generalflirt | ~♥TWENTY-NINE♥~

~♥TWENTY-NINE♥~

[Masaomi has been dreadfully ill since, well... since about Nagisa's party and going to look for a starfish the night before. Since then, well... he passed out there, barely made it home, and had been nursed ever since. He was slightly delirious though all this, and he relied on Saki to get him through things while working on autopilot. He wasn't able to really move much himself until about the 29th or so. After that you might have seen him going in and out of the kitchen. But had he not seen Saki as much somehow...?

This pattern lasts until he wakes up about three PM on the 3rd. He's finally feeling better, and is able to pick up the journal, flip through things, and then go check on Saki and... she's not there. He searches the apartment, is it just him or is it more empty. Finally, he goes to make a filtered message to her to see if she's around...

And. She's not. The filter breaks.

She's gone.

Gone.

He got back his cell phone a while ago - he hasn't opened it, really, but after Fray gave it back to him the only thing he used it for was that thing with the texts and "Tanaka Taro." But. He flips it open to see Saki's picture in there. His grip tightens. They never even talked and she's gone.. completely gone. He begins to shake. The rage lasts a while and he tries to calm down enough to make a little post saying she's gone. and finally... two hours later, he thinks he is]

[Voice]

Everyone. Ah, I - I... [...No, he can't do it. He can't be calm]

Son of bitch! No! [And then he throws the cell phone clean across the room. It hits the wall with a loud sound - it's not broke, not quite, but the battery pops out of the back and the screen cracks. But who cares. Now, now? His voice is pained beyond anything people have heard in Luceti since about when Mikado was sent home, but this pain is different - Mikado's was cold fury, this one is erratic fury and sorrow and... well yeah]

Why now?! [Voice break] Why- dammit, [He grits his teeth] Dammit!

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[Okay. He folds his hands together now. His eyes are... well, in the dim light it might be hard to tell but there's rage in there. Hatred. Coldness. He was crying earlier, but now he's all business]

At one time, I was the General of the Yellow Scarves gang. I know it wouldn't seem like much to you two, but the Scarves... we got involved in a war - a violent gang war we didn't ask for against the Blue Squares. We only lasted because [Of Izaya, but he works in a different meaning here] I had comrades. Ones I trusted with anything.

Edited 2012-01-06 02:19 (UTC)

['I know it wouldn't seem like much to you...'

Even from a world where world war is the norm, Shikamaru's never cared for fighting on any scale, so that statement doesn't ring as true for him. One way or another, if people are getting hurt it's serious to him. And clearly, it's serious to Masaomi.

It's a little surprising that he calls himself the General of this gang... but at the same time he's using the past tense here. It gives Shikamaru an idea of the direction the story is getting, but he'll save his comments for when he has a clearer picture.]

[While Shikamaru may only be thinking it, Gold's going past that and bothering to say it.]

You said "was", so it's a thing of the past. Why're you bringin' it up?

Because Luceti's created a situation where I need that same level loyalty in comrades.

[Flatly. Looking straight at them without emotion]

That situation being...

[Took the words right out of his mouth, Shikamaru.]

This whole situation. Don't you see it? We can't control when people go home, or when they're in the drafts, or what happens between those. We control none of it and beyond that, people here are disorganized, messy. Lines of who to trust are blurry. It's bullshit. And I need something simple. Straight.

It should be simple.

I can understand how you feel, Masaomi. But even if you choose to depend on us, there's not much we're going to be able to do to change all that.

Alone, that's true. But I think I get what Kida here's drivin' at.

You said it yourself, Shikamaru. [As he has been for a while in this conversation, he's dropping the -kun] I need to do what I can.

[There's more that Shikamaru is still unsure about here, but Gold makes a good point. And Masaomi...

Shikamaru shifts his hands up behind his head with a nod. This is what he wanted to see out of Masaomi, after all. Or at least something like it.]

[At this point, Gold stands up now, proceeding to slowly circle around to the other side of Masaomi, hands folded behind his head.]

And right now, what can you do?

I can gather myself some comrades. ["nakama"] Ones who I can trust for anything, should it come to this or that.

There a test to pass before you say anything more specific?

What do you plan to do once you have these comrades? You got some goal in mind? [Gold's giving you a test right now, Masaomi. One that "Taro Tanaka" failed, as far as he was concerned.]

To start, survival.

[Lightly.]

[Given that answer...

Shikamaru raises one hand, palm out.]

Back up. If that's just to start, I think the better question to start with is what you're preparing for.

[He slips his hand behind his head again, watching Masaomi carefully. He has a strange way of doing things, and normally Shikamaru's content to go along with that. But that doesn't work here - not if they're expected to take it seriously.]

We need more than vague answers here.

You said it yourself, Kida. You want people you can trust to be behind you. [Gold would like to think Masaomi trusts him, just as he trusts him.]

...So how about showing some of that trust?

Dollars might be forming here. That's a gang from back home - I need to be ready to fight if it comes to that. What's more, consider all the experiments that go on. I'm seen the Squares come up before - like at Halloween. There's a lot of dangerous elements which are within out control to combat.

Aa. [It sounds troublesome. Things with gangs tend to be, and messy to boot. His tone becomes more pensive.] They're that much of a threat, then?

[Just like Gold thought. Masaomi wants to get these "Yellow Scarves" started in Luceti.]

To you, they're a threat. ...And you want help to be able to defend against them.

Not just them, but that's part of it, yeah.

It sounds like you're thinking about starting something up - at least if 'defense' and 'survival' are only part of your goal.

[And you're free to correct him if he's wrong on that, Masaomi.]

I can get preparing for the worst, but I don't know if that's the best response.

Enough with the secrets, dude. [He's staring straight at Masaomi now.]

For months, you've been keepin' secrets from everyone. But if you're gonna talk about "trust", it's time to come clean. This is the first time I've heard about these "Scarves" and "Squares" from you, so what else're you keepin' secret?

Ah? ...Do you want to know?

[and now he glances... at Shikamaru]

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