yay now is fighty time [video]

[letsgohurtpeople]

[He almost doesn't want to make the stupid video but he knows that, as much as he wants to, he can't just hide away until the next mission, ninja in, and start doing...whatever. Hero stuff. Whatever it is that heroes do.]

[God, he's done it this time, hasn't he? Gotten into yet more hero crap, and he doesn't even know these assholes. At least back home, he and the other Remedial kids are friends now. Sure, he's hoping to eventually use them in his whole quest for vengeance, but at this point, they'd probably help out with that willingly.]

[Now he's got to make nicey nice with a bunch of strangers, when it was already hard enough to do it the first time. And apparently he's not allowed to kill anybody if he joins up with their outfit. The only way to really face this threat to all their worlds is with this stupid team, and that means he's got to follow their stupid rules.]

[So it's a very cranky ninja that appears on screen. His face is cowled; the small bit of skin that's visible is a bright blue. Two pointy white horns jut out from the sides of his forehead, and his eyes glow with a menacing orange glow. Even though his face is cowled, the way his eyes are crinkled up make it clear he's scowling under there.]

[When he speaks, his voice is low and raspy. He sounds like the teenage boy he is, but definitely the kind of teenage boy that smokes six packs a day. Also the Joisey accent is pretty unmistakable.]

'Sup, losers. My name's Kyou Tanaka. I've been told there's some kind of cosmic whatever we've gotta stab repeatedly in the face.

Which is a good thing because apparently the morons in charge of this outfit won't let us stab anything else in the face.

So you're going to not be seeing me hanging around a lot. I say "not" on account of, y'know, ninja. But on the off chance you ever do see me, like when I move in for the ki - uh, punching, for the punching - don't shoot me or blow me up with butt lasers or anything. I can heal from it, but seeing as most of you can't heal when I inevitably throw a shuriken in your eye on sheer reflex, you should probably save us both the trouble.

[He pauses. Shit, what else is he supposed to say?]

I guess I'm supposed to tell you my "superhero" name. [Quotey fingers. He only has four fingers on each hand.] It's Murderizer McKillinstuff.

[Another pause.]

Just because I'm following your stupid no-killing rules doesn't mean I have to like it.

Comments

[bachido]

[The indignation came too quick for Kubo not to notice. It stings, again, that he was trying to be friendly and kind, but making another mistake that gets people mad at him.

Why did that make Kyou angry? He'd said he stabbed people in the back, and the way he said it, he seemed to know that was hardly an honorable thing to carry on doing in life -

'You don't have to come' is on the tip of Kubo's tongue. But if he's the one who's given the offense, well - he did act with rash pride the first time he squared off against Rico, when he made the mistake of baiting the judge. Rash pride doesn't lead anywhere better than making a mistake in the first place.

He settles, then, for a briefer, more subdued response.]

It's another story too long to tell here.

[Unfortunately, that sounds unfriendly, but is just true.]

Mother, Father, and I fought a gashadokuro for it.

[letsgohurtpeople]

Okay, that's more than just not-lame, that's actually kinda cool.

[Kinda.]

[This is hard. Because maybe he would like to hear some stories, maybe he would like to hang out and practice archery. Maybe this is someone his age who he can joke around with.]

[But maybe it'll blow up in his face somehow, because most people suck and he knows you can't really trust anyone. His friends back home are a rare, rare exception, so rare that he's willing to throw himself on a grenade to protect them at this point.]

[He's just not used to this, not used to kindness, or people wanting to spend time with him.]

[Still, despite his hesitation, he decides to go for it.]

[But he can't seem to look at Kubo's eyes through the comms. He has to look away from his comm-screen, like just wanting to hang out makes him feel vulnerable somehow - like he's used to eye contact being a dangerous thing during vulnerable moments.]

I guess I could use a little archery practice. You never know when you might have to improvise in a fight. Pick up an enemy's weapon. Or something.

[bachido]

[The vulnerability is clear, and Kubo softens more over it. Maybe he's not the only one here who has trouble making friends his age.

There's a small drawing program on his omnicom, and he quickly uses it to design a little map from the edge of the Hab to a set point, then sends it to Kyou.]

Here's a map to my father's part of the Hab. It's underground, but not very deep. I have Watch for the next two hours, but I'm going over to practice after that. If you want to come, I'll wait by the entrance for a little.

[letsgohurtpeople]

Yeah, okay.

[Um. What else is he supposed to do?]

I'll see you then?

[And then he disconnects because friendliness is weird.]

[bachido]

[Kubo was going to advise him to follow the sound of the shamisen if he got lost, but well, probably Kyou can figure that one out for himself.

So two hours later, he's jogged down to the hole in the Hab that lowers into the series of underground misty caverns that had been built when Beetle arrived. Small streams issue from the surrounding piney mountains, trickling into the hole as small, separate waterfalls. Kubo sits by the entrance, where rough stairs are carved into the mossy stone, and plays a gentle stream tune while he waits, tapping the small looper machine on his belt to play one of his prerecorded percussion tracks. His father's bow and his mother's sword lean on the stone beside him.]

[letsgohurtpeople]

[It's very...homey. In a weird way.]

[The secret villages of his clan, both in Japan and New Jersey were in hidden natural places, shrouded by the strange powers of the rifts each branch of the clan guarded. That means he's spent most of his life outdoors, training, playing -- and after his family died, sleeping.]

This is...it's kind of nice. I guess.

[The words are awkward.]

You know, for a big hole in the ground.

[bachido]

[Kubo privately wondered if Kyou would continue to wear the mask in person as in the video, but just as people politely don't ask about his eyepatch in general, he's not planning to ask about another person's unusual features.]

It's beautiful once you're down inside. A little strange, but still beautiful. It was my father's when he was here.

[He slides the shamisen around to his back as he stands, the Sword Unbreakable hanging from his belt, and picks up the bow to lead Kyou down into Beetle's caverns.]

I always practice archery down there. No one can accidentally walk in front of the arrows that way.

[He looks over his shoulder as he descends the stairs into the cool, damp caverns, nodding to Kyou an invitation to follow.

Down below the surface, the waterfalls fill the air with mist. Small flowers bloom in the moss that grows on everything. Stone bridges crisscross down to the bottom of the hollow, where the falling water rushes away into the dark depths in a shallow river. Each bridge disappears into a different cavern, the darkness suggesting great depth.

Nothing about this damp, cool place is particularly suitable for human habitation, though. Which makes it odder still that there's a track well worn down one of the bridges and into a cavern midway down the wall, where Kubo has pressed a path into the moss many times.]

I guess you must have been using a bow for a while.

[Kubo suggests it as he strings the bow, an activity which requires serious effort on his part. He's gotten stronger, and gets stronger every day in the Legion, but there's no getting around the fact that the bow is too big for him and almost too heavy for him to pull.]