三 [video]

[usedfuryswipes]

[Ken's stopped for serious time. He's lying back in bed, in the room he and Youji are sharing--the other man's nowhere to be seen--idly scratching Ratty's ears. The little purple Pokemon is bruxing happily at the attention.]...so, I was thinking

Comments

[video]

[coolest_cat]

[And this would be Youji, taking an impromptu smoke break. He calls back with an extremely straight face.]

I'm actually on the other end of the equation... see, the person I know from home is the one who knows everything, and since I'm so used to being the older, more experienced, more attractive one between us, it's something to get used to.

[video --> action]

[coolest_cat]

[Youji signs off with little more than a nod. He dawdles at work for a little longer, chatting with the nurse, chatting with a female Breeder dropping off her Sunflora, chatting with the check-out girl at the PokeMart. Etc.

The end result is that exactly two hours pass before he walks in the door, groceries on one arm and Darling on the other. Darling is also wearing Youji's sunglasses and preening. He couldn't very well take them back with his arms full, you see.

He sets the groceries aside, manner deliberately upbeat, and, to give Ken an easy start, asks:]

When did cooking go from 'necessary for survival' to 'something you're actually good at,' anyway? I'm genuinely curious.

[action]

[usedfuryswipes]

[Those two hours saw Ken get up, wash dishes, make both the beds, and clean the kitchen counters--more for something to do than anything. Ratty and Omi both were curled up on Ken's pillow, asleep, and Ran was in one sunny corner looking for all the world like he was meditating.]

'Bout the time I figured out the food in England was crap and if I wanted anything decent, I'd have to make it myself.

[action]

[coolest_cat]

[And this has not gone unnoticed. Well--Darling ignores it, and instead makes her way over to the pillow where Ratty and Omi have curled up. They look very warm and comfy, so she joins them.]

Between that and the white glove treatment you've given the room, all I can say is that you're going to make some salaryman a very proper little wife.

[He sits down on his bed, and spares a glance at the sleeping Pokemon before he even begins to process the rest of that statement. England. The complete... disconnect between that statement and anything Youji could have imagined is crippling his thought process. It's insane. Maybe he could understand Ken visiting a foreign country for a mission, or even a soccer game, but... living there long enough that he couldn't just rely on takeout? He can't rationalize it; he has to settle for questioning it.]

Say something in English. I still remember some from high school, [and especially from that one student teacher...] I'll judge whether or not you've been to England by that.

[action]

[usedfuryswipes]

Sod off.

[Insane? Maybe. Ask him six months ago...well, six months plus however long he'd been here...and Ken would've said the same thing--England? For an extended period? Like hell.]

Of all the...whatever, Kudou, you can believe me or not, whatever you bloody well like. I can't speak English worth shit, I just smile and nod enough to get by.

[He can read slightly better. Sometimes. When he has a lot of time to think it over.]

[action]

[coolest_cat]

[Youji smirks lightly, pulling a cigarette out of his pack. Doesn't light it yet, he just holds it in anticipation.]

I keep forgetting you couldn't lie to save your life. Or won't. I think I'd be more disturbed if you could speak fluently, to tell you the truth.

[He leans back against the wall, trying not to show how strange he finds this. Ken will probably pick up on the tells anyway; Ken's known him a frighteningly long time by this point. He should see the way Youji's eyes keep darting to the doors and windows, to where his watch should rightly be, the way his fingers keep tightening around the cigarette. He's waiting for the next bit of information before he goes through with lighting it. That or for Ken to open a window.]

I'm going to hope you're not so reckless to have made that decision in a void. I'm going to pretend there were circumstances that made it a viable choice.

[Certainly can't picture himself in England. And there wasn't much to say about Aya, according to Ken. Weiss had disbanded; he was certain of this

[action]

[usedfuryswipes]

[Ken glares disapprovingly. He's not going to open the window, it's too cold out. But light that and you're going to have him bitching at you.]

Yeah, 'course there were. Aya's there too, it's not like I'm muddling along by myself in London. Plus, it's not like I haven't been before--I was J-League for a while, remember? Played a few exhibition matches in London.

[...the circumstances were that Aya decided to go there so Ken did too. That's viable, right?]

I can't say everyone made it out alive, 'cause that'd be bullshit. Persia added two more kids to our little family of fuckups, and they got bad ends. But the four of us all made it out. Yes, even you.

[Technically. Even though it was easier to think of Youji Kudou as he was in Ken's timeline as another ghost, with Ryou Itou having taken his place. And then there was Manx and Birman, and Ken's not going there right now.]

[action]

[coolest_cat]

[He'd rather listen to Ken's annoyed squawking than whatever bad news Ken is building up to. That's a fact.]

Do me a favor, Ken, and never call us a family ever again. It's depressing enough that I consider you a friend; I think 'fuckups' is more than adequate.

[He means that in the most affectionate way possible. Twirls the cigarette between his fingers slightly. There's a small bottle, barely a pint of whiskey in the grocery bag. 'Bout all you can find around here.

He shows no reaction when told that two of their number did end up dead; what's there to say? He's never met them, doesn't know their names. He's not pleased, but he has no emotional investment. He feels bad, but won't be crying himself to sleep. Barring the involvement of a woman, Youji was capable of divorcing himself from the whole thing. He could break the equation down into its component parts: either these kids were lousy, unfit assassins, or Persia (who was Persia since Takatori Shuichi's death, anyway?) failed in his recruitment efforts. Whatever the error

[action]

[usedfuryswipes]

[Ken scoffs softly. He's pretty sure they've gone beyond friends. 'Friends' are people you hang out with on a Saturday night, people that you maybe call and console when they're feeling down--or vice versa. You choose your friends.

