#you don't get to complain about childish people Munakata

[ridiasfangirlings]

munakata introduced scepter 4 to fushimi as a place "not fit for children to run off to when they get into trouble," implying that fushimi either isnt that childish/he sees him as equally skilled and valued as all of his adult employees. but do you think as time passed, he started seeing those tiny child-like qualities fushimi has and smiling about it despite the fact he does not see childish qualities as something that fits within his ideal scepter 4?

Honestly the man who hired Doumyouji doesn’t get to talk about how S4 isn’t the place for childish people (for that matter, don’t complain about S4 not being a place for children when you’re the one recruiting teenage children, Munakata). I feel like Munakata’s intent there was less looking down on Fushimi for being a child and more that he wanted Fushimi to join S4 for the ‘right’ reason. Like the idea that Fushimi runs to S4 not because he wants to or out of any sense of belonging but simply because he has nowhere else to go, treating S4 like a place of refuge rather than a place where he’s expected to be a clansman working towards a goal. Actually even thinking about it I could see Munakata’s words there being less harsh towards children in general and more a kind of general childishness that Munakata ascribes to Homra in particular — because Homra absolutely is a place a kid in trouble could run to when in trouble, as long as you pass the test anyone can join and Homra will shelter them (this is particularly relevant in regards to the Minato twins being sheltered there right at that time in LSW too, in Munakata’s eyes being ‘children’ who got into trouble and ran away somewhere with no purpose other than to escape a situation). I think Munakata was well aware even at the time he recruited Fushimi that Fushimi had a certain childishness to him and didn’t mind, it’s just this specific thing that Munakata wanted Fushimi to grow away from because he had no use for a Fushimi who just runs from a problem rather than facing it head on — when Fushimi specifically faces off against ‘Niki’ in jcube and takes hold of his own destiny, that’s the point Munakata appears to back him up and invite him to S4 because this is what Munakata was waiting for. 

So that said I feel like Munakata does enjoy the childish part of Fushimi quite a bit. In the Sand Castle short story for example, there’s the moment where Munakata compliments Fushimi’s castle and it’s noted that for a moment Fushimi looked ‘disarmingly innocent’ before settling back into his usual cynical expression. It’s not noted in the text but I imagine this is absolutely something Munakata noticed, and at least he’s very clearly aware of the reasons why Fushimi destroys his castle and then simply chooses to make him a new one that will last. Munakata doesn’t have any issue at all with the fact that Fushimi was building a sand castle — something kids do — when he’s supposed to be digging for shellfish (Captain’s favorite privilege at work), in fact Munakata’s very interested in it. I think Munakata appreciates that Fushimi is talented beyond his years but is also well aware that the Fushimi who initially joins his clan is just a teenager and as Fushimi gets older Munakata is willing to be indulgent of Fushimi’s childish moments even if only as part of helping Fushimi work through that part of his personality. In particular I think Munakata would enjoy seeing Fushimi get to have ‘good’ moments of childhood wonder because it’s so clear even without knowing the details that Fushimi’s actual childhood deeply lacked those. Also it’s mentioned in Case Files that Munakata sees something of himself in Fushimi, that Fushimi is what Munakata could have been if he hadn’t had such supportive parents, so I feel like the part of Munakata that also childishly enjoys new experiences and interesting things allows Munakata to understand Fushimi’s childish side more than Fushimi even realizes.