[Shadow's face softens. He listens and watches Shoto closely. He tries to read his reactions, his body language, and decipher his tone. To be separate was something he understood. Being separated from people one wanted to be with wasn't so familiar a feeling for the hedgehog. Still, the injuries, his brother trying to hurt him, their father unable to recognize his own actions and their effects on his own family. Familiar but also different. Crueler. The professor had wanted to help and lashed out when betrayed, when they both lost someone good and decent.]
If I am being honest, it sounds like everything became clouded before your Quirk. Your birth and your quirk merely escalated the issues already there. Because you had a quirk that he desired all along. Had Toya had it, he wouldn't have tried for more children. The fault lies with your father.
[Shyly, he keeps his eyes from meeting the other's, though he half considers the shapes of trees, a little koi pond, his palms. Anywhere else-]
Probably... Yeah. I guess that's true.
[It does makes sense.]
But just being born wasn't nearly enough; and mom was completely worn down at that point, to where just looking at us made her sick— [He makes a vague, half-gesture circling a rust-colored eyelid.] But then our hair, our faces, even our eyes were more like his; and mom couldn't bear it as long as she had, saying she wasn't as fit to raise us; how she couldn't stand my left—
[Always crying, whispering, cornered, afraid-]
Things were bound to boil over like that...
[A brimming, steaming, screeching kettle loops in mind like an echo.]
If you're wondering about this too; I think of this burn as something of "his", rather than anything mom did herself.
[Which is to say, he isn't holding anything grudging against her...]
[The scar on Shoto's face is a question Shadow never asked. Given his world, the powers, and his training to become stronger, it could have come from anywhere. Truthfully, Shadow had wondered if it was his father who gave it to him. No. It was his mother, pushed to the breaking point. She scared her own child because part of him looked like his father. The man's cruelty spread even to his children through their appearance. Their very DNA.
Shadow's ears lower ever so slightly at the thought and revelation. Yet Shoto didn't blame her. No, he blames his father. Something he caused.]
She sounds as much a victim as you and your eldest brother. And the rest of your siblings, I would imagine. Perhaps more so.
[This time, the boy does manage to lift his eyes for some moments. He's heard "murderer"; naturally. "Madman". "Victim" layers; acknowledges.
He sinks his face.]
No one's... said it of Toya-nii, like that...
["As much as", he means.]
Mom endured it as much as she could, but like I said, we had our limits; being strong, but still human inside—
She completely broke down after that, but it was our father who put her away, and nothing resolved for the next 10 years. Toya-nii never gave up on things, once, but by then was completely ignored—burning himself again and again; like making it brighter would mean new results, even though father kept looking away...
["Ain't lookin' after him", he's recalled.]
Toya-nii... burned to death, asking like that; the night he'd gone to the mountains, alone; begging our father one last time, being ignored that one last time. We'd found his jaw, and we'd "buried" just that-
[And slowly, the boy reclines until he's flat instead, backwards. Bright eyes shut.]
Our old man lost every inch of his mind. It took 3 years, but in truth, it'd dissolved. All that rage into "training" my Quirk; having something to show for it all... It's like he couldn't turn back at that point. And I— was lost before I knew it. Every lesson he'd burned through my left, I put into practice with just my right. Waiting the way my brother was, too-
[Just like Toya. Angry. Bitter.]
I was same as him, boiling with hate... Only, Toya-nii wasn't deceased. "Someone" found him, kept him alive. But by then, he knew nothing changed— Just how pointless all of it was- [His birth; returning at all-] "Toya died, and 'Dabi' was born".
[Resentment and hatred are feelings Shadow is all too familiar with. He's still angry about so many things. It doesn't die down. A fire that refuses to cease burning. He watches Shoto lie back and follows suit, laying next to him. He stares up at the sky and is quiet as he thinks of what to say.]
...You want to catch up to Dabi now, don't you? To close the gap. What do you want to do when you finally catch up?
