Another untitled Gaim ficlet, Kappa universe

[estirose]

Kouta has gotten used to a diet of Helheim fruit and nothing else. He's even gotten used to gardening - though it's less gardening and more convincing a bunch of alien plants not to grow outside and not to grow any fruit. It's bad enough that every so often he opens up the door and has to prevent tiny Elementary Inves from escaping and causing a panic.

Someday, he knows, he'll have to move before someone realizes he's not aging. And the garden will have to move with him. This will be a while; he's working with Takatora as they try to get Mitsuzane a little closer to sanity. Kouta thinks that they might be on the way to convincing him that Takatora is Takatora and not Kouta.

He'd let his sister near the garden - she knows it exists, he had to tell her that there's enough Helheim flora there that he won't starve to death - but it's far too dangerous to humans. There's always the possibility that a human will find it and its fruit, and then everything will spiral out of control.

There's a commotion in the shed, and Kouta internally winces. Is he going to find a full-sized Inves in there? Is he going to have to kill another human that was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He opens the door, and the vines are waving. There's a shape in there, a dark shape, and he realizes after a moment that Mitsuzane found his way in and now he's almost completely wrapped in vines. The vines aren't harming his old friend, but Mitsuzane is struggling. "Teleport," he says, hoping that Mitsuzane is coherent enough to go back to the dock. It isn't Kouta's top choice, but the plant can be overwhelming if one isn't used to it. He himself has to mentally force vines away from his body if he's been gone for too long; he thinks, sometimes, that the plant considers him part of it.

Mitsuzane teleports out, and Kouta takes a deep breath. He looks among the slender vines for a fruit and sees one, probably generated when Mitsuzane came in. He fishes out a bag and seals it, knowing that Mitsuzane must have been hungry enough to find his way there.

Maybe Mitsuzane will eat without being prompted or commanded this time. Kouta always hopes that he will. But that's in the future, and this is now. He must make do with what he has.

Comments

[estirose]

Yeah. The thing though with Kouta is that he feels awkward about getting anything from his (former) family. If it gets him closer to getting Takatora to understand Micchy, however, he'll put up with it. Akira would worry as you said, and Kouta is the worst liar ever.

(I was reminded that I had not mentioned either the forest incident from episode 4, and Kouta's not reacting like he had that encounter, so I must figure this out for the next part posted on AO3.)

--
"We still don't know what happened to Yuuya. There are things that we're not being told." Mitsuzane said. "We can't keep people safe if we don't know what's going on. They're all more likely to talk to you about it.

Mitsuzane had a point. They did need to know more about it - he just didn't want to be a part of the life he'd left and he couldn't think of a way to make either of his brothers understand. "Right. Let me work it out in my head."

His brother shook his head, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." It didn't feel adequate, but Kouta wasn't sure what else to say.

[reka]

Hmm, yes. You said that Takatora didn't scare Kouta quite as badly, right? But I'm sure he was still freaked out. And if Yggdrasil is behind the Drivers, it's pretty obvious that the white Armored Rider has to be an employee. Takatora would definitely have that information, but I'm not sure Kouta would feel comfortable asking right off the bat. Even if Takatora wasn't Zangetsu (and Kouta doesn't know he has a driver, right?), asking your semi-estranged brother which of his employees beat you up sounds very awkward.

I hope Ryouma doesn't casually drop hints or leave something around for Micchy about Yuuya to further his alienation or something. But I wouldn't put that past him at all.

[estirose]

I don't think he scared Kouta quite as badly, but yeah, he was still freaked out. Takatora showed the two of them his Driver, but that can be deleted and it can come up during one of Micchy's talks with Kouta instead.

(I'm having fun making sure all of this is consistent, since I'm writing this in small chunks and sometimes I get my own continuity messed up.)

---
"Are you ready to go? You can stay here, if you want." Takatora said as Kouta stepped off the last stair step. "I think Mitsuzane would like that."

"I have work tomorrow." At least Takatora was realizing how much Mitsuzane missed Kouta, but Kouta knew that if he stayed, he might make things worse. Takatora and Mitsuzane needed to communicate without him. "I work in construction, remember?"

