[He does believe her on that. Metabolism was just a natural occurrence, she really couldn't be blamed for that.
He shuffles off to the kitchen, thankfully having a few things pre-made already. He plated up a small tray for both of them and returned, setting it down on the old, paint-chipped coffee table.
Another trip to the kitchen, and he was back with two mugs with steaming tea.]
[She scoots forward on the couch to get a better look at the food. She won't eat anything while he's gone, of course, because she has manners, but she's definitely tempted. Ugh. Why is he so good at cooking?]
A drink too? You're too good to me~. [She reaches out to take her tea. She's smiling still, but there's something a bit more quiet about it.]
I just want to say first, this is something that happened a long time ago. It's painful but it's not like it really bothers me as much anymore.
[Not exactly. It was one of those things that would always bother her, just because it wasn't one of those experiences she had learned anything good from. But it had been a long time ago and the pain was no longer fresh.]
[He serves everyone the same, and there's nothing special about the food he's giving her over what he gives anyone else, but he's glad she enjoys it regardless.
He nods and picks up his own tea, blowing at the steam coming off of it before giving a nod.]
[She'd say she has high standards because Minamoto cooks like a star chef and Babel's cafeteria sells high quality cuisine because Kiritsubo is too easy to bully. But really? She appreciates a nice homecooked meal.
Okay...so. Where to start?]
I don't think I've actually told you much about my powers. Where I come from psychic powers are measured and assigned a level from one to seven based on how powerful it is. Level 1 is the weakest, anything higher than Level 4 is considered a high level. Level 6 is the last level that can be measured by any equipment and anything beyond that is Level 7.
[She was tracing a finger over the rim of the mug and just...staring into the tea.]
I awoke as a Level 7 psychokinetic at four years old and I was sent to live at Babel when I was five, after I sent my mom to the hospital. {Which was a whole different can of worms altogether.]
I had been kept by myself for a while after that but then I got to meet the only other Level 7s in Japan. [There was a hint of a smile there, however small.] They were my age and it was like love at first sight! We became great friends! But we didn't...really get along with the adults they assigned to take care of us. A lot of them ended up quitting...or um. Hospitalized. [She sounded embarrassed at least. But to be fair, she still felt most of those cases had deserved it.] And we got a reputation for being unmanageable, little monsters.
[She takes a sip of her tea.] That's when the Education Department decided to send in Suma--actually, I don't remember her first name at all. Maybe it was Tama or something. [She does remember her name, but this was her own little petty revenge.] Let's just call her Tama-san. She looked mean the first time we saw her and we had a bad feeling...but we thought thought we could make her like us by being good.
[...when she thinks back on it, it's so weird that they were so eager to please.]
I remember, I was helping her test out a new Limiter. It didn't look like this, [She gestured with the hand wearing her Limiter, which was, okay, a little bit gaudy but colourful and cute at the same time.] it was shaped like a collar and it was grey. It wasn't strong enough and after telling her that I was asking about if my friends could go to school or visit their families. And then-- [She took a deep breath.]
It was a shock collar. She said that it was a magic collar that trains animals. [Even now she couldn't help but spit those words out. If there was ever someone she hated, that bitch Suma had definitely been one of them.] She had put the same collars on my friends too and if one of us resists, all three of them will activate. All of us blamed ourselves for letting it happen. I know now that we were just kids, but back then all I could think about was how if I hadn't trusted her then my friends would be safe.
We only spent a little less than a year with her but...it was honestly one of the worst times I could remember from my childhood.
[Rin's one claim to fame is that he never makes any mistakes with his cooking. Once he had it down as a child that was all it took. Still, his repertoire is somewhat limited given that he's only ever lived in Japan, but even with that he's been able to make what limited supplies they have taste and feel like warm, comforting home cooking.
He listened to her closely, quietly. He had no idea what a psychokinetic was, but he could somewhat guess just from what he knew about her before now and the continued story. He didn't have much to say as she went on. This was her time to talk, after all.
When it was over, though, he frowned and shook his head.]
Sounds like a real bitch. I know it's not the best thing to say but... I guess what doesn't kill you really does make you stronger? I mean, you're really awesome now, and it obviously didn't turn you in to someone like her.
