Messenger Box

[eyeswideopen]

If you need to get a hold of Komaeda, here's where you do it.

Messenger birds, action, what have you.

Comments

[eyeswideopen]

[His hand snaps up quick as a whip. Power manifests in the air a few moments before the snowball impacts against it. A rippling wall of a myriad of colors lies between them. Komaeda's sharp gaze remains fixed straight ahead but his hand falls down.

The shield emits a steady mixture hope and determination edged with grief that sharpens the sense of the other two and bonds them together. It fades slowly but the emotions haven't lessened. Komaeda watches her his gaze tracking her every move. The man sitting calmly on the floor is a trained warrior.]

[1upzero]

[She doesn't really take in how he's a trained warrior, just that he is different than the Komaeda she had known before. And though he was different, she didn't think it was necessarily bad. She had a sense that this was good, though she wouldn't be able to explain it when asked.

She picked up another ball and waiteed for the go ahead. She wondered what velocity and angle she should go for next.]

Did that work like you wanted?

[eyeswideopen]

Yes. [He laughs and rubs at the back his neck. It had worked but not like it had against Hinata. Even that one has been a poor copy of the original.] Well, almost! It only hit the shield.

With the orginal...any force throw at it was reflected back. [He frowns thoughtfully. The original has a secret to it. One he never learned. He can use what little he learned to add force to his attacks but to a shield...]

...Master made it in a way I can't copy yet. I've seen it and been it's target many times. I know its weakest point...but if I don't use what little he taught me I haven't been able create its shadow.

[1upzero]

Hmmmm

[She doesn't make any further sound, it's almost like she zoned out or fell asleep without sitting down or closing her eyes. But after a long moment she raises her hand up and tilts her head.]

Could it be something they were feeling? It's hard to know what someone was thinking or feeling in a moment, and since magic uses those feelings to work here, perhaps that is a part of it that you're not quite getting?

[eyeswideopen]

...it was a technique from his world. [He says, slowly while he goes back over what he remembers. What secret could it have? Komaeda taps a finger on his lips.]

....everything is made of atoms. [His voice takes on a practiced tone.] All of us are one small part of the grand flow of the cosmos. Within living beings lies an inner universe.

...

Maybe my grasp of that fundamental is what I'm lacking? I can hold onto it better than before...but I'm trying to convert that teaching into Dunamis. The concept is the same. Both come from the flow of life within. But mine will have emotions.

[What if...? He tips his head slightly and nods.] Throw again.

[1upzero]

Oh! So they were like a monk using their inner ki to unlock abilities?

[Coukd that sort of thing translate?]

What if you put on some amazing gloves? Maybe with spikes, or faces, or teapots!

[Or maybe not, some of those weren't actually good amyway.]

You have an idea?

[She picks up another this time going for a hard curve ball at a higher position.]

[eyeswideopen]

[He watches her move but his mind is elsewhere. Memories of his master full of hope and faith, in the future and the man that showed him the way. Aries Mu has a legacy and he is determined to see it out. He uses his emotions about that man to form the shield. The snowball bounces off the shield. Not at the same speed it hit. But enough that he drops it too soon, leaving himself open for another hit.]

[1upzero]

[If Nanami were someone like Owari, or maybe a lot of people not herself, she would have tried to get in another throw. It would be an opportunity after all. However, the rules of the game weren't to get an opening, they were to test different speeds and angles at the shield, so she waits a moment.]

Komaeda kun, do you still want me to throw more?

[She wasn't sure since it seemed to have worked better that time but he said nothing.]

[eyeswideopen]

Yes. Throw another one. [Had that been what he needed? He can't quite look at things as his master did? It makes sense. And yet, he sits breathing in while thinking back to everything Mu had told him.

Humans are like stars in the sky. Each has its own shine. Together...humanity created a beautiful forest of lights. The possibilities of what that light could do is endless. He holds up his hand and nods.]

I think I see it. The spark that will ignite my own star.

[1upzero]

Should I still pause between each one, or would you like them more spontaneous?

[If he was starting to get the hang of it, they should be thrown more often and with less warning to see if he can react fast enough.

She readied another through, this time going she went for a splitter.]

[eyeswideopen]

Pause between. [He turns back to his memories of Mu and his chest aches. He can't quite figure out why. So he doesn't bother to consider it. One breath.

Two.

Komaeda mirrors his old master's stance and expression as he climbs to his feet. Feet set slightly apart and hands held up fingers together.]

[1upzero]

Alright.

[She waits for him to stand and give the go ahead when he's ready, but something about him gives her pause. She couk dnt quite place it but... She couk dnt help but feel concerned. Though he was different in many ways, he was still the same too. He was someone that needed to be watched over.]

Are you okay?

[eyeswideopen]

[Her question doesn't register at first. His mind is on the beauty of the heavens as a steady soothing toned voice speaks about miracles and the stars. Komaeda's eyes widen by just a hair, the flicker of some emotion moving through them too fast to make sense of. It's gone in an instant as he cants his head slightly to the side and his lips curve into a small, barely there smile.]

...I'm fine. You may begin. [It's there again, like a shadow that subtly brings out a deeper pattern of his expression. He is steady and resolute, like a wall and yet within there's the faintest hint of something not quite right.]