[Something dies when he recalls. His eyes prick, first, and there's a too-warm, foggy sensation he means to suppress, but... The boy keeps still, and then he's debating on whether it's worth mentioning at all. The gap's been "closed". The question stays, since he's answering to stillness of a cooled, night air.]
"Soba".
[Simply.]
I thought we'd eat it together, just once-
[Doesn't matter, since Toya's charred, dissolving "remains" could barely lift his jaw to speak. It's truly over; all of it.]
But I went home—and I did catch up; but all I got was that one, single word-
[It'd be weeks, maybe. Months.]
All he'd learned was to turn up the heat; and even I can't follow him, now... [Slow, dark, lingering death.] I can't.
[Shadow listens and looks at Shoto as he explains. Soba. He had hoped to eat it with his brother but now, it was impossible. Dabi had been able to grow his flames hotter than Shoto could but at what cost?]
Perhaps you can't. But what you can do is honor him. Eat Soba for him. And make sure others don't befall the same fate. If you can't catch up to him now, make sure no one else is driven to do so. That is what I would do.
[Given Shoto knowing some other universe's version of him, it makes sense. Shadow nods. At least the other him Shoto knew had sense. Any version of him without it would not be him at all.]
Finding purpose, new purpose, can be difficult. We will continue training together. I will teach you and perhaps you will find new purpose simultaneously.
You are powerful, Shoto. Control, sharpened and precise control is where we will focus. Turn the avalanche into a blade. Focus your fire to a welding torch. Build on the foundations from your training in your world. We'll protect Ellipsa together.
[This time, he's nowhere close to confusing one for the other. He's met two Shadows; trusts one fully to share too much in entirety; but there's less than zero difference in the wisdoms of both. "Cold hands, warm heart" as sayings go. He looks back dazed, and then he's thinking of Toya who'd always had too much to say.]
Control the "calamity"... right?
[It's what he's heard, though Toya's words were whittled thin, sharp, mocking observation spat in the heat of a fight. You have it all, so use it all. What Shadow's proposing's a fine-edged sword. His Quirk's an Emitter; an S-class; a natural disaster on the widest of scales, but...
He's all-too-thoroughly swept away by what the other suggests. He's feared ambition so long, and he's spent a lifetime dodging Endeavor's magma-pooled footsteps, but—his path's evolved; his Quirk's evolved; he can't go half, and it's plain truth he's still unaware he's reached a fourth of his strength. He's 17: he has no limits he hasn't imposed on himself. The Ultimate Lifeform's offering more; but more than deeply, brightly, he's seeing his friendship first...
He likes "together".]
Okay.
[Softly.]
My Quirk's in your care, if you don't mind.
[It'd... very likely... kill anyone else-]
I can't just go all out on sensei now...
[If Hijikata trains soul and sword, then Quirks rest safely with Shadow. It just makes sense.]
You could say he's my purpose too, in a way.
[The boy cranes up, and there's the slowing, hushed sound of approaching footsteps making their way towards them both. An outwardly elegant man's, at least; though maybe Shadow can see he's the same size as Shoto. A child's knight.
[Before Shadow got here, before the events back home, he knows he wouldn't be offering this. Offering to help Shoto control the calamity, like he said. An strong turn of phrase and description. Ellipsa has changed him. Losing his world has changed him. Now? Some may say he's a different person. Shadow knows he is still himself. He has simple found new motivation. New purpose.
He nods to Shoto.]
I understand the weight of that responsibility. I won't fail you.
[He is about to ask about this Sensei when Shoto speaks and then the footsteps approach. The hedgehog sits up and looks at the approaching person. He nods to them in greeting but doesn't say anything first.]
[Hijikata, back from work, isn't surprised to find his mentee outside in the garden eternally teetering between summer's last warmth and autumn's first chill, but he is surprised to see that he has company. Has he ever really brought a friend home with him before? But given the recent events, chances are he needed to talk to someone besides just his mentor.]
Why, Shoto-kun, I see we have a guest. Shadow, right?
[Whether he's seen the hedgehog on the network or his reputation as the ultimate lifeform simply precedes him is anyone's guess, but either way, in lieu of offering a hand, Hijikata holds up a plastic bag.]
