that!

I think I've still got some in my room. Go grab it.

[Because it's important that Tetsuo does this part. He'd done all this by himself. He had to complete this--just him.]

[He doesn't run, but it's close as he practically scrambles to get out of the shed. Once in the yard, he tackles the distance with a calculated leap, lifting himself at speed into the air and onto the balcony. The sliding door practically slams open in his haste to get inside and look.

Even the thought of something scratching that paint after weeks of planning and days of work... it's enough to get him rushing to remedy this problem. Like HELL is anything happening to it! He's not redoing all that!

and then... a text.]

you got an applicator around here?

Kaneda watches from the doorway, silently impressed at Tetsuo's finesse with his powers. What used to be leaps only made by angry determination were now calculated and clean.

He'll wait--it shouldn't take long for Tetsuo to find it.

That is, until he gets the text, fishing his comm out of his pocket to type back with one hand.]

check the nightstand next to tin

found it

[After a while he reemerges, taking the same shortcut as before and barely avoiding hitting the ground hard. What are stairs? Completely irrelevant. Waste of time.

Bottle in hand and applicator in the other, he beelines back to the shed. This, at least, he's somewhat familiar with. He's waxed a bike before, it can't be THAT different.]

Hey. This it?

[He ... could have checked back in Kaneda's room, but in his haste he didn't think to. Nonetheless, he holds the bottle up quickly, to verify. Now that his bike's in sight, he's got a little bit more caution than before.]

[Kaneda's got a game of Coffee Break started, waiting by the shed door as Tetsuo makes his return, eye peeking up to take a look. From the way his smile widens, it's safe to say that Tetsuo got it alright.]

Got it in one.

[Pocketing the comm, he heads back over to the bike.]

It's just how you think it's applied, just enough to cover it, don't glob it...

Want me to spot you?

[Kaneda's asking. He's not doing it himself, or giving instructions in a series of orders. He acts like it's a friendly, routine reminder instead. It's the difference between a hasty, defensive reply that he can do it himself, and the nonchalant, distracted nod Kaneda gets in reply.]

Not a bad idea. Wanna get this right...

[His hand runs along the eye first before he applies some directly to it. He's never been the most careful person, but you wouldn't know it for the gentle touch he uses in spreading it thin. In his mind, he's only mirroring how he's seen Kaneda do it, but you can't fake care. He'd always been more impatient about it before, going for 'good enough' instead of aiming for perfection.

Before, it was just a starter bike. Not something he was overly attached to, or would miss if it was gone as long as he got another one.]

[Kaneda leans on the handlebars of the bike to get a good bird's eye view of the situation, but aside from that, the floor is Tetsuo's. He's here to make sure he can fix any mistakes about to happen, not grab and correct.]

Just like that--you've seen me work, huh? The way you're doing it's just how I would.

[It's affectionate and guiding, his finger pointing to an area Tetsuo slightly glossed over.]

Man, if I didn't know better, I'd say you've done this before.

I waxed my bike before, remember?

[And never asked where the wax came from. By then, he didn't have to wonder much. That was probably Kaneda's urging him to do it back then, too...]

Same deal.

[The alternative is admitting how closely he'd watched Kaneda work, staring after that piece of glorified shit of a bike Kaneda claimed as his own wishing he was the one who got to look after it, or getting lost in fantasies about riding it. He watched everything Kaneda did for years with an increasingly cynical eye. He could repeat all his mannerisms or typical actions in his mind's eye by now, even if his body usually couldn't follow through. This is a rarer instance where it's not dauntingly close to impossible to manage.

It's distressingly easy to replicate everything down to the long slide of spread fingers, gently pressing the applicator down to stretch the sealant as far as possible.

Wax, he'd go faster with. It's not the same deal at all.]

I remember.

[His eyes remain fixated on Tetsuo's work, noting the little things that Kaneda had done while waxing now mirrored in front of him. He'd never admit it outright, of course. Tetsuo's pride was Tetsuo's pride...but it's not like the guy was wrong on his own reason, either.

He continues.]

You were the only one who made that bike look nice, you know? Back in the day, everyone said that it wasn't even worth getting on. A cement block was better than it.

[But Yamagata had lifted it for Tetsuo, and he can remember his protests. "What the hell do you know? I got it out of the lot, didn't I?" A soft smile graces his lips, remembering Tetsuo's first ride on it.]

It didn't fit you. Not like this one. But hell if you showed you could keep up with us.

[Tetsuo's hand pauses in its work, pressing a little harder against the side of his eye. That's just it, though. He didn't keep pace.

He can remember it clearly, too - he'd fight like hell to keep pace, trying desperately to force the motor to work hard enough to catch up. But it never really happened. He couldn't keep his balance at all on it, nor did he have the knowledge at the time to tell if it was his inability, or a low quality bike he was on.

All he knew is it didn't matter how many shortcuts he took or alleys he blazed through, or turns he took a little too sharply to try to shave off time. Ever since he was finally allowed to join them, it was always a desperate race to not be left behind, or get ahead to prove to them that he could have been there all along.

It's true that he didn't hear that talk. They never criticized the bike around him. Oh no... all his selective hearing caught was their criticizing his performance on it when he screwed up.]

If it handled so bad, why'd you guys get it?

[Strange thing is, there's more than one answer to that question, and all of them are right. Hesitation clouds Kaneda's expression, watching Tetsuo work.]

It's not like we have much to choose from, you know. Lifting a bike in Neo Tokyo's not like taking from a convenience store.

[It was true--the Clowns had authority that the Capsules were only just starting to get. Grabbing a bike for them was easy. Grabbing a bike for one of his own? Well...you can't gain territory until you gain bikes, and gaining bikes not in your territory is hard.]

I guess.

[That made sense, though he didn't have to like that it did. He gets up, pulling the bike out to try to get at the other side with minimal success. Stupid shed was too small... he should have started this outside.]

Not like it matters anymore, anyway.

[He should leave it at that, But as he's pulling at the bike to try to gently maneuver it, he adds a quieter question.]

...you really think I did okay on it?

4/10

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