[1upzero]

[She wasn't good with the subtitles of emotion, or understanding them and how they connected to other things. However she was programmed to notice things, and she could recall every interaction she had previously had with Komaeda. The concern grew a little deeper. He was trying to do something on his own, that wouldn't do!]

Komaeda kun....

[But she didn't really know what it was, just that... there was something not quiet right.]

Please remember that everyone is here, and you are not alone.

[That was all she could really offer, before throwing another ball.]

[eyeswideopen]

[His eyes widen faintly but he has to throw up a hasty shield that isn't really strong enough to hold. The snowball shatters it and hits him right in the side of his face.

It cracks his thoughts wide open with his own icy shock. He shivers, frozen in place as it rolls through him. His widened grey eyes lock on her. He knows he isn't alone. But why...]

...why do you say that? [A part of him knows why. It scrambles to put distance between the thoughts he's manipulated to craft the shield and himself. It's like slipping on icy ground. Dwelling never did him any favors.]

[1upzero]

Because you seem like you might be struggling on your own again....

[She frowns a bit, not quite a glare but definitely a direct stare.]

You can't do that, you have to stop doing that sort of thing.

[eyeswideopen]

[His mouth goes dry and he stares at her. Struggling on his own? That never stopped. Did it? He tips his head to the side.] It's nothing important.

[He winces. His master has been more than that. He holds up a hand and tries again.]

I don't think this is something I can be helped with. I have to find my way through it.

[1upzero]

[She continues to frown, but, at least he was acknowledging it. But still, she couldn't help but think of before, of him keeping everything to himself and then acting on his own and then....

Couldn't they have helped? Couldn't something have been done?

She never wants to see that sort of thing again.]

Just remember that there are people here you can talk to.... Please, Komaeda kun, don't carry everything yourself. You can find your own way... but don't remove yourself... okay?

[eyeswideopen]

[He winces again. There's only one thing to prompt her to say something like that. Komaeda takes his bangs out of his face with a long heavy sigh. He did what he had to at the time. Even if he has guilt about it in the present.]

It's nothing like that. ...it's not something that can be helped. I promise I'm not going to be be dangerous towards anyone.

Not because of this. [Komaeda looks away, back to the gauntlets resting on a side table. No. He will never harm another the way he had before. Not a friend anyway.]

[1upzero]

That's not it.

[Of course that would always be a worry, somewhere in the back of her mind, at least for now. But that wasn't the biggest concern.]

You hurt yourself Komaeda kun, you're too quick to do that.... even if we can't help, you don't have to carry your burdens alone.

[eyeswideopen]

[A long moment of silence descends before he speaks up.]

...I don't have to voice them. Do I?

[Komaefa isn't sure he wants to discuss it. Not yet. He had tried earlier but Hinata had shut it down. Now he's reluctant to say anything at all.]

[1upzero]

You don't have to if you don't want to, Komaeda kun. Just know that if you do feel like doing so, you're not alone and we can listen. I can listen.

[She made a small emphasise on herself. Perhaps. If she had thought to talk to him more before, or had listened to him properly at that time....

The past couldn't be changed, but she was given a chance to do new things differently. It wasn't a reset, and it wasn't a new game plus, but it was a bit like an expansion or DLC and she had a better heaps on the mechanics now. She wouldn't fail him again.]

I'll always listen when you want to talk about something.

[eyeswideopen]

[He stares down at the floor, not looking at her. He starts to shake his head and stops. Komaeda walks away from the center of his work room and pours himself a mug of tea. As he wraps his hands around the steaming mug, his voice breaks the quiet.]

I tried to talk about it once. But, I don't think it's a subject Hajime wants to deal with.

[More silence. He settles at the table and envisions her untouched cup of tea warming back up. Steam curls from the other cup and he settles back.]

...you're sure you want to hear this? It's...not a subject I want to burden anyone with.

[1upzero]

[At first she blinks a bit, he had tried before? Then she frowns, even if it's something they wanted to avoid, hadn't they all learned already that communicating and listening was important? So much could have been avoided if they had just talked to each other. Opened up, trusted one another better....

She would have to talk to Hinata about that later, but first she had to be there for Komaeda.]

Hinata kun is Hinata kun, he has his own reasons for things. I do not mind hearing it if you want to share, you're not burdening me. I want to hear what you have to say. I worry if you hold it all to yourself. If it's a problem we can work on it together.

[eyeswideopen]

It was the party before the wedding. It probably was an inappropriate time to discuss it. [He defends Hinata easily. In his eyes, Hinata would know better than he would what was right to discuss when. Komaeda stares into his cup. Seemingly as if that's the last he'll say. Finally, his lips move.]

I was drunk. The party was nice and comfortable. But I found myself looking for someone I knew wouldn't be there. I didn't know why then.

I still don't. I tried to talk to Hajime about it then. I brought up that my Master, who had once been his as well, is dead. Naturally he changed the subject but I kept wondering why I brought it up.

Any time I think of him. Use his skills. Walk in his footsteps I feel...something and remember that he went home to his death. He died as he lived, ensuring hope for the next generation and yet...

[He looks over the room to the fist weapons lying on the table.]