[Good ol' extremely reliable Kyoko. Ryohei feels the clenching of his heart ease with one simple question, even if its answer is a little- okay, an extreme lot- more complicated than that. Just absorbing her peacefulness relaxes him so much that it's almost absurd, but this is partly why they're as close as they are. They just fit so well as siblings that a lot of the time they might as well have been twins. It's so comfortable, and it's why he hates having to hide things from her. It also kind of extremely hurts that she goes along with his poor lies and deceptions so easily, and he'll deal with that so long as it keeps her safe. But it's just...not, not any more. So he'll come clean.
He spends a moment trying to think of how to phrase this, but thinking's never been his extreme strong point. He knows it, Kyoko knows it; the whole world pretty much knows it. If he mucks it up a little, she'll understand what he means.]
...Has Sawada talked to you yet?
[That was probably the best place to start. There was extremely no point in getting wires crossed after all. And he had extreme faith that Sawada would have worded all of this much, much better than he ever could.]
[She nods once, offering a small but encouraging smile. What they're about to talk about is hardly a happy affair, but it wouldn't help either of them to make the situation more tense.]
Ah, that's good. What did he tell you? [He laughs a little sheepishly and gives her a shrugging smile.] No point repeating things, am I extremely right?
[Tsuna had told her a lot. Part of it she hadn't really processed - there had been a misunderstanding, something about 'sin' - but that wasn't the part that had mattered, not to her. It was the part where she was told friends were fighting against friends, where people she cared about had been hurt by those they had been laughing with days before. Where, once again, something was causing the people she loved so much pain, but this time there was nothing she could do to help.
How on earth did she put that into words? She didn't want to say it; she could accept it, she could acknowledge it, but saying things like that out loud wasn't something Kyoko did. Saying it out loud would mean everyone would know it was affecting her too, and how was she supposed to be supportive if everyone else knew she was just as distraught over the situation?
Then she remembered who it was she was talking to. Even if she didn't put it into words, her brother would figure it out. That was their relationship; knowing without saying, acknowledging only when it was mutually beneficial, never when it would severely hinder the other. And if her brother was ready to talk to her about this, it would be beneficial to both if she did the same.]
Tsuna-kun told me that- that everyone was fighting back home again. [she looks down at her hands in her lap. she had barely even started and already it was proving difficult.] That Yamamoto-kun had been hurt...and Chrome-chan was in trouble. And about the Shimon students and that...they were the reason everything was happening.
[And that was all she could bring herself to reiterate.]
[Her big brother's words hung in the air between them, and Kyoko found herself frozen. She didn't know how to react. The words kept repeating in her head, as if something positive would pop out, something to help her have hope still. Instead, something else began to stand out to her.
Her brother was in prison. Mafia prison. And that was when Kyoko came to a realization.
She hated it. The mafia, the thing responsible for putting her friends through all of this, was something she couldn't accept. As close as Kyoko could come to hating something, she did when it came to the mafia. None of the people involved - even her big brother, who thrived on challenges - would have participated in something like this if the situation hadn't been forced upon them. And she couldn't help feel a little bit of resentment towards the thing that had done it.
What she disliked even more was that none of her friends were doing this for the mafia. It wasn't hard to discern the reason for them all going into this was to protect each other. The only reason there was a threat to begin with was because of the mafia.
What good would it do to get caught up on that though? It wasn't as if her friends were dedicated to the mafia - they were dedicated to each other. There was no way she could fake being okay with the situation, and even if she tried she knew her big brother would pick up on it. It didn't matter, though - once again, right now her friends needed support, not disapproval.
Support and hope for the best, even if it seemed like such a hard thing to do in light of everything - that was all she really could do right now.
That, and hold on to the promise Tsuna-kun made to her: No matter what it took, he'd make sure everyone gets home safely. And she knew that as long as Tsuna-kun held onto that, everyone else would too.]
[Ah. He knows that look extremely well; it's the one he's spent so many years trying to safeguard against, doing his extreme level best to make sure nothing harmed Kyoko on any level. Unfortunately things have gone too far now for him to do that alone.
Maybe it's finally time to realise that Kyoko's grown up, to admit that her strength far outweighs his own when it comes to this. Maybe it's time to admit that he's known this all along.
