Post by Nicholas Gray on Oct 10, 2015 22:53:45 GMT -6
(this takes place around 4/5 weeks ago)
His metal leg was definitely making more noise than it used to.
Every time he walked, he could hear the creaking. Before the coma, he never noticed it. Now it was something he focused on so often. Every time he heard the creak, he’d think about his leg. And every time he thought about his leg, he’d think about everything that led to it, and everything that came after it. Every time.
It was a good reminder why this was the right thing to do.
Tom sat in the waiting room of a terminal in the San Diego International Airport, waiting for his and his brother’s flight back home to Japan. Kintaro had went off in search of something to snack on while they waited, leaving Tom to himself. He sat with his prosthetic leg stretched on the floor in front of him. He would extend it, and then bend it. Everytime he did, it would creak, and he’d focus on that. So focused on this self-reflective way of passing the time he never realized someone had taken the seat next to him. He didn’t realize it until the man spoke to him.
A Strange Man: Fancy leg you’ve got there.
Tom looked at him, blinking in confusion before looking down at his leg. He frowned.
Tom Higashikata: It ain’t. It’s just metal.
He flexed it again, causing another creak.
Tom Higashikata: Worthless metal.
A Strange Man: If that’s the way you look at it.
Tom turned his head again to look at him. Looking him in the face, he realized there was something familiar about him. But he couldn’t place the face. It was frustrating, like when you have a name on the tip of your tongue but it’s being held just out of reach.
Tom Higashikata: Am I supposed to know you?
The man shook his head.
A Strange Man: No, no...I know you, though. I’ve seen you many times.
Tom looked slightly weirded out, and the man smiled.
A Strange Man: On TV, I mean. Well, that and the Galactic Pretty Boys album you were on.
Tom winced, just hearing the team name making him think of all the unfair things that happened to his idol friends since that one appearance on their CD happened.
Tom Higashikata: I don’t like remembering that.
A Strange Man: Ahhh, sorry. I don’t mean to offend.
Tom Higashikata: Whatever…
He hoped that was the end of it, and went back to focusing on his leg. But he wasn’t allowed to focus on it, as the man spoke again.
A Strange Man: So, is this it then?
Tom looked at him again, annoyed.
Tom Higashikata: What?
A Strange Man: For you, here. I follow you on Twitter, and you made it seem like this is the finale for you in this country.
Tom was silent a moment.
Tom Higashikata: ...yeah, pretty much. I ain’t coming back.
A Strange Man: And why is that?
It was strange, but for some reason the thought of why he was talking so freely to this man never tried to enter his head. He just did.
Tom Higashikata: Because I can’t stand to watch what happens anymore. It’s all too weird and fucked up and it just...hurts to watch.
A Strange Man: What do you mean?
Tom Higashikata: Everytime I turn on the TV to watch a show, or just look at Twitter, I see everything getting more and more fucked up. Dudes I was tight with are fighting each other. Some of my friends turned into assholes. Some of my friends just...fuck, feels like they got attacked by the world itself.
His expression briefly turns angry, but not at anyone outward.
Tom Higashikata: And while all that shit was happening to them, where was I? Nowhere. Because of my own stupid, stupid shit, I couldn’t be there when people needed me. Carey loses his dad, he gets fuckin’...space AIDs...has to fight that facepainted lunatic and the voodoo lady. Least he has his biker friends. Ophelia gets a concussion and can’t wrestle, cooped up in a hospital room, and I don’t even bother trying to visit her because I’m too busy trying to kill myself with SHOZO. At least she found people worth a damn to have around her. And Shinji has to fight fucking SHOZO. And he couldn’t win, and that bastard stood tall with his belt. But Shinji at least had Destiny to prop him up.
He’s silent a moment, looking at his hands.
Tom Higashikata: And all of ‘em had to waste time during all that, when they should be focusing on all the awful things happening to them, to stand over a hospital bed and worry about my stupid, stupid ass.
He looks at the man.
Tom Higashikata: That’s why I’m leaving.
The man nods, expression betraying nothing of what he was thinking.
A Strange Man: So then, what will you do when you get home?
He doesn’t answer immediately, looking away. But when he does look at him, it’s with a sad, accepting look.
Tom Higashikata: Nothing.
The man raises an eyebrow.