We had leftover pizza bread at work. It's still warm! Let me get some drinks, too.
[Even with Shoto perking up at his appearance as usual, he can tell that the boy is exhausted - but also calmer, less emotionally stirred up. He's been through a lot, and Hijikata is grateful for any support he gets. After briefly dipping back inside to fetch whatever the others would like to drink, he'll sit with them, assuming that they may fill him in on what they were discussing.]
[To be this reticent, it's less his need for companionship, now, rather than pressing urge to explain his scattered whereabouts these last few weeks. Though maybe it's telling how Shadow's his first exception, too. It's never occurred to bring a guest to the house. He likes Rinku; sees Jean and Mukuro nearly as much as he wants; but he's never actually chanced a visit before. A burrow's a burrow still, hidden or not. Only his sensei who's, to this point, been privy to things he'd normally keep and secretly hoards for himself; and even now, the youth seems naturally drawn into some quiet place internally fixed. Though, the immediate kinship Shadow's evoked is more or less a feat in itself. He's practically buzzing between them both once Hijikata's joined them too.
And, of course, he's eyeing the snacks he presents...]
Ah. [Yes, yes-] Shadow's... here because I asked. We were training before, so I had to explain—
[Shadow looks to Hijikata when he appears. He stands and eyes the food then the man. He gives a respectful nod at the offer and allows Shoto to explain why he is here. He notes the man knows of him already. He is the Ultimate Lifeform. It isn't outside the realm of possibility his reputation proceeds him. Also, Shoto may have talked about him to his teacher.]
Thank you for the offer. I would be glad to stay and eat with you both.
[Shadow has a new appreciation for pizza thanks to Sonic, honestly. He'll accept a drink. Something bitter if they have it or water.]
And things with Dabi. [Shadow finishes for Shoto. Not a lie but not acknowledging the ending part.]
[Water ends up being the easiest option for while they eat, but afterwards, Hijikata will make some green tea (hopefully the Cat Pot will behave!). At Shadow's question, he shakes his head.]
No, I'm with Nightwake's police. We just sometimes order food to the station, and today there was a bunch of leftovers.
[He may have complained a lot about being "grounded" in the office until the end of the year, but it isn't entirely without its perks!]
So you guys had been training before Shoto-kun was called home? What's your season, Shadow-kun?
[Given that Shadow's picked up on the honorifics, he's going to include him in turn... alas, he's defaulting to what feels appropriate to him. Shadow is a cute hedgehog lad!!]
[Shoto nods mutely, inclining a little when the man next speaks. He answers partially, if only because he's busied himself with savoring crust, spice, and sauce. His diet's far from odd restrictions now...]
If Harrison cared what he had on his hands, sensei might be deputy chief by now—
[Much as honorifics exist, his tone does make it implicitly clear he isn't especially sweet. The disrespect is hard to miss, suggests the boy cares just for this "cop" while masking disdain for his boss. Clearly, his sensei does no wrong...]
...
Sorry...
He's an instructor, like you. I already knew he'd show me a lot, but then my Quirk barely fazed him at all- [His cheeks puff, full.] So to be honest, I was annoyed... Even though I went all out—
[The seasonal question's for Shadow. His teeth flash white, tear a huge and sulking piece of soft-baked bread, cheese and garlic.
Anyways-] You're both a lot harder to fight than you'd think...
[A compliment, too, since there's the softening of his voice that seems to hint at something else. His taste for combat can't be polished enough.]
[Shadow nods. The Nightwake police Shadow has no problems with. They seem, for the most part, efficient enough. Though the crime syndicates seem to continue to operate mostly without much trouble. Still, he catches the disrespect at Harrison. Shadow doesn't push, though he makes a slight fact at the honorific of kun being used. He is certain he's older than Hijikata but it is clearly meant as casual.]
Yes. I teach combat training to the locals and other offworlders in Sunwaning. My season is Winter.
[An easy enough question to answer. He takes a bite of pizza and a sip of his drink.]
