tampered | Log; closed; ongoing

"Yell at him? But he..." She's sure it must come from a place of concern though.

"I would like to see him."

"Huh?" Euphie wanted to see Yuri?

Flynn was silent for a while, and then he asked slowly. "Do you want me to take you to him?"

"I would like that... I don't want to push you to see him too soon or to intrude though." But she just needed to see him and touch him and make sure he was really okay.

Flynn shook his head. He wanted to see his friend too.

"Let's go," he said quietly, and then smiled at her. That vision had put him in a bad mood, and he hoped it wasn't affecting Euphemia too much.

Edited 2010-09-20 19:52 (UTC)

"Thank you." She's worried about both of them as she starts walking in the direction of their home. She wished she had the right words to say to him, but nothing sounded right, so she reached out for his hand again, hoping to give him a little comfort that way.

Flynn didn't say anything else on their way back to their ~~previously dubbed shota house~~ house. But he smiled more warmly at the princess as a response to that touch.

And on the way, Flynn thought. What would he say to Yuri? No, more importantly; what would he do?

Yuri was minding his own business just outside the house, actually, standing off to the side in front of the house, clicking through the Network and trying to find another job to do for the day. He'd already made sure there were no curses or accidental entries - one could never be too sure with the City, especially on a weekend.

Seeing nothing of interest and hearing footsteps, he looked up and gave a brief wave. Hey, wasn't like it was odd seeing Euphie and Flynn together. He couldn't quite pick up on the, ah, tense atmosphere, unfortunately, and placed a hand on his hip as he waited for them to near him.

The Yuri that met them outside the house was exactly the Yuri Flynn had expected to see; nonchalant, unsuspecting, and normal. It reminded Flynn of how his friend kept secrets like this, and how if he'd never been shown that memory - or a hint at all! - then he may never have found out. At least, not from him.

His breath caught and suddenly, overwhelmed by the anger and the worry he'd felt at that moment (again), he broke away from Euphie and strode towards his friend angrily.

"Yuri," he said quietly in a tone that others would easily mistake for a simple (and serious) conversation starter.

Of course, since this was between Flynn and Yuri, it hardly was. And after a moment, Flynn has delivered a healthy punch aimed at Yuri's face.

At the serious tone, Yuri was immediately suspicious. What happened? Having checked the network already, it was impossible that another stupid post could set this off. No one else was acting strangely, either- so what could have possibly crawled up Flynn's ass?

He was just about to respond when he suddenly found himself stumbling backward, cheek burning with pain.

What th- did Flynn just punch him?!

"The hell was that for?" he demanded, glaring angrily at the other.

"Flynn!" H-he said he'd yell at him, not hurt him! "STOP!" Her voice was still so surprised and worried. There was only an edge of the princess commandment tone in it.

Flynn didn't answer immediately. He was angry; not only at Yuri for keeping that secret from him, but at himself as well. He hadn't believed Sodia completely when she'd reported that Yuri had fallen off of Zaude. It was only after their search came up with nothing, and Lady Estellise and the others' accounts tied with Sodia's report, that he accepted it. And even then, he'd had doubts.

He let those doubts rest after meeting Yuri here in the City again. His friend's assurances that, in the end, he'd survived, had kept him from looking deeper into what had transpired then.

But Yuri'd lied, and Flynn knew exactly why. It had been for him. Yuri'd thought this was a burden he couldn't bear, especially since it concerned his second-in-command, Sodia.

When he spoke again his voice was quiet, "Sodia gave you that wound, didn't she?"

He should have known.

He glanced toward Euphie then back to Flynn. Something happened - something specific to the City's functioning because like hell Yuri would tell anyone, and he was damn sure there hadn't been a curse. That was the last thing he expected Flynn to say.

But he knew exactly what Flynn meant.

That must mean, seeing as the two of them were together, that Euphie'd seen it as well. Damn it- after all that effort trying to keep it a secret.

There was no turning back now, no use in covering up what was already uncovered.

"It's none of your concern."

It's so clear this is hurting Flynn, and he was just going to put him off that way? "...Yuri."

At that moment, Flynn was sorry that Euphemia had to see this, but he wasn't going to let Yuri off for something so grave.

"It's my concern when my second-in-command almost kills you, Yuri! And for what?"

