heavenlydecree | (no subject)

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[If there was one thing Takatora was sure he should have learned by now, it would be how to keep his life in perfect running order. He had been the head of Yggdrasill's Research and Development branch from the moment he'd left high school and even before that, his father had kept him on a tight and strict schedule, never a second unaccounted for or left out of place. Unfortunately, with all of Takatora's scheduling and trying to squeeze an extra hour into every day, he still felt as though he never had time for anything, let alone everything. Even his weekends left little time for himself, though Takatora was also painfully aware of his obsession with triple-checking everything under his command and bringing such weight onto himself. He couldn't allow for errors.

His morning routine started a bit later on the weekends, if only because Takatora knew he had to catch up on sleep at some point to make up for running himself ragged. Getting sick was something he couldn't risk. The usual morning routine went by quickly: dragging himself out of bed (he'd never become a morning person, as much as he wanted to), showering, getting dressed, checking for any news or alerts while he had been sleeping. Thankfully, nothing important had happened during the night. Takatora always lived with the fear of something awful happening while he was asleep that he would be unprepared for, but every morning brought the same temporary relief. For now.

Takatora headed out of his room after an hour or so, still checking his phone as he made his way down the hall and towards the stairs. Ryouma already wanted to talk to him about something, which was mildly surprising as Ryouma rarely (never) got out of bed so early, which meant he'd been up all night again. Stepping past one of the maids, Takatora spoke a return greeting to her as he continued on, paying more attention to typing out messages than his surroundings.]

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[The charge catches him by surprise, and he digs in his heels. The punch he attempts to catch as he glares at Kouta through the visor.]

Then get angry at them, not me! Shouldn't we be finding out more about what that company is doing here?! Do you think that they're going to wait for you to get stronger? No! You have to get strong enough to take them out yourself!

[Of course, Kouta's so angry it's not hard to guard against his attacks, but that doesn't stop him from trying to attack again.]

I'm trying! I don't want to be weak... I want to protect the people I care about... ... so don't talk down to me.

Then do it, don't try it!

[He goes to kick Kouta in the chest to try to knock him down.]

When you show me the strength you really have, then I'll treat you like an equal. Not before!

[Kouta stumbles back a bit before hitting the ground, pushing his arms behind his body to hold himself up. It wasn't that easy. He couldn't just create strength from nothing, but even though he was trying as hard as he could...

Kouta pushes himself off of the ground, standing back up and practically shaking.]

... then fight me. I'll prove myself to you.

.. Yeah? And what would I gain from fighting you? You're a shaking mess right now. Run home to your team - unless you really think you can take me on.

[Kouta bristles at Kaito's words, passing his sword from one hand to the other. He hated this. He hated that any of them had to fight, whether it was each other or the Inves or Yggdrasill.]

If I defeat you, then look at me properly.

Then prove to me you're worth it!

[He steps back, spreading his arms and inviting Kouta to try to land a hit.]

[With that invitation, Kouta twirls his sword in one hand, rushing a few steps forward--

... and abruptly stops, breath catching, as he catches a glimpse of the white armored rider in the distance. Not looking at him, but certainly too close for comfort.]

[- Dammit. He turns to follow Kouta's gaze and growls. He's not totally sure if he should approach him or not - he's already proven to be far too strong for him to fight right now.]

... we have to leave. We have to leave now.

[Kouta rushes forward the rest of the way and grabs Kaito's arm, trying to drag the other behind him and away from the other Rider. This is not a good place to be.]

Don't -

[Whatever. He yanks his arm away from Kouta's grip and follows him. He hates running, he hates feeling weak, but he can't die yet. Not here for a stupid reason before he's done something that matters.]

[Yeah, nope, not listening, not sorry. He's pulling your ass out of here. ... if they can find a way out. Kouta's doing his best to stay out of sight, wondering if he would look less threatening if he undid his transformation, but then he would run the risk of getting caught off-guard.

It's not until they start to pass by, low enough that they're near the white armored rider but out of his sight, that Kouta realizes he's talking to someone.]