"You do." Takatora looked like he was about to say something. "I'll get a driver- there are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Things out of Mitsuzane's earshot, then. Kouta didn't like keeping secrets, and he was sure Takatora knew that too.

Then again, Akira still didn't know that he was the younger brother of the head of R&D at Yggdrasill, so he supposed he could keep some secrets.

[reka]

Micchy could probably figure out how to get the secrets out of either brother, although of course Kouta would be easier. What would Takatora hide from Micchy but not Kouta?

I think you mentioned that Micchy's seen the Driver? If it helped him, he probably would mention it, yes. Poor Kouta. I don't think Takatora would go out of his way to hide it unless he's thinking about that particularly, but he might not mention it immediately regardless.

I'm glad you're having fun with it!

[estirose]

Yeah, it's a challenge.

Actually. Takatora wants to discus Micchy with Kouta, mostly to emphasize that he and Micchy need Kouta. Takatora is not beyond guilt trioping either.

Knowing Micchy, he will definitely use the information to help pull Kouta back to his side.

[reka]

That's true. Takatora is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to save the world, and there's no reason that wouldn't include guilt-tripping. It would just be somewhat different than how Micchy would do it.

Absolutely. Unless Micchy decides to use the Zangetsu card for something else or someone beats him to the punch (e.g. Ryouma, if telling Kouta himself furthered his agenda somehow), I can absolutely see that.

Editing can be a lot of fun, but I have trouble not overediting at times.

[estirose]

I had to put my Ryouma muse on a chld leash and remind him that he's not appearing in this story yet.

And in the meantime, poor Kouta just wants his brothers to talk because he is not a Kureshima anymore, dangit. Even before he left he wasn't keen on spending his life working at his parents' company.

--

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Kouta asked once he and Takatora were in the car.

"I wanted to talk to you about Mitsuzane. His scores are dropping, and I was hoping you could tell me why. If it's that Beat Rider team, I need to have him leave it."

"That's the worst possible thing you could do," Kouta said. "He needs to have fun, Takatora, especially now with what you're facing. If he's to be the genius Yggdrasill needs, he in turn needs his own outlet. Haven't you known anybody who is better at their work for having something to enjoy?"

He knew that Takatora felt awkward with Mitsuzane, and remembered how strict Takatora had been about him going to school. And then it had become apparent that Mitsuzane was even more intelligent and some of the pressure had lifted from Kouta. He'd still taken college-level biology in high school, though, at Takatora's insistence.

[reka]

Or at Takatora's decision. He just wants his brothers to fulfill their maximum potential, but it ends up teaching Micchy that he can only express himself secretly. And that Takatora will never approve of anything he does.

I don't think Takatora thinks that it's possible to stop being a Kureshima, especially while keeping familial ties. I think that's a concept that doesn't make sense to him.

But Kouta was resigned to it until he heard about Project Ark?

[estirose]

Kouta was resigned to it until he found out that he was going to be involved in Project Ark. He then took a few days to figure out how he was going to leave the family. He came to the conclusion that he was going to have to leave everything but clothes and supplies behind in order to make as much of a clear break as he could. He also kept kind of a low profile, in case Takatora and/or their parents started looking for him (or had the police looking for him; he *is* a Kureshima, after all).

Poor Micchy. He did kind of need Kouta to referee, after all. Thing is, it wasn't doin Kouta any good.

Takatora is definitely of the opinion that Kouta is still a Kureshima. If he didn't want to be a Kureshima, he'd have stayed out of contact with Micchy and wouldn't have come back in contact with Takatora.

[reka]

Fortunately for Kouta, I don't think they'd be looking for a Kureshima among construction workers. Does he still use the name? I'd expect that he'd use it in formal situations because legal name and such. Using another name might cause suspicion, too.

Yeah, Kouta's too self-sacrificing to be a good referee in a situation he has a part in.

[estirose]

Kouta uses Akira's surname wherever he can, including in Gaim, and Sagara uses Kazuraba as well. His Yggdrasil profile uses both. Of course, this makes things a bit interesting plot-wise, since Kouta's been trying hard to disassociate his identity from his family's, and why nobody told Takatora about his missing brother when they researched Kouta for the files.

