estirose

(trimmed first part; in comments now so that this doesn't take forever to load)
Takatora's tone was so grave that Kouta could almost believe that this was the big thing his older brother worried about. Kouta wondered how the Drivers could convey nutrition to the human body, given that there were no connections between Driver and Body that he could see. Still, Takatora wasn't stupid, and he wouldn't have been saying such things without evidence. Plus, it should have been impossible to form armor or change Helheim fruit into Lockseeds either, so he should probably listen.

There had to be something that Kouta was missing. Something that Takatora was slowly getting into. And then he remembered what he'd heard. "'We can only save a seventh.' That's what you told someone two years ago."

Mitsuzane's eyes went wide.

"A seventh of what?" Mitsuzane asked. He was starting to cling again, as if he had a sense of what Takatora was going to say.

"The world population," Kouta said. "That's why I left.

Takatora actually blinked. "Yes. Our responsibilit is to save as many people as possible."

"But that doesn't sound bad," Mitsuzane said, and Kouta wished he'd shared more of what was going on before he'd left. But he didn't want Mitsuzane to follow him into homelessness. He didn't want him to suffer.

"It is when the whole plan is to kil everyne they can't save."

"We can't save," Takatora corrected. "But we're going to save as many as we can. That's why using the Beat Rider teams to test out the drivers was critical; we need to make sure they can stand up to punishment and not have severe effects."

Kouta suddenly wondered if coming there was a good idea. He remembered why he'd left two years before, why he had left being a Kureshima behind. Even if Takatora's plan was meant to save people, he really couldn't accept it. There had to be an option that didn't involve killing six billion people.

But how was he going to save everybody?

"Kouta," Takatora said, as if reading his thoughts - though Kouta was sure Takatora was reading his expression. "I've gone over it many times with Yggdrasill's scientists and engineers. We don't have a choice, not one that we've found."

"Then let me look for one." The words surprised him as much as they surprised his brothers, but he refused to believe that there was no other solution. He'd have to go back into the Forest.

"I can't do that unless you become part of Yggdrasill." Takatora closed his eyes. "I can't have unauthorized people running about the Forest."

Kouta took a deep breath. He didn't want to be part of the company, not like this. He hadn't had a choice about being a participant in Yggdrasill's test - okay, he did choose to be an Armored Rider, but he hadn't consented to testing - and he wasn't eager to be what his family wanted him to be. "Big brother...."

"No." Takatora's tone said that it was final. "I can't."

Mitsuzane was looking from one to another as if unsure of what to say. Kouta tried not to sigh; he wasn't getting anything done being there.

It was a relief in a way. He could go back home, tell Akira he tried, and go on with his new life.

After a moment, Takatora spoke up again. "No matter what, I want both of you to have medical exams at Yggdrasill to make sure you're both all right."

"It's a valid concern, Kouta," Mitsuzane said. "I think we should."

Kouta had to admit that it was a good idea. And it would have him leaving his family behind on a more cordial note. "All right."

At least he had made Takatora a little happy. Kouta knew he still had to talk to his older brother about the communication problems with Mitsuzane, but it was a start.

Mitsuzane took his arm. "Let me show you something in my room for a moment." It was his way of saying "I need to talk to you about what Takatora just said." Kouta wanted to leave on good terms with both of his brothers, so he followed Mitsuzane into his room.

"What's up, Micchy?" He knew that Mitsuzane preferred his nickname to his real one, and he respected that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his younger brother asked. "About what was going on." Oh boy, Mitsuzane was upset.

"I didn't want you to get involved in what I had against Takatora." He didn't have to say that if both of them had disappeared, their parents and their brother would probably go farther than they had when Kouta had disappeared. "I wanted you to make up your own mind, too, not just follow my lead."

Mitsuzane folded his arms. "I can make up my own mind, Kouta."

"Yeah, but the rest of the family wouldn't see it that way." Kouta tried not to pace in the small room.

His brother was silent, and then spoke up. "I see what you're saying." Unspoken was the fact that he thought Kouta was an idiot. "But you still left me with Takatora for two years."

Kouta winced. "I know."

"However, there's not much we can do about it now," Mituzane said, crossing his arms. There was no real forgiveness in there, just an acknowledgement that he got Kouta's point. "We'll just have to go from here."

Kouta nodded. "Yeah."

