2022-11-17: Attempted Connection
- Cast: Liam 7-020, Yuta Hibiki
- Where: Tsutsujidai
- Date: U.C. 0096 11 17
- Summary: Two classmates try to forge a bond after school. The result is... complicated.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
After a few days absent, Yuta returns to school sporting a bandaged face and a pretty serious black eye. Whispers spread through the class quickly -- did the gentle, easy-going Yuta Hibiki get into a fight with someone? Who could've provoked the sweetest boy in school like this? Was he attacked?
Yuta very carefully pretends not to notice. No answers are forthcoming -- he seems to be pretending as though nothing is wrong... But he doesn't attend dance club. Definitely unusual behavior. At the end of school, the young man stands, slinging his backpack on. There's a wince of pain as it thunks against his lower back. Yuta is even moving stiffly, slowly making his way to the shoe lockers.
Despite his own issues today... Eisen's words hang in his mind. Is everyone really happy here? Is Akane lying..? These thoughts only increase as Yuta spots one of the newest students -- a tall young man. Liam? Yuta remembers seeing him when the glow cloud visited the park. They've never spoken, but lately, he's seemed to be getting more depressed. His eyes don't have that happy shine the rest of Yuta's classmates' do. Something is wrong.
And Yuta swore never to be blind to the sadness of his allies ever again.
Slowly working on his outside shoes -- always red, always vibrant -- Yuta hovers at the main doors to the school, waiting for Liam. Yuta practices smiling, wanting it to feel genuine while also not hurting his face. If Liam's already feeling bad, the last thing Yuta wants is to make Liam worry about Yuta's own problems.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam hasn't been doing well, but he's trying. He tried his best to reassure Asuka when the two of them went to visit Ouka. He's done well on his schoolwork, even in Japanese, his weakest subject. He doesn't have to fight anymore. He should be happy. He isn't.
Liam is nineteen years old, and stands just shy of six and a half feet tall; he looks like he should be in his last year, or in college. Someone--Akane?--has made an effort to normalize him, outfitting him with a tousled blond cosplay wig (at least it's good quality) and a cowled sweater vest, which he wears over his uniform shirt. He walks towards his locker, which isn't far from Yuta's, and opens it without a word. With only a nervous little glance in Yuta's direction. He pauses there a moment, inspecting the locker as if it might hold a strange surprise, and then pulls out his outside shoes.
Didn't someone put a note in Liam's locker?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
There he is. Not like Yuta could miss a guy /that/ tall. Putting on his practiced smile, Yuta waves at the older man. "Hey! You're Liam, right? My name's Yuta Hibiki. I know you transferred in, but we haven't talked yet, and... I thought I'd change that!"
Yuta moves slowly -- both for his own benefit, and Liam's. The other young man still has that tense aura of a combat veteran around him. Every motion is practically broadcast before he makes it. The wave finishes, and Yuta lowers his hand to his side, then casually leans against the lockers. Far enough away to not be threatening. If Liam wishes, he can walk away. Yuta isn't blocking him.
"I was actually going to go to the mall and do a bit of clothes shopping, but I'm still really new to picking stuff out on my own. If it's not too weird, I could totally use a second pair of eyes." With only a slight wince as he irritates his wounded face, Yuta grins in a self-deprecating way. "I can't exactly ask the girls to come watch, it'd be way too embarrassing, and I don't know that many guys. I'll buy you dinner in exchange if you want!"
Maybe this isn't a typical way for young men to interact, but Yuta tries to play it off as friendly and light-hearted as he possibly can. This is about making a friend, more than anything.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam noticed the bruises. He doesn't know how to bring them up. There are too many variables, and he doesn't want to hurt Yuta worse by drawing more attention to it.
Instead, Yuta comes to him.
"Yes," Liam says. Something half-surfaces through the numbing fog in his mind, the memory-panacea that 'cured' his grief. He shakes his head. "Good to meet you." He finishes putting on his shoes, and considers what Yuta is offering. The thought of dressing himself is intimidating, much less someone else; he likewise doesn't know what to make of the offer of dinner. (He thinks back to what Asuka said, but no, this doesn't seem to be /that/ kind of dinner offer. Good.)