I am the Ultimate Lifeform, after all Shoto-kun. [A small boast at the rather cute pouting coming from Shoto.]
[Hijikata drenches his pizza bread in mayonnaise, a sight Shoto has long gotten used to. He can't quite hide a brief smug smile at the boy's praise of his police work, not realising that if he felt like venting, he might just kick off a long discussion about how badly they need to make more decisive moves against the underground crime syndicates (something he's long been harping on about to Harrison).
Naturally, Shadow's little boast catches his attention. Coming from an invaded world that has become home to many species, he's no stranger to non-humans (and that's without taking his various adventures across the multiverse into account), but the hedgehog's claim is still quite an impressive one!]
That's right, Shoto-kun. If you can keep up with the Ultimate Lifeform, that speaks well of you.
[Of course, it's also flattering for him to be put on par with Shadow in that regard! Despite all his hard work to master his magic, Hijikata knows that many fellow otherworlders - Shoto included - will always be more powerful than him by simple merit of what they are, but the boy will probably forever be biased and starry-eyed when it comes to his sensei.]
Since you're both winter-aligned, do you also commune with the dead a lot, Shadow-kun? Shoto-kun spends almost as much time with them as with the living.
[It's not a criticism - on the contrary, he admires his student's charity for the ghosts, and if he's found a friend with the same ability to see and interact with them, that's a fortunate circumstance.]
[His mayo's long lost its shock, and as he listens to back-and-forth, he watches his bread in liquid enough to drown a fish.
He feels too humbled to seek their eyes either way. What's certain's that fondness for Hijikata isn't unearned. Few men were as just, though just as true how his student's ignored any faults. Atrocious manners don't count, and battle-thirsty, chain-smoking cops DO make good guardians he wants to think. Not one of his vices had seemed to affect the boy's outlook. Though likely, it's no one's shock that Shoto's still starry-eyed over him. Endeavor caught criminals day and night; and still, few seemed as rotten as the man on the inside. Changed or not, he can't pretend one isn't entirely better than the other.
Heroes aside, he wants to protest that Shadow's strength doesn't excuse his own weakness. He wants to say how he'll "catch up", that he'll be stronger the second that either one turns their own back.
At the mention of ghosts, his sulking slips into something more subtle, and then the boy peeks up.]
The dead follow me sometimes. More often than not, I leave them alone and they avoid me. I was informed that was best when I first arrived by an exorcist. Have you both had a different experience?
[Interesting. Shadow has mostly avoided the ghosts as he said. He had no real desire to commune with the dead. Though they sometimes left him little choice when they realized he could see them. It has been a helpful ability though one Shadow didn't focus his training on. Perhaps it is a bit shortsighted in the long run.]
[He's not doubtful, just surprised, never having met one himself. Of course, if it was a fellow otherworlder, that's a different story.]
I can't see ghosts here, unlike on the world before - Avalon, where I met Shoto-kun. We were aligned to different local magic strands there.
[As always when the topic comes up, he gets a bit wistful. With his death magic gone, he's been all but reduced to the old scaredy cat again, but it can't be helped. It gives him solace that Shoto does such a good job at carrying the metaphorical torch forward.]
It's as with everything, I suppose - different people excel at different things. I certainly don't use all my summer powers in equal measure, either. What's your specialisation?
[Another question for Shadow. Between his winter magic and whatever being the ultimate lifeform entails, the samurai is curious - also with regards to Shoto. While there are certainly things the boy can still learn from others, Hijikata's pride in him sometimes blindsides him to what it may be.]
[The weight behind "exorcist" doesn't mean much yet. Maybe in a couple months, but he's right now too attached to wish for the ghosts banished too. Of course, his best example's proved he hasn't to fear the ghosts either. A half of his friends are either incorporeal or the dead. Stories, candles, candies, fruits—a few of his offerings are simple as sweets made himself. He keeps from mentioning his brother's altar just yet. His being a Lich—a zombie—isn't something that's surfaced much either. However disguised, death's scent follows him as silently as a wisp of smoke.