[One day, she will remember that she can't just throw around terms like that and expect everyone to understand.
She managed a small smile though, a vindictive one.] She really was. [Because not enough people other than her, Shiho and Aoi had voiced the sentiment. She takes another sip of tea and, even though she hadn't been aware of it, there was tension that was seeping out from the set of her shoulders.]
Thanks...but I'm not sure how much credit I can take for that. For a while there...I think could have turned out like her. Because I'd decided that since I had been hated that I was justified in hating everyone I met.
[She's just going to take some of the food off the tray. Not with her hands off course because psychokinetics like her are known to be lazy (or it might just be her).]
Sorry, I'm being a bit depressing right now, aren't I?
[The point was to share something painful from the past, right? Rin really had developed a lot about himself to her already. Quest or not, it did seem to be the right time to give her a chance to talk.
What she said, though, resonated with him more than just the story itself. 'I could have turned out like her', 'I had been hated, I was justified in hating everyone'.
'They called me a demon. Am I really a demon's child?'
He takes in a breath, feeling a pang in his chest at memories that were still so damn raw, even a year later.]
Dad told me once... that I should use my strength for somethin' good. I don't think I'd be the person I am if not for that. I woulda hated everyone, too, because they all wanted to hate and fear me so much.
You should take credit for choosin' to be the better person. It ain't easy when the whole damn world is against you.
[No, it really wasn't going to be. But there's a different from talking about the past and what-might-have-been's. And the latter wasn't something she had really planned to talk about.
Her smile falls a little, because, right. Of course he'd understand. It was less bright, but far more genuine.]
Minamoto said the same thing. He told us that people can become anything and go anywhere, that our powers are something that can bring other people happiness.
It can be hard sometimes...but it's a bit easier, knowing that there are people who believe in us like that.
I struggled a lot with control, too. Even after what Dad told me. Gettin' that power after fifteen years of not knowin' a damn thing about it... hell, I was scared of myself for a long time. So, I get it. Havin' people be afraid of you, even hatin' you just because. It sucks.
[He set his tea to the side and placed a hand on Karou's leg, offering her a similar smile.]
This place kinda sucks, but y'know, I'm glad I got to meet you. You're a good person, Kaoru.
Getting a new power suddenly like that is hard. [Her memories of when her powers awakened were pretty vague since she had been so little but she remembered enough to know it had not been fun by any definition of the word to suddenly find herself with a Level 7 power.] Honestly? I think I'm still scared of my powers..but I don't want to keep being scared.
[She covers his hand with hers.]
It's the same for me. There's nothing that this place can throw at me that will ever make me wish I'd never been brought here at all. Because then I wouldn't have become friends with you.
Alright, well... this is probably gonna sound corny as fuck. But. For me it was acceptance.
[God it does sound corny when he says it out loud. Like something from those asinine self help books.
He can't go back on saying it now, though.]
When my powers broke through the seal, I was terrified of them. Any little bit of anger got me flarin' up. I barely had any control and everything they touched burned. It didn't help that all I ever heard about was Blue Night, Blue Night, Blue Night. The night Yukio and I were born, Satan went after a fuckton of exorcists and religious leaders and communities. A lotta people died, and guess who they liked to blame for it after they found out about who I really was?
[You get three guesses but you're only going to need one.]
I had to build up a lotta trust with my classmates, and it was fuckin' hard. Suguro and I fought constantly, Shiemi wouldn't even speak to me, Miwa was terrified of me... it sucked. And yeah, I feel awful some'a them lost family because of Blue Night but, c'mon, it's not like I asked to be born, right? It kinda fucked me up even more for a while, to the point where I was so afraid of my power that I couldn't even use Kurikara anymore. The sword was stuck, all because I just... didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, and felt like all I ever did was take two steps forward and ten back.
[A breath, because apparently now it's his turn to ramble.]
We all wound up workin' together to save Kyoto from the Impure King, though. That helped, but it wasn't until after that I started to realize one big issue with the whole damn situation.
Everyone called them "Satan's Flames". I was "using Satan's flames", I had "Satan's power", yadda yadda. It was never my power. To them, or to me. And that was the problem, y'know? If it wasn't my power, how was I ever gonna be able to control it? But it is my power.