Ken doesn't consider them friends. Too much has happened between them for that, the bond is different now, and 'family' is the only way Ken knows to describe it, even if it's different from that still. Friends don't form the kind of fucked-up codependent relationships that characterized Weiss's interactions. Friends aren't left holding the frayed tatters of each other's sanity and trying to make something resembling whole cloth out of it. Friends don't watch each other drown in blood or alcohol, unable to do a damn thing to stop it.]

It's hardly a vacation. We work for a London-based group called Kryptonbrand now. Omi moved on up the Kritiker ladder. He's the one who arranged for us to be able to get out. I lost touch with you after the stint I pulled in Tokyo Prison before I left Japan.

[Which is true,

[action]

[coolest_cat]

[Youji needs both hands to catch the whiskey bottle, or else risk damage to his face. That simply won't do.

Once he has the bottle in his hands, he shrugs, opens it, and drains half. It hits hard, and he's glad he's already leaning back. Ken merits a wry smile, before he sets the bottle aside. The alcohol hitting his brain feels amazing, like the part that's responsible for thinking and reasoning and remembering and making sense of this insanity has stepped aside to take a smoke break. Which would also really hit the spot, but. Youji might be willing to poke a sleeping tiger, but he drew the line at lighting its tail on fire.]

I think I can believe you now. [Gestures to the bottle with a smirk, before his face grows more serious.] Now if only you'd stop beating around the bush. Ken. Whatever it is you don't want to say, say it. I won't think any less of you. Not even sure that's possible. As it stands, I'm wondering what the issue is. If all you were afraid to say is "I'm sorry I can't tell you how many girls you bed from week

[action]

[gentiana_clusii]

[You just bought that and you've already got it half gone. Good show, there.]

I'm not getting into how many girls you had, 'cause I really wasn't paying attention. I had other things to occupy my time rather than keep track of your conquests.

[Mainly picking fights with seriously stupid odds in seedy alleys and trying to keep you from drinking yourself into a stupor and then overdosing on the narcotic of the week.]

It's bloody hard for me to talk about, okay?

[He snatches the bottle off the counter, downing a mouthful of whiskey himself. He normally doesn't drink, doesn't like the taste or the way it messes with his senses. He's started to indulge more in later years, but still generally steers clear of the hard stuff.]

'm only saying it 'cause I don't want you t'have to deal with it without knowing what you're in for. And you probably shouldn't make any decisions about how you're gonna think of me right now.

[action]

[coolest_cat]

[A pint is not all that much, Mrs. Fujimiya, thank you and good night.]

I'll make whatever decisions I damn well please, about you or anyone.

[He says this with lazy confidence, even as he pushes him self to stand. Crosses the room to where Ken is, and Ken, you've forced his hand. The teasing hasn't helped at all, so now he's been forced to resort to understanding. He makes sure Ken sees him, standing straight. Youji's not even slouching; since he can't lord his age over Ken any longer, his height will have to suffice.

Once that has been made clear, he leans companionably on his friend's shoulder. Ken makes for a good armrest.]

If you were an idiot, I'd stand here and offer up platitudes like 'it only gets harder the longer you wait' and 'a problem shared is a problem halved.'

[Pause for that. Then:]

Fortunately, for both our sakes, you're just reckless and hotheaded. The two conditions share many symptoms, but I've always been confident in my diagnosis. Determined as you have been to change my mind on occasion.

[Okay,

[action]

[gentiana_clusii]

[Say that out loud and I'll kick your ass.]

[He rolls his eyes as Youji leans on him, still being an annoying ass I see, Kudou? He just quietly listens with a half-annoyed, half-thoughtful expression on his face.]

I went to prison 'cause I asked Omi if he could pull some strings to put me in. They didn't even know my name, much less what I did.

[Lopsided grin. That always had kind of amused him.]

I need you to know this, anyway. Just in case something happens. Long story short and stupidly simple, I went crazy. I could barely control myself, and I only did 'cause I knew you guys would have to put me down otherwise.

[Yes, he intentionally used that phrasing: like a dog.]

Even so, it got to the point where I really didn't give a shit. I wanted to fight, to kill, so I fought. I asked Aya to tell me who to kill, at one point. Just wind me up and point me in the right direction, and I'd have painted Tokyo red. If I snap again, you're gonna have to talk me down.

[He doesn't envy you that. Ken shrugs--he's done now, in case you want

[action]

[coolest_cat]

Considering you just admitted to tasting jet fuel, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you.

[Youji laughs mirthlessly. Remains leaning on Ken, because standing on his own power is just too much after that staggering a confession. So close on the heels of actually hearing an order to assassinate Ken and Omi, faked or not, and now Ken is telling him there's a very real chance he may have to stop him from going on a minor massacre. Talk him down, he says. Because you listen to me even when you are sane... unless the intended implication was that he'd be more likely to listen to Youji after he lost his mind, which was too clever a stealth insult for Youji to award him credit for. Hopeless, wishful thinking it was.]

You know that it isn't going to work out like that.

[Youji can't promise it will work out at all; it was a disturbingly short time before he arrived in Johto that he was reminded of Ken's prowess as an assassin. Reminded that Ken was perfectly capable of murdering him in less time than it took for him to turn around.