tampered | lolz i'm actually posting a log

When; Now; Ongoing!
Rating; PG-13!
Characters; IKKI AND KAZU!!!11
Summary; Ikki finds Kazu! And talks! And stuff!
Log;

The sight of a boy rollerblading across town while balancing a box of squawking baby parrots on his head might have been strange if Ikki weren't said boy. Had Minami Itsuki, future king of the sky and present king of the streets, not demonstrated at least one of his various peculiarities in public -- things ranging from mildly vulgar gestures to feats only a weaver school reject could be proud of -- someone might have thought he was was ill. Today's peculiarity just so happened to be his odd fascination with birds on his head, which wasn't that odd if one knew Ikki.

Kazu knew Ikki. It would be no surprise then when Babyface finally tracked the bean lamp post down, the cardboard, all-avian menagerie atop his head making enough ruckus to give him away by miles. It wasn't necessary to scream out Kazu's name -- the birds had already announced his arrival. Not to mention, he was as good at controlling his noise level as a one-legged man was at an ass-kicking contest. "KAAAAAAAAAAAAZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The birds were just taking after their mother!

"Ka-ZU, Ka-ZU, KAAA-ZUUU~!" The idiot sang along to a song only he could hear in his head, thrusting his hips along to the invisible beat. Typical retarded Ikki behavior. He was not too distracted by his antics to notice Kazu had broken out into a sweat during practice; Spitfire was running him ragged. Ikki hoped he was ready for a break because he was going to give him one whether he liked it or not!

"Working hard, buddy?"

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Shit. Freeze! If there was one sound Kazu'd learnt to recognise throughout a decade of friendship, it was the ridiculous yelling of a certain birdhead sailing towards him with no sign of stopping or quietening down. Pausing in his dodge practice and knocking over a can in the process, there wasn't much the blond could do but brace himself for the impending attack, wincing against the impromptu singing.

The point of impact never came, though. It'd been a few days since the two had last met, and the concept of seeing Ikki right now - after all that - made Kazu's stomach turn little anxious somersaults. Spitfire's training was insane and intense, but it'd been helping to keep his mind from wandering off where he didn't want it to go; it also acted as a way of venting his own frustrations, even if he didn't quite get how running while balancing an egg on a spoon was the best thing for him. He'd escaped the clutches of his flambouyant mentor today, favouring solo, old-school soda can dodging he used to do back home.

Kazu used the back of his hand to brush away the hair that'd fallen over his eyes - too hot for a hat today - and regarded his friend with a flustered half-smile. "Heh", he said, panting slightly. "Ikki."

Oh, great answer right there. He pointed towards the noisy box on the other boy's head. "That's unsafe, man."

"They're safe up here!" Ikki protested with an indignant snort. "Don't tell me how to raise my children or I'll make you eat your fucking teeth!" Cracking his knuckles as if to emphasize that fact, that there were no ifs, ands, or butts that he really would, Ikki grinned wickedly. "Though it looks like that fag's training is punishment enough for you."

And where was the one to show Ikki how things were done? The fountain, the scenes taunting him in every shiny surface, all reminded him. He was trapped. There was no room for his wings to spread. And if he wasn't careful, he could end up like Sora.

Ikki was not stupid enough to realize that.

What he was stupid enough to do was to continue on, steadfast, flying blindly into territory he knew nothing about. Kazu had Spitfire to show him how things were done, but who was there to show Ikki?

Doubts and uncertainties were unbecoming of Kogarasumaru's genius leader, he decided.

"It's breaktime for you," he said softly, reaching to pat Kazu on the shoulder. "C'mon, I'll get ya something to drink. We... we gotta talk anyway."

Kazu's stomach wasn't the only one doing somersaults.

The blond's posture was immediately defensive, nervous; his shoulders stiffened at Ikki's touch, but he made no effort to stop it. "I guess," he said, trying to sound politely indifferent but instead just coming across as cold. He almost wished he could just switch off all complicated feelings, leave that crap to adults and people who knew what they were doing. Ain't that easy.

