honou-no-izumi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
honou_no_izumi) wrote2014-11-23 09:18 am
honou_no_izumi) wrote2014-11-23 09:18 am
Entry tags:
Afterwards [4/?]
Title: Afterwards
Series: Kamen Rider Gaim
Characters: Zack, Jounouchi Hideyasu, Peko, mentions of Kureshima Mitsuzane
Summary: Post ep 46. Follows right after Ghost. Only thing left is to keep going forward.
-------------------
“Are you sure you'd be fine going back on your own?” Jounouchi asked as Zack waved away the concern.
“I'll be fine. It's not like I'm in a rush. And I'm taking a bus after this so not like I'll be walking all the way back.”
Jounouchi grinned. “Well, I can't help worrying. And don't worry about the other matter. Oren-san said that he'd look into it."
“Thank you—”
“Zack! There you are!”
Both of them turned around as they saw Peko running towards them. He stopped in front of them panting before exclaiming, “Do you know how worried I was when I didn't see you around? Don't do this! With your foot injury too, it'll be a problem if something happened and you ended up stranded in who knows where.”
Zack shrugged as he wiggled his injured foot towards Peko. “Well, as you can see... I'm pretty much still in one piece.”
xxx
“So...” said Peko as they casually headed back towards their base. “Why were you looking for Jounouchi?”
Zack cast a long look towards Peko before shrugging. “It's nothing much. Was just asking for a small favour, that's all.”
Peko stopped in his tracks and turned to face his friend. “A favour? On what? If you needed help, why didn't you ask me about it? Or the other team members, it's not like we don't live near each other—”
Zack bit his lips. He knew what's coming, and he didn't feel like arguing about it. He knew what Peko would think once he told him what he wanted to do; and he just don't want anything else to complicate things. “It's nothing important.”
That got to Peko's nerve. “I know it. You were hiding something, tell me!”
“It's none of your—” Peko grabbed on his arm stubbornly as Zack groaned. “Fine! I just wanted his and Oren's help to find out where Micchi lives, okay?”
As expected, Peko released his arm out of surprise.
“You're looking for that guy? Why? What kind of business—why do you even want to look for that guy?”
Zack sighed. “I know that you'd react badly if I told you. Why? Because Micchi was a friend. No, he IS our friend. No matter what bad things he used to do. It's been months. Most of us have managed to get our lives back together again, almost like we used to. But Micchi... he might still be haunted by the things that happened three months ago. I just... want to do something to help him.”
Peko scoffed at him. “Help? Him, of all people? Zack, why should you care about that Kureshima Mitsuzane?” Peko started shaking his head. “A friend?” he said with a disgusted look, “Kureshima Mitsuzane is not MY friend! I don't consider him as a friend!”
Zack rolled his eyes at his friend. “No matter what you say, Peko... Micchi was part of the Beat Rider group and he'll always will be. Yes, Micchi had done a lot of bad things; a lot of mistakes and bad choices, but he's also amongst the few that knew about Helheim. About everything that happened to Zawame before. Like us, Micchi's also a survivor. But unlike us, the scars from those times might still be hurting him.”
“Then let him be hurt still, as if I care! Why should you bother about him anyway?”
“Because that's what Kouta and Mai would have done if they're still here. And also... I've been thinking about this ever since that time. Micchi's situation had been nagging on my mind for a long time.”
Zack shrugged. “Ever since I learned that Micchi have also returned to live here in Zawame, I've been trying to get him back to join the team. But he even stopped coming by to watch us dance now, I needed to find a way to talk to him again. There's no way I could give up on him. Please understand... Peko.”
“I don't understand you! No way I'll ever accept—wait, that time?” Peko was quiet for a moment. “Yes, I thought you've been acting weird since that time. What happened before when those JSDF people took you, old guy Oren and Jounouchi away? You never did say anything about that!”
“It's complicated, Peko... I—”
Peko groaned loudly. “Forget it. I don't want to hear anything. Anything about Kureshima Mitsuzane annoys me. But honestly, Zack... I can't believe you're still trying to get him back to the team.”
Zack sighed. “It's been a while, Peko. Everything has passed after all. And after everything we've been through, there's no way I could ignore Micchi once I know he's still alive...”
“Zack!” Peko snapped firmly. “That guy tried to kill me before. And he almost succeeded in doing that even. He LIED to us about who he was! All those time when we had no clue about what Yggdrasil has been planning. THAT guy knew it all along! There's no way in hell I could accept him back into the team.”
