Without Talent

haruumaki:

she’s broken.

this is a fact she is well aware of,  though she cannot move her head to survey the damage.  she remembers little clearly,  only repeated exposure burns something into her memory –  her encounters with  I2-0R0  are just that.  in each one,  she ends up broken,  be it torn circuitry or broken limbs,  the results of their fights  (  both dangerous and  destructive.  )  this time,  the other bot has lingered,  looming over her where she lays,  red eyes gleaming as he looks down at her –

he  should,  speaks a voice.  he was created to be better.  to be  perfect.

there is a rattle to the side,  metal scraping as it is pushed away,  a path clearing out,  familiar footsteps –  she is not at all proficient in identifying emotions,  but she believes she can confidently name this one as  dread.  even without the aid of sight,  she knows that it is  him.  she wishes so desperately to speak,  to tell him to turn tail and run  (  were the two standing to clash,  he would perish at  I2-0R0′s  hands.  )  the pace increases,  each footfall louder than the last until finally he crouches at her side,  hands hovering worriedly over her twisted form.

she frowns.  speaks,  despite how her neck feels compressed,  crushed slightly.    ❝    … k - kaito.    ❞

@haruumaki   /    @luminaryway    /   @unspecifiedtalent

     This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. 

     Today was supposed to have just gone smoothly, Kaito taking Maki out to help her familiarize herself with the city corner that they lived in while he ran some errands. She wasn’t supposed to leave his sights, but she had. He’d been just arriving to the store that was holding the parts he’d ordered not more than a few days ago after getting the call in that they had arrived when he had turned to tell her something, only to find the spot next to him that she had recently occupied to be empty. At first, he had thought maybe she had been swept away by the traffic of bodies, but it turned out that wasn’t the case. 

     He had searched the strip that held the little parts shop as well as a bit of the surrounding area, calling her name and hoping she had just been distracted by something. When it turned out not to be the case, he had pulled up the tracking device in his phone as a last resort. Earlier in her fixing, he had installed a gps like device in her arm the first time that he had fixed her up that fateful night. It wasn’t anything serious, he did it with nearly all of his devices. 

     Kaito followed the dot as quickly as he could, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight that lay before him. Maki was mangled, broken and smashed, sparks flying off of some of her parts. And standing there above her? It was one of the other perfect models that he had seen in an old flyer that had been stored in his grandfather’s books, the corners frayed and yellowed. Was this really….one of those models? 

     He didn’t have time to focus on the other bot– not right now. 

     “Maki!” Kaito was rushing over to her, barely hearing his own name on her lips, the sound coming out oddly as the other bot must have crushed part of her speaker. There’s an overwhelming anger that errupts inside of his body, an explosion going off behind his eyes before he’s up and already making a move to lunge at the walking piece of history right in front of him. It hadn’t really crossed his mind yet that it wasn’t a human being that had done this.

haruumaki / luminaryway / @unspecifiedtalent·

     Tracking her down once more was easy, as all of his tasks and assignments were. His mission details had changed since the first time-- he was no longer to eradicate the threat ( if one could even refer to the other bot as such; she was much weaker and had such a poor design compared to himself ), instead he was supposed to gather as much information as possible about it and it's new way of life. 

     Eventually, he hoped, that his task would involve ending this pathetic game of cat and mouse. While he enjoyed a little part of breaking it's body each and every time, he had no pleasure upon their next meeting when it was repaired and trying once more, in vein, to kill him. It was pathetic and weak and had no idea what it was up against. He was indeed the far superior model. 

     He had reminded it of that again, doing much more damage than the last times they had clashed together. He was just about to finish this fight, planning on giving whoever was fixing M4-K1's body over and over without being smart enough to upgrade it's pathetic frame and hardware a hard time on the repairs. However he doesn't get the satisfaction of breaking it a little beyond repair as an annoying human comes running in like a noisy fright train. 

