[RP Log] Fuji, Yuuta

[xsalamandra.livejournal.com]

Date: Feb. 15, Thursday night
Rating: PG-13 for burnage?
Summary: Yuuta went home Thursday evening, after his principal informed him about his parents wanting to pull him out of school. It doesn't end very well and Yuuta runs home, where Fuji is. After a bit of talking, Yuuta decides to head to Ryuhana on Monday with Fuji. Also, they get to play with popcorn.



Yuuta was usually rather good about nudging things that should bother him aside. He'd raise a brow, shrug his shoulders, and get on with playing his video games, but usually, those sort of things were small and rather insignificant, like a break up his friend went through; things that didn't always directly involve him. He could always just cheer his friend up with some teasing.

But this was something he couldn't exactly ignore, even though he'd tried to for the last couple of years. These powers, these abilities... he could deal with being different, he thought, but it was harder than he could ever imagine-- if nearly all of society... if your own parents hated and feared you just (just?) because you could do something different, it was no wonder he tried to hide it from them, and even more so when his big brother manifested and was promptly eliminated from their life.

And now, he was in the process of being eliminated, erased... and he couldn't just shrug that off. It bothered him, but the final nail in the coffin came in the form of his principal, informing him that his parents wanted to pull him out of school-- they didn't want to invest in him anymore.

However, it was stupid... stupid stupid stupid of him to go back home. What did he think he could accomplish? Hope that mom would change her mind? Hope that dad would forgive him? No, they wouldn't listen to him; mother only screamed at him and father tried to kick him out. Yuuta was furious and... scared? But the anger encompassed the fear and he fought back, grappling with his father until he smelled something burning. His mother and father screamed in unison, the former scared shitless and the latter in pain-- searing heat burned at his hands and arms where they were in contact with Yuuta. For only a moment, Yuuta was almost glad in his rage, but it quickly dissipated when he realized he was burning flesh and it was his parents screaming-- no one should hear their parents scream like that. His father on the floor and his mother with him, Yuuta could only run.

He ran like a madman, adrenaline rushing through his system. He thought he smelled something burning, but all he had on his mind was to run for shelter, for home.

The knock on Yumiko's apartment door was steady and desperate. It had to be Yuuta, Shuusuke thought; he could smell the singed fabric from inside. He unlocked the door quickly, flung it open and readied brilliant psionic cords in case he needed to help Yuuta inside. If something was burning, then something was wrong -- Yuuta didn't have enough control over his power to activate it without a strong emotion behind it.

Thankfully, Shuusuke's psychokinesis wasn't necessary, but Yuuta still looked worse for the wear: his clothes were burnt in places, his face dirty, and his expression something akin to frightened. Shuusuke wasn't used to seeing his brother like this.

He kept his hands to himself. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

A familiar face, his brother's, and Yuuta was almost relieved. But he couldn't face him now, he couldn't just talk about it. "Out of the WAY," Yuuta growled, anger and fear misdirected at his brother. He moved in such a way that he was about to push Shuusuke aside, but he quickly caught himself, sidestepping in a desperate attempt not to touch him, burn him. There was nowhere else he could go-- he didn't have a room of his own. So he stumbled for the bathroom, slamming the door shut and letting go of the knob before he could melt it.

Shuusuke frowned at the slammed door. It wasn't unusual for Yuuta to act like this, at least not that he remembered. It was highly likely that it would blow over in time, whatever it was.

So he didn't press the issue. He would let Yuuta be, for the moment. "I'll wait," he said, possibly not loud enough to be heard from inside the bathroom, and sat on the floor beside the door.

Yuuta's lungs burned and his throat was dry. It happened again and it was worse, and he couldn't help but relive that moment again with his parents screaming as if he were burning them alive. His hands, they did all the burning. He whipped around for the sink, and he threw the faucet on and thrust his hands under it, cold water pouring over them. There was a sharp hiss as steam rose, filling the bathroom. The water was absolutely cold, slicing through him and then numbing his hands until he couldn't feel them anymore. His body trembled and he fell back against the wall, jaw clenched to keep his teeth from chattering.

Moments passed. Shuusuke gave him five minutes, six, eight, waiting for the water to turn off and the quiet sounds of Yuuta's murmuring to fade. And then Shuusuke stood, opened the door slowly, and poked his head in. He wanted to step closer, wanted to kneel next to his brother and hold him; he could tell something had gotten so bad that words wouldn't be enough to cure it.

But he didn't. He just stood there, back against the door, watching Yuuta, waiting for him to speak.

His arms were pale and stiff-- he couldn't move his fingers very well, as if they were frozen. Yuuta was staring to the side, glaring at the bathrooms tiles as he tied to keep from shivering but failing.

