tampered | Log: Ongoing

Log: Ongoing

When; August 30th
Rating; PG?
Characters; Aya (

tomorrowsroad)
Summary; Aya pokes at Ken ~~with his katana~~ in a completely mature and nice way.
Log;

Aya flexed his mended hand as he made his way across the city to the cafe Ken was at. He was still marveling at the technology, though he'd never tell the Doctor that much. It gave him something to take his mind off of the upcoming discussion. He didn't really want to get involved in this, but as (in his opinion) the most responsible and highest ranking Weiss member present (his opinion was iron clad! ... in his opinion), he had to make sure Ken wasn't going to kill Omi. That would be bad. Aya didn't really want to think about why Ken would be singing love songs to Omi ... He shuddered. Weird. He'd had his own moments, but acting on them was completely ludicrous and inappropriate - especially taking Omi's reactions into consideration. If Omi was pretending it wasn't happening and sacrificing his health and sanity, it was time for an intervention.

He entered the cafe and spotted Ken. He nodded, made his way over, and sat down across from him.

"Ken."

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No straight answer. Of course. But Aya'd already traumatized Ken enough for one afternoon - he'd ask more directly about the love songs another day.

"Ken," he said, starting slowly, "There's plenty of you to do here. It hasn't taken me long to figure out that there's a plethora of problems with certain residents... yesterday, an army of monsters crawled from the underground. You could have gone out and helped people. There's a psychotic creature known as Pyramid Head that terrorizes the citizens constantly. You just have to stop, and calm down, and take a look around." Aya paused, thinking about the chances of Ken being able to manage his own time without something besides tv dinners and football matches. "I can arrange for you to be doing missions."

A slight frown (though more of a grump) touched Ken's lips as he listened to Aya, knowing he was right. There really were a lot of things to do.

"Calm," he murmured, exhaling. The word almost sounded foreign; the state of mind, just beyond Ken's grasp. "I know, Aya. Really; I know." Ken glanced out the window as he thought; at times, it was baffling how the City could look so normal.

"Wait...what?" Missions... Ken's attention snapped back to his teammate. "You mean like hunting those monsters or something?" Ken felt as a just a whisper of a shiver prickled along the back of his neck, weaving through his veins. The feeling was unmistakable; a combination of a thick, almost tangible fear, and the unlikely rush of excitement that came together at the idea of taking a life. Ken's hand clenched beneath the table again, a mimic of unsheathing his "claws" in a way.

As exhilarating as the chase & kill could be, however, Ken wouldn't deny that he wanted to protect others. He'd only been to the Underground once before, and while the trip was like a rush of adrenaline, Ken'd been scared shitless, all at the same time. The main level of the City definitely did not need those kind of creatures.

Ken's reactions confirmed all of Aya's suspicions - Ken was going out of his mind with inactivity. Aya's own urgency and fanaticism about missions and killing and all that had finally left him when Aya-chan had woken up, like a beautiful release after years of living on a strangled edge. Ken was still there, tearing and clawing at the ceiling in his mind. He understood. But he also understood that Ken was a liability like this, and that Omi didn't deserve to be so tormented.

"Hn. Missions."

In truth, it might take Aya some time to get actual missions for Ken. He'd have to set up base and begin to actually create a report with the locals and other visitors, and more or less learn everything he could about the City. The idea was irritating, and not the sort of thing he liked to do, but he would do it if it meant keeping Ken sane and Omi un-bugnuk-ed. He wondered, with a slight sense of unease, if he would end up having to lure creatures out of the Underground periodically and leave them for Ken to finish.

"We also need to have a plan for the curses," Aya continued. "I believe our best protocol will be to avoid each other once we realize that they have affected us. Even if you are having some sort of impulse control problem, force yourself to run in the opposite direction for a time. Anything."

Aya didn't voice the thought that while he had been affected by the recent curse, he had been able to manage it - and if Ken had gone after Omi on that day, he'd have had no difficulties taking Ken out. This wasn't the early days where Ken greeted everyone with a punch to the jaw and a cheery hello. Aya had spent their time together watching and learning. Every mission, every altercation, every conflict between them, every bloody reunion, he filed things away in his head. Every time he was bested, he made personally sure it was impossible for it to happen again. He made sure that, if the time came, he'd be able to protect himself from the others.