     He doesn't seem very pleased with Izuru and what he's done, the emotions easy to read with his built in data banks. Humans are so predictable, however. If you hurt or break something they care about, they become reckless and try and seek a way to hurt you back. Just like the human before him. It was petty and rather annoying.

     Deflecting the blow was easy enough, all Izuru had to do was grab the man's wrist and fling him off to the side like some sort of rag doll. Crimson eyes never left M4-K1 as he does this. 

     "How annoying," he comments, his tone inflecting no emotions what-so-ever. Why would he have a need for them? He was a robot, just like the one laying on the ground before him. He could feel no emotion, feel no pain. It allowed him to do superhuman things. "You should really learn to keep humans away from these fights. They have no place in what is wanted with you, M4-K1. However, you are significantly weaker and are not as well built. If I could, I would take pity on you and put you out of commission, but those are not my orders as of right now."

     Collecting intel was a pain, but he had no other choice but to follow through with it. It was what he had been ordered to do for this task specifically. They had lost the other of the project, one that had been the first, before his own restoration. 12-0R0, or better known as Izuru, had been sent out to look for her. He knew not of his past or of what he had been when he was scrapped and thrown away by his original creators along with many who were his copy. 

     He had been re-written, re-programmed and re-purposed all for the sake of finding something for those who had fixed him. He was one of the last, he had heard them say once. He'd heard many things while laying open on a table, having many inventors and technicians poke around at his internal parts while his consciousness was uploaded onto a computer for editing. But he had been there the entire time. 

     Even with all of that knowledge, there was still quite a bit missing from his data bank that he had just accepted ( for now ) that he would never be getting back. He tries not to dwell much upon that thought, instead working his way through the city's back alleys and darker places. Places a broken bot would be hiding. 

     It seems that he was right-- his sensors picking up on a bot close by. He wasn't close enough to be able to determine if it was M4-K1 yet, but he steers onto the right path, following the mental map in his mind. If he took two lefts, then a right up at the next intersection, he could cut this bot off. Silently, he follows through with his plans, briskly walking as quickly and as silently as he could. One good thing about being a battle bot was the fact that he looked completely and utterly human. He'd been created to go undetected. 

     He moves quickly, stepping out in front of the other. Crimson orbs flash for a moment as he indeed confirms that it is the one he's looking for. 

     "M4-K1." 

@unspecifiedtalent wants a perfect meeting

“Brother” a single word can be heard escaping the mouth of the silent shadow. he is there for god knows how long, just observing whatever his brother was doing. A skill of an ultimate spy is rather useful when it came down to his usual routines. Seeing how the class he was in suddenly fell completely silent, everyone else did not fail to notice him now. A rather tall figure, concealed by the shadow of it’s own hair. The perfect human dressed as a member of the reserve course. Everyone here failed to recognize this person. And Izuru could honestly care less. He had the permission to move wherever he wanted to. And the teachers were notified, seeing how the actual adult started to actively divert everyone’s attention from the dark male to the topic at hand. 

“I didn’t mean to interrupt…but i would like to spend some time with you” That’s basically the ultimate hope’s way of saying. Pay attention to me. he does not feel any sort of remorse about this entire situation. He wants it, so he came to take it. 

     The sound of his brother's voice was startling enough to rip Hinata and a few of his classmates out of their lesson despite the fact that their teacher continued to talk on and on about the lesson at hand as if nothing had happened. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, but each and every time it always seemed to send his heart into overdrive. Izuru was his twin brother, yet he always seemed to find ways to startle him when he wasn't ready for them. Hinata lets out a deep sigh, glancing once towards his teacher only to be given a slight nod in the midst of the lecture. 

     Quietly, he stands and packs his things up. 

     Why couldn't he have just sent me a text instead of showing up like this so randomly? He finds himself thinking, not entirely too upset that he's going to be missing the lesson as he quietly steps out of the classroom so he can speak with his brother in private. 

      eyes flicker towards him at the SOFT sound – scarlet hues simply staring at him, much as he stares at her. of course she knows who he is. though the gambler plays as if she is UNAWARE of those around her, predatory eyes are truly always watching. celestia has heard the rumors – and yet there is no FLICKER of emotion upon her face – carefully crafted as she finally parts her lips to speak.

