Work Text:
"Ok," Iwa-san leaned back, smiling brightly for the kid. "That's all set. Ehhh, I've never really... made clothes before, so. You know. Just let me know if there's something you dislike, ok?"
Nagare blinked slowly, and then looked away. Iwa-san was getting better and better at reading this weird kid. "I will."
"All right," Iwa-san rubbed the back of his neck. "Er, well. It'll do no good if you don't know the basics of life, so... I picked up some textbooks for you." He leaned down to pull up the books he'd gotten that morning. He spread them out on the low table.
Wanting to avoid any place that the might attract the attention of the Gold King, Iwa-san had avoided everyplace Cathedral had been affiliated with, but of course that left him without anyplace to go. They'd stayed about a week in an abandoned apartment complex, until Iwa-san could work out a way to get enough money to put a deposit down on an apartment. Once they were settled and secure, he supposed Nagare would decide for himself what he wanted to do, what sort of home base fit him, what kind of clan, if any, he would make. He already had one clansman, so he was well on his way. Still.
Nagare was a kid, even if he didn't act like one. Kids needed school, but Nagare couldn't go to one. So.
He smiled helpfully at the kid. "I'm not so good with math, but we can go through anything you like together..."
Nagare shifted his shoulders, and he frowned slightly, but just for a second. He looked over the books carefully. He shifted his shoulders again.
"Eh? Is everything all right?" Iwa-san asked.
Nagare looked at Iwa-san blankly. He shifted. "Affirmative."
"You keep doing that," Iwa-san pointed out.
Stubbornly, Nagare looked away. "I am fine."
"Is there something wrong with the shirt?" Iwa-san got up to look it over.
"I am fine," Nagare insisted again.
Iwa-san loosened the buckles of the restraining belts on Nagare's sheath. He frowned, looking at the simple shirt he'd made from one of his old shirts. He made it smaller by cutting down the middle of the back and sewing it up again, but. "Is it not fitting you all right?"
"It's fine," Nagare looked at Iwa-san balefully. "I like it."
"Well, I'm not trying to take it away from you, kid!" Iwa-san laughed. He loosened the sheath more, and looked it over. "...The shoulders are in the wrong place entirely. Ahhh... I wonder what I did wrong... This can't be comfortable!"
"I'm fine," Nagare turned his shoulders away from Iwa-san, and he was pouting. Or, that was, Iwa-san interpreted his expression as pouting, since Nagare's face was mostly impassive.
Roughly, Iwa-san ruffled Nagare's hair, eliciting the usual annoyed look from the kid. "C'mon! You can't sit there in an ill-fitting shirt all day! I think I made it too small, or... maybe it's just not centered right?"
"I like it," Nagare repeated quietly.
"Mmm. Well, let me try something..." Iwa-san went off to the small box of sewing supplies he'd used to fashion the shirt in the first place. He pulled out a small tool, smiling. "Here!"
Taking the seam splitter, he went to Nagare, and carefully started to take out the stitches connecting the sleeve of the right arm.
Nagare watched him closely, as if Iwa-san was inserting some kind of parasite into Nagare's body. "Iwa-san, I did not ask you to do this."
"You didn't ask me to do plenty, but here we are," Iwa-san replied cheerfully. He got the right sleeve off, and unravelled the extra fabric inside the seam. "That's better, right?"
Nagare pronouncedly frowned. "It will fall down," he stated, disappointed.
"Mmmmmmm, wellllll," Iwa-san went back to his sewing box. He poked around, and then he pulled out something. He frowned at the spool of thread. It was labeled 'upholstery thread,' but what did that mean? It could be used for whatever, right? Plus, it looked sturdy. He got a needle, and went back to Nagare. "Let's try this!" He threaded the needle, and then he started to sew the sleeve back on, but without making any kind of seam allowance, and using big, loose, sloppy stitches that formed wide x's.
"Ow," Nagare calmly stated as Iwa-san poked him with the needle.
"Sorry!" Iwa-san cringed. Nagare continued to watch him work, his eyes fixed on the needle. Fortunately, Iwa-san only poked him twice more.
Iwa-san finished, and tied off the last stitch messily. He tugged at the sleeve. It seemed like it would hold. "How... how is it?"
