candordecora·:
With Kakeru’s hand, Masaharu hoists himself up to his side, sitting at the ledge with a curious look. He shakes his head, not having ever had used a gun, let alone a BB gun, but takes it anyway to test it out. It was a challenge, no matter how small, and he wasn’t about to let it pass him by. “That bad huh?”
Aiming down at the street below, he takes out a couple white ones, checking his wrist as he realizes his score going up. So, their colors have value to them do they? He keeps aiming for white ones, but also shoots any black ones that try to find their way up to them.
“Here.” Masaharu hands off the BB gun and leans forward as he watches the chaos unfurl beneath them. “It’s a bit odd being in a place like this but not having much power to do anything…I mean, I could still do something but...” He rubs the back of his neck before deciding to lay flat on his back. “It seems, I don’t know. Pointless, almost.” Masaharu turns his head to take a look at Kakeru, unable to stop himself from smiling even a little. “I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad excuse. This place really got me messed up.
he watched intently as masaharu took the gun and started firing off a few rounds of pellets, making mental note of where he was a natural and where he needed improvement. it was with great restraint that kakeru didn’t fix masaharu’s form, re-angle his arm, adjust how he held it-- maybe another time. ( hadn’t he seen an amusement park or something around? at least the ones on tv tended to have shooting games, but who knew. it was worth a shot, another time. )
after taking back the gun and returning to his own hunt, less grisly by far than he was used to as only air escaped the deceased, kakeru could have counted down to masaharu’s doubting words, 3.. 2.. 1.., they were so fated.
he brooked no complaint, his silence only broken by the soft pops of bbs leaving his gun. he let masaharu try to work through it, for a moment. he had always been such an emotional person, but even if his emotions made no sense to kakeru, they were still... precious, in their way. kakeru felt everything to the depths of his soul, but he only had about three emotions in total. even as words of advice inexorably came to the surface, he had to wonder if he wasn’t making it worse by providing them. kakeru could never be out of his depth, but perhaps, frequently, out of his breadth.
“you and i were the biggest fish in a comparably small pond. it’s natural to be unsettled now-- you were never suited to being a minnow.” kakeru had once been all too used to the feeling, and while he didn’t like it, it hadn’t in itself caused him any trouble. back to the bottom wasn’t that big a scare when he had been at the bottom not so long ago. just a nuisance.
congratulations on the diagnosis, dr. azaki, but what the fuck was haru supposed to do with it? clearing out a few more balloons in quick succession, kakeru put down his gun again, giving masaharu his full attention. there was no real threat here, just far enough from the edge of the roof to easily dispatch any intruders, should they arrive, so rather than continue playing his little game, he brushed his knuckles against masaharu’s cheek softly, a nonsensical show of affection. “you have no obligations here, masaharu. not in the eyes of others, not to the life you live back home.” home, a strange word in kakeru’s mouth, but he passed over it quickly. “i’ve seen any number of people helping others from this perch, the strong gravitating to the weak against a common enemy. you don’t have to be one of them. no one will suffer for your inaction.” an impossible thing to know, that last, but kakeru said it with full confidence.
shifting his fingers to cup at masaharu’s chin where the man lay, kakeru gave him a look that was a smirk in all but the missing smile. “don’t think about anyone else. what do you want to do? what would bring you some joy?”
