First Transmutation

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[As the small boy wakes up, dressed in his green jumper and hat, he shivers slightly and notices all the snow around. Standing up, he tugs on one of his ear flaps and slowly looks around the island. Clearly, he was lost. Was he alone?]

How did I get here? Or rather, where is here...?

[He'll be walking around with no real destination in mind.]

Comments

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

I am? But...I was always too scared to stand up to my brother on my own. If I had done it sooner...maybe no one would have gotten hurt. [Did that make him a coward?]

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

[No, it makes him a kid.]

That's just because he's your big brother. He's all you've got, right? Hell, I never stood up to Kaien when I was little. Hell, I barely even do now unless it's over somethin' important.

People get hurt, kiddo. That's life. Can't save everyone, y'know? Ya can try, and ya can save a lot of people, but not everyone.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[Nods.] He is.

But, I want to at least do what I can so bad things don't happen to good people and so many/ innocent people won't have to get hurt again.

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

That's just how it is with big brothers. They'll do stupid shot and you know it's stupid and that you should punch them for even thinking of something so idiotic but... They're family.

...You're a good kid. Don't ever stop thinking like that, okay?

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

...Thank you. After telling me about your brothers and how you deal with their actions, I think I understand a little better about my role and what I should do when it comes to mine.

[His face brightens] I-I won't, I promise!

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

...Punching solves far more of my problems than it should.

[She grins and finished her food, getting up to start washing the dishes.]

Good... We need more responsible people like you in the world.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[He laughs before noticing she's gotten up and he grabs the empty bowls, almost as if reading her mind.]

I want to help. I can wash or dry the dishes for you. [Yes, Fletcher wants to helpful to his hostess~]

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

Heh... I'll wash, you dry.

[She starts washing the dishes, handing them to him to dry. She's not going to turn down help when she can get it. Still it's really impressive that she can do any of this with one arm. But practice and persistence does that.]

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

Okay!

[He takes the dishes as she hands them over and dries them with a cloth. To think, she must have had to do these things on her own before her sister-in-law came, that kind of thing had to be admired. Of course, he didn't want her to feel like he thought she was unable to do things by herself. He knew she could hold her own.]

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

[She doesn't really feel that he's helping her out of pity. She assumes it's more that he's just a good kid. She's never minded that she's had to do this. Kaien was always helpless as far as domestic things go, and Ganju was too young, along with being equally helpless at pretty much everything. They're her family, and if she wouldn't look after them, then who would she look after?

She hands him dishes to dry as she finishes washing them.]

So... What about friends? You got any of those back home?

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[He looks up from his drying and nods.]

I don't have as many as you, but yes. I made friends with some of the people from a town we traveled to, and Edward and Alphonse are my friends now, they're brothers too. It was easier to get along with Alphonse though, because he's not stubborn like his brother. He was nice to me, just like you.

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

He the younger one too? What is it with older brothers and being stubborn as a bull?

[She laughs a bit.]

I don't really... have as many friends as it seems like. Captin and Miyako and Rukia, yeah but everyone else who's still around these days are just co-workers.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

Yeah. [laughs] It must be their way of showing they care, I guess they're too stubborn to just say their feelings or think things through first.

[fiddles with his fingers] Well, as long as you see each other as friends I don't think it matters who they are.

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

Heh.. Yeah, that sounds about right.

I guess that makes sense. I mean, I don't really hate everyone. 'Least not in the 13th...

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

Is it possible to forgive people for their mistakes, Kukaku?

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

[She stops for a second, a little startled by the question, since it touches really close to what was on her mind.]

...Of course it is.

No matter how bad someone screws up, they can be forgiven.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[Maybe he was mistaken, but it almost sounded like she was hesitant about her answer.]

Um...are you okay?

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

...There's a couple people I know who probably don't deserve forgiveness. As far as i can tell, one of them fucked up immeasurably, and the other just enabled him to keep fucking up.

But as soon as I find them and I'm done beating the shit out of them for leaving me 'n Soi Fon, I'm gonna forgive the hell out of them.

So whatever trouble it is your brother got you into, if those two idiots can be forgiven you don't need to worry about you and your brother.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

I hope they have good explanations for their actions, but please don't hurt them too much, you're very strong.

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

Good explanation or not, they're both getting punched int he goddamn head.

But don't worry about them. They were both Captains. Hell, Yoruichi taught me pretty much everything I know about fighting, and I'm sure she at least hasn't let herself get soft while she's been gone.

I may have to beat Kisuke within an inch of his life though, the goddamned idiot.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

The women where you are from sound really tough. Are they all strong-willed like that?

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

All the ones who are shingiami, yeah...

I guess probably some of the ones who aren't probably are pretty tough too but there are also plenty who probably aren't.

But you gotta be pretty tough to be a shingami, man or woman. Of course we're all pretty different and some of us don't look as tough as we are. Like Ru sometimes, and Miyako, 'n Captain Unohana.

They all seem pretty docile and you wouldn't think at first they could hold their own in a real fight but hell all three coulda kicked my ass three ways to Sunday...

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[He laughs] You really can't judge a person by how they look.

[upsideyourhead.insanejournal.com]

[She laughs and shakes her head.]

Heh.. Not at all.

[She frowns a bit, since as much as there are good implications to that phrase, she's learned there are some not so good ones as well, but she quickly shakes her head and shoves that out of her mind. It's all after her time. She can't control it. So she doesn't want to take it on as another burden.]

Looks don't mean much of anything where I come from... I mean look at me. Rough around the edges, missing an arm, fighting monsters, blowing stuff up...

[She laughs and shrugs.]

You'd never guess I'm a noblewoman.

[watersprout.insanejournal.com]

[That takes him by surprise, since he's not expecting to hear that. He doesn't fully know what a noble is, but he knows from the sound of it, the title was for important people.]

Y-you're a noble?!