He looks to Shadow—who hasn't an age applied at all—and wonders if death would approach him in the first place. At any rate, there's still his assumption that he's timeless to begin with. It still makes sense, just as his sensei's 27 or 32.
He may be both.]
They're always around me, like it or not.
[He draws his knees, sits arms folded across the tops, then keeps from asking whatever questions he shouldn't just yet.]
The Shadow I knew... liked being alone, though.
[Murmur... His specialization's now of far more interest.]
[Shadow nods to the samurai's notation of how not everyone embraces all the powers of their seasons equally. He knows he has not. He does catch Shoto saying the Shadow he knew liked to be alone. He thinks for a moment before he answers. Shadow knows he likes being alone. Though perhaps not as much anymore. Not since he left Ellipsa for a few days and came back.]
I specialize in water manipulation, temperature control, and lightning manipulation. Though, the latter I received from the Fairy Queen and her magical tattoo. It is on my forearm.
[He pats the spot on his arm, hidden by his sleeve. He looks to Shoto for a moment.]
I used to enjoy being alone more. That was before my world was destroyed. Before Ellipsa became my home. I tolerate company more easily now. And there are some I will say I genuinely enjoy being around. You are included in that small number.
[Hijikata smiles and perks up at Shadow being a fellow lightning user, but as he responds to what Shoto said, he holds his intended revelation of them having chosen the same magic for their tattoo, his excitement giving way to a fonder expression.
Diligent of a contributor to the Ellipsan cause as Shadow seems, he also does give off undeniable 'edgy loner' vibes (though he's clearly self-aware of it, given how he speaks of his sentiments so openly), which makes him having accepted Shoto as a friend seem like a bigger compliment!]
Well, Shoto-kun, if that isn't an achievement, I don't know what is.
[There's humour in his voice, though he doesn't mean it in a mocking way. After all, what happened to Shadow would have broken other people wholesale, and he addresses that, too:]
I'm sorry about your world, Shadow-kun. But there are a few others like you around, so at least you weren't the only survivor, right?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: General cw: familial abuse
Date: 2024-10-19 10:28 pm (UTC)If I am being honest, it sounds like everything became clouded before your Quirk. Your birth and your quirk merely escalated the issues already there. Because you had a quirk that he desired all along. Had Toya had it, he wouldn't have tried for more children. The fault lies with your father.
General cw: burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-10-27 05:52 pm (UTC)Probably... Yeah. I guess that's true.
[It does makes sense.]
But just being born wasn't nearly enough; and mom was completely worn down at that point, to where just looking at us made her sick— [He makes a vague, half-gesture circling a rust-colored eyelid.] But then our hair, our faces, even our eyes were more like his; and mom couldn't bear it as long as she had, saying she wasn't as fit to raise us; how she couldn't stand my left—
[Always crying, whispering, cornered, afraid-]
Things were bound to boil over like that...
[A brimming, steaming, screeching kettle loops in mind like an echo.]
If you're wondering about this too; I think of this burn as something of "his", rather than anything mom did herself.
[Which is to say, he isn't holding anything grudging against her...]
I think, I probably couldn't blame her for that.
Re: General cw: burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-10-27 10:53 pm (UTC)Shadow's ears lower ever so slightly at the thought and revelation. Yet Shoto didn't blame her. No, he blames his father. Something he caused.]
She sounds as much a victim as you and your eldest brother. And the rest of your siblings, I would imagine. Perhaps more so.
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-09 05:06 pm (UTC)[This time, the boy does manage to lift his eyes for some moments. He's heard "murderer"; naturally. "Madman". "Victim" layers; acknowledges.
He sinks his face.]
No one's... said it of Toya-nii, like that...
["As much as", he means.]
Mom endured it as much as she could, but like I said, we had our limits; being strong, but still human inside—
She completely broke down after that, but it was our father who put her away, and nothing resolved for the next 10 years. Toya-nii never gave up on things, once, but by then was completely ignored—burning himself again and again; like making it brighter would mean new results, even though father kept looking away...
["Ain't lookin' after him", he's recalled.]
