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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The day was going by far too slow in Ken's opinion. Actually, the whole week was trudging along. Numerous events and incidents seemed to press down upon Ken's shoulders, in addition to the burdens and thoughts that usually resided within the brunette's mind. The snow and ice over the past weekend wasn't fun for Ken's bike; the ridicule he received for "losing" his bugnuks drove him up the wall. Ken just knew that his desire for a mission of any kind was going to tear him up inside, yet Ken barely put forth any effort into grasping on to any normalcy he was offered. Here, in this City, being normal was...actually easy for once. Yet at the same time, Ken loathed the fact. It ate him alive.

Then there were the complications with Omi. As of late, Ken did his best to distance himself from the blonde; a difficult task, considering their living arrangements. Even after all the years of knowing Omi, Ken didn't want his best friend to see him acting the way he was, currently. It made Ken feel incredibly guilty, and at a loss for words.

Ken'd spent the past 6 hours or so, simply out and about. He took his bike for a spin, lingered by the garden for a bit (which he had to admit, to himself, felt relaxing to a point), and soon found himself where he currently sat. By now, Ken had probably consumed about 5 glasses of tea, juice, or coffee.

"Yo," Ken glanced up from a blank laptop screen, to his teammate. He had a feeling that he knew what Aya was going to bring up.

Aya, in his defense, did not appear angry, and he lacked his usual brooding intensity through no small means of self control. Even if all signs pointed to this rift between the other two members originating with Ken, it was no reason to discount anything that might be tormenting Ken himself. Aya knew all too well that his own personal demons had caused him time and time again to lash out and hurt people who were close to him.

However, Aya trying to be open and helpful was a strange thing. He sat in awkward silence for a moment, just staring at Ken.

"... So I hear you tried to kill Omi."

Ken watched Aya silently as the brief moments stretched taut between them. When Aya first arrived in the City, Ken came to a conclusion that out of the 3 of them, Aya would have the most difficult time adapting to the City. Even in the short period of time, however, Ken had begun to rethink his assumptions.

The words to fall from Aya's lips then... Ken grit his teeth, the fingers of his left hand curling into a fist as it rest upon the table. This wasn't out of anger, however; at least, not entirely.

"I..." Ken's gaze darkened; he pulled it away, not wanting to face Aya. Just explain to him. Y-...You couldn't help it, right Hidaka? Ken obviously know what Aya was speaking of. The curse, the 'game with Omi, the damage on their bathroom door...

"I was suggesting we play a game (http://saerux.livejournal.com/3524.html?thread=50884#t50884)," he finally managed, his jaw tight. You tried to kill your best friend. What the fuck is wrong with you, Hidaka!?

"Do you really think I'd try to kill him?" As best Ken was doing to remain calm, it wasn't the easiest thing. His words almost sounded like a hiss.

Aya was silent, gaging Ken's reaction. He was so tense and frustrated... maybe Omi was right, maybe it was all the pressure from this place.

"I don't know," Aya said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if things got too much for me here."

It was the truth. Aya survived by shutting down the areas of his emotional self that threatened to cause problems for him. Healthy, no. But it worked. He had to wait and find moments to let it all go, whether it was in the catharsis of battle, or in the peace of meditation. He'd lived with the rage for so long that he had it managed - but Ken was, as he'd told Omi, a very intense young man. His happiness was intense, and so was his anger.

On the contrary to Aya, Ken, indeed, was quick to lash out. His ups and downs often went to the extremes: Ken was a clumsy, yet sharp young man; he was a joker, a fool, and a kind and genuine guy. When he wanted to protect, he'd do anything humanly possible in order to prove himself. On the other hand, anger was quick to yank those other emotions, a threat to overwhelm them, and lead Ken to take down whatever the source. Boredom comes easy, despite being easily amused. The City was enough proof for that.

"I didn't know, either," Ken finally replied. "You get used to them, but you don't. It's easy to lose it here." His eyes lingered in what seemed like a blank stare upon his journal's homepage on his laptop. Funny how everyone seemed to keep one, in this place.

"The curses, I mean," he added. Obviously, given the length of time he'd been in the City, Aya had yet to really experience the curses. Then again, Ken knew that his teammate had more than likely done some research on the tricks and annoying spells that the 'deities' enjoyed so much.

"I experienced one," he said softly, "Yesterday. It wasn't pleasant. Got my hand nearly torn off... some.. alien doctor fixed it." Aya frowned lightly, staring at some point past Ken's head. He shook it off.

"That's not all that's bothering the two of you," he continued. "Is it?"

Ah; so Aya's experience had begun. Ken briefly amused himself with how Aya would've reacted to the other curse days that he & Omi'd gone through, since arriving.

"It wasn't. I wasn't affected, but...eh...I tried to stay away from everyone..." Ken's mind lingered back to a comment he left on Omi's post. Avoiding a friend was tough.

Aya's next question made Ken look up, almost reluctantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but for the first time in a while, Ken couldn't find the right words. A pained look came over his eyes; looking down to his lap, Ken made a fist again, clenching and relaxing.

"They're... Well, I'd say that-" Ken grit his teeth. He'd be lying to himself if he were to say that the curses were the only reason. Well, technically, they were, but Ken knew better than that. 90% didn't make a whole. Ken knew well enough how he'd be back at home, if he were to go long enough without a mission. The idea was exciting and nauseating all at the same time.

"...It plays a part, yeah. For the most of it." Ken exhaled a sigh of frustration. "When they affect you, sometimes you don't realize it; the aftermath can be absolute shit."

[ooc; Bah. >3< It's perfectly fine. Take your time with them; really. ♥ I tend to lag as well. AND, hey: It can be whatever length. It often feels like were obligated to write long tags, it seems. XD; But nah, don't worry~ ^-^ ]

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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