007 ☀ action/voice;

[sablemeister]

[ Crona stands motionless in front of the Rainbow Fountain, staring down at a coin-- that's right, a real coin, this little speck of at least some shade of home, previously acquired from Claire and currently laid in the center of his palm. there's been a lot on his mind lately. a lot about things that have happened during his stay at Splendor, and

Comments

action;

[valhallicity]

[ it is more than that, even if Izaya didn't want to admit as much. something is obviously weakened, for him to even want to bother speaking with Crona this way. all this time, even dealing with Claire, he had thought ah, in the end, nothing's changed because at the end of the day, I'll still be fighting with Shizu-chan and smiling with Juuta-kun. but it wasn't like that anymore. and there was only so much a person could do to convince themselves that a situation they had planned to go one way had completely gone off the original track.

so, yeah-- maybe they were both very unhappy. did that mean they had reached some kind of kinship? hardly. it just meant that he didn't hold anything against Crona at the moment. it could very easily change, of course. but now, it was kind of draining to imagine how Juuta must be getting on with his best friend.

usually, he'd be pretty angry with someone asking about "Shizu-chan," and especially in such a manner but considering the circumstances? ]

Yeah, I guess I do. But don't get me wrong- I only miss that barbarian because when he's not around I don't have a go-to plaything. He's so easy to bait. Whenever I get bored, if he's around, there's sure to be something I can do to entertain myself. Not that I can't find another way to... but if the resources are readily available and easy to get, I'll use them.

[ there was so much justification in that, trying to defend it to someone who didn't even know Shizuo into making it impersonal. it really was like he said, though-- what a day, when he'd miss the person he hated more than anyone in the whole world. maybe he didn't even miss him exactly but he missed the game they played and he missed the chance to be that earth-shattering to anyone's existence. ]

action; 1/?

[sablemeister]

[ in the same way, something has...changed in Crona. sometimes that change makes him feel better about what he's been doing, how he's been trying to be a better friend...but other times? it terrifies him. his impulses just seem to keep coming, he just seems to keep messing up, even after he tells himself, promises others to be different. to be a better person.

it twists in his stomach and-- maybe that's why it's so easy, now, to talk to Izaya like this. after trying to kill him, and after he's been terrified and threatened and verbally abused by the informant.

...so maybe he's just setting himself up to be ripped down, again. ]

[sablemeister]

[

wait. ]

[sablemeister]

[ --h....................

................

......................"he"? ]

[sablemeister]

[

.....

.....

p-p-p-p-plaything...?! ]

[sablemeister]

[ ....oh.

um. well. that isn't very surprising-- b-because, well, the way Izaya's been acting towards Juuta, and everything... n-not that there's anything wrong with it, but-

--but doesn't that mean Juuta is just a replacement? ]

I--I see. How c-cruel you are.

done, i'm so sorry.

[sablemeister]

[ shaking the train of thought from mind enough to answer (though the minute widening of his eyes remains), Crona glances away, blushing slightly. his voice gains surety, hands clenching at his sides when he looks back-- ]

Izaya.

[ no formalities. this is one serious-if-intensely-confused kid, Izaya Orihara. and he isn't taking this lightly. ]

What is Juuta, to you?

lmfao sob 1/?

[valhallicity]

[ at first, when Crona calls him cruel, he's confused-- did he know Shizu-chan? whatever. it really shouldn't come as any surprise to him by now that Izaya is the type to use people for his own methods. but when he brings up Juuta ...

what does he have to do with this? ]

[valhallicity]

[ slowly, he's putting the pieces together, raising a hand to his chin thoughtfully, frowning in concentration. something that he said must have sounded cruel towards Juuta-kun, right . . . ? ]

[valhallicity]

[ so, did Crona mean to say that after all Juuta had done for him, he hadn't changed a bit? or was he saying that ...

wait. ]

[valhallicity]

[ wait. ]

done

[valhallicity]

[ finally, after a long pause, he answers. ]

Juuta-kun is my friend. I think you already understand the feelings I have in excess to that. Somehow, I think you have the wrong idea. Just a shot in the dark.

action;

[sablemeister]

[ he wouldn't be surprised, had this been under a different set of circumstances. Crona might have expected it, actually, if he didn't already. but this...this is something different from the purely jealousy-driven strife he'd endured under Izaya's master hand, if only just a little. it's still jealous, but...

"in excess"? Crona'd like to say he knows Juuta semi-well, enough to know that said "in excess" is probably just pouring over wastefully like a bubbling teapot on a stove. that's a little...sad, even if he can't forgive the informant for his actions, probably under any circumstances present or future. ]

But...that doesn't make sense...if he's, then-- I-I don't think I'm that far off.

[fingers unfurling as the moment passes (for him, at least), Crona rubs the bridge of his nose, turning to face away from the fountain, and Izaya. ]

Mr Juuta is a n-nice guy, huh. B-but...he's kinda dumb, too.

action;

[valhallicity]

I used to think so, too.

[ actually, he had probably insulted him in the same manner previously. but that was the thing he had grown to like about Juuta, after all. he was idealistic and maybe a little naive at times but he wasn't dumb. it wasn't like he was a genius or anything but he had a lot of empathy-- honest empathy, that Izaya lacked and he didn't question himself even when presented with doubts.

Izaya stuffs his hands into his pockets and turns the other direction, so that their backs are facing, looks off at nothing in particular in the distance. everything was so familiar now-- each cobblestone, each building and door. ]

But I changed my mind. I think he's one of the smartest people I know. Not necessarily in statistical intellect but [ he pauses, voice growing a little softer ] ...he's really someone remarkable.

[ the change of tone, the loosening of such tenseness by even just a hair. Izaya pulls it all back, turns back around to slap a hand on Crona's back. ]

Hey, it's not my fault if you're getting weird ideas. You should at least explain it to me before making accusations.

action; 1/3

[sablemeister]

[ Juuta is truly remarkable. all things considered, someone else might have cut ties with the both of them long before the latest events between them. but...he didn't. and it wasn't out of any stupidity (or so, Crona urges himself during pangs of anxiety), but out of honesty.

even so, something bothers him. it isn't the first time he's noticed it, either-- and while he knows Juuta is human the same as (well, perhaps not the same) everyone else, that doesn't have Crona forget it entirely.

he speaks quickly, almost over the informant's voice. ]

I don't mean l-like he-can't-count-dumb, or something like that!

[ counting the stones on the street (one, two, five, seven) as he speaks it, Crona crosses his hands over his chest, gripping his sides again. the city is familiar, intensely bright in comparison to Shibusen; especially his home-district. sometimes it still doesn't feel real, and maybe that's part of why it's hard to admit, even in a slur of words- ]

Mr Juuta m-may be hiding it for all I know, but he doesn't seem to see when people are f-feeling...things...for him, right? I mean-- uh...y-you know, when people l--

[ admittedly, Crona's just a kid about this. but that doesn't stop him from feeling it, wondering if Juuta really cares as much about Crona as the meister does for him. maybe--no, it probably isn't the same as Izaya (and why should he really care, anyway? this is only because of Juuta's involvement, right?), but it's a feeling nonetheless. that minuscule blush returns full-force, though he's luckily turned away from the other still. he's about to speak again but Izaya does first, and-- ]

[sablemeister]

[ YELP ]