[He held up his hand, pale blue flames appearing on his fingertips.]
Yeah, I'm the son of Satan. Whatever. He ain't the one doin' this. I am. These are my flames, and I control them.
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(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-14 01:29 am (UTC)[Okay, okay. Time to take this seriously!]
I'm hungry! [Or not. Feed her, Rin!]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-14 06:51 am (UTC)[Rin Okumura, the only shounen protag who doesn't eat like a shounen protag.]
Whatever, I was startin' to get there, too. Lemmie grab somethin' and then you can tell me whatever it was you wanted to tell me.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-15 02:33 am (UTC)[Before that she hadn't eaten like a shounen protag either! But she's smiling brightly.]
Yay~! You're the best!
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-15 05:21 am (UTC)[He does believe her on that. Metabolism was just a natural occurrence, she really couldn't be blamed for that.
He shuffles off to the kitchen, thankfully having a few things pre-made already. He plated up a small tray for both of them and returned, setting it down on the old, paint-chipped coffee table.
Another trip to the kitchen, and he was back with two mugs with steaming tea.]
Alright.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-16 12:44 am (UTC)A drink too? You're too good to me~. [She reaches out to take her tea. She's smiling still, but there's something a bit more quiet about it.]
I just want to say first, this is something that happened a long time ago. It's painful but it's not like it really bothers me as much anymore.
[Not exactly. It was one of those things that would always bother her, just because it wasn't one of those experiences she had learned anything good from. But it had been a long time ago and the pain was no longer fresh.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-16 04:47 am (UTC)[He serves everyone the same, and there's nothing special about the food he's giving her over what he gives anyone else, but he's glad she enjoys it regardless.
He nods and picks up his own tea, blowing at the steam coming off of it before giving a nod.]
G'on.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-16 06:36 pm (UTC)Okay...so. Where to start?]
I don't think I've actually told you much about my powers. Where I come from psychic powers are measured and assigned a level from one to seven based on how powerful it is. Level 1 is the weakest, anything higher than Level 4 is considered a high level. Level 6 is the last level that can be measured by any equipment and anything beyond that is Level 7.
[She was tracing a finger over the rim of the mug and just...staring into the tea.]
I awoke as a Level 7 psychokinetic at four years old and I was sent to live at Babel when I was five, after I sent my mom to the hospital. {Which was a whole different can of worms altogether.]
I had been kept by myself for a while after that but then I got to meet the only other Level 7s in Japan. [There was a hint of a smile there, however small.] They were my age and it was like love at first sight! We became great friends! But we didn't...really get along with the adults they assigned to take care of us. A lot of them ended up quitting...or um. Hospitalized. [She sounded embarrassed at least. But to be fair, she still felt most of those cases had deserved it.] And we got a reputation for being unmanageable, little monsters.
[She takes a sip of her tea.] That's when the Education Department decided to send in Suma--actually, I don't remember her first name at all. Maybe it was Tama or something. [She does remember her name, but this was her own little petty revenge.] Let's just call her Tama-san. She looked mean the first time we saw her and we had a bad feeling...but we thought thought we could make her like us by being good.
[...when she thinks back on it, it's so weird that they were so eager to please.]
I remember, I was helping her test out a new Limiter. It didn't look like this, [She gestured with the hand wearing her Limiter, which was, okay, a little bit gaudy but colourful and cute at the same time.] it was shaped like a collar and it was grey. It wasn't strong enough and after telling her that I was asking about if my friends could go to school or visit their families. And then-- [She took a deep breath.]
It was a shock collar. She said that it was a magic collar that trains animals. [Even now she couldn't help but spit those words out. If there was ever someone she hated, that bitch Suma had definitely been one of them.] She had put the same collars on my friends too and if one of us resists, all three of them will activate. All of us blamed ourselves for letting it happen. I know now that we were just kids, but back then all I could think about was how if I hadn't trusted her then my friends would be safe.
We only spent a little less than a year with her but...it was honestly one of the worst times I could remember from my childhood.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-18 06:22 am (UTC)He listened to her closely, quietly. He had no idea what a psychokinetic was, but he could somewhat guess just from what he knew about her before now and the continued story. He didn't have much to say as she went on. This was her time to talk, after all.
When it was over, though, he frowned and shook his head.]