Toya-nii... burned to death, asking like that; the night he'd gone to the mountains, alone; begging our father one last time, being ignored that one last time. We'd found his jaw, and we'd "buried" just that-
[And slowly, the boy reclines until he's flat instead, backwards. Bright eyes shut.]
Our old man lost every inch of his mind. It took 3 years, but in truth, it'd dissolved. All that rage into "training" my Quirk; having something to show for it all... It's like he couldn't turn back at that point. And I— was lost before I knew it. Every lesson he'd burned through my left, I put into practice with just my right. Waiting the way my brother was, too-
[Just like Toya. Angry. Bitter.]
I was same as him, boiling with hate... Only, Toya-nii wasn't deceased. "Someone" found him, kept him alive. But by then, he knew nothing changed— Just how pointless all of it was- [His birth; returning at all-] "Toya died, and 'Dabi' was born".
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-13 05:05 am (UTC)...You want to catch up to Dabi now, don't you? To close the gap. What do you want to do when you finally catch up?
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-18 06:39 am (UTC)"Soba".
[Simply.]
I thought we'd eat it together, just once-
[Doesn't matter, since Toya's charred, dissolving "remains" could barely lift his jaw to speak. It's truly over; all of it.]
But I went home—and I did catch up; but all I got was that one, single word-
[It'd be weeks, maybe. Months.]
All he'd learned was to turn up the heat; and even I can't follow him, now... [Slow, dark, lingering death.] I can't.
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-21 01:08 am (UTC)Perhaps you can't. But what you can do is honor him. Eat Soba for him. And make sure others don't befall the same fate. If you can't catch up to him now, make sure no one else is driven to do so. That is what I would do.
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-21 05:09 pm (UTC)His last words stick.]
That sounds like... something you'd say. [If that makes sense.] I'd been wondering what I should do; with everything left, I mean-
[The light of Phosphor, the culmination of heat and cool in laced, harmonious flux. To "grow" that light-]
I want— I think I'd like to keep training, together.
[He blinks damply, quiet.]
I trust you. And I like this world. There's no reason not to protect it, ourselves.
Re: General cw: death, burns, familial abuse
Date: 2024-11-26 03:54 am (UTC)Finding purpose, new purpose, can be difficult. We will continue training together. I will teach you and perhaps you will find new purpose simultaneously.
You are powerful, Shoto. Control, sharpened and precise control is where we will focus. Turn the avalanche into a blade. Focus your fire to a welding torch. Build on the foundations from your training in your world. We'll protect Ellipsa together.
Tag order: Shoto, Shadow, Hijikata work?
Date: 2024-12-02 08:59 pm (UTC)Control the "calamity"... right?
[It's what he's heard, though Toya's words were whittled thin, sharp, mocking observation spat in the heat of a fight. You have it all, so use it all. What Shadow's proposing's a fine-edged sword. His Quirk's an Emitter; an S-class; a natural disaster on the widest of scales, but...
He's all-too-thoroughly swept away by what the other suggests. He's feared ambition so long, and he's spent a lifetime dodging Endeavor's magma-pooled footsteps, but—his path's evolved; his Quirk's evolved; he can't go half, and it's plain truth he's still unaware he's reached a fourth of his strength. He's 17: he has no limits he hasn't imposed on himself. The Ultimate Lifeform's offering more; but more than deeply, brightly, he's seeing his friendship first...
He likes "together".]
Okay.
[Softly.]
My Quirk's in your care, if you don't mind.
[It'd... very likely... kill anyone else-]
I can't just go all out on sensei now...
[If Hijikata trains soul and sword, then Quirks rest safely with Shadow. It just makes sense.]
You could say he's my purpose too, in a way.
[The boy cranes up, and there's the slowing, hushed sound of approaching footsteps making their way towards them both. An outwardly elegant man's, at least; though maybe Shadow can see he's the same size as Shoto. A child's knight.
Ah.]
Sensei—
Re: Tag order: Shoto, Shadow, Hijikata works for me
Date: 2024-12-03 03:12 am (UTC)He nods to Shoto.]
I understand the weight of that responsibility. I won't fail you.