But that grim line of thought was not where he wanted to go. He looked up at a waitress and quietly asked for some tea.

Ken knew how he often lived in the past; yet he lived for the future, just as much. At least he was able, even after the years of bloodstains and betrayal, to find happiness in things other than the thrill of taking on a mission. He gave himself credit for that, thankful, even though that's the way it should be. Gnawing at his knuckles with impatience over when he'd receive another mission? It's asinine, really.

The idea of setting up a way for him to execute missions was exciting. But, really, Ken wouldn't go so far as to press Aya to do so, if such a thing proved difficult, or simply pointless, within the City. Ken preoccupied his mind with the mantra of, Yes. It'll be just fine, whatever happens. Besides, if all else failed, there was always trips to the Underground to blow off steam.

Ken exhaled quietly, slowly. Really; he'd be alright. His fist loosened.

"Ah, yeah..." Ken leaned back in his seat, glancing out the window again. He passed on another order, once Aya placed his. "We should, I guess. It's...god, it's tough though, Aya. Really tough," he brought his attention back to the redhead. "I mean... well, not in the sense that it's exactly hard to keep my distance if I need to, but just the impact that some of the curses make." Ken almost wanted to laugh, but he just shook his head.

"Have you heard of any of the others that've happened, besides the one you experienced, and the one Omi mentioned?"

Aya received his tea and nodded in thanks to the girl. He blew on it, then sipped quietly, listening to Ken and thinking.

"I have," he said. He'd been doing research, and lots of it. It was miraculous the way everything about this City - all the records of the inhabitants and the events - were stored in a computer internet system. It was like he barely had to try.

"I know it's difficult, but that's not an excuse. We all have to own up to our actions and make amends, even if we were not in control of them. The curses should allow for some leeway for forgiveness, but it doesn't warrant ignoring the problem and letting it fester. If it's not handled properly, things can go too bad too fast, and the proximity we all share, especially you and Omi... you both need a break, to clear your heads. Then you need to work it out."

Aya paused.

"That's why Omi's going to be staying across the hall with me for a few nights."

"A-Aa," Ken murmured in agreement before looking out the window for another time. At least the curses were fun, at times. More often than not, however, they were rather troubling. He supposed it was a bit nicer than the troubles they went through back home.

A thought came over Ken several moments later; he returned his gaze to Aya then. Wait... From the way Aya was speaking, Ken wasn't exactly sure what was up. Obviously, Ken and Omi had experienced one of the curses in a not-so-friendly way. The knowledge of wanting to play 'shred Omi' made Ken feel nauseous. But... That awkward kiss from a few weeks back, and those damn lyrics that one day; was Aya trying to mend the rift due to those, as well?

"..." The idea made Ken turn his head again, leaning it into his arm, which was propped next to the window; his mouth pressed to his hand momentarily. A slight warmth came to his skin, and Ken hoped to whatever powers that be that he wasn't actually blushing. "...Yeah, that's fine. It'll be better that way, anyhow."

Ken made a move to close and pick up his laptop. "I...think I'll get going or something. Gonna ride a bit more before returning." He gave Aya a bit of a smile; the atmosphere in the cafe was getting to be a bit too stuffy (especially after being within it for nearly 5 hours now).

[ooc; Sorry for the sketchy replies on my part. ^^; ]

No, Aya didn't know about any kiss, though from the way Omi clammed up about the subject, he had the distinct feeling that there was something more than embarrassingly awkward song lyrics.

And Ken was blushing. Aya raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment. Did Ken have ... romantic ... feelings for Omi? If so, where they real, or were they fabricated by this place? Oftentimes sharing close quarters with someone through emotionally taxing experiences could mimic the feelings of genuine affection. He'd gone through it before, and was now rather wary of such things. Aya didn't like his emotions being manipulated. But then ... had Aya missed something on the outside? Ken was always nice to everyone. Except Aya. Aya, he'd socked in the face as a token of welcome. But besides that, their friendship had fared all right. Ken liked everyone, Omi liked everyone... it fell to reason that they'd get along well, perhaps better than the other members. Had Ken always envisioned something more?

"All right," he said quietly. "I'll contact you when I have something."

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Log: Ongoing

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