Nagare moved his shoulder back and forth. He looked up at Iwa-san, his expression blank but his eyes expressive. "Thank you, Iwa-san."
Iwa-san flushed. "Well! Let's get the other side done, then... and I promise, I'll do better with the next shirt."
"I like this one," Nagare said with quiet forcefulness, reminding Iwa-san that this kid was in fact a King.
Somehow, though, Nagare's persistence was making him feel good.
Iwa-san intently watched Nagare eat. Or, rather.
Kotosaka squawked happily and picked up a nugget with his beak, and chomped it down with two bites and a great flap of his wings. Nagare was sitting there, impassively, watching.
"You know, I got the bird bird food," Iwa-san complained.
"He likes this," Nagare countered quietly.
"That's bird. The bird is eating bird," Iwa-san pointed out.
"Delicious! Delicious!" Kotosaka crowed.
"See?" Nagare nodded.
Iwa-san sighed. "But I got those for you. Are you sure you're eating enough?" They had books for babies, telling you how much to feed them and everything. Were there books for eleven year olds? If there were, Iwa-san needed to get some.
Nagare opened his mouth patiently, and Kotosaka picked up a nugget and put it in for Nagare.
Iwa-san shook his head. Since Nagare's arms were bound, he had to admit, it was efficient, but he wasn't entirely sure it was hygienic. He needed a book on birds, too. He rested his cheek on his palm, and sighed. "You sure are a stubborn one," he sighed.
Nagare looked at him pointedly, and Iwa-san had to admit, seeing that King-type look from a kid was really cute.
"So, the good news is, I got into one of... my old hangouts, and I was able to pick up some good stuff, and some funds. I really don't want to have to show my face to the Gold King, but I was starting to get really worried we'd be living on handouts or something before long!" Iwa-san grinned, trying to keep his spirits up. Going back... hadn't been easy.
"You were gone a long time," Nagare remarked quietly, and then he let Kotosaka feed him a french fry.
"Aw, did you miss me?" Iwa-san laughed, ruffling Nagare's hair.
Nagare glared at him as usual, but there was some other emotion in his eyes, too. Iwa-san looked away. "Well, couldn't be helped. I was trying to be sneaky. Next time, we'll go out together, ok? In the meantime, I did get you McDonald's, right?"
Nagare's gaze went to the two cases of beer next to the couch, and then he ate another fry from Kotosaka.
Iwa-san took a deep breath. "I got you something else, too. Something good. I hope." He leaned down and pulled out the duffle bag he'd filled back at... his old place. He rummaged around, and finally produced his prize. "Ta da!" Iwa-san tried to build up the excitement.
Nagare and Kotosaka watched him impassively.
He opened up the laptop and set it down in front of Nagare, moving away the few remaining fries. "So! Uh... I'm not so good with these things. I dunno if we'll be able to connect to the internet or not, but I think there are some games on here? And, uh..." Iwa-san looked at Nagare who was looking at the laptop.
Wait, how was the kid even going to use it?
"Um... maybe I need to..." Iwa-san leaned in.
Nagare leaned forward, too, and his eyes gleamed. There was like a spark or a flare or something, and the corners of Nagare's mouth curved upward slightly. "Ah. I can use this."
Iwa-san looked at the screen. Kotosaka squawked, and flew up to perch on Nagare's shoulder. There were windows flashing, and moving, and words were flying by at an impossible pace. "Wait, are you...?"
The browser on the laptop opened, and a homepage loaded. Nagare opened a news site, and started to scroll around. There were still stories about the Crater Incident, though the reports were listing it as an unusual seismic phenomenon. The damn Gold King and his damned spin team...
"Ok, you're... you're doing it. Good job." Iwa-san watched Nagare read the article, and then he thought about what else Nagare might be able to do online. "Oh, but... absolutely no porn. Ok? Not for like... two, three more years. Got it?"
Nagare gave Iwa-san a look, and he opened up a site to watch cartoons.
"Good," Iwa-san leaned back, and he reached to get a beer.
"Next time... you'll take me with. You said so, right?" Nagare asked quietly.
