icarusalsoflew | 003. and in every raindrop... // open post.

It's about time he does. Still, LaRue pulled nothing short of a miracle with him.

[Maybe it was excellent timing, given everything that has happened. Either way, Josh DID play a part in it. Anyone who failed to recognize that was obviously blind, in Hikaru's opinion.]

Indeed. [ There's a minute pause right after that comment, because this one's actually wondering if he should ask about the fact that it's Makoto Kuzunoha in those rings. One of the first things he did though, was to read up on the list of casualties from the Darkest Vigil; there were many, and it had put an ache in his heart to glimpse some familiar names.

Perhaps another time. You are only beginning to warm to him, and he is nothing but a careful man where it concerns those that he loves. ]

And what of the mage? [ Lifting a brow your way now, Hikaru. This is the last one he will ask about tonight. Lincoln, after all, knows the Promethean well enough. Everything else he can supplement by observing how you move around Brigade. ] I hear rumor that Tohru had taken him under his wing.

That isn't a rumor: it actually happened.

[Watching Taning now.]

My father seems to like him. It's probably because they share some uncanny similarities.

[Which was why, for the moment, he regards Taning with some respect and care.]

[ And this one's watching you out of the corner of his eye. ]

Pray tell. [ A soft prompt. Partly to see how much you are willing to share, partly because he himself is not in any hurry to ask beyond what he can see for now. Too many presumptions based on one or two interactions does not a proper assessment of an individual make. ]

Lost families, Awakening as Banishers, feeling like murderers because of the abilities at their disposal. The works.

[Drag, exhales.]

You're free to ask him about it, actually. He doesn't really mind talking about it.

I may, [ he has not had the opportunity to properly catch up with The Assassin as of yet, but there will be time. ] But based on that assessment alone, I can see why Tohru seems to have found another pupil.

[ And because he had heard some details of how this life started for you from incredibly reliable sources, he's going to veer away from that subject for now.

He knows how you can get about family. ]

It will be interesting to introduce these children to Marrigan. [ Reclining now into his seat. ] Just as it will be interesting to see how they react to the rest of Shin Yamatai.

[ The Kindred have their own brand of politics, just as they do their particular kind of justice. ]

"Interesting" is one word. "Instructional" would be my other word of choice.

[Many of them still had a lot to learn, regardless of their physical age or combat experience. Shin Yamatai was worlds apart from any other countries.]

[ And this one's nodding in agreement. ]

It is fortunate then, that you, myself and Lincoln are around to answer any questions that might be raised.

[ Because he has no doubt that there will, in fact, be questions. And concerns. ]

Well, it was planned out this way, wasn't it?

[And there is your little brother, shoring up his defenses yet again, drawing lines.

He's not quite ready to cross the gaps that have grown, horrid and yawning, between himself and the other Kings. He's always been bad at dealing with what he considers to be betrayal.]

[ And just as you do that, you're going to see the sad and apologetic look that crosses this one's face, even as he leans back and exhales a heavy sigh, eyes fixed on the embers of his cigar.

No words to reply to that, because as it stands, yes, it may have been planned this way, but it was not as if he wanted it otherwise. He has been away too long and you have grown distant to the others in a way that could have possibly been mitigated had he not been sleeping.

He is tired, but the weight on his shoulders is not the ache in his bones or the slowness of his body to follow where his mind might wish to go. This bone-weary sense of exhaustion is one of the heart.

Perhaps the only thing that will help at this point is time. He has pressed enough. If he asks any more of you, it is entirely possible that the door that has been pushed open a crack will close -- and he cannot afford that. Not when things are already so off-balance between you and the others. ]

I think they need you, Hikaru.

[ That's him nodding now, and perhaps you will realize that this is an out if you so wish to take it. ]

Edited 2014-05-21 12:51 (UTC)

[And he knows, as you know, that the Hounds do not actually need him, that this is you trying to back away.

If he was feeling more like himself and less like he wanted to rage at all of you Kings for everything (better to do that than to admit how hurt he actually was), he might thank you for that.]

Seems like it. [In English now, because this conversation is over. Standing, and nodding once.] The ride shouldn't be too long now. Sit tight.

[And he's off.]

003. and in every raindrop... // open post.

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