poly_chromatic | twenty ninth run → video;

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twenty ninth run → video;

[ BOOM!!! ]

[ in the background, several explosions go off one after the other. Agito, however, pays them no mind. ]

Who sells explosives? This idiot is going through them faster than I anticipated.

Oi--damn it, Agito, I CAN HEAR Y--

[ boom. ]

[ silence follows the last one for a few moments while Agito tilts his head towards the sound. a flying shark passes overhead just in time to be seen by the camera before it explodes. ]

[ ooc; firebrick red is Kazu. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah? Where?

I checked the entire fucking city! The outer edges, the beaches!

Now get off my tail, beanpole. Like I said, I have better things to do.

Things that can't wait two damn minutes, huh. Just stop already.

[ a demand helpfully punctuated by speeding up to step in front of him. ]

[ when Kazu moves in front of him, Agito takes a step to the side, moving to walk right past him-- but stops instead, by his side. ]

Better be a fast two minutes. My fangs have been itching for fresh blood, and I don't have enough patience to deal with you any longer.

[ biting retorts and poison both dust in his throat, he wastes a few of those granted seconds opening and shutting his mouth and coming up with nothing. really, in the end, all he's got is the question— ]

Why the fuck didn't you say anything?

BECAUSE SAYING IT ISN'T GOING TO FIX ANYTHING!

[ a hand reaches out, grabs onto Kazu's collar, and yanks at it, tries to pull him down. ]

What use is it, to sit here and talk about how shit's gone wrong? How is discussing the crow's disappearance going to help?. Or anything else for that matter! It won't! So just shut your fucking mouth, beanpole!

[ he's jerked down easily, but eventually, amid the ranting, his hold hooks around Agito's wrist. ]

Bastard, you... [ ugh, worrrds. he glares. ] How the hell do you think it's gonna help? Are we a fucking team or not?

We're a team! Which is why I bothered trying to teach you anything!

[ there's a split moment where he seriously considers doing something to that hand. break Kazu's index finger for putting it on him, twist his wrist. but he holds that urge in. ]

It's not going to help. Sitting here with you in my fucking face isn't helping anything. Listening to you bitch isn't helping anything. So let go and get the hell away from me, thin one!

How the fuck would you know? You didn't even bother saying anything! I thought maybe it was just—

[ what luck for Kazu, because he only straightens, holding on. the words practically tangle on his tongue as he blurts them out. ]

I said I was grateful, all right? But that's not the only damn thing about being a team!

"Maybe it was just" what?

[ his fingers twitch, tighten around the fabric under them. Kazu's got a minute, at best. ]

—not the fucking point. Shit, you think you're the only one who can do anything?

What can you do?

[ Agito pulls on Kazu's collar, again. yanks it to the side, tries to get him to fall over without actually-- putting much effort into it, because why should he. there's no reason to stay around at this point, he does have better things to do, and Kazu's grasping at threads now. ]

What have you done, since getting here? Developed a few shitty tricks, wallowed through a few curses, maybe gained a bit of a spine. In one fucking year, you've done nothing noteworthy. Absolutely nothing. What did you want me to do, thin one? Did you want me to come crawling to your side, asking for assistance in something I can handle just fine on my own? Did you want me to bitch at you about his disappearance, his previous disappearance-- ask you for help on every little thing?

I can take care of myself! I can look for him on my own. You're not stupid enough to need my coaching through every fucking little thing, beanpole! Even with a shadow as small as yours, I know you have a brain that functions enough to think by itself.

[ breathing's a jerk of the lungs, and—Kazu can't actually move, not even to fall. he only stands, mirror-eyed, waiting as each word saws through clean to bone.

he can't answer. he has no answers. it's true and true and true again.

what next? ]

[ and then his voice snaps back. ]

That's not—damn it, it's not like I'm doubting that!