[He is about to ask about this Sensei when Shoto speaks and then the footsteps approach. The hedgehog sits up and looks at the approaching person. He nods to them in greeting but doesn't say anything first.]
Same here!
Date: 2024-12-03 03:05 pm (UTC)Why, Shoto-kun, I see we have a guest. Shadow, right?
[Whether he's seen the hedgehog on the network or his reputation as the ultimate lifeform simply precedes him is anyone's guess, but either way, in lieu of offering a hand, Hijikata holds up a plastic bag.]
We had leftover pizza bread at work. It's still warm! Let me get some drinks, too.
[Even with Shoto perking up at his appearance as usual, he can tell that the boy is exhausted - but also calmer, less emotionally stirred up. He's been through a lot, and Hijikata is grateful for any support he gets. After briefly dipping back inside to fetch whatever the others would like to drink, he'll sit with them, assuming that they may fill him in on what they were discussing.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-06 07:08 pm (UTC)And, of course, he's eyeing the snacks he presents...]
Ah. [Yes, yes-] Shadow's... here because I asked. We were training before, so I had to explain—
[Putting it briefly-]
The starts of things with Toya-nii, I mean...
[The ends, he doesn't want to say.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-08 05:09 am (UTC)Thank you for the offer. I would be glad to stay and eat with you both.
[Shadow has a new appreciation for pizza thanks to Sonic, honestly. He'll accept a drink. Something bitter if they have it or water.]
And things with Dabi. [Shadow finishes for Shoto. Not a lie but not acknowledging the ending part.]
Do you work at a restaurant, Hijikata-san?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-08 05:10 pm (UTC)No, I'm with Nightwake's police. We just sometimes order food to the station, and today there was a bunch of leftovers.
[He may have complained a lot about being "grounded" in the office until the end of the year, but it isn't entirely without its perks!]
So you guys had been training before Shoto-kun was called home? What's your season, Shadow-kun?
[Given that Shadow's picked up on the honorifics, he's going to include him in turn... alas, he's defaulting to what feels appropriate to him. Shadow is a cute hedgehog lad!!]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-08 09:15 pm (UTC)If Harrison cared what he had on his hands, sensei might be deputy chief by now—
[Much as honorifics exist, his tone does make it implicitly clear he isn't especially sweet. The disrespect is hard to miss, suggests the boy cares just for this "cop" while masking disdain for his boss. Clearly, his sensei does no wrong...]
...
Sorry...
He's an instructor, like you. I already knew he'd show me a lot, but then my Quirk barely fazed him at all- [His cheeks puff, full.] So to be honest, I was annoyed... Even though I went all out—
[The seasonal question's for Shadow. His teeth flash white, tear a huge and sulking piece of soft-baked bread, cheese and garlic.
Anyways-] You're both a lot harder to fight than you'd think...
[A compliment, too, since there's the softening of his voice that seems to hint at something else. His taste for combat can't be polished enough.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-15 10:07 pm (UTC)Yes. I teach combat training to the locals and other offworlders in Sunwaning. My season is Winter.
[An easy enough question to answer. He takes a bite of pizza and a sip of his drink.]
I am the Ultimate Lifeform, after all Shoto-kun. [A small boast at the rather cute pouting coming from Shoto.]
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Date: 2024-12-16 10:20 pm (UTC)Naturally, Shadow's little boast catches his attention. Coming from an invaded world that has become home to many species, he's no stranger to non-humans (and that's without taking his various adventures across the multiverse into account), but the hedgehog's claim is still quite an impressive one!]
That's right, Shoto-kun. If you can keep up with the Ultimate Lifeform, that speaks well of you.
[Of course, it's also flattering for him to be put on par with Shadow in that regard! Despite all his hard work to master his magic, Hijikata knows that many fellow otherworlders - Shoto included - will always be more powerful than him by simple merit of what they are, but the boy will probably forever be biased and starry-eyed when it comes to his sensei.]
Since you're both winter-aligned, do you also commune with the dead a lot, Shadow-kun? Shoto-kun spends almost as much time with them as with the living.
