[THURSDAY/EVENING]

[yamada_touya]

Who: Touya, Takaya, Yukari
When: Thursday Evening, upon Toya's return from the hospital
Where: The Hotel
Rating: None yet
Warnings: Angst? Blame? Guilt?
Summary: Every action has consequences... Touya, with the help of Yukari, decides to face some of the consequences of his most recent action head on - so they don't shoot him in the back.

The night air

Comments

Re: 3/3

[yamada_touya]

Touya placed a hand on Yukari's shoulder, deeply sorry to have put her through this... But this had to get out, all out, like the pus in a wound, before any healing at all could begin. Too much left unsaid and the smallest spark could set off an explosive reaction, one which no one could ever take back.

Case in point: 'Our actions have never had a toll on anyone else before.'

Hand still on Yukari's shoulder, he turned to Takaya.

"Let me get this out of the way first - I know about Strega. About the Revenge Request Website."

His eyes narrowed. "I haven't told anyone but Yukari and Mitsuru... and it's your choice who you reveal your pasts to... But to uncover it without disclosure did not inspire trust."

He took a deep breath. "That's more than a digression - it's my explanation of why when I drew Jin out, while all I wanted was to make him realize what he'd done, I nonetheless made sure I was ready for a fight. After all, Jin had already shown he could cross lines I never have."

Touya looked into Takaya's eyes. "I'd be lying if I said a part of me didn't want it nonetheless... How you see Jin and Chidori, that's what Yukari is to me. Like family. And he hurt her Takaya... I hope you see that."

"And that made me mad as hell - as you would be had it happened to, say, Chidori."

Re: 3/3

[healingpink]

Maybe it's what Takaya said... or maybe it's just the way he said it. But suddenly, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.

Before, she didn't realize what a history the two--no, three--had together.

If she had to be dumped, maybe it was good that it was for a person like Takaya.

"Don't worry about it."

For the next few minutes, Yukari's quiet, listening to Touya's words--all words she came to really believe in after their talk the Wednesday before.

Re: 3/3

[pistol_jesus]

"Do you know what it's like," Takaya began somberly, averting his gaze "to be picked up off the street at a young age? To be abused everyday? To see your friends being hurt everyday and being powerless to stop it? To then see each of those friends die? To have a death sentence put upon for a power you do not wish to have?"

He stopped, feeling the hate fill his heart, much more powerfully this time than it had any other time he had thought about it. He clenched his fists and stared at both Touya and Yukari.

"Do you know what it's like to live everyday wondering if you'll wake up the next? I am not sure how long I will live for. I am on borrowed life. My life is not my own. My persona is in control of my life. I take suppressants to keep me alive. If I wanted to stop living at any time, I could just stop taking them. But, though I hate admitting it, I am horrified to die. Not for myself. I do not want to leave Jin and Chidori all alone. I would rather they die before me. Not a pleasant thought, but these are the things I think of everyday. Do you know Jin told me if anything happened to me he would stop taking his pills? Do you know what that is like?"

He relaxed his hands and looked calmly between the two, "Surely you can understand why after escaping, we would want revenge. No. Not even just revenge.. Revenge Quest was not vengeance against who we had our plight with.. We needed money to get by. Don't I sound like a horrible person? After years of fending for ourselves on the street, I found I could not properly provide for either Jin or Chidori. I tried my best, though..

"But all of this is in the past and it is possible for people to change. Why do you think the chairman allowed us to join? Everyone has secrets that are horrifying. Some worse than others," He closed his eyes, "All I wanted now was to give Jin and Chidori the chance to live a normal life. To have an actual future. We have not really been living all of these years. I want them to be like everyone else and not have to worry about dying. Though I can't promise they won't worry, I promised them I would protect them and let them live to the fullest they possibly can"

Frustrated, Takaya rested his face in his hands, "But now, I have failed even that and I have lost Jin and everything that I had promised both of them is shattered."

[yamada_touya]

Touya shook his head, sympathizing with Takaya while at the same time, filing away the information in his head, as had become an automatic action on his part.

"I don't pretend to know what the three of you have gone through... None of us probably has any frame of reference to begin to understand what you went through," Touya said. "But if we're going to understand each other... it's something SEES will need to know - and not 'discover'."

The boy took a deep breath. "But the fight with Jin wasn't about the past - it was about the present. He hurt Yukari... and I wanted him to know that. Wanted him to not just be able to walk away..." He looked aside. "I have nothing against the two of you - but he should have closed a book before opening another."

