#esperobin

♪ - Linked Horizon - Jiyuu no Tsubasa; SnK AU

Kaito remembers turning around once, in the forest, while still fastening his 3D Maneuver Gear…and he swore he saw it then.There in the sunlit meadow, there it had been…a bird from the outside.

He is sure this kind does not grow inside walls.

"Why the fuck are you even here…?!" he grits at the newcomers. What a pity…that they had to train their soldiers among twelve year old recruits now. Kaito is angry. He screams at each of them, trying his hardest to scare them away.Kaito kicks the stone with his boot and grabs the blue hair of the boy."What is your name, recruit?!"

He is afraid. Kaito can smell it."F-Fuuya Okudaira….Sir…Sir!"

Kaito hates boys like those. He’s seen him sharing his meal with everyone and telling jokes and trying to cheer others up. Kaito…hates those the most. There is is joyful innocence left to them not prepared for battle.Kaito hides behind the doors that evening, squinting his eyes in pain when Fuuya thought nobody saw and showed others a forbidden book of outside."Don’t you…don’t you dream to see the world…?"

Haruto would be ten soon. Kaito feels like he failed him.

…It isn’t until three years later when they scout the forests in front of the wall that Kaito dares to ask.When they are above the trees soaring up in green capes and with the blades on their wrists. When he had hoped the boy named Fuuya would crumble but he didn’t."Why…do you fight?"

The bird broke through its shell to sear through the skies, not to crawl on the ground without dignity, right?

Kaito has figured it out. He…he wishes he could be be shy anxious little Fuuya, because Fuuya possessed something much more precious.Fuuya wanted something.

And what are your wings for Isn’t the sky without your cage too narrow for you?

The difference between Kaito and Fuuya is not their position or their skill or their ability to survive. The difference is that Kaito has given up on himself for a long time. He doesn’t long for anything, has no wishes and no desire but to retain the status quo.

As for why we were even born…I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to these complicated things.But even if that were a mistake…I know what we’re living for…It’s nothing illogical…we exist…therefore we are free!

Fuuya Okudaire. He wants something. He longs for freedom.Kaito bites his lip. Perhaps…perhaps this is humanity.

Kaito sat through two full seasons of ESPer Robin with Haruto shortly after his recovery, his little brother enraptured by the action and adventure. In his own way, Kaito had become a fan of sorts, occasionally snorting to himself over thoughts about the show.  The magazine is wrong, there's no way that's going to be the big plot twist.

Even still, he felt a bit foolish standing in the official studio store, sifting through various products while trying to think of what Haruto might like. Comics? Figures? Games? Haruto had spent so long not fitting the role of a 'typical boy' that Kaito was unsure of what children his age really enjoyed. An attempt to recall his own childhood activities proved rather useless - his interests had been 'weird' according to his classmates at the time.

A smile tugged on the corners of Yuma's lips, eyes glinting. "Fuuya!" The boy couldn't help but let the grin spread across his face at the sight of his friend. "So, you managed to find this place, too?" He remembered how he had told the other boy about 'Tumblr' thing. He just wasn't aware that he would actually listen to Yuma.

That was it. The D.D. ESPer Robin studios, beyond the heavy iron gate. There were security guards surrounding it, on all sides, imposing in their masks and uniforms with batons and--

Kyou fiddled with the bento box in his hands, suddenly nervous. No, he would not overthink this, he would not descend into the endless spiral of worrying and frantic thoughts and--

IV was a shaking mess. His neck was bruised, his face still bloody, legs unsteady and sore. He'd been out cold for nearly a full day, and had slipped in and out conciousness after that. He knew Fuuya wouldn't be at the studio now that shooting was over. He was taking the risk, and in the dead of night, was staggering down the empty streets to where he knew Fuuya lived.

His hands shook as he knocked lightly. He wonders briefly if Fuuya or his mother will answer. What will the reaction be? He has nowhere else to go. He can't go to Tron or III. Fuuya's all he has.

He nearly slides down the outter door frame from the pain. His while right side is bruised from the way he'd be thrown. His hair is tangled and blood is caked on the back and down the side of his face. God everything hurts....

IV taps Fuuya's nose, lifting a bit of whipped cream off as a result of his drink. He licks his finger and glances around the area outside the city, the hillside quiet other than them and their small picnic. IV hadn't been too cottoned to the idea of that typical 'let's have a picnic date together', finding it to be something out of a bad romance movie, but the whole thing had been rather enjoyable.

They talked about the new script, how things were between IV and V, any progress that III was making (which was none, of course), the latest tabloids, and then the discussion turned to them and their lives.

"Anyway, that was the last time I ever had a pet. I can't say I'm much of an animal lover but Toby was a good dog." He stretched back over the blanket, arms folded behind his head.

IV would say he felt bad putting V partially in the spotlight as they made their way through the streets, but in truth he felt a small pang of satisfaction. He was upset with V and for the loyalty he had chosen and in some small way this satisfied his need to watch his brother squirm a bit. Perhaps not the makings of a true healthy brother relationship but what part of this was healthy and normal.

He opens the door to the coffee shop, which is off from the main roads, and leads V inside. It's quiet, only a few people sitting off in their own areas reading or talking in hushed voices. It's what draws IV here. The silence and the warmth of it.