Amiko Kobayashi (hotlittlehands) wrote,
@ 2011-11-11 22:25:00

Private Conversation
Now that Keiji had received the correct antidote, he could complete his recovery at the BH6 HQ.

When there was finally time, Amiko went to his bedroom.

"I talked to my father," she asid.

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	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 04:10 am UTC (link)
	She shrugs. "His eyes gave himself away when he thought he was dying. I'm not stupid. Even when he tried to distract me by... how do the Americans say it? 'Trash-talking' my mothers." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 04:13 am UTC (link)
	"Ah," he replied at first."He's imprisoned then? A good prison?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 04:14 am UTC (link)
	"The best security we had available, Love. Even some magic wards, although granted, that's not much of a specialization for government security." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 04:21 am UTC (link)
	"I can't imagine they do," he said evenly, though with a small hint of venom. "If the Hand want him back, they'll take him. Otherwise it's a moot point." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 04:24 am UTC (link)
	"...I apologize if you think it was wrong to take him alive, Keiji, but I did get useful information out of it, since I hardly knew which of the vials was the antidote and which was more poison." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 04:28 am UTC (link)
	"I understand that, and I'm grateful, but.." he gritted his teeth. "What the hell has happened to this country!?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 04:30 am UTC (link)
	Amiko's still feeling a little defensive from his reactions. "...Sometimes things go wrong. Those of us who give a damn then do the best we can to fix it. What are you getting at, Keiji?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

clawed_progeny
2011-11-12 04:35 am UTC (link)

"There was a time when such clearly dangerous people were done away with so they could never continue their path. Now," he laughs bitterly. "Ever since the damn Americans slaughtered our people, we have kowtowed and bent to accommodate them, to make their ways and culture ours so much that there is barely anything left that's Japanese!" He was ranting a little, not realizing he had gone off topic a little.

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hotlittlehands
2011-11-12 04:44 am UTC (link)

There's a long silence.

"Taking him alive was my decision, Keiji. I conveniently had a 'real' Japanese soldier, without a touch of mongrel upbringing, to take his head for me, and I decided to take him alive. So I got the information and now, because we have him in custody, he has to face trial before he is executed, because it is the 21st century and that is the way things are done now. Once they're in the system, we use the system. You know, the system through which I kowtowed a bit to keep you from being hunted down and locked up where they could find you. Because I'm a soft, Americanized fool like that."

Her voice is a little tight with hurt at this sudden tirade, because in the context, it's easy to interpret as a personal attack.

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	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 04:50 am UTC (link)
	At first he almost snaps t the stupidity of a trial, but stops upon hearing the last part. "Amiko-chan..I..gods I didn't mean it like that." He closes his eyes and curses himself in his head. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

hotlittlehands
2011-11-12 04:56 am UTC (link)

"...Okay. I believe you, then," she manages, very softly, trying to dismiss the brimming tears at the idea of what he must think she was, if he was that hateful about the whole situation.

But she knew when she fell for him that there were... Problems. She had to woman up, pull herself together, and try to help him through it. She takes his hand in hers and kisses it.

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	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 04:58 am UTC (link)
	"I'm so sorry," he whimpered. His own eyes fighting tears. "You are the last person on this earth I would want to hurt. Gods I wish I was different!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 05:02 am UTC (link)
	"I forgive you, Keiji. And you're worth it. Whatever's wrong, you're worth it. I love you so much." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 05:05 am UTC (link)
	"I wish I could see what you do..but I don't. I just can't understand how you can love me." He was still weeping, but his words were steady. This was clearly something he'd thought about for awhile. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 05:12 am UTC (link)
	"I ... I don't know what to say to make you believe me..." she says helplessly, a hand to his face. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

clawed_progeny
2011-11-12 05:16 am UTC (link)

"Why?" He looks at her, silently pleading. "Why am I worth your love? I was trained my whole life to kill your father by the organization that murdered your mother. Even now when you mentioned him, my first instinct is to imagine how I'd do it. And I get angry when he is portrayed as this unstoppable force because.." he pauses. "..because if that were true, everything I was doing was pointless."

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hotlittlehands
2011-11-12 05:31 am UTC (link)

She takes his face in her hands. "You couldn't control what they did to you. What they tried to make of you. But even after all of it, you still weren't a monster, Keiji. You're not some mindless brute, when you could have given up to it so easily all through your life."

The stuff about her father hurts, but ... "And yet you didn't try to hurt my brother, you didn't try to hurt me, when you could have. And oh, yes, I've heard your dismissals of the idea, my Keiji, and they're not the kind of reasons a madman meant for nothing but vendetta gives. What was done to you has made you ... easily among the ten best fighters I have ever seen. But I know, now that you're free, you can be so much more, and it's going to be beautiful."

Still, there are ... implications to what he keeps saying, to this disbelief, to this emphasis on the past.

Amiko takes a deep breath.
"...And if...if it takes some distance from me for you to... put the past away, I can... I can keep my distance. Stop being a constant reminder. I ... I need you to have a chance to be happy more than I need to be with..." her voice cracks.
"Whether we're lovers is your decision, Keiji. I'd never force you. But if you don't want to be with me, I will still love you. I can't stop that"

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	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 05:38 am UTC (link)
	His hand shoots out quickly for hers. It hurt like hell to do so, but he had to. "No, gods no. I love you..sometimes I think you're the only thing grounding me. Keeping me from reverting to old..tendencies. You.." he looks at her, eyes red. "you made me truly happy and content for the first time in my life." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 05:42 am UTC (link)
	She takes his hand, sets the other gently behind his neck as she kisses at his cheeks again and again, tears regardless. "I love you," she says a little breathlessly. "Please believe me, Keiji." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 05:45 am UTC (link)
	With what strength he has, he forces his arms to move and embrace her in a hug. He kisses her forehead. "I may not understand completely why, but I believe you, love. I truly do." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 05:51 am UTC (link)
	She just hugs for a few moments, then eventually, "You're goign to get through this, okay. All of this. That's an order." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 05:55 am UTC (link)
	Finally he laughs a little, holding her close. "Well, I can't very well refuse an order." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 06:02 am UTC (link)
	She laughs, and there's a long pause, cuddling in his arms a little. ...Then, becuase she can't shake it all at once. "...I'm sorry it bothers you that I treat him like an unstoppable force. But my father and Misha are immortal. I can't shake that belief. They have to be, you see.... because I've loved them so long... and they're not dead." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	clawed_progeny 2011-11-12 06:06 am UTC (link)
	Keiji's quiet for a time, though he caresses her back lovingly. "I understand. It's just that when I think about all the training, all the preparation, everything I was put through and what I put myself through to prepare for the moment I'd face him..and realize he's unbeatable and everything that happened was for nothing. Manipulated or not..it's disheartening." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hotlittlehands 2011-11-12 06:09 am UTC (link)
	"It still makes you near unstoppable with much of the rest you'll face." And her face gets darker, somehow. "And you'll always have a great conversational list to swap with Misha. 'Ways to Kill Wolverine That Will Never Be Practical or Necessary Ever.' My father can be absurd sometimes. They think I don't know, but I do." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)