"Yeah," Iwa-san smiled at the kid. He popped open the beer. He looked around at their tiny living space. This building was mostly abandoned, so the rent was dirt cheap. It was pretty dreary, wasn't it? He was still trying to stay out of the reach of the Gold King, so they didn't have much money or anything. Most of the stuff he'd filled their one-room place with was just junk he'd found and brought back, but it was a depressing place for a kid, wasn't it? And it wasn't like Nagare had any other kids to play with, or school to go to. But.
Iwa-san was nervous about taking Nagare out too much, too. A cute kid in a wheelchair, all bound up... he would draw attention. Right? Iwa-san just had to be careful about where they went, but...
"Next time," Nagare repeated, and then the laptop's screen flashed bright colors that faintly painted Nagare's pale face, and upbeat music began. Iwa-san leaned over to check, but he had no idea what show Nagare had cued up.
It probably wasn't porn, though.
Nagare was staring intensely, leaning forward as much as he could. Kotosaka was flying around in circles above their heads, squawking cheerfully, calling out, "Happy! Happy!"
Iwa-san waited, and waited. "Go ahead, blow out the candle!" he prompted the kid.
Nagare narrowed his eyes, and then he took a deep breath. He blew as hard as he could.
The cake was on the low table, with a candle shaped like the number '12' smack in the middle. Nagare's chair was pulled up as close to the table as he could go, but he was too far away from the cake to blow out the candle. Iwa-san wanted to kick himself in the rear.
Undeterred, though, Nagare simply commanded, "Iwa-san, blow out the candle for me."
"Giving me orders!" Iwa-san complained, ruffling Nagare's hair, but he jovially leaned in and did as he was told. Nagare leaned back, satisfied.
Iwa-san shook his head. "Well... Happy Birthday, Nagare!" Iwa-san tried to say with conviction, but... he was struck. What sort of celebration did Nagare have last year? Who did he celebrate with? His parents, right? And probably friends? And... all those people were dead. Just like...
Kotosaka landed on Iwa-san's head. "Chicken! Fried chicken! Cake! Happy Birthday! Nagare! Nagare!"
"Thank you, Kotosaka," Nagare smiled at his bird clansman.
"Get off," Iwa-san sighed. No respect! Well, at least Kotosaka was good for his mood. "All right, all right," he sighed, and took out the candle and cut the cake. On the same plate as he'd already cut up the pieces of fried chicken, and put down the slice of cake.
With a joyful squawk, Kotosaka jumped from Iwa-san's head to the table to eat from his own plate.
Iwa-san shook his head at the bird. "I wonder if that bird was always weird, or if this is an effect of being a clansman."
"I might have changed him," Nagare replied calmly. "But, he was already special. He survived, after all."
Kotosaka survived, and so did Iwa-san and Nagare. That was it. Wait, Nagare said there was a girl, too? But. Even still. Out of all the people there...
"Iwa-san. Thank you," Nagare looked at Iwa-san, satisfaction all over his expression.
Iwa-san smiled easily. "Nah, this is nothing. I got you a present, too."
Nagare raised an eyebrow.
Iwa-san took a fork of cake and put it in Nagare's mouth. He pulled the box out from under the low table. "Well, it's second hand, but..."
"I used to have one of those," Nagare's eyes widened as he looked at the game system Iwa-san had gotten at the thrift store.
Iwa-san braced himself. They didn't talk about Life Before, but. It wasn't as if Iwa-san wouldn't listen if Nagare wanted to...
"Are there games?" Nagare asked patiently.
"Of course! What good is the box thing without the games!" Iwa-san laughed, as if the girl at the thrift store hadn't explained that very concept to him yesterday. He pulled out the game cases he'd picked up.
Nagare smiled. "Thank you, Iwa-san!"
His heart constricting, Iwa-san poked Nagare on the nose. "Happy Birthday, kid," he said warmly.
In response, Nagare opened his mouth for more cake.
Iwa-san finished scrubbing and rinsing the last dish, and he placed it on the dry rack with the others. He wiped his hands on the towel, and turned to survey their little home. Vacuuming was next, but Nagare was in the center of the room with the laptop in front of him. He was entirely absorbed with whatever he was doing.
He went to look over Nagare's shoulder. "Is that... a show?"
"No," Nagare replied, his voice low and zombie-like as his attention was entirely focused on the screen. "Online game."
"Oh," Iwa-san frowned. He didn't know much about those things, but he knew they existed. And... "Don't those cost money?"