[reka]

Sagara would use Kazuraba. Choice and all of that.

Yeah, I'd imagine that Kouta doesn't get identified as Kureshima in a bunch of the records. You'd have to read the full file, and as a Big Boss Takatora probably doesn't do that too much. Gaim would know Kouta's legal name because Micchy, but they'd respect Kouta's name choices. Micchy probably feels awkward about it.

[estirose]

Yeah, I could see Kouta being ID'd as Kazuraba in the sumnary files, with a note that his actual surname was Kureshima. And not recognizing Kouta immediately, but then getting a good look at Kouta's picture.

[reka]

Nobody at Yggdrasil besides Takatora would recognize Kouta, anyway. It's possible that someone there could've met Kouta when he was younger, but not as an adult.

[estirose]

Yeah. Ryouma would know, but he could plead ignorance.

It would have been better for Kouta if Takatora had just missed his profile, since I doubt Micchy would have told him about Kouta being in Gaim.

---
"I see your point, but his scores have been dropping." Takatora half-turned towards Kouta. "That's why I'm worried. We're needed to save the world- or as much as we can."

Takatora was including Kouta in that, but Kouta chose to ignore it. Even if Takatora counted him as a Kureshima, he'd long left that behind. He went by Kazuraba as much as possible, just to feel less like he was expected to be part of a systematic killing of most of the human population.

"If you don't let him relax and have fun - and approve of it - you're going to have another me on your hands."

[reka]

Ryouma doesn't need to pay attention to names for his work and can easily play absent-minded scientist. And Takatora would be inclined to take him at his word that he didn't know anyway. I'm sure Micchy wouldn't tell Takatora since that would also connect him to the team.

Systematic killing isn't the same as allowing to die (although both are morally reprehensible), but I doubt Kouta sees as much of a difference as, say, Takatora does.

Worse, frankly, because Kouta and subterfuge don't mix. Unfortunately, even if Takatora agreed with Kouta here (and I'm not sure he would completely), it would take a lot of work for him to let go and a while for Micchy to trust the gesture.

[estirose]

"I'll keep that in mind," Takatora said, in a way that told Kouta that Takatora might actually do that. Or at least Kouta had hope.

Kouta had to smile a little at that. It felt good to have Takatora at least think about the effect he was having on his younger brother. Their younger brother.

"I don't suppose you're interested in going back to school?" Takatora asked, ever on topic.

"I couldn't afford college." Maybe Takatora needed a small reminder that Kouta was no longer a Kureshima. That he didn't belong in Takatora's world any more. "Besides, I enjoy construction work."

"You enjoyed Biology, too," Takatora said, and Kouta had no doubt that his older brother was thinking back to the time when Kouta was still an obedient Kureshima.

"Yes. Well." He'd actually done very well in his classes, outscoring most of his classmates in some of them. He'd been strong in Biology - not because he cared much about it, but because he felt that as a Kureshima he should do well on his tests.

It was kind of a relief not to consider himself a member of the family any more, though it was more than a little disconcerting to see Takatora slip back into "older brother" mode, which meant being concerned with his brothers' education.

"Consider it." With that, Takatora lapsed into silence until they got back to where Kouta lived. To Kouta's surprise, Takatora got out.

"Thank you for the ride," Kouta said, because it was only polite.

Takatora acknowledged the words with a nod. "I'll call you soon to arrange testing."

Oh, yeah, he had to have medical tests. Because he was born Takatora's brother and he had a Driver. For Takatora, he was willing to put up with it.

[reka]

Sibling relationships, my eternal weakness.

And because it was a strength of his before he got discouraged by all the pushing, right? I really like the affection for Takatora but dislike of basically everything Takatora talks about that Kouta shows in this bit.

I assume Takatora got back into the car. He's not the type to stay and spy, I think.

[estirose]

Yeah. Kouta was actually very good in Biology, which made his parents and Takatora happy as they could use that in Yggdrasill.
--

With that in mind, he headed back upstairs to the apartment he shared with Akira. He heard the car drive off as he was shutting the door.