           “ that i AM – all good things i hope. hmhmhm. a reputation is rather important to a lady after all. “

     "How boring. You are exactly as I expected." 

     Unfortunate, actually. He'd been hoping for something a little more. But when you had the ability of every talent known to man, there wasn't much that could thrill you anymore, was there? That was something Izuru had been struggling with since day one of his existence. He was sure that she had heard the rumors as well ( those speaking these lies didn't try to keep their voices low, after all ), but she didn't make any indications that she knew of them. 

“well ..  not really, but that ain’t gonna stop me from tryin’!” of course, he knew this wouldn’t exactly be an easy task, if anything it’d take him a loooong time to make one, functioning nevertheless. but! he had the knowledge on how to get things from a to b. . but never this large. he wasn’t sure if he’d ever really get this accomplished, but it wouldn’t hurt to try!

     That's what I thought. 

     He isn't surprised at that. A general knowledge could get anyone at least some of the way there, but a rocket ship that was supposed to be an actual functioning ship? It was a bit of a reach. 

     "How do you plan on building it? Don't people usually have to go to school for that kind of thing?" After all, it was called rocket science for a reason. Maybe he was underestimating Souda. The other had surprised him before on several different occasions, after all. 

@unspecifiedtalent

“excuse me, hinata-kun.”

her voice, soft and gentle, doesn’t ring out as much as it floats like a feather onto his desk. she is unsmiling and yet it’s obvious she intends no harm. sonohara has always seemed aloof to others, but there is no doubt that she makes a good class representative. responsible, soft-spoken, diplomatic–she’s perfect for the role.

she adjusts the clipboard she holds clasped in her arm, pressed against her chest (in some way, to try and hide it; but of course it can’t be hidden. it’s likely her most defining characteristic). “i was wondering if you’d like to participate in the volleyball intramurals. it’s just for fun, so even if you haven’t played before, it would be nice to have you on the team…”

     His gaze is shifting from the window near his desk to the approaching figure that turned out to be his class representative. Hinata has never held any ill feelings towards the girl-- she honestly seemed like a good person. He'd never held too many conversations to her, however, so it was rare for her to be approaching him. 

     “A rocket ship? Do you even know anything about rocket science?” 

Kokichi turned behind to stare at the Greenie who clearly talked a lot, while he didn’t mind having to deal with the newbies since he never really had anything better to do than the usual tasks, Kokichi wasn’t very fond of the noisy ones. Looking at the walls of the maze once more, the shorter male gave a small sigh.

‘ Listen here, Greenie… I don’t want to be mean to you on your first day here, but, just think about it: All of us here arrived here just like you did, were just as confused as you are right now, and had those very same questions you’re making. Do you think any of the boys have the answers? You can go ask each boy that is in the Glade, you won’t find a single one that can answer half of your questions. ’

Kokichi said as he crossed his arms. ‘ And don’t bother asking the runners, they can’t provide you any info either. Just give some time before you get an ugly headache from thinking too much… we don’t have medicine for headaches, y’know? ’ The last part was a little lie, but the other didn’t need to know that. ‘ You see, Greenie, it’s not that we don’t want to answer your questions… we’re still lacking answers and that’s it. C’mon, I don’t want to spend the whole day introducing you stuff, let’s go. ’

     Too late for that. I'm already getting a headache...

     Hajime can't help but to heave a deep sigh. Kokichi had a point-- they were all stuck here together. But it didn't stop Hajime from having so many question. He didn't understand it. Why would they send a bunch of teenage boys into some giant maze? What had they done to deserve something like that? It wasn't like they had done some awful terrible thing. Hell, the youngest of them all had to be no older than 13 and the older boys were probably almost 18 if he had to place them. 