“Wait... Micchi—perhaps there was a reason for the things he did! Perhaps he didn't mean to keep all those secrets... Peko, please!” Zack tried to grab Peko's arm as Peko wrenched it away from him. “Peko... I mean, I can't force you to forgive Micchi all at once but—what if it had been Kaito? Would you have also do the same? I—”
“DON'T YOU DARE BRING KAITO INTO THIS! DON'T EVEN TRY TO COMPARE!” Peko gave Zack a wordless glare before storming back into their old Baron base.
Zack sighed again before silently following his friend back inside the building. Stopping to glance towards the grey sky, he wondered how should he have handled the situation better. Three months. He thought by now, any old grudges would have dissipated. Like how the rivaltry between the many different teams in the past have stopped. Guess it won't be as easy as he thought.
A headline on the local newspaper caught Zack's attention as he recognized some of the faces that he saw in it. Some members of the former Team Red Hot had been caught for robbing another bank. He snorted at that.
Some people don't change. He recalled how Sonomura and his team used Inves before to commit crimes. Suppose, old habits die hard.
Zack's thoughts went back to Micchi again.
But perhaps not all bad people remained bad. He recalled how Micchi had looked every time he managed to catch him sneaking a peek at the dance group. The look on Micchi's face wasn't that of a person looking down on other people. Of a person who had no remorse over his own sins. The look that Micchi always had was that of someone who longed for something that was once lost.
Perhaps Micchi's intention had been the same as all of them. To protect what was important. But perhaps, like Kaito... Micchi had chosen the wrong way to achieve his goals. And now when he thought of it, when Micchi returned after the fall of Yggdrasil... the garage and the people in it weren't that welcoming to that guy. Sure, during that time none of them had been aware of the truth... yet so much had changed during that time between the first overlord appearance in Zawame and Micchi's reappearance. Micchi might have been uncomfortable about such change... and felt alienated.
Perhaps that had been the start of the changes. When Sengoku Ryoma betrayed his Chief; Kureshima Takatora... Micchi's brother. That moment that soon led to Redyue appearing in Zawame and taking over the Tower. Returning to the garage after all of that to find the 'team' he was part of becoming a whole lot different than the ones he was used to. What would Micchi have felt then?
Of course, none of them would have been aware that there's something wrong with Micchi, let alone ask him about it. Like how he had never been aware that Kaito would have a rather distorted view on how things should be done. Was there even any chance for Micchi to tell them about his connection to Yggdrasil before? Would they even be able to accept the truth, considering back then they had little trust on anything related to Yggdrasil? Could Micchi even be able to trust them to have faith in him?
Could they have pushed Micchi away back then without realizing? Could that be why Micchi had pushed them away?
Zack turned his glance towards the staircase as he thought about Peko. It would be hard to try to convince Peko to change his mind about Micchi, but he didn't want to give up on that guy. He lost a friend—two more actually, but those two weren't actually confirmed dead—and he was reluctant to lose anymore friends. And even if it had been brief, he used to fight Inves alongside Micchi... and those times, Micchi wasn't exactly a bad ally.
He had failed to stop—and save—his friend Kaito from taking a path of no return. Yet, perhaps right now he could still save someone.
Zack took out his found and stared long at it... before dialing for Rat's number...
xxx
“Thank you very much...” said Jounouchi before leaving the bookshop. The shop assistant just smiled at him as Jounouchi clutched the new set of books he was carrying. He had been trying to create his own version of a new desert, and he needed some other ideas on different ways to improve his new recipe... so it won't hurt to look out for more recipe books. There was this certain pastry chef that he'd gotten to like. A celebrity chef from abroad who specialized in making personalized cakes. He was thinking to learn something new to try surprising Oren-san and show that he could do more than what he already accomplished. That could be good for business...
Something suddenly caught his eye as he noticed something—someone—from across the street. It was a flower shop. There's nothing interesting about that aside from the shop lady trying to sell some flower bouquet—was that Micchi?
Jounouchi's eyes immediately went wide as he tried to take a closer look. The small body did looked like Micchi, but he didn't remember seeing him wear anything that looked so worn out. The young man's face suddenly turned slightly towards him as Jounouchi realised that it was indeed Micchi.
“Micchi!” he called out as Micchi suddenly turned towards him in alarm. Without warning, Micchi started to run away; leaving the shop lady still holding her flowers, as Jounouchi gave chase.
But just as he turned into a corner, Jounouchi lost Micchi's trail.