"If we're to do something about Yggdrasill, we'll have to pay attention when we go in and make plans after." Mitsuzane had slipped into planning mode. "You may still have to join, even if you don't want to."

"Micchy...." Sometimes his brother's plans did need work. It would be his turn to wear Mitsuzane down so that he came up with plans that didn't require him to surrender his principles.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

"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.

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.

"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.

Kouta almost didn't want to go back to Gaim, but he figured Micchy needed his older brother until Takatora showed sense and accepted the fact that Mitsuzane needed to have fun once in a while. So, he did as he always did, went to work, and then a precious hour or so with Team Gaim before everything broke up.

"Hey, Micchy," he said, greeting his brother.

"Kouta." Mitsuzane was good at hiding what he felt, a habit learned early in their household, but Kouta had picked up the brief flicker of irritation.

"What did Takatora - or I - do this time?" Kouta asked. Even if he'd repudiated his family, his little brother was his little brother.

"Nothing," Mitsuzane said, and Kouta knew he was going to clam up. Kouta internally sighed.

"Look, if there's anything I can do...." He and Akira knew that Mitsuzane was too young to be on his own - or at least Takatora would have fits - but he could be there for Mitsuzane like Akira was for him. He sometimes wondered what it would have been like to grow up with her as an older sibling instead of growing up with Takatora.

"What did Takatora say to you?" Mitsuzane asked quietly. "On the way home."

"He was worried about your involvement in Team Gaim, and I told him that the last thing he should do is forbid you." Kouta closed his eyes, glad that none of the others were near. "I hope he listens."

Mitsuzane folded his arms. "I won't let him take it away from me."

"And I'll support you." Just like Akira supported him, he'd support Mitsuzane.

There was a slight nod on Mitsuzane's end. "Did you talk about anything else?"

"He wants me to go back to college. I told him that I couldn't afford it."

Mitsuzane was quiet for a moment. "I'm going to Yggdrasill tomorrow to be looked at. I think he was going to ask you to go soon."

Takatora was worried about them, Kouta realized. It was one of the reasons why he was willing to deal with Yggdrasill in this case at all. In some ways, he was fortunate; he was no longer bound to follow his brother's instructions, unlike Mitsuzane.

If there had been a way to get Mitsuzane out from under Takatora Kouta would have taken it, but he doubted Mitsuzane would be able to leave for two more years. Besides, it wasn't like their older brother was a terrible person, just that his choices weren't ideal.

As much as Kouta wanted to break off communications with Takatora once more, he still had to make him realize that Mitsuzane was frustrated and he wanted to convince him that there was an alternative to Project Ark. He just hadn't figured out what it was yet.

And he had no clue on how to get into Helheim without being driven out by Takatora's forces. It was less that he wanted a fight with them than he wanted Takatora to actually listen if he discovered something.

It was two days later when Mitsuzane came up to him at dance practice - he'd missed the previous day, thanks to the exam - and pulled him outside. "You should go home with me after practice. There are some things we should discuss."

"Okay. I'll let Akira know I'll be home late." He could make his own dinner. It wasn't like he was going to be eating at the Kureshima Estate - not unless he stayed too long and Takatora arrived before he left. And he still could get out of there without Takatora knowing.

Mitsuzane gave him a nod, and Kouta texted his roommate to let her know he was all right. She'd be happy he was spending quality time with Mitsuzane, at least.

When the two of them went to the estate, he realized how tired Mitsuzane looked. Maybe it was time to do something nice for him, something that offset Takatora until he could convince Takatora that he was really doing things wrong.

He'd just have to figure out what. Spending time would be ideal. He just didn't know how.

"So," Mitsuzane said, "I went to the exam, and I'm all right. The man who examined me was an old friend of Big Brother's, the head of the scientists and he told me things about Helheim - showed me some of the files of what happened to animals and such when they're fed Helheim fruits after my exam. I guess he wanted to evaluate me as a future employee of Yggdrasill. You should expect that as well, Kouta." Mitsuzane paused. "In fact, I think you should impress him. That way, you can find a way around the restrictions - he offered to get me in as a freelance worker, but I told him I still had to go to school. I think it would be good to get what we want."

Kouta nodded. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but being a freelancer for Yggdrasill might not be too bad if it allowed him to figure out how to save six billion people and redeem the family. He might even be willing to be a part of the family if he could fix its course, but that would mean giving up his independent life.