Dance this new creation It's the new sensation
Characters: whatsacliche aaaand anyone and everyone
Setting/Location: In the halls of the caravan
Date & Time: Noon on Day 11
Warnings: Public humiliation (for Finn)
Summary: Finn's making things up to Kurt for everyone's amusement
( Hop hop hop! )
Ugh. And to think he'd have to explain this to a person from the outside world... It had sounded so bizzare the first time he'd heard it. He gritted his teeth, notebook against his chest.
"There's the inside world and the outside world, right? The outside world is...normal stuff. Day to day things like going to school and worrying about things like that." he swallowed. So far so good. Even if Hudson was American, that had to be something he'd know between gun battles and riding horses and herding cattle.
"The inside world is the world of Nabari. The world of Ninja." He swallowed. "Raikou-san brought me from the outside world into the inside world, so even though I'm normal, I'm...part of the Kairoushu. Iga's gray wolves. A ninja clan. And one of my fellow Kairoshu is here."
He licked his lips. His throat still felt dry. "Yoite-kun." he said. "You...probably haven't seen him. he's..." Uhm. Gau tried to gesture. "Tall, and thin, and warmly dressed all the time, with a hat...?"
he had the feeling this wasn't going well.
"He's...learned a secret technique called the kira technique and..." Gau swallowed again. How to put it? How to put it?! Think, Gau, think!
"You...uhm...point your finger like this." Gau pointed, index finger out. 'And it shoots your life at people, and you can...really hurt them badly that way. Or you can break other people's techniques like illusions by shooting them and destroying them from the inside, or you can use it to jump start a person's life and help them..." He knew that last one particularly well. "It's...very powerful, but..."
Stop beating around the bush, Gau...
Gau squeezed his eyes shut.
"But...it kills you. You die from using it. And you die horribly." Another swallow, his voice cracking. "He's...in very bad shape. And he's all alone." Yes, he'd felt that deep, crushing loneliness when his life had been saved... "Rokujo-kun was the only one with the technique to POSSIBLY stop Yoite-kun from dying and he's not here, so I have to get him home. It's his only chance or he dies."
Gau gripped his notebook hard, staring at the ground, voice little higher than a whisper.
"He's only sixteen. And he's already mostly blind, and can't always hear me when I speak, and he can barely move sometimes... he has to go home."
Reply
Man. That sucked. What could he even say to that?
Well...he had one idea. "Um, back home, I have a couple friends who are...not sick but-- but disabled, right? And I think they're some of the strongest people I've ever met. They deal with the worst crap every day but they get through it so well that you forget they're not just the average kid." He waved his hand. "And you know, they're not. They're amazing. I spent a week in a wheelchair and it sucks. Artie does that every day..."
He was rambling. "M--my point is...people are stronger than you think. Everybody is capable of so much more than anyone expects until something happens and they have to pull through. Your friend is...they'll be okay. I'm sure of it." Finn hesitated for a moment, running a hand through his hair. "But, um, they should still get home as soon as possible, you're right. I'll keep an eye out. I promise."
Reply
Right, he hadn't beleived it either. He'd been much worse to Yoite, in fact. The trick is just not to overuse the kira technique! He'd said that. He hadn't known anything, and he'd thought he was a real expert, he'd thoguht he was impressing the chief with his knowledge, with his eagerness to work under him. He'd been an embarrassment to Raikou, and embarrassment to everyone, and hadn't even realized...
He didn't blink, solemn, "If you met Yoite-kun you wouldn't say that. If you saw him-" He remembered the house he'd been hiding in in the town. "I could show you a house in the town that he used the Kira technique on. The door's been blasted away!" He paused. Right. But that wouldn't do it. Even Gau could see it in Finn's half-weirded-out, half-earnest expression. He wouldn't be convinced unless he saw Yoite himself. Unless he smelled the blood and death around him. Gau knew that with the empathetic assurance that only came from experience, and certain idiocy.
He doubted anyone could be as genuinely hard-headed as him, if that was any assurance.
But...
"You're busy, I know, and Hudson-san needs to reconcile with his friend, first. But if you met Yoite-kun, you'd understand." He shook his head, a funny little pucker in his brows. "He's not going to get better. Not here. If you saw him..."
He took a little step back. "And Yoite-kun could show you things from the world of Nabari, too. He knows ninjitsu techniques even if I can't do any myself." His expression darkened a little in inner thought. At least Finn wouldn't be exposed to ninjitsu by hunting ninja.
Reply
Acting the way he had been was dangerous and selfish. This reality check (of sorts-- the ninja part was still a little confusing) made that clear.
