[After arriving in his damaged suit, burnt and beaten only a day or two prior, he was confined to the apartment. Bed or couch, regardless of where he decided to place himself, it didn't change the fact that he was immobile for far too long.
He couldn't stand it. He was starting to get impatient, frustrated and annoyed with it. It was like some kind of house arrest or something, and he'd luckily never experienced it despite all of his court dates.
He'd rather pay a fine than sit at home and do nothing. Even if it was only for a day or two.
And so he left, simple as that. As soon as Barnaby went to work, and Keith was no where to be seen, he snuck out the window. Three minutes and forty-five seconds is still long enough for an escape, as he'd learned when he was chased around the city.... as a murder suspectThat still bothered him, but there was no point in dwelling on it
( ... )
[She freezes when she hears that voice. No. No no no. This couldn't be right. That couldn't be...
Does she dare turn around? What if it was just a figment of her imagination, something that'll disappear the moment she turns around? It wasn't normal to hear the voice of a dead man. But as she had already figured out, this was far from normal (what was normal when you were a NEXT?).
Finally, she turns around. There was a sharp intake of breath as her gaze landed on Kotetsu, and her eyes went wide. She feels like she'd been punched in the gut. Here was Kotetsu, alive. Walking. Looking well.
But dead at home.]
This...this has to be some kind of cruel joke.
[Her voice comes out in almost a wimper, her eyes filling with tears yet again.]
[There are no icicles flying his way, and he takes that as an invitation to advance ever closer. He jogs slowly, as to not pull at his wounds, but he makes it there just in time to hear what Blue Rose is saying.]
I thought so too at first, but really...
[He stops, and gently angles his body to lean forward, a hand at his hip and the other resting just under his chin. He blinks once, twice, studies her closely before pulling back.]
[She wants to either say "DUH of course I'm crying!" or "Cry? Me? Not about what you'd think!"
Because that's something she'd usually say, right?
But it's like there's a disconnect between her mind and her mouth. As much as she's still trying to wrap her mind around Kotetsu being alive, the way he was acting was so similar she just...
Before she realizes what she was doing, she closes the gap in between them and puts her head on her shoulder.
And yes. She's definitely crying now. Does that answer your question, Kotetsu?]
[He backs away a little as she closes the gap, surprised by the action. His arms extend away from her, and hover, suspended in mid-action. As she comes to rest on his shoulder, the damage has already been done.]
Ow, ow, ow, owwww...
[He couldn't avoid pulling at his chest with that.
He whines, but it dies off as he notices the crying, hears the sobs, feels the shaking. Were it his daughter, he'd have hugged back, soothed her anguish... but this is Blue Rose.
She gets mad at him just for breathing sometimes.
After a shocked moment, he places a hand on her shoulder, and pries her away just enough to look her in the eye. He tries his best to give her a warm smile, but it just doesn't appear as warm as he intended.]
[She wipes her eyes, sniffling and trying to compose herself. This was so embarrassing, to be showing something like this to him. But she couldn't help it.
She didn't expect to ever see him again.]
When you died! [Duh.] You were dead...you scared us, you know?
[She doesn't have the heart to say it as venomously as she usually would. Or the energy. Either which.]
[He just squeezes her shoulder once, before stepping back and jamming his hands in his pockets. He looks away as nonchalantly as he can as to not add further to the embarrassment, to let her composes herself without being analyzed and stared at.
He makes a small grunt, his expression somewhat grim.]
I didn't die...
[It's something that he, too, had to hear confirmation on. He passed out, but he was injured quite badly, he was debating a cool line to use, but that didn't mean that he couldn't die.
After a pause, he holds his hands out before him, and tries once more for a grin, this time in reassurance.]
Sky High said that I wake up and save the day.
[He might sound a little too proud about it, and he might be boasting just a bit.]
[But moving on, the whole premise of Somarium still highly confuses him, and so he uses that hand on his hat to scratch at his head.]
I don't really know how it works! You sleep, or you get knocked out... or you blink, and then you just show up here. This is place is called Somarium, by the way.
It might not make sense, but I've been here for almost three months.
[He doesn't really know how to explain it all very well, he's always left that task to Barnaby, but he manages a few helpful sentences after some stumbling.]
I went home for a bit, though... um, that reminds me. What's the last thing you remember from back home?
[His expression just sort of... pales at the bluntness of her response.]
That's r-really the last thing, huh?
[Unfortunately, passing out is the last thing he remembers so how's he even supposed to know.]
Listen, Blue Rose. Time's a little wonky here, okay? That's the last thing I remember too, but Sky High told me what happened a year after that and - [This part is key, and so he places added emphasis on it.] - and Bunny doesn't even remember what happened with Jake.
