Bringing the old to the new, [Closed]

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

Who: Satou Kuroneko (priceofmagic) & Kyo Sohma (that_cat_that_hates_leeks)
What: Hanging out, enjoying some malts and shakes while taking a tour of the town. Also some unexpected discussions.
Where: The Malt Shop, then Kyo walks Satou home.
When: 3/12, after this thread, after classes.
Warnings: Some language (it's Kyo, what do you expect?)

The two arrived at the malt shop, Satou wanting to treat Kyo on being new to Mayfield. There was a lot he found difficult to work with in his two days of being here, but despite his usual tendencies he endured, somehow. The two looked over the menu as they had just gotten there.

The stares of the drones kept bothering him, though. He knew he wasn't normal, and even without his secret nature from his past life, he kept his hair color. Although, looking at his bare wrists, seeing that he didn't have to deal with his past for now almost entirely balanced it out. It was like a new take on his life, a well-needed breather. The drones were creepy as heck, all the same.

Comments

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

Kyo leveled a thumb away from him, to mark the drones. "You mean you're cooped up with these freaks all the time?" He had only seen the "mother" of his household as a drone, thankfully, but one alone was more than enough.

"... Well, as long as they don't bother you too much, I don't care." He did, but he'll have to trust her on that. What could he do, beat them seneless? And if it would make her feel lonely, what was the point?

Soon enough, the waiter came by with the check for the order. Kyo glanced at it briefly, if just to get an idea of how much things cost here and find a way to pay Satou back later or treat her similarly. Not that he had any idea how to get money in town in the first place, but one thing at a time.

[priceofmagic]

Satou paid promptly, making no effort to hide the check. Being paid back was a foreign concept to her; it hadn't even crossed her mind that it was even possible for Kyo to check the cost and even think about treating her back. After all, as their little outing came to a close Satou was reminded of the grim reality: Spending time with him and becoming his friend were all ultimately pointless decisions. He would forget her eventually.

"Well then! Shall we be on our way?" She put her wallet away, tucking the depressing reality aside as she did so. There was no sense worrying about such a thing. Not now, anyway, when she was having such a nice time talking to Kyo. "Thanks for joining me for milkshakes, by the way. It means a whole lot!"

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

"Mm, it's not a problem, really." Kyo brushed the back of his head. He answered, "Yeah, sure. You'll have to lead the way again," and began to wonder about things himself. Without anyone he knew, life would certainly be a struggle here, nevermind how he would miss them. Well, most of them; Yuki and some of the other aspects of his life were things he wouldn't miss. Or so he told himself.

Such was on his mind as they were walking together, going uptown to the residential area. He wasn't paying attention to his own melancholic face though, checking the avenues and streets every now and then, without saying much else the rest of the way.

"Oy, this feels like it's halfway across town from where I live..." was what finally came to his lips, realizing the distance they were traveling.

[priceofmagic]

"It is a bit of a walk... I guess walking to school together would be inconvenient..." She tried not to concentrate on Kyo's feelings. It wasn't her place to spy on a friend, even if the emotions coming from Kyo were a bit worrisome.

Finding Bunker Street wasn't very difficult; Satou walked more by instinct and automatic memory than by any actual sense of direction. She had no idea where her street was compared to Kyo's, so trusted his opinion. "This is where I live! It's kind of full of drones, so I guess you don't wanna come inside..?"

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

Noting the address in his head for later, he stared at the house Satou lived at.

"... Is it lonely for you here?" A simple question in a not-so-simple place they ended up in.

[priceofmagic]

She thought for a moment. Debating. Considering. Her standards for lonely... were pretty skewed. It had been over a year now since anyone acknowledged her for more than a week... outside of Mayfield, anyway.

"... No. For someone like myself, this is more than I deserve." Satou answered after a moment. It was lonely. It was very lonely, but she didn't have the right to think that. The Witch of Sins was being spoiled by fate to even have a roof over her head. "Your house has 'normal people', right?"

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

"It has a blonde pretty-boy father that has a horse living in the house, and a blue-haired sister that insists on having leeks everywhere," Kyo flatly stated. The role model of a normal family, for sure. As if remembering something, he turned and pointed towards Satou. "And don't ever give me leeks, I hate them!"

He lowered his arm and looked back at the house, but this was more so he wouldn't have to keep eye contact with her. He couldn't take it anymore. "Dammit, you remind me a lot of someone where I came from." A pause, putting his hands in his pants pockets. "She would think it'd be alright for her to suffer without a word. She would think it's better to be selfless if it's for the sake of others, or whatever she believed in. It annoyed me so much that she would keep things to herself, and you talking about how you deserve living alone, or worse, is bugging the hell out of me too.

"So I'll tell you the same thing I told her... You don't have to be like that, being alright with suffering alone." He stopped to let that sink in. "I can't stand hearing others' troubles, but if it's for your sake, I'll listen." Even if it's for his own sake as well, his own peace of mind here. "You can.. be selfish if you need to feel it." Because he's being selfish himself. "You can complain to me if you want to."

[priceofmagic]

Satou listened. Standing very still, with her gaze directed at the house rather than at Kyo. It wasn't as if this was the first time she'd heard something as kind as this. She could no longer keep track of the number of people who had offered to hear her problems, to be her support, and to never forget her. That same number was the amount of people who forgot her. It was the same as the number of times she'd had her trust broken by something so mysterious as memory.

"... I see." Her voice was soft. There was no tremble of the tears that she wanted to cry, nor was there any trace of the pain she was feeling. It was worse than being stabbed over and over; she knew. She had the experience to compare it to. Satou clenched and relaxed her fist. Inhaled and exhaled. Then turned to Kyo again, smiling her best. "I'm not sure you want to say that. You don't know very much about me."

It annoyed him? She was annoying?
Annoying
annoying
annoying.

The word repeated, molded, lost meaning in her head. Her hard work, wasted
wasted.

"I'm afraid I've no reason to complain. My situation is as it should be. I'm far too lucky to be allowed to do such a thing."

[that_cat_that_hates_leeks]

If this person standing in front of him was the same as the one Kyo was reminded of so painfully, she would tell him how she really felt, at least that she was lonely. What Kyo did notice, finally, was the soft, almost-hollow voice that she was using. Kyo turned around on that, to see her smiling face. A mask of someone he hadn't considered the entire time.

One person that had always strove to fight his fate, to become properly accepted into his family.
One person that seemed resigned to her fate, feeling they deserve nothing more, possibly far less.

A moment that felt too long passed by, the realization that the girl had been through much more than he fathomed for a normal life. There had to be some reason why she would let herself dangle on the thread of fate she apparently accepted. And, with him keeping his own secrets, wasn't in his right to know just like that.

"You're right, I don't know what you've been through. I don't know what's wrong with me, getting irritated like this." He bared his teeth, shaking visibly. "I can't explain my feelings well, that's how I've always been. Why am I giving such a damn about this?"

Then it hit him, like a brick out of nowhere. Satou was avoiding the issue entirely. She wasn't like her...Tohru. One could at least tell something was wrong when it came to her. That mask, that voice... she had given up a long time ago, in some way. Heavy breathing.

"DAMMIT, I CARE ABOUT YOU!!!" Kyo sharply yelled to the ground, his eyes closed from frustration. The rest of what he said came out softer in tone, however.

"...Tell me then... why do you want me to be your friend? If you're so alright with how things are, why do you reach out for others rather than stay alone?"

His eyes softened as well, still staring downward. "I'm not asking you to tell me your life or your secrets. I'm asking you to be my friend, too."