A Strange Man: I’m sorry?
Tom Higashikata: I said nothing. I’m gonna become nothing. I’m going home, I’m going to get a shitty, boring job, and I’m going to just...do that. Stay away from everyone.
A Strange Man: And why is that?
Tom’s expression changes to one of anger.
Tom Higashikata: Were you not listening?! I’ve been a burden, a stain, a weight holding everyone I gave a shit about down! I get in the way, I don’t contribute, I’m just there hoping someone will look at me and tell me I matter to them! They deserve better than that, they deserve people who fucking are something to be around them! Not some nobody trying too hard to be somebody.
He pauses.
Tom Higashikata: And that’s all I am. A nobody. I’m nothing.
The man lets out a sigh, and Tom briefly looks away, worried that he’s now managed to annoy this stranger. Looking away makes him miss that sigh turn into a small smile.
A Strange Man: Being nothing isn’t a bad place to start.
Tom blinks a few times, turning his head to look back at the man.
A Strange Man: After all, don’t we all start off as nothing? Your brother, SHOZO, Shinji, Fujita, Ophelia, Carey...they all started as nothing, the base state of humanity. And at some point they chose to become more than nothing.
The man looks at Tom, and gives him a smile.
A Strange Man: The difference between nothing and something is only what you make it.
Tom Higashikata: That’s…
He shakes his head.
Tom Higashikata: You really wasting my time with stupid cheesy shit like that?
The man shrugs.
A Strange Man: That’s up to you if it’s just wasting time, isn’t it?
He stands up, dusting his suit off briefly before looking down at Tom.
A Strange Man: In the end, the only person who can decide your worth is yourself, Mr. Higashikata. And if anyone deserves a kinder eye shown on themselves, it’s you.
He extends a hand down to him, which Tom slowly reaches out and takes, the two shaking briefly.
A Strange Man: Until next time.
Tom Higashikata: ...yeah. Alright. Take care.
A Strange Man: Say that to yourself.
And with that, the man walks away, Tom turning his head to watch him go. A frown comes to his face, as he thinks on everything.
Apparently it was a deeper thinking session than he thought it would be, as he jumped a bit when he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his brother standing over him.
Kintaro Higashikata: Tom! Come on, they’re calling for our flight.
Tom blinked a few times, wondering where the time went, but nodded as he stood up. He took one step, and heard the creak of his leg. He looked down at it, and found himself thinking about all of it yet again. Kintaro could tell he stopped, and sighed.
Kintaro Higashikata: Tom, come on!
Tom was silent for a moment, looking down at his leg before slowly looking up at his brother. He bit his lip, uncertain of what he was about to say. And finally, he pushed it out.
Tom Higashikata: Noriaki.
Kintaro paused, turning to look at him with surprise evident in his face.
Tom Higashikata: Please. Call me Noriaki. I just…
He pauses a moment, thinking about everything.
All his sadness. All his pain. Every frustrated night spent trying to reconcile a persona he hated with a person he hated just as much.
And the people who tried to show him that person didn’t deserve so much hate. That maybe, just maybe, it was alright to be himself.
A kinder eye.
He looks at Kintaro and it’s with a look his brother has not seen on his face in so long, making the Golden Hero grin at the sight of it.
Noriaki Higashikata: I just want to leave all that baggage behind me.
Kintaro nods, taking a step back to put his arm around his little brother.
Kintaro Higashikata: As you say, Noriaki.
And they started to walk to the terminal. And as they did, he thought. About what to do next. The possibilities, the choices in front of him. How all of them were on him now.
Because now he’d cut his safety net away. Any mistakes he made, he couldn’t blame on Tom. They’d all be on him and him alone. On Noriaki.
That was something, right?
The End.
The strange, familiar man that’s just helped Noriaki continues to walk away. A pep in his step, a smile on his face, a sense of accomplishment.
A chuckle left him, as he began to speak words directed to no one around him.
A Strange Man: And that is the first to fall from you to me. Maybe an insignificant beginning, maybe not. A victory is a victory. When you finally realize this has happened, I hope you won’t be too surprised I went for him first. After all…
From his coat he pulls out a length of some hard, black material. Pressing it to his face tiny shards shoot out from the edge and dig into the back of his head to secure itself to his face.