"...............Usually," Nagare begrudgingly replied.
"Then, how...?" Iwa-san watched as one figure on the screen shot out purple flashes from his sword, decimating a hoard of green ogre-like monster things.
"...............I hacked the site. I made myself an admin," Nagare admitted.
"How do you know how to hack sites?" Iwa-san furrowed his brow, impressed more than anything else.
"It's not hard," Nagare gruffly scoffed.
Iwa-san held back his laughter. "Well. Be that as it may... I'm not really sure this is a good idea..." Would the game people be able to figure out what Nagare had done? Would they be able to find them? Iwa-san was more a nuts and bolts kind of guy, so he wasn't sure what they could and couldn't do. He wasn't even sure still how Nagare had internet, except Nagare said something about being aware of the signal, once he was connected to the computer.
"It's fine. I'm almost done with the game," Nagare diffidently assured Iwa-san.
"Oh, you mean you can beat the game? I thought games like this were more..." Iwa-san wasn't sure how to finish the sentence, but he thought people just kept playing these games for the rest of their lives.
"The rules are all wrong." Nagare made a cutely disgusted face. "Too much of the game revolves around bonuses that can only be gained through microtransactions. Even the most skilled players can't move forward or access certain areas without spending money on it. It's like the rules the Gold King has set up."
"Eh?" Iwa-san looked at Nagare in surprise.
"Those with resources can get more resources. Those close to those with resources, like those in the same guild, can get by. Those without resources, no matter how talented, no matter how dedicated, they just can't make the leaderboards. The people in charge have it already set up, who can win and who can't."
"I guess that's like life, all right," Iwa-san shrugged. "It's just not fair."
"No, life is not fair," Nagare agreed. "But this isn't about fair or not fair. This is about what is natural and unnatural. Bad luck can happen at any time to anyone; this is natural. It's unnatural to designate certain players as being worthy and other players as being unworthy, and then continuously pile on rewards to the worthy. In the game, it just means the board is limited for those who aren't privileged. In the Gold King's game... it means people die."
Iwa-san blinked, and found himself unable to speak. It wasn't as if he could say that the kid was wrong, but...
"I want to play a different sort of game. Maybe. I want to make it myself. Eventually." Nagare's voice was low and determined.
Iwa-san couldn't help it. He ruffled Nagare's hair with pride, ignoring the annoyed look he was getting from the kid. "Take your time and figure out how your game should go! I look forward to it!"
Kotosaka was grooming Nagare. He was bouncing from one perch to the next, picking and pulling at Nagare's hair lock by lock, making sure each and every strand was up to the bird's snuff. Nagare wasn't complaining. Of course not.
Nagare wasn't seeing or feeling anything from his own body.
Iwa-san sat in front of Nagare tensely, griping his beer can tightly. Nagare's eyes would move, as if he were looking at something that was moving, and his expression changed, but he wasn't reacting to anything Iwa-san or Kotosaka was doing. This was something new he had learned to do. But.
It had already been hours!
Kotosaka bounced from Nagare's head to Iwa-san's shoulder, and he squawked sadly at Iwa-san. But, there wasn't anything he could do for the bird.
They both had to wait.
Finally, Nagare blinked, and then he looked at Iwa-san and smiled.
"Where have you been!" Iwa-san threw his hands up in despair, like a father who had been expecting his kid home from school ages ago.
"I met a cat," Nagare replied calmly. He looked at the empty cans on the low table, but he looked back at Iwa-san calmly, without commenting.
"It's a little scary, this new trick of yours!" Iwa-san complained. He finished off the can he was holding. It was warm now, from being held... "Maybe until you've perfected it, you should stick with doing it on Kotosaka. At least he can talk."
"Good idea!" Kotosaka jumped off of Iwa-san's shoulder and landed on Nagare's chest, nuzzling under Nagare's chin. "Good idea!"
"All right," Nagare smiled at Kotosaka, inhaling his scent deeply. "It was fun, though."
Iwa-san shook his head, grinning despite himself.
A cat. This kid was one wonder after another.
"We'll have to think about moving soon," Iwa-san told Nagare upon returning home. He made sure to lock and double lock the door, and he looked out the peephole just to be sure.
"Why?"
