heavenlydecree | (no subject)

(no subject)

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And you plan to stop them how? You're still reckless and you're older and supposedly wiser than them.

[Besides, they're providing useful data. It wouldn't do for one of them to get killed... but if they did, oh well. It's such a pain to find the correct sorts of subjects, though.]

I suppose there's nothing to do other than to try and scare them away again.

[Takatora tilts his head, trying to stretch his shoulder a bit.]

And what if Mitsuzane-kun is there with them?

[It's a valid possibility these days, honestly. But Ryouma watches as Takatora stretches, eyes following the movement of the muscles under his scar.]

I never said I would kill them. ... it's unfortunate that he already knows who I am. I have no way of lying to him. I would only hope he would understand my intentions.

[Takatora heaves a rather frustrated sigh.]

Unfortunately, he would also realize my intentions in trying to scare him away and take it as a sign to continue pursuing whatever he feels I'm hiding from him. ... the only way to succeed would be to remove him entirely.

I never said you would either. But he's an unfortunate variable in this situation.

[His intentions... oh, he has a feeling Mitsuzane understands them well enough. His actions, however...]

Mm, trying to send him away wouldn't do much good, would it? After all, we do have our systems in place here. And it would interrupt his schooling, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?

[He pauses, and looks up at the ceiling.]

He's been improving again, according to the exam paper he was looking at earlier.

[He settles his gaze on Takatora again, draping his arms over the chair back and settling his chin on his arms.]

It's your call, I suppose~.

[Not like he'd let anyone else make one about his brother.]

There are ways to get around it. I could lock him in one of the cells until I feel it's appropriate. Trying to keep him at home wouldn't do any good. I almost feel as though I need to resort to such measures to keep him safe. ... he offered to fight by my side, but I'm not sure I can trust him.

[It hurt to say that. Anyone could pick up on such a thing. Takatora moves his hand down his arm a bit, grasping it tighter. He hesitates for a few moments before turning to look at Ryouma, taking in a breath at the pull on his shoulder.]

What would you suggest?

[... My, but he really is desperate.]

While of course I'd never go so far as to suggest you take drastic measures against your own brother, he does need to be dealt with quickly. From what I've observed, he does seem quite desperate to regain your trust.

He obviously hasn't told his friends yet... so why not use the opportunity? We've been needing someone to monitor the Beat Riders more directly. As absolutely fascinating as young adult drama is, we need to focus on the next stage. He keeps them out of our hair and he gets to feel like he's being useful.

You find everything fascinating, Ryouma.

[Takatora makes an amused noise at that, considering the idea for a few moments. He knows Mitsuzane has been apologizing to him, offering to fight with him, but does that really mean he's been trying to regain his trust? Takatora couldn't be sure, but hearing it from Ryouma means it must be true. It was the advantage of having the other watching everything and why Takatora allowed him to document nearly anything that went on anywhere at any time -- because Ryouma knew what he was doing and how to put it all together.]

What would you have them do? Other than keeping them out of our way, I'm curious what you want from in-person monitoring that you can't gain through the drivers.

Reactions to the Lockseeds and Drivers themselves is a major one. Short of hauling them here and hooking them up to sensors, we can't get a sense of how their mental states are doing. Of course none of this is a hundred percent safe, and we already know what sort of effects being near the fruit can have on humans. On more impressionable ones... we're still not totally sure if the drivers will neutralize all of it.

[He stands, tapping his head and grinning.]

The human brain isn't totally done developing until - well. Around your age, depending on the individual. It could very well be causing serious effects that we simply brush off as the irrationality of youth. Ah, it's so difficult to tell what's going on in the minds of children these days~.

I doubt you would be able to collect the sort of data you desire in that way. You would have to have them under fairly regular monitoring conditions to make sure nothing unwanted is influencing them.

[Takatora tilts his head back, thankful for the change in Ryouma's position so he doesn't have to strain his shoulder.]

Ah, true~ but that's just one of the reasons. Mitsuzane-kun has already proven somewhat resourceful - he may, with some prompting, be able to push the Beat Riders into investigating some other things for us. As much as our troops have been able to penetrate the forest... well. If he could get them to look for other things in there it would be helpful. They're all stronger than anticipated, and they tend to not go in on their own. Even if they do, they possess Lockseeds stronger than the ones we commonly distribute.

They've proven that they are able to survive just fine in the forest, and as long as they don't do anything extremely reckless we can use them to locate points of interest. We can use them as our eyes and ears in there - and he could push them towards exploring those settlements we discovered. This is no time to be hesitant to use any resources we can, as you know. The Beat Riders are organizing themselves into an alliance for the most part. If we don't have someone inside the situation... even with all of my surveillance I can't capture everything~, especially if they don't have the Drivers with them. You already have an informant willing and eager to provide you with whatever you'd like to know about them.

Besides, as you said, the other options involve removing him from the situation completely, which will only make things worse for both of you.

[Takatora listens to Ryouma's ramblings, making an amused huff partway through at how passionate he's gotten again.]

Here I thought you would be discouraging me from working while I'm confined to a bed and tell me to worry about it later.

[He knows there's no time for that, but...]

I know you better than that. Much as I tell you to rest, you still try and work. It's always been this way with you, so who am I to dissuade you from your nature?

[And honestly he'd rather not babysit Takatora every minute of the day.]

I'll consider our options and have an answer for you soon. It's a lot to consider, however... I understand the appeal.

[He doesn't look comfortable either way.]

Understood. Now, I should leave you to recover. My workstations aren't all so portable and I have work to do on them.

[He turns to leave, but looks over his shoulder.]

Sweet dreams, Takatora~.

... Ryouma.

[Takatora practically scolds himself for the way his voice comes out. Far too vulnerable, as usual. He doesn't want Ryouma to leave, even though he knows that's what's best for both of them in that moment -- Takatora needs to rest and Ryouma needs to work -- but...]

[He pauses, eyebrows raised.]

Yes?

[This will be good.]

[Leave it to Ryouma to know all of his buttons, but Takatora always does his best to resist.]

Don't.

[He sighs, and drops down into the chair again. At least he scoots it a bit closer so Takatora doesn't have to turn as much.]

If you insist~.

[He had expected Ryouma to ask him for more, honestly, but Takatora's not disappointed. Begging was something he wasn't usually fond of.

Of course, now he's too embarrassed to speak, let alone think of anything to say to keep the other there for very long, so he simply turns his head away and stares at the wall. At the very least, having Ryouma present should be enough of a distraction from his uncomfortable thoughts.]

[Well. If he's not going to be interesting, Ryouma will just pull out his phone. He has a high score to beat.]

[This is Takatora not being surprised in the slightest.]

You and your games, Ryouma.

We're getting old, Takatora. I have to keep up my hand-eye coordination somehow~.

[But mostly he just likes games.]

[He makes an amused noise. If he were feeling any better, he might have laughed, but it's a bit too much to ask right now. After a few moments, he braces his good arm against the bed, attempting to sit up, but gives up partway through.

There's a rather long, awkward pause before he speaks again.]

I want to spend time with you again.

[He lowers his phone, grinning internally.]

As flattering as it is, I doubt we'll be able to do much until you can move without pain. I'll consider that a rain check, though.