The Faceless Man: Those of us with no Fate should stick together.
His metal leg was definitely making more noise than it used to.
Every time he walked, he could hear the creaking. Before the coma, he never noticed it. Now it was something he focused on so often. Every time he heard the creak, he’d think about his leg. And every time he thought about his leg, he’d think about everything that led to it, and everything that came after it. Every time.
It was a good reminder why this was the right thing to do.
Tom sat in the waiting room of a terminal in the San Diego International Airport, waiting for his and his brother’s flight back home to Japan. Kintaro had went off in search of something to snack on while they waited, leaving Tom to himself. He sat with his prosthetic leg stretched on the floor in front of him. He would extend it, and then bend it. Everytime he did, it would creak, and he’d focus on that. So focused on this self-reflective way of passing the time he never realized someone had taken the seat next to him. He didn’t realize it until the man spoke to him.
A Strange Man: Fancy leg you’ve got there.
Tom looked at him, blinking in confusion before looking down at his leg. He frowned.
Tom Higashikata: It ain’t. It’s just metal.
He flexed it again, causing another creak.
Tom Higashikata: Worthless metal.
A Strange Man: If that’s the way you look at it.
Tom turned his head again to look at him. Looking him in the face, he realized there was something familiar about him. But he couldn’t place the face. It was frustrating, like when you have a name on the tip of your tongue but it’s being held just out of reach.
Tom Higashikata: Am I supposed to know you?
The man shook his head.
A Strange Man: No, no...I know you, though. I’ve seen you many times.
Tom looked slightly weirded out, and the man smiled.
A Strange Man: On TV, I mean. Well, that and the Galactic Pretty Boys album you were on.
Tom winced, just hearing the team name making him think of all the unfair things that happened to his idol friends since that one appearance on their CD happened.
Tom Higashikata: I don’t like remembering that.
A Strange Man: Ahhh, sorry. I don’t mean to offend.
Tom Higashikata: Whatever…
He hoped that was the end of it, and went back to focusing on his leg. But he wasn’t allowed to focus on it, as the man spoke again.
A Strange Man: So, is this it then?
Tom looked at him again, annoyed.
Tom Higashikata: What?
A Strange Man: For you, here. I follow you on Twitter, and you made it seem like this is the finale for you in this country.
Tom was silent a moment.
Tom Higashikata: ...yeah, pretty much. I ain’t coming back.
A Strange Man: And why is that?
It was strange, but for some reason the thought of why he was talking so freely to this man never tried to enter his head. He just did.
Tom Higashikata: Because I can’t stand to watch what happens anymore. It’s all too weird and fucked up and it just...hurts to watch.
A Strange Man: What do you mean?
Tom Higashikata: Everytime I turn on the TV to watch a show, or just look at Twitter, I see everything getting more and more fucked up. Dudes I was tight with are fighting each other. Some of my friends turned into assholes. Some of my friends just...fuck, feels like they got attacked by the world itself.
His expression briefly turns angry, but not at anyone outward.
Tom Higashikata: And while all that shit was happening to them, where was I? Nowhere. Because of my own stupid, stupid shit, I couldn’t be there when people needed me. Carey loses his dad, he gets fuckin’...space AIDs...has to fight that facepainted lunatic and the voodoo lady. Least he has his biker friends. Ophelia gets a concussion and can’t wrestle, cooped up in a hospital room, and I don’t even bother trying to visit her because I’m too busy trying to kill myself with SHOZO. At least she found people worth a damn to have around her. And Shinji has to fight fucking SHOZO. And he couldn’t win, and that bastard stood tall with his belt. But Shinji at least had Destiny to prop him up.
He’s silent a moment, looking at his hands.
Tom Higashikata: And all of ‘em had to waste time during all that, when they should be focusing on all the awful things happening to them, to stand over a hospital bed and worry about my stupid, stupid ass.
He looks at the man.
Tom Higashikata: That’s why I’m leaving.
The man nods, expression betraying nothing of what he was thinking.
A Strange Man: So then, what will you do when you get home?
He doesn’t answer immediately, looking away. But when he does look at him, it’s with a sad, accepting look.
Tom Higashikata: Nothing.
The man raises an eyebrow.
A Strange Man: I’m sorry?