     That made Hajime wonder suddenly as he was quickly catching up to Kokichi. How old was he? Of course no one could answer that for sure, but maybe he could get a rough estimate on it just for know say? Maybe once they got out of this mess and Hajime was able to find his parents, he'd learn who he really was. 

     Although what kind of parents let their kid be stolen and put into this kind of situation in the first place? 

“I have,” she responded, nodding in greeting. Though they often talked at school, it had been some time since they were last on set together. Arguably, Kyouko thought the plot a little too predictable.

“It’s going to be quite the busy first day. Are you ready for it?”

     There's a short sigh that leaves through his nose as he glances down at the boolet in hand. Another season, another reason he gets to be named the Super High School Level Actor. All in a day's work, right? But, at least there's someone on set he feels comfortable with. 

     "That doesn't sound like a good idea at all." 

     He's going to be honest with him, especially after listening to something like that... It was way too eccentric. Even though Souda was talented that kind of thing was absolutely impossible. 

mondo hadn’t ever been one much for actually spending time on the beach…until he had met hinata, that is. he’d always loved watching the sunset, but he always found stripping off his biker gear or his uniform off just enough to stay cool to be a chore. he hated the feeling of sand. but, somehow, as he sits beside this boy who had managed to take his world by storm…it was absolutely wonderful, the beach was worth every single inconvenience. the sky seemed to be a clearer blue, and the ocean seemed to be cleaner and more vivid when hinata was with him, as if he could take away the pollution the air just by being around–as if he brought color back into mondo’s world.

he didn’t want to glorify this boy. he understood that the both of them had flaws. and yet, it was still somewhat hard not to romanticize him, if only a little. while mondo had been at hope’s peak, he had been really thankful to all of the people who had help bring him out of his depression and out of his selfish bubble, but no one had actually helped him out as much as hinata had. as plain as this boy thought he was, mondo saw…so much more. while hinata saw a piece of paper covered in shitty doodles, this leader, who had always seen the potential in others, could see the lines creating wonderful images that no one else could see, maybe. he wished others could. he especially wished that hinata could. 

his hand reaches for hinata’s without thinking, as he runs through his own consciousness and thinks about how far they’ve both come in a fairly short time. they’re…good for each other. that’s what mondo thinks. but it’s so scary; he’s never known a feeling like this, and he’s never thought he could fall for a boy this hard, but…

wait, fall?

yes, fall.

he was…falling for hinata. fast. not inorganically, but fast nonetheless. and as mondo realizes that, his face grows a bit red–and hinata brings him back to reality.

“huh? what’s up?”

     Getting Mondo's attention was a lot easier than he thought it would be. Logically thinking, it should be that easy. They were here together-- it wasn't like they were here with a bunch of friends. It was just the two of them on this lonely little beach next to the ice cream shop they'd shared their first sunset together for the first time. 

     Had that really only been just a short time ago? He hadn't even noticed as it's seemed like it's been so long since they'd met. It was crazy how much his life had changed since Mondo had stepped into it threatening him for catching him smoking behind one of the school's buildings. They'd already shared so much, had grown so close. 

     I never thought I'd feel this way about another boy before....It's wrong. I know it's wrong but....I can't help it. 

     A hand comes up and it twists into his shirt right over his heart. Hazel eyes drop to the sand and Hinata heaves a deep sigh, trying to compose himself. It was three words. All he had to say was three simple little words. Why did it feel like his throat was closing up? He almost couldn't breathe. Now was not the time for a panic attack! 

     "I....I..." 

     He has to stop there, close his mouth and try and calm the stuttering breath coming from his nose. 

     I can't calm down! Is this really worth losing the only person who actually thinks I'm worth something over? 

     But he knew that if he didn't say it now, he would regret it. 

     Hinata's face was quickly turning red and he had to turn it away from Mondo, unable to look at him. Maybe that would help him calm down. He feels stupid-- this was all so irrational and it was really starting to irritate him. Why couldn't he just pull himself together?! It wasn't life or death and he's usually so composed! 

     "I...Want to tell you..." 

     Another deep breath as he calms himself down.