“Damn!” he cursed loudly as he now understood Zack's concern about finding Micchi.
Series: Kamen Rider Gaim
Characters: Zack, Jounouchi Hideyasu, Peko, mentions of Kureshima Mitsuzane
Summary: Post ep 46. Follows right after Ghost. Only thing left is to keep going forward.
-------------------
“Are you sure you'd be fine going back on your own?” Jounouchi asked as Zack waved away the concern.
“I'll be fine. It's not like I'm in a rush. And I'm taking a bus after this so not like I'll be walking all the way back.”
Jounouchi grinned. “Well, I can't help worrying. And don't worry about the other matter. Oren-san said that he'd look into it."
“Thank you—”
“Zack! There you are!”
Both of them turned around as they saw Peko running towards them. He stopped in front of them panting before exclaiming, “Do you know how worried I was when I didn't see you around? Don't do this! With your foot injury too, it'll be a problem if something happened and you ended up stranded in who knows where.”
Zack shrugged as he wiggled his injured foot towards Peko. “Well, as you can see... I'm pretty much still in one piece.”
xxx
“So...” said Peko as they casually headed back towards their base. “Why were you looking for Jounouchi?”
Zack cast a long look towards Peko before shrugging. “It's nothing much. Was just asking for a small favour, that's all.”
Peko stopped in his tracks and turned to face his friend. “A favour? On what? If you needed help, why didn't you ask me about it? Or the other team members, it's not like we don't live near each other—”
Zack bit his lips. He knew what's coming, and he didn't feel like arguing about it. He knew what Peko would think once he told him what he wanted to do; and he just don't want anything else to complicate things. “It's nothing important.”
That got to Peko's nerve. “I know it. You were hiding something, tell me!”
“It's none of your—” Peko grabbed on his arm stubbornly as Zack groaned. “Fine! I just wanted his and Oren's help to find out where Micchi lives, okay?”
As expected, Peko released his arm out of surprise.
“You're looking for that guy? Why? What kind of business—why do you even want to look for that guy?”
Zack sighed. “I know that you'd react badly if I told you. Why? Because Micchi was a friend. No, he IS our friend. No matter what bad things he used to do. It's been months. Most of us have managed to get our lives back together again, almost like we used to. But Micchi... he might still be haunted by the things that happened three months ago. I just... want to do something to help him.”
Peko scoffed at him. “Help? Him, of all people? Zack, why should you care about that Kureshima Mitsuzane?” Peko started shaking his head. “A friend?” he said with a disgusted look, “Kureshima Mitsuzane is not MY friend! I don't consider him as a friend!”
Zack rolled his eyes at his friend. “No matter what you say, Peko... Micchi was part of the Beat Rider group and he'll always will be. Yes, Micchi had done a lot of bad things; a lot of mistakes and bad choices, but he's also amongst the few that knew about Helheim. About everything that happened to Zawame before. Like us, Micchi's also a survivor. But unlike us, the scars from those times might still be hurting him.”
“Then let him be hurt still, as if I care! Why should you bother about him anyway?”
“Because that's what Kouta and Mai would have done if they're still here. And also... I've been thinking about this ever since that time. Micchi's situation had been nagging on my mind for a long time.”
Zack shrugged. “Ever since I learned that Micchi have also returned to live here in Zawame, I've been trying to get him back to join the team. But he even stopped coming by to watch us dance now, I needed to find a way to talk to him again. There's no way I could give up on him. Please understand... Peko.”
“I don't understand you! No way I'll ever accept—wait, that time?” Peko was quiet for a moment. “Yes, I thought you've been acting weird since that time. What happened before when those JSDF people took you, old guy Oren and Jounouchi away? You never did say anything about that!”
“It's complicated, Peko... I—”
Peko groaned loudly. “Forget it. I don't want to hear anything. Anything about Kureshima Mitsuzane annoys me. But honestly, Zack... I can't believe you're still trying to get him back to the team.”
Zack sighed. “It's been a while, Peko. Everything has passed after all. And after everything we've been through, there's no way I could ignore Micchi once I know he's still alive...”
“Zack!” Peko snapped firmly. “That guy tried to kill me before. And he almost succeeded in doing that even. He LIED to us about who he was! All those time when we had no clue about what Yggdrasil has been planning. THAT guy knew it all along! There's no way in hell I could accept him back into the team.”