Iwa-san kicked off his shoes and sighed. "I saw a couple of Blues in the area. I wonder if there's a strain, or if they're just returning to patrolling. Either way, I think they must be reporting to the Gold King. I recognized one of them. He was Habari Jin's man, and he's... dead, so." Iwa-san might be recognized. If they were patrolling, then Iwa-san and Nagare would have to be careful.
"I found someplace."
"Eh?" Iwa-san looked at the kid, and Nagare looked at his laptop, so Iwa-san crouched down and looked. "Is that...?"
"These are plans from the city's sanitation department's database. They built these tunnels for flood abatement under the city, but then they abandoned them. It will be perfect." Nagare leaned back, self-assured.
For a kid with a bird as his only clansman, he sure could be kingly when he wanted to be. "How did you... Where did... You're twelve," Iwa-san told Nagare.
Nagare blinked at Iwa-san slowly.
Iwa-san sighed.
"There are access tunnels connected to the utilities and sewer systems, so we should be able to move around to just about anywhere in the city undetected. That's what you want, right?" Nagare asked, his tone implying that he already knew the answer and he was leading Iwa-san to it gently.
"Well, true..." Iwa-san scratched the back of his head.
"I will miss this place, though," Nagare looked around at their shabby apartment. The kitchen was filthy, the living space was cramped, everything looked cheap and broken.
Iwa-san shook his head and ruffled Nagare's hair, laughing when Nagare predictably pouted at him. "This place is trash! But, well. If you like it..." Iwa-san looked at the kid.
What kind of place had Nagare lived before the Sword of Damocles fell on their world? Did he live in a house, with a nice backyard? Did he live in an apartment complex with lots of neighbors? What sort of relationship did he have with his parents? Was he a good kid who did well in school, or was he willful? These were things Iwa-san would never be able to know.
"If you like it here, then I'm happy," Iwa-san brightly beamed at Nagare.
Nagare blinked, and returned his attention to his laptop. "I wonder how long we'll have to avoid the Gold King, though," he mused under his breath.
"Iwa-san."
"Mm?" Iwa-san rearranged the dishes in the sink.
"Iwa-san. Come, sit."
"What is it, kid?" But, Nagare was waiting for Iwa-san to sit, so. Iwa-san had no choice but to sit. Nagare looked so pleased when Iwa-san did as he had directed, Iwa-san wanted to muss up his hair, something, but he resisted the temptation.
Nagare leaned back, and commanded confidently, "Kotosaka."
The bird squawked, and took flight. He spun around the room once, and then landed on top of the tall cabinet in the kitchen. He got something, and then flew back, dropping the box in Iwa-san's lap.
"There," Nagare sounded pleased as Kotosaka landed on his shoulder.
"Eh?" Iwa-san looked at Nagare in confusion.
"Happy Birthday, Iwa-san," Nagare smiled.
"Ha..." Iwa-san looked at the box. And then he looked at Nagare, and then at Kotosaka. And he looked at the box again. "How did you...?"
"I found out. I have my ways," Nagare boasted.
"Oh, do you?" Iwa-san chuckled, and he turned the box around and around. "Well, this is... I don't know what to say."
"Open it," Nagare urged.
"If you insist..." Iwa-san shrugged. How did the kid even...? Did he use Kotosaka as a medium? Or some other animal? Maybe he hacked some store's website and had them send him something? Anything was possible with Nagare! He opened the box, and then stared at the contents.
"Do you like it?" Nagare asked eagerly.
Iwa-san was dumbfounded. He picked up the small model airplane, and held it up. It had a slim cord to hang it from the ceiling.
"It was hard to think of something. And, it was not easy to locate it. But, we were watching that movie, and you said it would have been fun to be a pilot, right?" Nagare prodded Iwa-san to reply.
"That's right," Iwa-san grinned. "This is great, kid."
Nagare leaned back in his chair, visibly relaxing. He'd been... worried? "I'm glad. Happy Birthday, Iwa-san."
Something churned and roiled up inside of Iwa-san's belly. He leaned in, brushing back Nagare's bangs. Nagare winced, preparing for the expected messing up of his hair. Instead, Iwa-san gently kissed Nagare's forehead. When Iwa-san sat back down, Nagare was staring at him, but it wasn't an unpleasant expression. "Thank you, Nagare.
"I love it."