#stares at Horo's interrogation

[deathfavor]

which tragic death would you suffer

the sudden

it happens so quick you won't even realize it. like being hit by a car, or having a heart attack. one moment you're here, the next you're not. you don't get to prepare. your family will spend months sifting through your belongings, not knowing what to do. your friends online will never know why you don't come back. you die thinking you're alive, face still preserved with your last emotion. you don't get to say goodbye.

tagged by: @shackld​ ( thank you!) tagging: im not sure who hasn’t done this yet since i know it went around a while so if you haven’t done it, i’m tagging you!

[sakis-sweets]

Hey, if your asks are still open, could you do Kaga x Itachi? I like to think their personalities clash and normally wouldn't work well together but they end up becoming a pair. If your asks aren't open then that's ok and you can just delete this if so :)

i told you i’d get to it!!

many thanks to @fuwabloom for telling me how to make sparks fly between a guy who doesn’t like anyone and a guy who nobody likes (ended up changing one detail, hope that’s aight)

“Headmaster, I beseech you-”

“Kusha-san, I’ve heard enough. The school will not offer its chemistry lab because of your inability to maintain your club.”

“My club is very well-maintained, sir!”

“That’s why it’s burned black and tattered to pieces, hm?”

“You know, the damage to my club might not have been so severe if I hadn’t modified the room to be blast-proof. I protected the rest of Akademi from the consequences of progress, only to take on those consequences entirely myself! Sir, it is a tragic and noble sacrifice.”

“So you also consider yourself responsible for the various equipment you broke across the rest of the school after it shook from the tremors?”

“Honestly, sir, you have only the contractor to blame for that. The school isn’t even that old and Japan is already prone to earthquakes; if my little experiment is enough to damage school property, then was it Saikou’s big plan to somehow halt the world’s tectonic activity?”

Akademi’s headmaster rose slowly from his seat. “You’re crossing a line, Kusha-san. Do you have any idea how easily you’re getting off here? You are only asked to pay for the damages; the school isn’t asking for extra compensation money or expelling you. You will not be given the chemistry lab, and you will have to make do with non-hazardous club activities until we can repair the facilities in the science club.”

“But-”

“Not even if you blast-proof the lab. Are we clear?”

Kaga was unable to meet the headmaster’s eyes. He couldn’t control the expression on his face, and he might be punished for giving him the stink eye. “Crystal... sir.”

-

The science club mutely followed Kaga as he rambled about his outrage. “It’s criminal!” he exclaimed. “He just couldn’t see it my way! Does the man have any idea what’s at stake?! I can’t waste a single second if I hope to see results on time! I’m going have to reschedule the next ten years of my life, and I have no ideal way of compensating!”

Horo spoke up, since Kaga was most likely to let him interrupt. “So what are we doing now?”

Kaga scoffed. “The best we can do. Field work. Sociology is a kind of science, and the world’s most effective dicta- I mean, leaders, have always had charisma on their side. So we will study figures of authority in this school one by one to see how they keep a tight ship! Starting with the sports club. I don’t know the full spectrum of leadership strategies, but Itachi Zametora is definitely at one end of it.”

The science club climbed the stairs to the pool where the sports club practiced swimming every day. “Alright,” Kaga announced,”Each of you will pick someone to interrogate. Find out how others feel about his leadership. Your opportunities will appear as they walk around the pool to the diving platforms. I’ll take on the captain.”

“If you’re looking for Rito-san,” came a sudden gruff voice, “Since you wouldn’t dare forget her status in this school, then you’re out of luck. I’m the club president until she gets back.”

Kaga felt a chill run up his spine, and immediately chided himself. He’d have to Pavlov that instinct out of him soon. “Of course we - I - know that!” he shouted. “Everyone knows that Rito-san is busy training at that special facility. In fact, I’m actually here for you! I want to learn about how you manage your club!”

Itachi stared down at Kaga with narrowed eyes. He and his rippling muscles towered over the mad scientist. Kaga forced himself to imagine a pea working as Itachi’s brain in order to keep his cool. Suddenly, the athlete turned. “You’ll get in the way. Leave.”

Kaga waited until he was out of earshot. “Alright team, let’s get started.”

“But Zametora-san told us to leave,” Horo argued.”

“And?” Kaga retorted. “Since when has a petty thing like consent stopped us before? This is all in the name of progress, comrades! Onward!” Kaga marched ahead, followed by his club members, only after they heaved a sigh of surrender.

The sports club found it immensely difficult to focus on their training. Any time they weren’t in the pool, they were being followed by a chattering jackass with a lab coat, stupid goggles, and a clipboard. Most of the members simply pretended they weren’t there, but Hojiro was getting to the end of his rope. “HEY!” he shouted at poor Yaku, whose visor promptly displayed exclamation points. “I don’t know WHAT your damn deal is, but if you don’t stop messing with my training, I’ll break that stupid clipboard in half and throw it into the pool!!”