Akira was reading in their small living room, but as Kouta entered, she put her book down with a smile. "How did it go?"

How did he explain things without going into the terrible things his family knew? "I talked to Takatora. And Micchy. Takatora's about as good at listening as he always was." Kouta just hoped that he'd listen to what Kouta had said about Mitsuzane.

"You at least tried." Akira got up. "Are you two talking now?"

"A little." Thing was, outside the issues with Mitsuzane he was reluctant to deal with Takatora and all he represented. "He wants me to come home. But there are things... the same things... that haven't been resolved, and I can't fix them." That had to be an understatement. "I have a feeling that I won't hear the end of it until I move back in and resume being what my family wants me to be, which I can't do."

"You've got a good life here," Akira said. "You're doing good. You just have to get him to see that."

"I'm not sure Takatora sees it that way," Kouta told her.

[reka]

And I'm sure he kept pushing himself in Bio after he lost interest because he knew it made his family happy.

Poor Akira. That explanation really does not make the family or Kouta's self-estrangement sound remotely normal. And I'm sure Takatora's appearance solidified any ideas she might have about how well-to-do Kouta's family is. Has Akira met Micchy in this universe?

(I had a mental image earlier of Micchy getting pissed every time anyone called Kouta "Kazuraba" and denying that he was bothered by it every time Kouta asked.)

[estirose]

(Poor Micchy. Poor Kouta. And Micchy doesn't understand why getting called a different name makes Kouta happy.)
---

"Kouta," Akira said, "Give him time. After all, you get along with Micchy just fine."

The nickname brought a smile to his face. "I know. But Micchy also wants me to go home." Micchy had been to dinner a time or two at the Kazuraba household. "But he's more understanding."

She looked like she was about to say something, and then closed her mouth. "Tell Micchy that he's welcome to come to dinner any time. Same for Takatora."

"I will. Thanks, Akira." He wasn't sure that he wanted to see more of Takatora, except going tthough the exam he'd agreed to. It might offer Takatora some peace of mind, and then Kouta could go on with his life.

"I know there's things that you don't want to talk about with them, and I won't ask you what they are. But I am here if you need me."

"Thanks." It was nice, he thought, to have Akira backing him up.

[reka]

Micchy does a good job of pretending to be more understanding, I think. What does he think of Akira? Maybe some weird combination of being jealous that Kouta's found a more tolerable older sibling and wishing he could have her instead of Takatora too. Poor Micchy is well-trained to never talk about how he really feels about anything, and that allows his feelings to get pretty nasty. Does Akira have a sense that Micchy's not being honest, or was she going to say something else?

Akira has the supportive but not nosy older sister thing down pat. Kouta being used to an older sibling as head of the household probably helped her find her place, but she's also just good at it.

[estirose]

(I have this mental image of Micchy deciding that he's 16 and if Kouta can run away from home, he can too, especially since Kouta has found someone far more tolerable than Takatora. Not in this storyline, though.)

Akira has a better sense of things about Micchy than Kouta is because Kouta is blind to some of Micchy's issues, just like Takatora is.

Micchy definitely has moments of wanting to scream "His surname is Kureshima, not Kazuraba! Stop calling him that!"

[reka]

(And then Kouta and Akira would quash it.)

Yeah, having an outsider's view of Micchy is probably quite helpful. He's not as good at hiding things among people he doesn't know very well.

At least Gaim calls Kouta by his given name. Kaito probably irritates Micchy even more than in canon.

[estirose]

Yeah, at least in Gaim Micchy doesn't have to listen to people calling Kouta by the wrong surname. Or at least the wrong surname to him. Sagara's show might be occasionally irritating, and he really dislikes most of the other teams.

Akira knows someting's wrong, but she really doesn't think she can do anything other than do moral support for Kouta.

(Kouta would have trouble sending Micchy back home, for a few reasons. He doesn't have a way to contact his brother, and he doesn't want his brother to know where he is. But he does believe that Micchy is better off as a Kureshima for the moment. Akira might be willing to let Micchy crash, and then offer to take Micchy to the police station so that Kouta's not involved.)