[This is their chance. He stops and crouches, trying to listen to what the white armored rider is talking about. What's going on? They don't know enough and they're just barely keeping their heads above water.]

[Kouta still has his hand on Kaito's arm when they stop, feeling himself jerked back. He makes a small noise of alarm, then comes back and smacks Kaito's arm to try to get the other to move, not wanting to say anything. Can't they just leave?! He understands the appeal in staying, but it's too risky.]

It's already gone. Find me another one.

[Takatora heaves a frustrated sigh at the radio communication. Ryouma had sent him out this far to pursue an evolved Inves, but the crack and the Inves weren't there, as much as Takatora had checked. He turns his sword over in his hand, waiting for the response.]

You were a little too slow. It looks like they're competing with you today. [Ryouma's teasing voice grates a bit on Takatora's nerves for the day, but he doesn't fight it down.]

They're not important right now. Find me another one. We can't risk wasting time when they're evolving like this.

[There's a frustrated sigh on the other end of his radio.] Fine, fine. So impatient, Overseer. You never want to have any fun.

[... Tch. It's too dangerous to get closer, so he nudges Kouta and tilts his head. Now they can go. They might have to travel a bit to find a crack that's far enough away from the white armored rider's location.]

[Despite Kouta's desire to leave so suddenly, he's hunkered down at this point and is practically clinging to Kaito's arm. Even though the rider isn't interested in them... he's still too close for Kouta's comfort. He looks up at Kaito, rapidly shaking his head and trying to pull him back down.]

[But he just said - urgh. He really should just leave him there, but he hunkers down a bit more. He does, however, try to free his arm from the other's grasp. Enough already.]

[Nope. Now that Kaito is closer, Kouta's holding tighter -- almost enough to bruise if they were in their human forms. He's also shaking considerably, but trying to get himself to stop. ... wasn't he supposed to be over this by now? Then again, the white armored rider had tried to kill him... so...]

[While waiting for a response, Takatora wanders between various trees and pulls lockseeds off, deciding he might as well try harvesting while he's out and seeing if anything new comes up. Unfortunately not, but it's at least something Ryouma can work with. Speaking of, when Ryouma comes back over the radio, the words are not something he wants to hear.]

I think I found you a settlement. I wouldn't recommend trying to kill any of them until we get the new systems online, but there's... mm... probably thirty or so. I wonder what that means.

[That... is both intriguing and horribly upsetting.]

... 'settlement'? ...another remnant? They're not smart enough to be gathering like that.

[There were pockets here and there of small, very small groups of Inves that had seemed to band together, but this... was the first sign any of them might have continued clinging to their humanity -- or whatever it was the Inves had been before -- to such a large degree.]

I'm simply the messenger. You should go take a look. I'll forward you the coordinates, just make sure you don't get yourself caught. I don't want to have to use the new system to come save you.

You won't have to save me. I can take care of it.

[With that, Takatora stands around for another minute or so, starting to head off once Ryouma sends him the coordinates.]

[Kaito looks over at Kouta, attempting to pull his arm away again. If it's something strong enough that even the white armored rider is worried about, it's both important... and not worth him even trying. He may want to become stronger, but running in without being strong enough to stand as an equal is just stupid. Your move, Gaim.]

[At first, Kouta refuses to let Kaito pull his arm away, still clinging tightly to him without any concern of what it's doing to his reputation. Reluctantly, he carefully releases Kaito's arm but stays painfully close to him. When he speaks, his voice is still shaking as much as his body.]

W-We can... go....

Hey. Pull yourself together.

[He leads Kouta along until they find another crack. It doesn't take all that long, and thankfully they don't run into any more Inves on the way. As they exit, he transforms back, dusting off his clothes and glaring at Kouta.]

[Thankfully, Kouta manages to keep himself together long enough to follow Kaito out and back to their own world. Once he undoes his transformation, Kouta crouches down right outside of the crack and rests his chin on his knees, trying to process everything that happened and stop shaking.]

[He grabs Kouta roughly and drags him away from the crack. It's too dangerous right next to it for him to have a nervous breakdown, and Team Gaim would get boring if their leader disappeared again.]