Shaking himself slightly to clear his head, he said, "W--well. I mean, we'll be rooming together so I'm sure I'll meet him eventually." He ran a hand through his hair. "And...there's a doctor here. He was the one Kurt was joking around with on the computery-things. Maybe Yoite-kun could go to him and get some help?" He hoped he wasn't totally off-base with that suggestion.
Reply
"But...even if a normal doctor looked at him, there's nothing they could give him here, and none of them would understand why he's dying." Gau shrugged. "It's a horrible way to die, really..." He murmured, holding the notebook a little closer to his chin. "His...lifeforce is broken. It's...it's like a teacup." He looked up a little anxiously. Hattori's analogy. He didn't have a full tecup to break, but he'd have to try to explain anyway.
"It's...full of tea, and you drink it until it's empty. But if you pushed it off the table, it breaks, and the tea disperses. Using kira...it's like that. Even fixing the cup doesn't give you a way to restore the tea?" he chewed his knuckle. He didn't know how well he'd explained that. Somehow it felt like Hattori had done a better job. "The chief had to explain that to me. Otherwise I'd just make sure Yoite-kun stopped using kira, and then he could live out his remaining life."
He swallowed. "What I really don't understand is...what would make him want to use that in the first place. Th-That is, kira technique is something you have to learn, and even someone like me can research and find out what happens to those hwo use it, so... Why Yoite-kun chose to do that..."
He trailed off, and looked up a little nervously. "You're...right. We're roommates so you should meet him someday." He looked back down a little wistfully. All that affected anger of before seemed effectively banished. "If nothing else--because Hudson-san works so hard at keeping his friends, and making them happy--someone like Hudson-san would be good to have near Yoite-kun, even if things turn out badly."
He swallowed. "There are...people Hudson-san wants to go home to, too? Reasons he wants to return...?"
Reply
He was, however, smart enough to realize that Meguro was upset. "Yeah-- I mean, yeah, definitely man. I'm sure we'll...we'll all be friends." Finn smiled cheerfully.
At Meguro's question, however, his expression fell. "I do. My-- my girlfriend is pregnant...or...was...It's confusing. Kurt said that he's from the future-- after she had the baby. So if I go back maybe I'll...have been gone?"
God, Finn didn't even know.
"But either way, I...I have to be there for her. For the baby." Finn chewed his lip. "For Drizzle." He knew Quinn probably hadn't named the baby that, but it was hard to stop thinking of that name after he'd realized how awesome it was.
Reply
"Like...light rain? Just...the little bits? With the rainbows?" he bit his lip. "That's a good name."
Gau's own name meant "spring showers". How would he think any differently? He didn't grasp the cultural difference at all. He meant it.
"And...you want to be a father to your child. That's...that's good. That's very good." His fingers tightened a little around his notebook. He was a bastard child, himself. And his mom...
Gau's shoulder's squared in determination.
"Hudson-san has something to fight to be home for. Something important. And his family will be looking for him." he gripped a fistful of Finn's baggy pink sleeve in his hand fiercely. "If Hudson-san has been missing, how could they not be happy to see him at all? If he's come home to be a good father?"
The determination in his face bored up at Finn's. "Drizzle-chan would be happy to have her father there, no matter when he comes back." He swallowed. "I would be."
Reply
He sobered up as Meguro continued, however. "Yeah...I-- I'm going to do everything I can. I just hope we can all get home safely. After what happened yesterday..." Finn bit his lip anxiously. "It's scary to think that maybe we're actually being led away from our way home..."
Finn clapped his hand over Meguro's. "Thanks, man. Um. For you know. Talking to me and stuff. This was...nice." Talking wasn't Finn's thing, to be honest, so he always appreciated when it went well.
Reply
He certainly didn't miss that the giant bunny-man had clasped his hand.
Gau went beet red, and panicked.
He wasn't spectacular at social things himself, as it turned out.
Another guy! Holding his hand! (Well...Raikou sometimes did things like that, but he always let go right after and did it out of nowhere, and that was RAIKOU! This was different!)
A whole slew of questions poured throught he poor kid's head: Was his roommate gay? Was that his way of telling him?! Was it because he'd grabbed his costume like that?! Had he somehow sent the wrong signals?!
Well...there was Raikou, his brain reminded him mutinously, but Raikou was the piece that NEVER fit in. Gau was damned if he knew how to classify something that was fifteen parts blind, pure, somewhat-reciprocated and appreciated hero worship of the kind where he actually would jump off a bridge after Raikou, confident that he'd be caught at the bottom...
three parts mild, masochistic, blissful domestic slavery (and side secretarial work)...
And (at least) two parts mindless, presumably hormone-induced lust.
Except for Raikou, Gau knew he liked girls! Granted, girls never took him seriously, and the types of clean, demure, sweetly organized little things he liked usually had better things to do--not that there were many to start with since the Kairoshu ninja were mostly male.
