And still wrong muses.

[estirose]

Of course, when I wanted Kiva muses, I get Gaim muses instead. *headdesk*


Micchy ducked into his room. He'd spent the night in Kouta's room, as he'd been doing as of late, because he wasn't quite sure that Kouta would stay if left alone. He knew that Kouta wanted to go back to his construction work and stop being a Kureshima again, but Micchy was determined to have him stay. Things were much better with Kouta there. Takatora paid attention to their brother instead of to him, and Kouta kept him busy enough so that Takatora didn't bother with Micchy much.

Oh, Micchy still had to get dressed and get ready for school in his room, but he doubted Kouta would run away in the few minutes that he had between dressing and breakfast. And Takatora would make sure Kouta stayed at Yggdrasill during the day.

Until Kouta had really come home, never to leave again, Micchy had to watch his brother. Watch for any signs of leaving, convince him not to do what he'd done two years before. Because the last two years had been awful without Kouta there, and Micchy wasn't going to go through that, ever again.

Comments

[reka]

Muses are tricky things.

I can relate to Micchy a lot in this bit. When my brother moved out for college, people kept asking me if I enjoyed being the only child in the house. I didn't, really, because my parents can be a little intense and the undivided attention was scary. (Just this weekend he was telling me that he'd be nuts if he was still living at home.) But the support from my parents can be relieving, too.

I hope Kouta would be able to notice how antsy Micchy is and reassure him that he won't disappear suddenly. He has different responsibilities than he did two years ago. Micchy is not very good at coping with change in people and circumstances.

[estirose]

I didn't grow up with siblings, so I was always the only child in the house. Of course, my family doesn't sound as intense as yours.

Yeah, Kouta knows that Micchy doesn't want him to leave. Which is probably the only reason he isn't leaving. He definitely would rather not be there, but he values Micchy's sanity.

[reka]

My parents mean well, but I'm the youngest, disabled, and they worry that I'm not making good decisions way too often. It's hard for them to let go while I'm still living at home and they can see my difficulties.

Yeah, Takatora would be very unhappy, but he'd be able to keep moving on. Micchy might still lose it with Kouta there, but Takatora isn't really able to help. Takatora's got the whole world to deal with.

[estirose]

Yes. Takatora is relying on Kouta to resolve any problems with Micchy. (After all, Kouta is good at dealing with him.) That way, he can just try to save the whole world. Kouta kind of helps with that, too, but not always in a way that Takatora likes. He'd rather have Kouta go back to school, but time is limited.

Hopefully things will get to a point in your life where they can let go.

[reka]

Fortunately, they are at least aware of what they need to work on. Thanks! Sorry for unloading about my family issues again.

Yeah, and probably any time Takatora brings up school Kouta reminds him that he needs to keep up with his family duties and that school can wait. And while Kouta is better at dealing with Micchy, Micchy still doesn't open up to him. Partly I think because Micchy tends to think that, if Kouta isn't siding with him against Takatora, he must be siding with Takatora against him.

[estirose]

I'm sure Takatora brings up school often. If it weren't for the fact that Kouta has a Driver and Ryouma doesn't want to lose Kouta's oh so interesting data, Kouta would be sent to university. Kouta worries about Micchy, but the best he can do is be there for him and hope he doesn't melt down.

(Takatora-muse is giving me a scenario where Kouta didn't move home but Takatora enrolled him in university anyway. Because Kouta needs to be kept safe too, in a way.)

As long as they know it, that is good. Sometimes you have to unload on your family issues.

[reka]

Yeah, there is some time to spare, and Kouta is a fast learner, especially when he's determined. And yeah, I agree that Takatora would like to keep Kouta safe too, considering how focused he is on bearing the weight of what Needs To Be Done so nobody else has to and that he didn't tell Micchy anything until his hand was forced.
If Ryouma says the data is too valuable to waste, Takatora would probably cave, especially if Kouta says he wants to help. It's possible also that Ryouma would consider Kouta a threat to his plans and want him distracted by university (whether or not he lives in Zawame for it).
Kouta has a lot of good qualities, but he's not a therapist, and he can't help Micchy with what Micchy doesn't talk about. Kouta may try to be for Micchy what he wanted from Takatora at that age, but since they're different people it may not work. And Micchy wouldn't react well if he thought Kouta was treating him as a kid.

(I think you wrote a bit of something along those lines before, but yeah, as [presumably] Kouta's legal guardian, Takatora can force the university issue, and Kouta would probably go along with it, at least at first. Kouta could even live at home to help out.)

[estirose]

Yes. Definitely Kouta's fate depends on how Ryouma views him. Ryouma is going to have too much fun with this. It really does depend how much poking Kouta's done. Ryouma could easily tell Takatora that Kouta would be far more effective with more schooling.