His voice trembled as fresh anger bubbled up inside him. For what? Hadn't he told Sodia that Yuri was a friend? And that despite his crimes, Yuri could be trusted. It was true, he had committed crimes worthy of jail time. Flynn couldn't deny that, wouldn't contest that either. But none his crimes deserved being unjustly attacked at a moment weakness, when none of his actions at that moment even called for it! Yuri hadn't been "executing his vigilante justice" then. He had been at Zaude to help him and his men exact justice on Alexei, nothing more. Or less. Even if Yuri thought he deserved it, Flynn didn't!

"Did you think I didn't deserve to know? That I couldn't take the truth?!"

He felt so stupid now, confessing the feelings he held for Sodia to Yuri. It wasn't even a matter of being remorseful that he'd had feelings for Sodia - he'll sort that out later, Sodia... even if it was Yuri she'd hurt and almost killed... he had to think of objectively -- it was the fact that he'd forced Yuri to take all of this. It must have been like rubbing salt on an open wound.

Edited 2010-09-22 11:44 (UTC)

That was exactly it. Yuri knew Flynn better than anyone - better than Flynn himself. He understood the particularities in Flynn's personality and beliefs that Flynn didn't realize. Flynn trusted Sodia, that much was obvious. Hell, Flynn trusted a lot of people. Yuri'd seen how Flynn reacted to broken trust.

It wasn't for Sodia's sake that he kept it a secret. He could care less about her - but Flynn was a different story.

Not like he was going to tell the other all that, after all. Euphie didn't need to know the inner workings of Flynn's brain, either. That was probably better off as Yuri's own personal knowledge. Him alone.

"Whether you'd find out or not, Flynn, depended on Sodia alone. It's her burden to bear. Not mine, and not yours."

She remains quiet for a moment, feeling as though she is intruding on something very personal here. She should have allowed Flynn to escort her home before. But she just had to see Yuri for herself. So selfish. And now she isn't even helping.

"As her commanding officer, her actions are my responsibility as well. It could have been another person -- not just you -- injured like that," Flynn said quietly, but this wasn't his stand with Yuri.

Both of them knew- or rather, Flynn knew that Yuri's reasons for not telling him were more personal.

"If you think that I'd be hurt because... because it's Sodia, then you're wrong. I... the truth is important. I won't turn a blind eye just because it's her. She'd know me well enough to know that as well."

Yuri's expression darkened, and he smirked. Some people would say that Flynn did have something to do with this- perhaps he didn't try hard enough to defend Yuri to Sodia, perhaps he should have noticed just how much Sodia disliked Yuri. But Yuri himself couldn't think that way - as far as he knew, it was no one's fault. She'd done it for Flynn, and perhaps she was only thinking what he had been at that time.

A Captain-now-Commandant of the Imperial Knights didn't need to be friends with someone like him.

"So, what, you gonna atone for her crimes or something, Commandant? Even if you know now, there's no guarantee you'll remember when you go back to Terca Lumireis." He was baiting Flynn. It was a side of him he didn't want Euphie to see- but perhaps she needed to.

She takes a step forward, hands on her hips. She didn't like seeing them this way. They care about each other so much, but this is how they show it. "Yuri! Don't you know how worried he was? Can't the two of you just have a normal discussion without fighting?"

"Euphie..." the knight briefly turned to her. She was here too.

Flynn appreciated her efforts to keep them from fighting like this, but this was their way of dealing. They were both so stubborn about their views, and their beliefs. In the end, of course, they shared the same goals and the same ideals, but they went about it so differently sometimes that it was just unavoidable. Yuri lied, kept secrets, rushed head first into trouble without giving the situation much thought. Flynn yelled, argued, yelled some more, and would eventually resort to using his sword to beat some sense into that stubborn skull.

"I'll deal with Sodia when I return. I know that there's no guarantee that I'll remember this, but I know what I will do when I do." His voice was firm, but beneath that false bravado, he was really drawing blanks about how to deal with Sodia. Or rather, he knew what he should do, but... Sodia wasn't simply just a subordinate. He'd be lying if he assumed she was just that. She'd been his most trusted ally in the knights. She'd filled the void Yuri left when he turned his back on the knights.

"What I want to know is- Why, Yuri? She almost killed you! This isn't just a matter of Sodia and the knights... or justice! This..."

Flynn's voice dipped, and he hissed the last words.

"This is about the fact that my friend almost died at the hand of someone I trusted."