Sounds like a real bitch. I know it's not the best thing to say but... I guess what doesn't kill you really does make you stronger? I mean, you're really awesome now, and it obviously didn't turn you in to someone like her.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-19 02:16 am (UTC)She managed a small smile though, a vindictive one.] She really was. [Because not enough people other than her, Shiho and Aoi had voiced the sentiment. She takes another sip of tea and, even though she hadn't been aware of it, there was tension that was seeping out from the set of her shoulders.]
Thanks...but I'm not sure how much credit I can take for that. For a while there...I think could have turned out like her. Because I'd decided that since I had been hated that I was justified in hating everyone I met.
[She's just going to take some of the food off the tray. Not with her hands off course because psychokinetics like her are known to be lazy (or it might just be her).]
Sorry, I'm being a bit depressing right now, aren't I?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-20 07:21 am (UTC)[The point was to share something painful from the past, right? Rin really had developed a lot about himself to her already. Quest or not, it did seem to be the right time to give her a chance to talk.
What she said, though, resonated with him more than just the story itself. 'I could have turned out like her', 'I had been hated, I was justified in hating everyone'.
'They called me a demon. Am I really a demon's child?'
He takes in a breath, feeling a pang in his chest at memories that were still so damn raw, even a year later.]
Dad told me once... that I should use my strength for somethin' good. I don't think I'd be the person I am if not for that. I woulda hated everyone, too, because they all wanted to hate and fear me so much.
You should take credit for choosin' to be the better person. It ain't easy when the whole damn world is against you.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-21 03:23 am (UTC)Her smile falls a little, because, right. Of course he'd understand. It was less bright, but far more genuine.]
Minamoto said the same thing. He told us that people can become anything and go anywhere, that our powers are something that can bring other people happiness.
It can be hard sometimes...but it's a bit easier, knowing that there are people who believe in us like that.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-21 06:56 pm (UTC)[He set his tea to the side and placed a hand on Karou's leg, offering her a similar smile.]
This place kinda sucks, but y'know, I'm glad I got to meet you. You're a good person, Kaoru.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-23 09:28 am (UTC)[She covers his hand with hers.]
It's the same for me. There's nothing that this place can throw at me that will ever make me wish I'd never been brought here at all. Because then I wouldn't have become friends with you.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-24 05:34 am (UTC)[Granted it's mostly mental, but he'll offer it if she wants to hear it.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-25 10:19 am (UTC)[Because there were times when she felt like she's over it but then something would happen and she'd realize...she wasn't quite there yet.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-26 08:56 pm (UTC)[God it does sound corny when he says it out loud. Like something from those asinine self help books.
He can't go back on saying it now, though.]
When my powers broke through the seal, I was terrified of them. Any little bit of anger got me flarin' up. I barely had any control and everything they touched burned. It didn't help that all I ever heard about was Blue Night, Blue Night, Blue Night. The night Yukio and I were born, Satan went after a fuckton of exorcists and religious leaders and communities. A lotta people died, and guess who they liked to blame for it after they found out about who I really was?
[You get three guesses but you're only going to need one.]
I had to build up a lotta trust with my classmates, and it was fuckin' hard. Suguro and I fought constantly, Shiemi wouldn't even speak to me, Miwa was terrified of me... it sucked. And yeah, I feel awful some'a them lost family because of Blue Night but, c'mon, it's not like I asked to be born, right? It kinda fucked me up even more for a while, to the point where I was so afraid of my power that I couldn't even use Kurikara anymore. The sword was stuck, all because I just... didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, and felt like all I ever did was take two steps forward and ten back.
[A breath, because apparently now it's his turn to ramble.]
We all wound up workin' together to save Kyoto from the Impure King, though. That helped, but it wasn't until after that I started to realize one big issue with the whole damn situation.
Everyone called them "Satan's Flames". I was "using Satan's flames", I had "Satan's power", yadda yadda. It was never my power. To them, or to me. And that was the problem, y'know? If it wasn't my power, how was I ever gonna be able to control it? But it is my power.
[He held up his hand, pale blue flames appearing on his fingertips.]
Yeah, I'm the son of Satan. Whatever. He ain't the one doin' this. I am. These are my flames, and I control them.