"All right," Liam says, offering a placid little smile. "I have nothing else to do aside from homework."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta frowns softly as Liam shakes his head. He doesn't look good.. Maybe taking Liam somewhere with a lot of walking is a bad idea? But he looks strong. He's come this far, though -- it can't hurt to keep trying!
"Good to meet you too." Extending a hand, Yuta waits gently for Liam to accept his handshake, or not. "Thanks! It'll be fun. Teenagers are supposed to hang out at the mall, right? That's what I always read online."
Thankfully, the mall isn't too far, just a quick bus ride away. Tsutsujidai has excellent public transportation! Yuta leads the way to a second-floor shop lined with posters of attractive young people in trendy clothing. Yuta checks the brand against his phone -- yep, this is the one. "I did some research online, and this is the most popular store right now. That means anything we pick has got to be a winner, right?"
It's hard to know how to start. Yuta hesitates in the doorway of the shop, glancing around at the various racks. It looks like men's clothing is on the left, and women's on the right. Some of the women's clothes look really cute, but -- Yuta feels a little too shy. "Right. Let's get started!" He tries to fill his voice with confidence he doesn't quite feel.
"My friend Kaworu says all you have to do is pick colors and shapes you like. I really like red, but it clashes with my hair a lot... So if you see any reds that would match, definitely let me know!" Yuta smiles. Maybe giving Liam a low-pressure task would help him feel at ease? Flipping through some clothing racks, Yuta's blue eyes stay focused on the clothing. "What about you, Liam? What's your favorite color? And favorite shape, I guess."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam returns Yuta's handshake with deliberate care--an abundance of caution, as if he's terrified of breaking the younger teen's hand. (He is.) "I... don't know what teenagers are supposed to do," he admits, his lips curling in a frown. He seems physically up to it, at least, even if his heart isn't wholly in it.
The bus ride passes without incident. Liam swipes his pass, takes a seat, and waits in silence until it's their stop. After they disembark, he trails behind Yuta, following. He doesn't know what he's supposed to do. He felt so relieved when Akane made these choices for him. How is he supposed to help someone else? (He's supposed to help. Yuta asked him. He has to do what Yuta wants, or he'll be disappointed.) "All right," Liam says. Red. How is he supposed to know what clashes?
And then: another question. "I don't know," Liam says. He knows what he wore when he was younger, but that younger him is dead. And is there anything in this store that will fit him? He's had problems with that before he came here.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"I'm not sure if you heard around the school, but I've got amnesia," Yuta explains, on the bus ride. "I can't remember anything earlier than a few months ago. So all of this is new to me. That's why I look so much up online. Sorry if I mess anything up! Let's both do our best."
Yuta hums to himself as he flips through options, giving each shirt a careful examination. After a few minutes... "Ah! How's this?" Holding a blue shirt up to himself, Yuta steps over to Liam. The shirt is long-sleeved, with deep blue fabric and lighter blue stitching. It looks pretty nice, bringing out the blue of the young man's eyes. "You don't really need warm clothes here in Tsutsujidai, but whenever I visit friends outside, my summer clothes aren't enough."
It's a careful statement. How will Liam react to the idea of leaving Tsutsujidai, and having friends outside the city? Yuta watches the other man closely for any reaction.
After Liam has given his judgment on the blue shirt, Yuta looks at him thoughtfully. Wow, he really is tall... will anything in here fit? Yuta simply won't accept leaving the shop without finding something that'll bring a smile to Liam's face. But he's got to be casual. Trying too hard will look weird.
Pretending to examine his shirt more closely, Yuta glances around the store from beneath his red bangs. In one corner of the men's half of the store, there's a corner featuring jewelry and accessories. That's sure to fit. "Let's check this stuff out." Yuta offers, making his way to the corner. Everything from sunglasses to earrings are on display -- but Liam seems more on the subtle side.