[ words are further off with every second. because the truth is that everyone has a limit, and hope alone's nowhere near enough material to build a substitute for talent. for brilliance, and instinct and—maybe this is his limit. maybe — ]

I know, all right? Everything you said—I know. I'm just saying—

[ ... ]

Fuck—maybe I do need it. For this.

[ if there's one thing Agito's realized about Kazu in this passed year-- it's that he's dependable enough, in the right situations. not dependable enough for him to actually-- well, put complete and utter trust in, but. he's spent a good amount of time with him, he's gone through shit with him, Agito dealt with him, was almost thrown off the top of a building, depended on him enough when he was really low ( granted, not in big ways ). none of that matters now, none of it counts because really, since when was Kazu this goddamned needy? since when did he start thinking he has permission to step right in Agito's goddamned way when he's busy trying to do other things? it's irritating, he hates it. ]

[ especially since he's still asking for his help, like he deserves it. there's nothing Kazu's done lately to deserve his help like this. Agito brought him out here, has spent months watching him train relentlessly, spent almost a year coaching him through this shit. there's no reason for him to go out of his way and assist with other things. ]

I don't need you crying on my fucking shoulder. [ the words are growled, his patience long-gone. ] Don't depend on me like some useless piece of shit. I'm not your nanny. You can't stand here like a fucking baby and cry, demanding fucking attention and assistance for every little thing, fuck!

I'm not going to babysit you anymore. [ his fingers release Kazu's collar then, finally. he sounds pathetic, he's acting pathetic, and Agito won't put up with it. easier to beat down, maybe. but still entirely pathetic. he shifts away instead. ]

Che'. When your balls drop, we'll talk.

That's not what I'm asking!

[ there's a flush in his skin, a fever of anger and embarrassment. he can feel-imagine-fear the bones of his fingers breaking, prediction and suspicion in a flash, but his grip stays coiled around Agito's wrist. he talks fast, because if he's only got a few seconds of leeway, that's still a few seconds more. ]

Just tell me one thing. Tell me you still trust him here the same way you did back home.

No.

[ there's no reason to pretend. everything's different here. Ikki's different. they're no longer in a place where he's impossible to beat, where his head is his own all the time. there's curses, there's near-constant shit going on and Ikki hasn't been as reliable as he used to be back home. no, he doesn't trust him the same anymore. ]

[ his hand pulls down, twists in attempt to get Kazu's hand off of his wrist. ]

Now let go, beanpole!

[ Kazu obeys—but only because he's told, because Agito'd probably bite his fingers off at the ragged knuckle if he didn't. ]

That's what I meant. It's not like he's changed—

[ so they ought to trust him. so this ought to be instinctive. so this is, in fact, a betrayal—but he can't say the fact out loud. ]

—so what the hell are we supposed to do about it?

Don't ask me questions you're perfectly capable of coming up with answers for yourself.

[ his hand shoves back, curls into a fist, then pushes right against the place in between Kazu's ribcage. not hard enough to leave damage, but hard enough that it's-- felt. he doesn't know what he's doing with Ikki anymore; giving Kazu an answer he's unsure of- well. ]

Use your own fucking brain, beanpole! [ if Kazu doesn't go to get in his way again, Agito will just walk on off, now. he's said enough. ]

What, like you've got a damn answer for this?

[ he stumbles back, but that doesn't seem to quell the words—there's too many of them, and even as Agito's walking away, Kazu calls them sharply to his back. like a challenge. like something he hopes can't be real, in spite of all the odds. ]

Only real answer's to trust him less, right? Is that what you wanna do?

[ he turns around instantly at those words, lips twisted into a snarl. ]

If he can't be here when he's fucking needed-- if we can't trust on him to have our backs when shit's happening-- then he doesn't deserve it, fuck!

Trust is earned! Not thrown around like candy!

[ oh, the sharpest of looks. ]

What shit?

Pay attention.

[ turning back around and-- walking off. ]

[ well, he's not following—yet. but his voice is louder. ]

You don't want me following you, you don't want me knowing what you do, the hell am I supposed to pay attention to?

twenty ninth run → video;

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