He could go on and on, he could talk about he could have handled it just fine. How he was strong enough to accept matters like this-- wasn't that why and how he could stay in the knights? But Flynn knew he wouldn't make sense. He'd just yell, and contradict himself somehow. Even he knew he wasn't the most composed now. So he left it at that for a moment, and thought.

"I would have wanted to know." The truth. Wasn't that why, despite Yuri being so different from him in the eyes of everyone, they were friends? He understood Yuri. They understood each other. And it wasn't a friendship based on the good things. Maybe Yuri was afraid his view of Sodia would change. And Flynn couldn't say that it wouldn't, but even so, that kind of truth isn't something he wanted kept from him.

He knew, very well, what knowing and seeing only the good things in a person lead to. Nothing good, for certain.

"Flynn. You were Captain back then- and now you're the Commandant of the Imperial Knights." His tone took on a softer, less brutally abrasive tone (perhaps due to Euphie's scolding, perhaps due to Flynn's reaction - he could sense how worried Flynn was at the thought of his death). "Don't let your dreams blind you. Cat-eyed girl's got a point- when she tells you, you should listen."

Because he had no intention of telling Flynn now or so plainly that while cooperation between the guilds and the Empire was ideal, they walked two completely different paths now. The world was going to take some changing, some influencing, and for Flynn that meant gaining the approval of those that had the power, the very reason Yuri left the Imperial Knights.

To succeed, to do anything, one had to play by the Empire's rules, if only for a bit. The process took way too much bowing, allowed for too much deference, and Yuri'd always preferred the quicker route.

A little smile. "Sorry, Euph. We've been settling things this way for twenty years."

She does feel better about the way they are communicating now, so she just nods at both of them and takes a step back. Maybe she should go? But...

Yuri didn't need to say those thoughts for Flynn to know them. He was idealistic, but not naive. He knew, all too well too, that the ideal that they were striving for -- where the Empire and the guilds could work together side by side seamlessly -- was still a long ways off. It wasn't possible overnight, or a few years. Maybe, Flynn and Yuri wouldn't even live to see the fruits they were working for. But even so, Flynn believed in doing what he thought was right. Maybe then, even with the facts laid out before them, their efforts could lead to quicker path to that future. He wasn't as forceful as Yuri when it came to bringing about change, but he wasn't sitting around deferring and waiting for change to happen on its own either. Maybe, it wasn't possible overnight, yes, but, even so, he planned to give it his all to shorten, even for just a little, the time change between the Empire and the guilds could happen.

"No. In this matter, Sodia is wrong, Yuri," Flynn explained, using a firm commanding tone to show Yuri where he stood in this. "You've done great things for the Empire. And it's not only myself who knows of this. Lady Estellise, Master Ioder, Sir Raven... even Leblanc would be hard-pressed not to agree with me. If she'd done that believing that you were a hindrance to me, then I'll be glad to explain this to her when I return: Yuri, to disregard the good you've done for the Empire -- for everyone -- based on your infractions of justice, or the fact that you've chosen to work under the guilds and not the Empire.... Isn't that part of the reason the Empire and the Guilds have been fighting all this time? The Empire looks down on the Guilds because they think the Guilds are unlawful and disorganized. The Guilds distrust the Empire because of this and because the Empire makes laws for its own benefit instead of the people's."

He paused and looked straight at Yuri.

"If I'm to agree with what Sodia did and accept your resignation to that, then I'm consenting to the mentality prevalent in the Empire that I want to change."

Edited 2010-09-25 05:40 (UTC)

"For now, there's nothing to do but forget about it. Like I said to you when you arrived here nearly a year ago- I'm fine." He subconsciously lifted a hand over his scar, the memory of the sudden pain and shock and blackness coming to mind briefly.

Despite that, though, he couldn't complain. Yeah he wasn't too fond of Sodia, but hadn't Flynn suffered much worse? It made him slightly uncomfortable having to hear about the supposed great things he'd done for the Empire - the world. He'd murdered and taken things into his own hands. His hands were far too dirty to be a hero's

They seemed to have calmed down some, but she isn't sure how Flynn will accept that comment. Yuri is kind of blowing him off. It seems unfair given how much they care about each other, but it isn't unexpected. Flynn would probably say the same if things were reversed.

"Yuri... It's hard to be all right with just that after watching it." She just wants to explain maybe. Why Flynn would have been so upset. Why she was even there. She looked at him with concerned eyes.

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