Yuta rummages through the display. There's got to be something perfect here. After a quiet few seconds... Yuta comes away with three options!
The first: a woven bracelet. Braided leather strands twine and loop around each other, all in a few shades of soft yellow. A few shiny beads of deep blue add interest. Thankfully, it looks just big enough to fit around Liam's wrist. It's a fashionable, yet masculine accessory.
Secondly, Yuta offers some kind of small oval hanging from a keychain. It's all sterling silver, with a subtle leaf design etched around the outer edge. Opening the item reveals an empty space. "It's for a photo!" Yuta explains. "You can put a picture of something, or someone, you love on the inside, so it's never far away."
And finally: a small drawstring backpack. This one's a dark teal blue, with some kind of geometric symbol in the center. It doesn't look like it really means anything, but it's nice to look at. White strings form both the shoulder straps and the way to close the bag. "I've got one just like this, actually. It's great for carrying snacks to the park, stuff like that."
After presenting his suggestions, Yuta steps back, letting Liam look them over. "It's okay if you don't like any of them. We're here to have fun! No pressure at all."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Amnesia? Liam's brow furrows, and his frown deepens slightly. "I see," he says. "...head trauma?" He's already sucking a breath as the last syllable leaves his lips, bracing for a bad reaction. It was his first thought, but Yuta has /also/ been beaten up, and what if the two are just unrelated and he got ambushed by a bully or something?
Bitterness wells up in Liam's heart, beneath the fog. At least Yuta has an excuse for not knowing anything. For losing so much of himself.
The first shirt draws Liam out of his thoughts. He doesn't answer for a moment, his eyes darting between the garment and Yuta's face. "It's similar to your eyes," Liam says. "And it would be warm, if you... were to go out there." The thought twists his guts, not that the rest of Liam doesn't feel twisted and tangled. He's safe. He doesn't have to fight. (He doesn't fit in, no matter how hard he tries, and he's too broken to understand how normal teenagers work.) He can go to school. (He already knows a lot of this. The other kids don't feel like his peers in any meaningful way.) He promised Akane he'd help, and that he'd let him help her. (He's too broken for her to help. He should be helping, but he's so listless he can't do anything. /Yuta was hurt/, and he didn't even know until he showed up in bandages.)
And then, it's Yuta's turn. Liam looks at the three items, his breath coming quicker, as if Yuta's presented him with an impossible puzzle. "They're all... good," he says, carefully, "but... I don't know. I don't want to choose wrong. I can't choose wrong." His hands are shaking.
This is not a simple matter of clothing. This is touching at a wound that runs much, much deeper.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta blinks in surprise at Liam's question. Huh? Then he remembers -- "Oh, you mean my face." He smiles a little self-consciously. "Well, the amnesia... We don't really know what caused it. Rikka just found me passed out in front of her house one day. As for this stuff..." Shoulders slump, but Yuta brings a hand up to the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. "W--well, I kinda... got in a fight. Someone was saying really awful things about Tsutsujidai and A-- a friend of mine, and I lost my cool. It's pretty embarrassing..."
Probably not the best idea to say someone was threatening Akane. Just in case she /did/ do something to cause all this.
"It's nothing to worry about. I won't see that person again, most likely. And honestly, I don't regret it. I tried asking them to stop and they refused to listen. I'm not proud of being the kind of person to try and solve a disagreement with my fists, but... I tried the proper way first."
Liam makes a judgment! Yuta beams, nodding. It seems like this is difficult for him, so Yuta tries to give him a little extra positive reaction. "Hey, thanks! I can't see my own eyes, so I had no idea. I think I'll get this one."
Tossing the shirt over one arm, Yuta makes a note of how stricken Liam looks at the concept of the outside world. Something's definitely wrong. Especially for someone who has only been here for such a short amount of time... Yuta's eyebrows draw together in worry. Tsutsujidai is supposed to be someone peaceful, somewhere that makes people happy. Why isn't Liam feeling better?