He couldn't stand it. He was starting to get impatient, frustrated and annoyed with it. It was like some kind of house arrest or something, and he'd luckily never experienced it despite all of his court dates.
He'd rather pay a fine than sit at home and do nothing. Even if it was only for a day or two.
And so he left, simple as that. As soon as Barnaby went to work, and Keith was no where to be seen, he snuck out the window. Three minutes and forty-five seconds is still long enough for an escape, as he'd learned when he was chased around the city.... as a murder suspectThat still bothered him, but there was no point in dwelling on it ( ... )
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Does she dare turn around? What if it was just a figment of her imagination, something that'll disappear the moment she turns around? It wasn't normal to hear the voice of a dead man. But as she had already figured out, this was far from normal (what was normal when you were a NEXT?).
Finally, she turns around. There was a sharp intake of breath as her gaze landed on Kotetsu, and her eyes went wide. She feels like she'd been punched in the gut. Here was Kotetsu, alive. Walking. Looking well.
But dead at home.]
This...this has to be some kind of cruel joke.
[Her voice comes out in almost a wimper, her eyes filling with tears yet again.]
This can't...be real...
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I thought so too at first, but really...
[He stops, and gently angles his body to lean forward, a hand at his hip and the other resting just under his chin. He blinks once, twice, studies her closely before pulling back.]
Hey, are you crying?
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Because that's something she'd usually say, right?
But it's like there's a disconnect between her mind and her mouth. As much as she's still trying to wrap her mind around Kotetsu being alive, the way he was acting was so similar she just...
Before she realizes what she was doing, she closes the gap in between them and puts her head on her shoulder.
And yes. She's definitely crying now. Does that answer your question, Kotetsu?]
D-Don't scare us like that!
[Ah, there's her words.]
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Ow, ow, ow, owwww...
[He couldn't avoid pulling at his chest with that.
He whines, but it dies off as he notices the crying, hears the sobs, feels the shaking. Were it his daughter, he'd have hugged back, soothed her anguish... but this is Blue Rose.
She gets mad at him just for breathing sometimes.
After a shocked moment, he places a hand on her shoulder, and pries her away just enough to look her in the eye. He tries his best to give her a warm smile, but it just doesn't appear as warm as he intended.]
I-I'm sorry. When did I scare you, exactly?
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She didn't expect to ever see him again.]
When you died! [Duh.] You were dead...you scared us, you know?
[She doesn't have the heart to say it as venomously as she usually would. Or the energy. Either which.]
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He makes a small grunt, his expression somewhat grim.]
I didn't die...
[It's something that he, too, had to hear confirmation on. He passed out, but he was injured quite badly, he was debating a cool line to use, but that didn't mean that he couldn't die.
After a pause, he holds his hands out before him, and tries once more for a grin, this time in reassurance.]
Sky High said that I wake up and save the day.
[He might sound a little too proud about it, and he might be boasting just a bit.]
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[She's rubbing her eyes, trying to erase any signs of her breakdown. She couldn't help it.
But she shifts a little and takes a deep breath.]
Just...don't do that again, okay?
[Even though she realizes he couldn't help it, she still felt like it needed to be said from her.
At least his smile is a little more reassuring this time.]
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[His tone is serious, as is his expression.
It falters, though, as he leans back and places one hand to his hip and the other to his hat, a wide grin on his lips.]
Hey, that sounded kinda cool, huh?
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It's not cool! [Not that Kotetsu's ever cool anyway...]
Just...what happened, anyway? One minute I was there, and now I'm here.
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I thought it was...
[But moving on, the whole premise of Somarium still highly confuses him, and so he uses that hand on his hat to scratch at his head.]
I don't really know how it works! You sleep, or you get knocked out... or you blink, and then you just show up here. This is place is called Somarium, by the way.
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Somarium...[She frowns.] That doesn't make any sense. We close our eyes, and we're somewhere else...
[What even...
But she shakes her head.]
How long have you been here?
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It might not make sense, but I've been here for almost three months.
[He doesn't really know how to explain it all very well, he's always left that task to Barnaby, but he manages a few helpful sentences after some stumbling.]
I went home for a bit, though... um, that reminds me. What's the last thing you remember from back home?
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[At his next question, she looks away. She crosses her arms, frowning.]
...You being dead.
[She's not going to go into much more detail than that. They've already been over it.]
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That's r-really the last thing, huh?
[Unfortunately, passing out is the last thing he remembers so how's he even supposed to know.]
Listen, Blue Rose. Time's a little wonky here, okay? That's the last thing I remember too, but Sky High told me what happened a year after that and - [This part is key, and so he places added emphasis on it.] - and Bunny doesn't even remember what happened with Jake.
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and it was definitely great that he was here now.]
Wait...he doesn't remember that at all? [There's that look of shock yet again on her face--] But that doesn't make any sense!
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