Another breath. "When he found out the reason I'd called him out using a fake 'revenge request' - he said-" Touya stopped, and looked at Yukari, hesitating before saying: "He acted indifferent, and all my anger just poured out. I punched him."

Touta began to pace as he continued, miming the action with his hands: "He blocked my blow with his attache case - it broke my hand. We scuffled and I managed to get a solid hit..."

The boy looked straight at Takaya then. "And that's when he threw a grenade at me," he said. "If the Dark Hour hadn't arrived, I'd probably be maimed... or dead."

[pistol_jesus]

"I don't wish for you to even begin to understand what it was like for us. We are not who we are today by choice. The Kirijou group made us what we are. If not for them, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now and we could go on with our merry lives as though nothing happened. But that is not the case." Takaya turned his head away from them. What good would it do to keep explaining this to them?

He looked to Touya, "As I said, I had no idea that he had not rejected Yukari. Had I known, do you really think I would have begun to date him? I, too, would have made sure that he tell Yukari of his choice."

"As for Jin acting indifferent, as much as I don't like to say it, could you really expect him to act any other way? But Touya, one thing that does concern me.. Why draw him out to an area where there would be no one around? Especially near to the Dark Hour. If you wanted to speak to him, you could have just as easily spoken to him after class. But calling him out like that.." Takaya glared coldly at Touya, "One only does that when one is looking for a fight. As much as I do not approve of the situation that he put Yukari in, I do not believe that two wrongs make a right."

Takaya stared up at the ceiling, looking lost, "And now he is gone. I tried so hard to speak with him in this past week, but he seemed to be avoiding me. Perhaps if I had tried harder this would not have happened."

[yamada_touya]

"For heaven's sake I'm not blaming you," Touya said, "But that aside, the entire issue is - I don't know if you would. I don't know what the three of you are going to do in any given situation. All I know is what the three of you have fone before. I'm not saying you can't change - I wasn't expecting Jin to go at me like that..."

Touya took another breath. "But the fact is, when I called him out - I knew what he could do. I'm not suicidal Takaya... I know if Jin decided to make a fight out of things, he could kill me. I needed it to be near the Dark Hour, because fast healing is the one thing I had going for me. I wasn't looking for a fight Takaya - but I wanted a chance of survival that was higher than zero if it came to that. So yes, I planned, I took precautions."

Now it was Touya's turn to glare at Takaya. "And it's a good thing I did too - or else I'd be dead."

[pistol_jesus]

"I am not implying that you are blaming me, I simply had some things I wanted to say, that is all." Takaya waved his hand as if to dismiss the current topic.

"We can sit and argue about this all day." He sat back beginning to sound annoyed, "I understand that Jin attacked you first, in no way am I condoning his actions. I was simply saying that you didn't have to talk to him at such a place. You could have talked to him at a more convenient time."

He shook his head. What good was it arguing about anything? It wasn't going to get Jin back any faster and there was no point making enemies when there didn't have to be any.

"I'm sorry for my temper. I have not been feeling well the past few days." He wearily smiled before continuing, "Do you think that he left because of your fight? I thought it might have been, but then I thought if that was the reason, he would have come and told me what had happened."

[yamada_touya]

Touya didn't really believe that Takaya was taking this as well as he seemed to be - no one had tat level of serenity. The boy did appreciate the effort it took to put up appearances however.

"Probably - although why he didn't just leave immediately after, I can't say. The last I saw of him was Wednesday, when Fayt called us in for a talking-to... He refused to go to the hospital and just left."

He took a breath. "Listen, I just wanted you to know the facts as far as I know, as far as Yukari and I know, and to tell you why I did what I did, and to let you know that... this wasn't about Strega. If... if you could tell Chidori that... I'd appreciate it."

He smiled ruefully. "I'd hate to have another axe thrown at me."

[pistol_jesus]

"I see.. Thank you for the information." Takaya nodded his head at the boy.

"I will let Chidori know. She tends to take things rather serious when something happens to one of us. Sorry that she attacked you." He smiled calmly. Had Chidori really done that? He supposed under the circumstances she might have attacked if she thought Jin was being threatened.

"Is there anything else you need?" he wearily asked. Just thinking about the upcoming weeks was making him tired, "I am feeling rather tired."

[yamada_touya]

"No I think we're good," Touya said, while casting an inquiring gaze towards Yukari as he stood up.

He turned, but paused before heading out.

"When he comes back... I'll try. That's the best I can do. But I'll try - for you and Yukari."