Oh no. Liam seems genuinely distressed by his options. Yuta had hoped to make things easier by offering a few choices instead of picking a single accessory, but -- quickly, he puts them all down on the display, and walks up to Liam. "Hey. It's alright." Yuta carefully places a hand on the older boy's arm. Only 5'2", Liam practically towers over Yuta, but the shorter boy doesn't seem bothered. "None of them are wrong. It's not really the kind of thing that has an answer one way or the other." Maybe that's worse? Maybe Liam /needs/ there to be a right answer.
Yuta takes a breath, thinking quickly. "You know, if you like all of them, that's a choice too! I've got plenty of money my folks gave me before they left." Maybe it's just because of his injuries, but Yuta seems to look a bit distressed at this sentence. "Let's just get all this stuff. You'll have lots of options to play around with, that way."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"...Passed out?" Liam's eyes widen, and his jaw drops. Is he horrified by the thought, or by how Yuta seems to play it off as just something that happened? Maybe both? The scale tilts back towards more measured concern as Yuta explains the bandages. "...They shouldn't," Liam says, his eyes darkening. "It's safe. The only place left for me. Akane said--" A hitch of breath. "She said she'd protect me." The thought keeps buzzing in Liam's mind after Yuta drops the subject.
Is it okay to be mad, and to fight, if someone says something that awful? He wants to say no, but maybe if Yuta does it, it's okay. Yuta can't kill someone without meaning to, and he would never mean to, would he?
"I," Liam says, "don't want to impose. It's too much. Is it too much?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta's smile turns a bit wobbly at Liam's concern. He's still not used to being cared about like this. All his classmates had thought he was a liar or ignored the news. "Yeah. The doctors said I'd be okay in a while, but, well. It's been a few months and nothing has changed..." Yuta shrugs a bit, trying to look normal about all this. He still isn't sure what the proper level of emotion is about this situation. "I'm just thankful Rikka found me. Laying in the heat like that could be really dangerous."
A soft, quick breath. Yuta recenters himself. This is about Liam, not him.
"Tsutsujidai is a wonderful place. The air and water are clean, and the people all care about each other." Yuta gently agrees with Liam, seeing the anger in the older man's eyes. "Akane will always protect this place, but Gridman's here, too. I know him, um, pretty well. And even though he and Akane don't always agree, Gridman fights to protect Tsutsujidai. Nothing bad will happen to this place while he's around." With a smile, Yuta squares his shoulders, then winces a bit. Ow, too much movement. "Between the two of them? Everything is gonna be just fine."
"The only place left for me"? Yuta makes a mental note of Liam's words. He looks so stricken, so anxious... No matter what, he'll make sure to keep Liam safe, here. He's not just fighting for protecting the empty Repli-Compoids of Tsutsujidai anymore.
"No way, dude!" Yuta says, playfully bumping his shoulder into Liam as he leads the way to the checkout counter. "My parents left me all alone for months with nothing but a bunch of money. I haven't done anything fun with it!" He laughs, the action squeezing his eyes closed. "It's healthy to have some fun now and then. That way I won't totally blow it all on a car or something, and then starve."
Before the tall man can complain, Yuta's purchased their items, handing a bag to Liam with all three accessories wrapped in colorful paper. "There. Now we're both fashionable! Next up... some food! Do you have any preferences? I think this mall has a bit of everything, really... It's my first time eating here though."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"I'm sorry," Liam says. "I'm glad she found you." He doesn't know what else to say. How is he supposed to deal with the fact that he's envious of someone with severe, unresolved amnesia? Coming here helped immeasurably, but in some ways, Liam feels like he's no closer to finding peace than when he started.
Whenever he tries to get to sleep, he thinks of Lucine, and the note, and her promise. He thinks of what he saw before the Proto Helios' cameras died--the Dianthus falling from the sky, blown out of the air by the backblast of the SUNBURST. He thinks of what could've happened--of the Raijin's blade punching through the smaller machine's cockpit and coming out coated in red.