Tom Higashikata: I said nothing. I’m gonna become nothing. I’m going home, I’m going to get a shitty, boring job, and I’m going to just...do that. Stay away from everyone.
A Strange Man: And why is that?
Tom’s expression changes to one of anger.
Tom Higashikata: Were you not listening?! I’ve been a burden, a stain, a weight holding everyone I gave a shit about down! I get in the way, I don’t contribute, I’m just there hoping someone will look at me and tell me I matter to them! They deserve better than that, they deserve people who fucking are something to be around them! Not some nobody trying too hard to be somebody.
He pauses.
Tom Higashikata: And that’s all I am. A nobody. I’m nothing.
The man lets out a sigh, and Tom briefly looks away, worried that he’s now managed to annoy this stranger. Looking away makes him miss that sigh turn into a small smile.
A Strange Man: Being nothing isn’t a bad place to start.
Tom blinks a few times, turning his head to look back at the man.
A Strange Man: After all, don’t we all start off as nothing? Your brother, SHOZO, Shinji, Fujita, Ophelia, Carey...they all started as nothing, the base state of humanity. And at some point they chose to become more than nothing.
The man looks at Tom, and gives him a smile.
A Strange Man: The difference between nothing and something is only what you make it.
Tom Higashikata: That’s…
He shakes his head.
Tom Higashikata: You really wasting my time with stupid cheesy shit like that?
The man shrugs.
A Strange Man: That’s up to you if it’s just wasting time, isn’t it?
He stands up, dusting his suit off briefly before looking down at Tom.
A Strange Man: In the end, the only person who can decide your worth is yourself, Mr. Higashikata. And if anyone deserves a kinder eye shown on themselves, it’s you.
He extends a hand down to him, which Tom slowly reaches out and takes, the two shaking briefly.
A Strange Man: Until next time.
Tom Higashikata: ...yeah. Alright. Take care.
A Strange Man: Say that to yourself.
And with that, the man walks away, Tom turning his head to watch him go. A frown comes to his face, as he thinks on everything.
Apparently it was a deeper thinking session than he thought it would be, as he jumped a bit when he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his brother standing over him.
Kintaro Higashikata: Tom! Come on, they’re calling for our flight.
Tom blinked a few times, wondering where the time went, but nodded as he stood up. He took one step, and heard the creak of his leg. He looked down at it, and found himself thinking about all of it yet again. Kintaro could tell he stopped, and sighed.
Kintaro Higashikata: Tom, come on!
Tom was silent for a moment, looking down at his leg before slowly looking up at his brother. He bit his lip, uncertain of what he was about to say. And finally, he pushed it out.
Tom Higashikata: Noriaki.
Kintaro paused, turning to look at him with surprise evident in his face.
Tom Higashikata: Please. Call me Noriaki. I just…
He pauses a moment, thinking about everything.
All his sadness. All his pain. Every frustrated night spent trying to reconcile a persona he hated with a person he hated just as much.
And the people who tried to show him that person didn’t deserve so much hate. That maybe, just maybe, it was alright to be himself.
A kinder eye.
He looks at Kintaro and it’s with a look his brother has not seen on his face in so long, making the Golden Hero grin at the sight of it.
Noriaki Higashikata: I just want to leave all that baggage behind me.
Kintaro nods, taking a step back to put his arm around his little brother.
Kintaro Higashikata: As you say, Noriaki.
And they started to walk to the terminal. And as they did, he thought. About what to do next. The possibilities, the choices in front of him. How all of them were on him now.
Because now he’d cut his safety net away. Any mistakes he made, he couldn’t blame on Tom. They’d all be on him and him alone. On Noriaki.
That was something, right?
The End.
The strange, familiar man that’s just helped Noriaki continues to walk away. A pep in his step, a smile on his face, a sense of accomplishment.
A chuckle left him, as he began to speak words directed to no one around him.
A Strange Man: And that is the first to fall from you to me. Maybe an insignificant beginning, maybe not. A victory is a victory. When you finally realize this has happened, I hope you won’t be too surprised I went for him first. After all…
From his coat he pulls out a length of some hard, black material. Pressing it to his face tiny shards shoot out from the edge and dig into the back of his head to secure itself to his face.
The Faceless Man: Those of us with no Fate should stick together.