Hopefully Micchy will realize that Kouta is on his side.

(Takatora-muse is arguing with Kouta about University now. Kouta is protesting that he has a job.)

[reka]

How much poking he's done and how much of a stablizing influence he is on his brothers, I think. Ryouma might not have started manipulating Micchy yet, but he does benefit from Takatora considering him the one with the answers. And as Takatora's brother, Kouta will always be able to get his attention.

Hopefully Micchy wouldn't ask a question using that phrasing, since I could easily see Kouta protesting that he's not on any side (because there are no sides, but Micchy would not understand it that way).

(Takatora would argue that Kouta's job is unimportant, and Kouta could use some of Akira's thoughts on work as ammo.)

[estirose]

Yes. It may be more to Ryouma's benefit for Kouta to be in school. Kouta would protest, of course. But Takatora listens to Ryouma.

I think Micchy would be bright enough not to ask the question, and unfortunately, I'm not sure Kouta would catch that he doesn't fully trust Kouta.

(Yes. Though for some reason Takatora seems to think that Kouta could do more good if he had more schooling.)

[reka]

I think that, while Kouta knows Micchy isn't as honest and open as he is, he doesn't really expect dishonesty. Like Takatora, really.

It'll keep Kouta busier, certainly.

(Kouta might find it hard to argue with that. He wants to be able to help now, but.)

[estirose]

(Yes, Kouta wants to be able to access Helheim whenever he can to solve things. Living with Akira and not working for Yggdrasill gives him some spare time to get into Helheim without having to explain what he's doing.)

[reka]

Kouta could still explore Helheim while attending university, but he'd have far less time and flexiblity to do it. He'd also have to be careful. Micchy would probably help, but that means that Ryouma would also know (and that might end poorly).

[estirose]

Yes. Ryouma would know anyway.
---
"Kouta? Are you all right?" Akira asked, as her adoptive little brother looked ready to start banging his head against their table.

"Takatora wants to talk about me going back to college." Kouta shook his head slightly. "I just wanted him to start talking - really talking - to Mitsuzane."

Akira sat down. "It's not a bad idea, but you're doing so much right now."

"Yeah." He looked at her blearily. "Do I have to stop talking to Takatora to get him to see sense?"

"I think you should try to keep in contact. He is family, after all." The fact that Kouta had come from a rich family wasn't so much a surprise to her. She couldn't imagine how his life had been like before she'd found him camping and ended up talking to him. Kouta hadn't wanted to talk much about his family, but he was nice and a hard worker.

Now that he was talking to both his brothers, she didn't want him to stop. After all, they were related by blood, and she wasn't. Even if she'd always regard him as an adoptive little brother, she didn't want him to lose what he had just because he could be just as stubborn as he was hard-working.

[reka]

Does Akira have any living family in this AU? And what has Kouta told her about his family?

Maybe Kouta can arrange to keep living with Akira while he goes to university. She cares about him and will make sure he's safe, and maybe Takatora can have dinner with her sometimes to check in.

[estirose]

Akira has an aunt and an uncle, I think. Not close. Kouta has told her that he ran away from home because he no longer got along with his family.

Kouta is still reluctant to go to University. He is twenty so Takatora can't really force him.

[reka]

Can't force him, but Kouta could be talked into it. Kouta's stubborn, though, so it would be difficult if he'd already decided on a certain path. Takatora might be able to do it if he acts quickly. If it's too late, Takatora might not be willing to push as hard as he needs to. Scaring Kouta off would not be good.

[estirose]

Yes. It depends on what Kouta's discovered and how much he still wants to deal with Takatora/his old life. He's enough of a Kureshima that it is very tempting, but he's still got reservations.

[reka]

What's the tempting part? Letting Takatora take control of his future again might be easy, but I think he'd feel trapped by that idea. Because what then did his running away accomplish? Kouta would prefer having a hopeful answer if he can.

Do you have a sense of how much he's discovered at this point?

[estirose]

I think he ran away for the same reasons as in the main storyline. He's had it pounded into him that education is important, and if it weren't for the whole 1/7th thing, he'd happily be in school. He, too, feels that it would be a waste of running away to go to school in stead of just doing what he is doing now.

[reka]

So he'd probably fight Takatora on that. I think he has a decent chance of getting Takatora to concede, too (although maybe not quite agreeing). Ryouma can still play on older brother protective instincts to keep Kouta's involvement under control, too. Ryouma might have a harder time getting at Micchy, but Micchy is unstable (partly just because of his age) and doesn't need a lot of pushing.

Kouta might have trouble arguing that he can't be in school but can do unskilled labor, though.