Yaku froze on the spot as two animated swirls appeared on his visor. Kaga clicked his tongue at his colleague’s inability to maintain his composure. Suddenly, he realized that he had been backed up against the wall of the pool area. Itachi cast a shadow over a wide-eyed Kaga, and he was not happy.

“I thought I told you and your clowns to leave,” he muttered.

Kaga swallowed the lump in his throat. “If that was all it took to halt the flow of scientific p-progress, you’d be swimming in a lake instead of a f-filtered pool,” he managed to retort.

“You’ve made more than enough ‘progress.’ Leave now or I will make you.”

Kaga somehow mustered up the courage to smirk. “And h-how will you do that?” He didn’t get an answer. Itachi slung him over his shoulder like a potato sack and started carrying him to the stairs. The rest of the science club simply decided it was time to go home. Kaga’s fear faded in the face of degredation and he began a slew of protests. “How dare you?! Do you have any idea who I will become?! Once I realize my ambitions, even your grandchildren won’t be forgiven for this insolence!” 

Itachi set Kaga down at the head of the stairs. “Go down the steps or I’ll throw you down. Your choice.”

Kaga seethed with rage. Absolutely nothing was going his way. “So this is how authority works,” he hissed. “People with power trample all over people without it. Charisma has nothing to do with it, then. After all, you’re the least charismatic person in the school. Everyone looks up to you, but you don’t like anyone! Even your own club members; you treat them like ants! But even with all of my inventions and academic awards under my belt, no one respects me! No one even likes me! All I can do is work for a future where everyone understands what I have to offer while you sit here unappreciative of all your renown! What world do we live in where any of this makes sense? But at least I have the facilities to find out. You’ll only ever be your brawn.”

Itachi’s face was dark. The rest of the sports club stared at their leader in horrific anticipation. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. How would he react to such disrespect? His first words were quiet. “I didn’t ask for my reputation. I don’t care what other people think of me. My goals are my own. Are yours?” Kaga trembled, unable to respond. “Liking and being liked... none of that matters held up to the things that you want to accomplish. You can only get what you want on your own. Things might get easier for you if you accept that.” Itachi turned. “I’ve never met another person who only lived for himself. That’s the kind of guy I might respect.” Itachi returned to the pool, and the stunned sports club members soon followed suit. Kaga could only stumble his way home.

-

That night, Kaga laid in bed, unable to stop thinking about Itachi’s words. He’d tried to train himself not to be intimidated by the man, but he’d develop minor arrhythmia at every attempt and had to stop for the sake of his health. I might respect someone who lived only for himself. Wasn’t that was Kaga had been doing? He’d been willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone to achieve his goals... right?

No, his current plan required seducing the Saikou heiress. He’d somehow thought it wise to bet on his lowest stat. At this rate, he would never rise to the top on his own merit. Kaga ripped the blankets off of his bed and ran to his home lab. He’d already needed to reschedule the next decade; what more would it be to rework it entirely? He’d figure out another path to world domination; a method that didn’t need anyone else. Perhaps then, Itachi might respect him enough to follow him.

For the time being, Kaga decided to ignore that fear was not the only emotion that could make a person’s heart pound the way his had for the entire evening.

[deathfavor]

me staring at Horo's lines of

 I'm strong now and will no longer be a burden to anyone. But the person I cared about the most isn't there anymore. &  You were lying when you said Boss Zoya sent you to save me, right? Humph. Fine, I forgive you. I won't repeat the stupid mistake of... bickering with important people over little things.

and how Horo talked about bickering over stupid things with Earl and probably others too. and also the fact Earl... just. He tried his best, did his best for what he could do. The fact he was already raising Horo on his own even before Nirvana Company & Legion and trying to do everything and im just- GOD!

PTN does a really good job with the dynamic, esp for what little we actually get. Maybe its just situational, but i'm the oldest out of 5 kids and there's 5-7 years between me and the 4 others. And I also had to play parent sometimes when my dad was deployed overseas for a year (give or take a month). And even just with that?? it definitely created a different dynamic between me and my siblings. bc i was their older sister but sometimes i was also playing parent. and my siblings are older now so we've talked about it. but one time we all ended up crying in my car because beind the oldest i was trying to play parent and sibling, but they didn't always know how to interact or get to know me as me. And i always felt i had to take on all the burdens and i couldn't....show my emotions. I needed to be strong for my siblings and my mom. and like....idk. a lot of attention went to my siblings, and i get it. they were younger and they're all super close in age, but i played a huge support role and so everything i needed or wanted i shoved down to be last priority for my siblings ( most of the time, i mean i was a kid myself too trying to figure this all out ). and idk. its just. hard.

Even the other day it was kind of pointed out that i'm extremely good at shutting down how i'm doing to help or deal with other problems. and idk. i think thats why Horo's interrogation also hit a particularly hard spot and always makes me tear up, just hearing it from the other side versus my own & how my little brothers have mentioned it now that we're older and.........im rambling and this probably doesnt make sense but i just. needed it out there.