松野一松 「мaтѕuno ιcнιмaтѕu」 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ichininyaanshi) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lifenet2018-08-11 03:21 pm
ichininyaanshi) wrote in lifenet2018-08-11 03:21 pm
farstones; aug 11
[It opens to a wet, spitting noise, followed by a bleak chuckle.]
Emotions... honesty? That's what you guys are saying, huh? It's supposed to be as easy as that? [a beat.] Tch... I don't usually do the story thing, b-but I guess... this is gonna be my only chance, so here goes nothing.
[Ichimatsu draws a slow, deep breath; or one that tries to be deep, but seems to drag along the way, stuttering through his airway like a broken windshutter.]
Once there was a bunch of shitty, useless brothers. Six of 'em. All they did was bother everyone and t-take up space. Annoying, loud, selfish, meddlesome... that was all of them in a nutshell.
... except the fourth son. The others were just a pain in the ass to deal with, but the fourth one... wasn't even that. He was just a sad, unburnable piece of trash with no will to live. And you know what? He didn't need the others. He was better off without 'em. They just... held him b-back... and he didn't miss 'em at all.
[A violent, retching cough, followed by a few seconds of silence; then he clears his throat, as if nothing had happened.]
And they're pr... obably better off, too. That's the sort of happy ending this cursed family can look forward to. Them, and any of the fourth brother's new friends... who make it out of this.
[He pauses, as if waiting for another quick retribution, but this time... nothing. He gives a soft and wheezing huff of laughter.]
... but enough about those guys. If we're gonna talk like it's easy... like we're better than all the jerks who died here before... why don't you tell me about all the stuff you won't acknowledge? I'll be the one who takes your shit to the grave for you.
Heh... or maybe I'll j-just see you there. We're just the same as them in the end, right?
Emotions... honesty? That's what you guys are saying, huh? It's supposed to be as easy as that? [a beat.] Tch... I don't usually do the story thing, b-but I guess... this is gonna be my only chance, so here goes nothing.
[Ichimatsu draws a slow, deep breath; or one that tries to be deep, but seems to drag along the way, stuttering through his airway like a broken windshutter.]
Once there was a bunch of shitty, useless brothers. Six of 'em. All they did was bother everyone and t-take up space. Annoying, loud, selfish, meddlesome... that was all of them in a nutshell.
... except the fourth son. The others were just a pain in the ass to deal with, but the fourth one... wasn't even that. He was just a sad, unburnable piece of trash with no will to live. And you know what? He didn't need the others. He was better off without 'em. They just... held him b-back... and he didn't miss 'em at all.
[A violent, retching cough, followed by a few seconds of silence; then he clears his throat, as if nothing had happened.]
And they're pr... obably better off, too. That's the sort of happy ending this cursed family can look forward to. Them, and any of the fourth brother's new friends... who make it out of this.
[He pauses, as if waiting for another quick retribution, but this time... nothing. He gives a soft and wheezing huff of laughter.]
... but enough about those guys. If we're gonna talk like it's easy... like we're better than all the jerks who died here before... why don't you tell me about all the stuff you won't acknowledge? I'll be the one who takes your shit to the grave for you.
Heh... or maybe I'll j-just see you there. We're just the same as them in the end, right?
no subject
[No one could hate Ren. And he doesn't understand how she could think they would. But that other part of him, that understands lonely places and the fear of rejection, understands why.]
[He's quiet for a moment, and then he gently ruffles his hand through her hair, careful not to let it catch on the tangled vines in his fingers.]
Keep calling them that. It makes them happy. I can tell.
[A cat knows, right? Even when he hasn't met most of them.]
[Ichimatsu's eyes slide away, knowing which of his brothers comes next. And wishing he didn't.]
... Kara - Hanada-niisan -- he was born second. He's... [Ichimatsu swallows.] ... flashy. And an idiot... not to mention a liar. H-he pretends like nothing ever gets t-to him, and it really... he ticks me off when he acts like he cares, even when I treat him like shit. Always hovering like a pain in the ass. I'm glad he's g --
[He stiffens, suddenly, and turns his face slightly away, his chest giving a soft jerk. A line of wet violet trails from his nose.]
...
... s... sorry. He's... n-not that bad. [He shifts, wipes his face, and starts again with a careful tone.] He was here for a while, actually. Y-you know... he was the one who found Pachinko and her siblings. He was a good uncle... just like Ren-chan is a good aunt.
no subject
She knows it'll end, but if he says it makes them happy too, then for the time being, it's worth it to let it go. Talking about her own fears about that-now isn't the time.
The description of Hanada is less than stellar, falling in line with the tone he's used for his brothers the whole time. A series of insults, peppered with some of his lies that make her-
Gently reach up to pet his hair, hoping to offer some relief. She won't be able to raise her arm for long and she has to watch her numb fingers to make sure she's even patting him to begin with. A few seconds of that is all she can manage before her shoulder becomes stiff and her hand lowers back down.
She was a good aunt once, but it's not like she could do it again. That was an extenuating circumstance and it's because he was by her side she managed-no way could she be a good aunt on her own. It's a compliment she pushes away and tries to ignore. Her goal is to get him to talk, not stress him out with denials.]
He's a-he's a good uncle and a good person. If he found cats and they stayed with him, his heart is as nice as yours. That's how it works.
[Her voice ends on a shaky note and she takes a couple deep breaths-as deep as she can, in any case.]
Hanada-chan will come back and you can 'treat him like shit' again very soon.
[Since shit is a special cat term and all. Must mean something good.]
no subject
... no.
[His voice is a thin croak, his own hand coming up to try and gently catch hers as it falls away from his head. He means just to inspect it, to make sure none of the disgusting, ugly florets gummed up in his hair got caught in her fingers, and he's careful to keep the vines twirled around his fingers from snagging against her skin. If she lets him, though - if he doesn't sense her pulling away- he'll keep holding her hand.]
[Either way, he turns a smile on her, one that doesn't show as many teeth as it does a sardonic curl at the corner of his mouth. Ichimatsu shakes his head, and keeps his voice low and gentle.]
He shouldn't come back... and I shouldn't t-treat him like that. It's like I said earlier. There's plenty of things I d-do and say... that aren't worth listening to.
[Like this. Dying, slowly. Not trying stop it, but still having the nerve to take these selfish moments.]
S-sometimes... even if you care about someone, and you're afraid of b-being lonely... you have to know when they're wrong, and be better than they are. Midori-niisan is the one who showed us that... even if he's a know-it-all pain in the ass. He's the bravest one out of us all... I think.
[He trails off. Deliberates, for a long beat.]
I want you to be like that, Ren-chan. N-not afraid to know when I'm wrong... and be better than me.