Despite his suddenly dry mouth there was nothing Kazu felt like drinking at all. Convinced Ikki'd only find it weird if he said no, he tried an excuse with which to cover himself: "You think anything's actually safe to drink today?" It was lame, he knew, and he walked alongside his friend in the direction of refreshment anyway. He'd have to be pushed to say it, still feeling the dull sting of rejection, but Kazu'd missed the stupid headstrong kick-everyone's-ass boy a lot. Too much. He'd missed him even though the city kept them caged in and near to each other, missed him even though he'd only spoken to him earlier that day. Maybe he even missed being punched in the face.

All of a sudden the sidewalk seemed to be the most interesting thing in the world to look at. Kazu shoved his hands into his pockets and concentrated on the concrete, willing it to open up and swallow him for a while. He hated feeling so awkward.

"We'll find out, now won't we?" Ikki said with a mean little grin. Totally quick to pick up on Kazu's apparent discomfort at being touched was he, so he made a note to keep some distance between them as they walked. It was the most awkward he had ever felt around his best friend his entire life, and it was not a particularly desirable feeling to say the least. Ikki knew he was to blame.

It was time to fix things.

"About Simca..." He made no hesitation in addressing the issue. He'd run from it long enough. "I did like her, man, and... you know, I think I just wanted to see what kind of feelings those were... at the expense of hurting you. I'm really sorry, Kazu."

Cradling his box of birds to his chest, Ikki glanced sidelong from the corner of his eye at his friend. "You really should punch me. After all, I figured it out and all I really feel for her is respect. Admiration. And--"

The sappy stuff came next. Ikki's face turned three shades of red and his stomach did that thing as if someone was wringing it like a washcloth. "--and you're my friend who became something more. We could've just blamed the first time on the booze, but I knew I'd do it again completely sober. Because you're the one I love. Not her."

Uncomfortable didn't even cut it; at the mention of the pink-haired girl's name, Kazu felt his stomach lurch. It wasn't that he hated her, far from it. His inferiority complex had reared its ugly head and convinced him that she could offer Ikki everything he couldn't, and, as a result, rendered him utterly useless. It was unnerving, and the last thing he wanted to talk about, but discomfort had clamped his mouth shut and Ikki had gone ahead to say his piece anyway.

Maybe he shouldn't have let his instinct suddenly take over, or maybe he'd heard the words "punch me" as a command. Next thing Kazu knew, his fist was flying right towards his best friend's mouth, ready to dislodge some teeth, ready to -- wait -- what was he saying now?

The punch never landed, fist paused next to Ikki's head. Kazu stared stupidly at his expression, trying to read it, trying to respond to it, but all he could do was blush terribly and stutter. He was apparently really good at dealing with this sort of thing.

"You're a jerk," he said finally, letting his arm drop and shoving his hands into his pockets. "You confused me. I thought you'd had enough of me completely."

"That's not it at all."

Ikki, who had braced himself for the punch to the face, felt disappointed when Kazu prevented his fist from connecting with his jaw. Maybe Kazu didn't totally hate him for what he did, after all, but it was what Ikki deserved.

Running a gloved hand through his wild hair, Ikki heaved a heavy sigh but it did hardly anything to soothe his nerves. "This place has got everyone acting funny, right? It's no excuse, but it's made me very confused about a lot of things since coming here. I don't know what's in store for Kogarasumaru and it's--" Making me scared, he couldn't bring himself to admit.

"We're going to have to work harder. A lot harder. You won't back out on me, will you?"

"How could I? A team's a team," Kazu replied, smile slipping across his face. Always thinking about what was best for Kogarasumaru, that was Ikki. "Wouldn't work if any of us ran out on you."

This place is messed up, but it's okay, he felt like adding, as a sort of reassurance. But they both knew that already; they all did. No point in repeating something that was already established. But despite that, stupid city or no, there were some things they were allowed to remind each other about, to say over and over. Just because they could.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kazu said, a little more softly than he intended. He withdrew a hand from his pocket and held it out. High five, shake, whatever: he just wanted Ikki to feel a little more sure of them all. And of him. He was through running away.

lolz i'm actually posting a log - incomplete!

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