Just like--
"I trust Akane," Liam breathes. "...I don't know if I trust Gridman." He pauses, swallows. "Or... anything like him." He looks down and away, ashamed, and puts a hand to his temple. He blinks, and the polymer heat-shields are visible for a moment, reflective mirrors over his eyes. They're coming unsynched again. "Why now?" he says. "Why not before?" Something inside him bucks and heaves against its chains. "Akane--I know she's always been here to protect this place. But the last thing--" Liam reaches out and grips a clothes rack; the hollow metal tube starts to bend inward around his fingers with a dull groan. "Is. The last thing we need is a bloody miracle that /chooses/ when it happens. When it can't be bothered to show up, no matter how hard people scream. No matter who will die if it doesn't." Liam keeps talking, but his voice wavers, as if he were flickering between two states of being: sedate and morose (but agreeable), and enraged. His tone and pronunciation are different, too. That's closer to some sort of Old Kingdom Britannian accent than the stubbornly accent-less English he usually speaks.
And then the quantum state resolves, and Liam looks down at the packages. "All right," he says. It's not the 'Understood' he says when he's all hollowed out, but it has the same spirit. "You... pick?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
A sad look crosses Yuta's face as Liam doesn't really trust Gridman. Quickly looking away to slide his change into his wallet. Yuta looks up just in time to see the reflective mirrors over Liam's eyes. Woah... what is that? Does he mention it? Is this a bad sign? Feeling his phone in his pocket, Yuta thinks of Ouka's collapse during their movie night. Is this something similar, does he need to contact Akane..?
Liam's hand begins to crush a clothing rack, and Yuta's eyes widen. What is going on? Is Liam enhanced, like so many of the other new residents? Thankfully, the store clerk is busy tidying the cash register, but --
A blur of movement draws Yuta's attention. For a half-second, there's an image of a tall man in a suit, just outside the store. Calibur. It's a message -- Yuta is safe. Calibur won't let anything bad happen.
With that reassurance, Yuta pushes himself forward, embracing Liam. Stronger than he looks, Yuta feels safe to squeeze the other boy. If Liam can crush metal so easily, he can take a hug, right? "It's okay." Yuta says, trying to ground his new friend. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I -- he wasn't there when you needed him. He hasn't existed very long, but I promise, he's doing all he can."
Yuta takes a breath, pressing his head into Liam's chest. The injuries on his face sting at the contact, but he doesn't back down. "It's not enough. I know. But the only thing we can do is keep moving forward, so things can be different for the people who come next."
There's so many words Yuta wants to say. "I'm sorry." "What happened?" "I'll do better." "What do you need?" "How do I make up for this?" But just as Liam is bound by chains, so is Yuta. This is all he can do, for now.
"I promise. As long as you're here, Gridman will protect you." Yuta finally steps back, hoping he hasn't done too much.
With another wobbly smile, Yuta accepts Liam change of topic. "How about MacDaniels? It's popular online, anyway. Can't go wrong with some fries..."
He's trying to stay lighthearted, but Liam's words have affected him. It's going to be a battle to keep it from showing.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
There are visible, distinctly finger-shaped indentations in the coat rack, deep enough that the arm might snap off with further strain. As Calibur blurs into position, Liam's eyes dart in his direction, sensing movement. The look he gives the older-looking man is dull-eyed and dead. One living weapon sees and acknowledges another, one with spirit and a righteous purpose.
Then Yuta hugs him, and Liam freezes in place. His eyes go wide. His heart starts to race, despite Yuta's gentle, sincere words. Someone he doesn't know is touching him, and someone else is watching them, and if he so much as moves he's so afraid he'll hurt Yuta /worse/. Shame burns in his face as he realizes what he's done.
How is he so impossibly broken? Why is he reacting this way to someone who just wants to help, like Akane does?
Why is he so upset about Gridman's existence?
"Okay," Liam says, and it sounds like he is capitulating. "I won't hurt you." Yuta didn't ask that. (Yuta will get hurt anyway, because he's decided he cares about Liam.) A pause. Liam looks past Yuta, at Calibur. "MacDaniels is good. Your friend can come too."