He squares his shoulders and smiles. It's not forced, not sad or shadowed, just the warm serenity of a sunny afternoon. Ryohei wraps his arms fondly around her and gently rests his cheek against her hair, absorbing the strength and comfort that Kyoko provides his world. Somehow getting all of this out in the open makes the things he's been telling himself seem extremely true at last: everything's going to be okay, we'll fix it to the extreme, we'll win. With all of them united, they're ultimately indestructible. Isn't that the point.]
It's fine though, right? Everyone's doing their extreme best, so nothing will stay bad for long.
this is not a hug icon. but it is a cute icon. and i have it so im going to use it.gladlygullibleJune 13 2011, 09:25:48 UTC
[The arms around her startle her out of her thought, and Kyoko hugs her brother back tightly, nodding in silence. It will be fine back home. And here in Splendor, it already is.]
He spends a moment trying to think of how to phrase this, but thinking's never been his extreme strong point. He knows it, Kyoko knows it; the whole world pretty much knows it. If he mucks it up a little, she'll understand what he means.]
...Has Sawada talked to you yet?
[That was probably the best place to start. There was extremely no point in getting wires crossed after all. And he had extreme faith that Sawada would have worded all of this much, much better than he ever could.]
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Yeah, he did.
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How on earth did she put that into words? She didn't want to say it; she could accept it, she could acknowledge it, but saying things like that out loud wasn't something Kyoko did. Saying it out loud would mean everyone would know it was affecting her too, and how was she supposed to be supportive if everyone else knew she was just as distraught over the situation?
Then she remembered who it was she was talking to. Even if she didn't put it into words, her brother would figure it out. That was their relationship; knowing without saying, acknowledging only when it was mutually beneficial, never when it would severely hinder the other. And if her brother was ready to talk to her about this, it would be beneficial to both if she did the same.]
Tsuna-kun told me that- that everyone was fighting back home again. [she looks down at her hands in her lap. she had barely even started and already it was proving difficult.] That Yamamoto-kun had been hurt...and Chrome-chan was in trouble. And about the Shimon students and that...they were the reason everything was happening.
[And that was all she could bring herself to reiterate.]
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And did he tell you anything about me?
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[Well, he's danced around it for long enough already: ]
I fought that extreme boxing idiot to a tie. Which means- back home, I'm in mafia prison, Kyoko.
[He smiles wryly, doing his level best to sound calm about all of this nonsense.]
A tie's the same as a loss, after all, and those were the rules.
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Her brother was in prison. Mafia prison. And that was when Kyoko came to a realization.
She hated it. The mafia, the thing responsible for putting her friends through all of this, was something she couldn't accept. As close as Kyoko could come to hating something, she did when it came to the mafia. None of the people involved - even her big brother, who thrived on challenges - would have participated in something like this if the situation hadn't been forced upon them. And she couldn't help feel a little bit of resentment towards the thing that had done it.
What she disliked even more was that none of her friends were doing this for the mafia. It wasn't hard to discern the reason for them all going into this was to protect each other. The only reason there was a threat to begin with was because of the mafia.
What good would it do to get caught up on that though? It wasn't as if her friends were dedicated to the mafia - they were dedicated to each other. There was no way she could fake being okay with the situation, and even if she tried she knew her big brother would pick up on it. It didn't matter, though - once again, right now her friends needed support, not disapproval.
Support and hope for the best, even if it seemed like such a hard thing to do in light of everything - that was all she really could do right now.
That, and hold on to the promise Tsuna-kun made to her: No matter what it took, he'd make sure everyone gets home safely. And she knew that as long as Tsuna-kun held onto that, everyone else would too.]
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Maybe it's finally time to realise that Kyoko's grown up, to admit that her strength far outweighs his own when it comes to this. Maybe it's time to admit that he's known this all along.
He squares his shoulders and smiles. It's not forced, not sad or shadowed, just the warm serenity of a sunny afternoon. Ryohei wraps his arms fondly around her and gently rests his cheek against her hair, absorbing the strength and comfort that Kyoko provides his world. Somehow getting all of this out in the open makes the things he's been telling himself seem extremely true at last: everything's going to be okay, we'll fix it to the extreme, we'll win. With all of them united, they're ultimately indestructible. Isn't that the point.]
It's fine though, right? Everyone's doing their extreme best, so nothing will stay bad for long.
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So what're you cooking?!?! It smells AWESOME TO THE EXTREME!!
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