"Pent up" he might allow in terms of description. (Granted, it would only be allowed after much gut reaction arguing, at some length and volume.)
"Desperate" he would not allow.
After a bit of sputtering, he managed to half-wiggle half-jerk his hand out of Finn's. Noting the look on the other's face, and with it dawning on him what his face probably looked like, he forced a panicked smile. "Y-Yes. Uhm..."
He swallowed, trying to resist the urge to wipe the hand on his pants, face probably glowing red. He was humiliated, and too taken aback to even think to feign anger, or hide any of it, turning his face away.
"As your roommate, I will endeavor to keep up communication, and maintain a clean environment for both of us." He said a little shakily. It didn't change the fact that he was serious. Or the fact that whenever matters of duty, honor, and mundanaity came into play, Gau's vocabulary suddenly shot up. But he was still badly shaken.
...he still needed a roommate, though. Even one he couldn't be so sure about. He needed someone there to look after, and nitpick on with all the right intentions. Someone to depend on him for food and organization...
The thought of being in a room on his own, eating alone made his throat tighten. He couldn't stand that.
That reminded him. He hadn't remembered to eat since he'd gotten there. It really was a problem only really being able to find food appetizing when you were with other people. Gau needed to find someone to eat the leftovers of. Someone who wouldn't find it weird.
He was more embarrassed just thinking about it--thinking of Yukimi and Kazuho staring at him as he shoveled Raikou's leftover sushi rice into his mouth.
It struck him again just how alone he was, here.
His hand forced itself to unclench.
"You...eat?"
He blinked, and went even redder as he realized how stupid of a question that was. "Th-That is-! I know you eat something, but what do you like to eat? I've never cooked for Americans before, and you seem to eat all sorts of unhealthy things like grilled meat. I make sweets. And my-" His throat tightened. My what? Old roommate?
"Raikou-san's taste in food had some really inexplicable combinations. Like putting chocolate syrup and pickled ginger on his breakfast rice..." His face went grim. "So I thought I'd make sure."
Reply
Okay, that was exactly why, but he wasn't going to say any of it out loud.
At least food was something he could talk about pretty comfortably. "Um, well, I'm not too picky. Like, I'll eat just about anything on a pizza. Just no brussel sprouts or anything like that." It took a moment for Finn to realize what Meguro was getting at. "Wait, you're going to make me food? You-- you don't have to do that, man. I can live on PB&J forever, really."
Reply
All of his suspicions about Americans and their taste in cuisine were just confirmed.
"That's...horrible for you. Peanut Butter may be a good source of protein, but you're probably not oging to get it around here! And Homemade jelly takes hours! A person of Hudson-san's apparent stature and athleticism should have a fulfilling and nutritious diet!"
"I bet you live off frozen food..." Gau grumbled like it was a sin. "I'll give you a portion like Yoite-kun's though I still don't know how he can stuff a whole piece of cake into his mouth without making himself SICK and make sure it's something healthy and delicious." Gau started scribbling notes to himself erratically in his notebook, muttering a little.
"With the nature of this world here...fresh ingredients are probably much more plentiful, and I'm sure someone was thoughtful enough to take in some of the creatures from that assault in the ghost-town-place. Those electric deer at least..." His garish pen paused a moment. "A simple dough shoudl be easy enough...and if there are tomatoes for a sauce...I could probably make a pizza. I should look for CHESE in the village, then. Such weird tastes...." He gritted his teeth.
"I don't even know what the spices are like here! It's so frustrating! Isn't there anything else you'll eat?!" Gau didn't even want to think about where he was going to have to look to find soy sauce for everything. Worse still, how he would brew his own. he didn't think he had a recipie. This was all so inconvenient!
(((OOC: That first paragraph on your last comment was just beautiful. I want you to know that. XD)))
Reply
He did seem to have Finn's best interests in mind, so at least there was that. And despite his obvious objections about the quality of a food like pizza, he was actually making plans to make it for him. Meguro's mind was like a tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth...
Finn was more than happy to say anything that would calm the poor guy down. "Hey, relax. Really, I'm not...I can take care of myself." True, he'd been living with his adoring mother for his entire life and had really had to take care of himself before, but he was positive he could do it. And with Rachel here now, well, he was probably going to have one too many people mothering him as it is...
Man, why did everyone treat him like a kid?
"Don't worry about it, okay? It's nice of you, honest, but if it's going to take that much trouble-- just, don't." Finn shifted uncomfortably, hoping this would be enough to get Meguro to understand that he was getting excited over nothing.
((OOC: Eek! Really? Thank you. D: I enjoyed writing it. DD:))
Reply
Leave a comment