“Wait... Micchi—perhaps there was a reason for the things he did! Perhaps he didn't mean to keep all those secrets... Peko, please!” Zack tried to grab Peko's arm as Peko wrenched it away from him. “Peko... I mean, I can't force you to forgive Micchi all at once but—what if it had been Kaito? Would you have also do the same? I—”
“DON'T YOU DARE BRING KAITO INTO THIS! DON'T EVEN TRY TO COMPARE!” Peko gave Zack a wordless glare before storming back into their old Baron base.
Zack sighed again before silently following his friend back inside the building. Stopping to glance towards the grey sky, he wondered how should he have handled the situation better. Three months. He thought by now, any old grudges would have dissipated. Like how the rivaltry between the many different teams in the past have stopped. Guess it won't be as easy as he thought.
A headline on the local newspaper caught Zack's attention as he recognized some of the faces that he saw in it. Some members of the former Team Red Hot had been caught for robbing another bank. He snorted at that.
Some people don't change. He recalled how Sonomura and his team used Inves before to commit crimes. Suppose, old habits die hard.
Zack's thoughts went back to Micchi again.
But perhaps not all bad people remained bad. He recalled how Micchi had looked every time he managed to catch him sneaking a peek at the dance group. The look on Micchi's face wasn't that of a person looking down on other people. Of a person who had no remorse over his own sins. The look that Micchi always had was that of someone who longed for something that was once lost.
Perhaps Micchi's intention had been the same as all of them. To protect what was important. But perhaps, like Kaito... Micchi had chosen the wrong way to achieve his goals. And now when he thought of it, when Micchi returned after the fall of Yggdrasil... the garage and the people in it weren't that welcoming to that guy. Sure, during that time none of them had been aware of the truth... yet so much had changed during that time between the first overlord appearance in Zawame and Micchi's reappearance. Micchi might have been uncomfortable about such change... and felt alienated.
Perhaps that had been the start of the changes. When Sengoku Ryoma betrayed his Chief; Kureshima Takatora... Micchi's brother. That moment that soon led to Redyue appearing in Zawame and taking over the Tower. Returning to the garage after all of that to find the 'team' he was part of becoming a whole lot different than the ones he was used to. What would Micchi have felt then?
Of course, none of them would have been aware that there's something wrong with Micchi, let alone ask him about it. Like how he had never been aware that Kaito would have a rather distorted view on how things should be done. Was there even any chance for Micchi to tell them about his connection to Yggdrasil before? Would they even be able to accept the truth, considering back then they had little trust on anything related to Yggdrasil? Could Micchi even be able to trust them to have faith in him?
Could they have pushed Micchi away back then without realizing? Could that be why Micchi had pushed them away?
Zack turned his glance towards the staircase as he thought about Peko. It would be hard to try to convince Peko to change his mind about Micchi, but he didn't want to give up on that guy. He lost a friend—two more actually, but those two weren't actually confirmed dead—and he was reluctant to lose anymore friends. And even if it had been brief, he used to fight Inves alongside Micchi... and those times, Micchi wasn't exactly a bad ally.
He had failed to stop—and save—his friend Kaito from taking a path of no return. Yet, perhaps right now he could still save someone.
Zack took out his found and stared long at it... before dialing for Rat's number...
xxx
“Thank you very much...” said Jounouchi before leaving the bookshop. The shop assistant just smiled at him as Jounouchi clutched the new set of books he was carrying. He had been trying to create his own version of a new desert, and he needed some other ideas on different ways to improve his new recipe... so it won't hurt to look out for more recipe books. There was this certain pastry chef that he'd gotten to like. A celebrity chef from abroad who specialized in making personalized cakes. He was thinking to learn something new to try surprising Oren-san and show that he could do more than what he already accomplished. That could be good for business...
Something suddenly caught his eye as he noticed something—someone—from across the street. It was a flower shop. There's nothing interesting about that aside from the shop lady trying to sell some flower bouquet—was that Micchi?
Jounouchi's eyes immediately went wide as he tried to take a closer look. The small body did looked like Micchi, but he didn't remember seeing him wear anything that looked so worn out. The young man's face suddenly turned slightly towards him as Jounouchi realised that it was indeed Micchi.
“Micchi!” he called out as Micchi suddenly turned towards him in alarm. Without warning, Micchi started to run away; leaving the shop lady still holding her flowers, as Jounouchi gave chase.
But just as he turned into a corner, Jounouchi lost Micchi's trail.
“Damn!” he cursed loudly as he now understood Zack's concern about finding Micchi.