[It's not a criticism - on the contrary, he admires his student's charity for the ghosts, and if he's found a friend with the same ability to see and interact with them, that's a fortunate circumstance.]
[Apologies to you both; December's dragged me all over]
Date: 2025-01-07 11:42 am (UTC)He feels too humbled to seek their eyes either way. What's certain's that fondness for Hijikata isn't unearned. Few men were as just, though just as true how his student's ignored any faults. Atrocious manners don't count, and battle-thirsty, chain-smoking cops DO make good guardians he wants to think. Not one of his vices had seemed to affect the boy's outlook. Though likely, it's no one's shock that Shoto's still starry-eyed over him. Endeavor caught criminals day and night; and still, few seemed as rotten as the man on the inside. Changed or not, he can't pretend one isn't entirely better than the other.
Heroes aside, he wants to protest that Shadow's strength doesn't excuse his own weakness. He wants to say how he'll "catch up", that he'll be stronger the second that either one turns their own back.
At the mention of ghosts, his sulking slips into something more subtle, and then the boy peeks up.]
Do they follow you too?
[Creepy!]
It's all good. December was indeed a month.
Date: 2025-01-07 04:59 pm (UTC)[Interesting. Shadow has mostly avoided the ghosts as he said. He had no real desire to commune with the dead. Though they sometimes left him little choice when they realized he could see them. It has been a helpful ability though one Shadow didn't focus his training on. Perhaps it is a bit shortsighted in the long run.]
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Date: 2025-01-07 08:00 pm (UTC)[He's not doubtful, just surprised, never having met one himself. Of course, if it was a fellow otherworlder, that's a different story.]
I can't see ghosts here, unlike on the world before - Avalon, where I met Shoto-kun. We were aligned to different local magic strands there.
[As always when the topic comes up, he gets a bit wistful. With his death magic gone, he's been all but reduced to the old scaredy cat again, but it can't be helped. It gives him solace that Shoto does such a good job at carrying the metaphorical torch forward.]
It's as with everything, I suppose - different people excel at different things. I certainly don't use all my summer powers in equal measure, either. What's your specialisation?
[Another question for Shadow. Between his winter magic and whatever being the ultimate lifeform entails, the samurai is curious - also with regards to Shoto. While there are certainly things the boy can still learn from others, Hijikata's pride in him sometimes blindsides him to what it may be.]
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Date: 2025-01-15 01:53 pm (UTC)He looks to Shadow—who hasn't an age applied at all—and wonders if death would approach him in the first place. At any rate, there's still his assumption that he's timeless to begin with. It still makes sense, just as his sensei's 27 or 32.
He may be both.]
They're always around me, like it or not.
[He draws his knees, sits arms folded across the tops, then keeps from asking whatever questions he shouldn't just yet.]
The Shadow I knew... liked being alone, though.
[Murmur... His specialization's now of far more interest.]
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Date: 2025-01-16 03:25 am (UTC)I specialize in water manipulation, temperature control, and lightning manipulation. Though, the latter I received from the Fairy Queen and her magical tattoo. It is on my forearm.
[He pats the spot on his arm, hidden by his sleeve. He looks to Shoto for a moment.]
I used to enjoy being alone more. That was before my world was destroyed. Before Ellipsa became my home. I tolerate company more easily now. And there are some I will say I genuinely enjoy being around. You are included in that small number.
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Date: 2025-01-16 09:30 am (UTC)Diligent of a contributor to the Ellipsan cause as Shadow seems, he also does give off undeniable 'edgy loner' vibes (though he's clearly self-aware of it, given how he speaks of his sentiments so openly), which makes him having accepted Shoto as a friend seem like a bigger compliment!]
Well, Shoto-kun, if that isn't an achievement, I don't know what is.
[There's humour in his voice, though he doesn't mean it in a mocking way. After all, what happened to Shadow would have broken other people wholesale, and he addresses that, too:]
I'm sorry about your world, Shadow-kun. But there are a few others like you around, so at least you weren't the only survivor, right?