Minutes passed, and Yuuta frowned through clenched teeth. "I'm fine," he muttered quietly.

"I know," Shuusuke murmured, and sat on the floor to bring himself to Yuuta's level. He wouldn't ask what happened, though his curiosity burned; wouldn't reach for Yuuta, though his hands itched to reassure him. "It's going to be okay," he said instead. "I'm here."

Yuuta felt weak then, upon hearing those words. Would he have to rely on his older brother? But in a way, it was reassuring, to know that someone was going to be there for him.

He took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, trying to get his emotions settled so he could think again. But even as the fear faded, there was still bitterness left behind, and he frowned further. "Stupid move... I went to talk to them," he murmured, rubbing his hands and arms in effort to warm them.

To talk to them? To their parents, Shuusuke concluded -- there was no other "them", especially not one that would have Yuuta so worked up. Shuusuke grabbed a towel from the cabinet under the sink and finally moved closer to Yuuta. He draped the towel around Yuuta's shoulders, careful not to press too hard in case he was still hot enough to burn. "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Yuuta snapped, but he quickly regretted it, slipping back into the bitterness.

"I don't know," Shuusuke admitted. "I wouldn't ask if I knew. But it's alright if you don't want to talk yet. I don't mind." He paused a moment, considering. "It's alright if I'm here?"

Yuuta frowned. Somehow, he expected his brother to press for answers, and he certainly didn't think he'd ask if it was all right for him to be there. Things did change between them.

"Yes," he muttered almost grudgingly. He took the towel from his shoulders and wiped his arms, clearing the water.

Good, Shuusuke thought. "I'm listening," he said. "If you want to talk about that or anything else. I want to help you, you know."

Help him. Yeah. He'll need all the help he can get.

He rubbed his arms with the towel until they were dry enough for him to feel warmth trickling back into his limbs. He let out a soft sigh, rubbing at his cheek. "After this semester, I need to transfer."

"I'm sorry," Shuusuke said. He'd been afraid something like that might happen; he just had hoped it wouldn't be so soon. And yet, he had to admit, at least to himself, that he was a little glad at the news. Yuuta could learn far more at a school like Ryuhana -- provided he didn't live on campus, of course. And he'd be able to see Yuuta more, himself, now. This was as things should be. "Do you know where you're going to go?"

He shook his head, unsure. But then again... "Your school... or whatever, they take people like... us in, don't they."

Shuusuke nodded. "They do." He dared to reach for his brother, then, to put a gentle hand on his arm. "It's a start, Yuuta. It's a good one."

Yuuta's arm twitched at the contact, but it was warm to the touch. "Think I should transfer soon," he said quietly, though for reasons unknown to him, he didn't want to leave.

"Before the end of the semester?" Shuusuke asked. It could be arranged, he knew. Ryuhana's enrollment system wasn't particular, since they aimed to give an opportunity to every mutant child that passed through its doors.

He nodded slightly. "Mom and dad. They obviously don't want me there."

"Do you want to go talk to people at Ryuhana on Monday? I'll go with you."

Yuuta frowned. As much as he’d rather do it himself, it was probably better that his brother came along; he knew everyone there, after all. "Yeah, Monday," he said, voice low, almost a whisper.

Shuusuke smiled a small, relieved smile. "It's going to be okay, Yuuta," he assured him, and squeezed his arm just enough to reaffirm his statement. "Do you want to stay here for a while, or come out to the living room? We can put a movie on, if you want."

Stay here? There were tiny puddles all over from his stint with the sink-- he didn't want to stay there anymore. "Living room," he answered, standing from his seat on the floor. By now, the color had returned to his hands and he could feel them again, much to his relief.

That was the answer Shuusuke was hoping for. The couch would be a much better place for reassuring physical contact, and a movie would be a good distraction. Things really were going to be okay. Shuusuke stood as well, and led his brother back to the living room. "I'll let you pick the movie," he said, gesturing to Yumiko's and his merged DVD collection. "Do you want popcorn?"

Yuuta had a feeling he'd be sifting through a lot of chick flicks, but he merely shrugged. He wanted to say he didn't need the popcorn, but he was hungry. "Yeah, sure," he said, kneeling down to look through the DVDs.

Shuusuke hummed, and went to the kitchen while Yuuta scanned the shelf for a movie. He didn't bother microwaving the popcorn, just opened the package and emptied the kernels into a metal bowl. There was something he wanted to try. "Yuuta," he said, "do you want to help me make this?"

"What? Don't know how to use a microwave?" he automatically quipped, frowning as he turned his focus off the DVDs.

Shuusuke laughed. It probably wasn't the best idea, come to think of it, but maybe they could use popcorn as an exercise when Yuuta's power was under a little more control. "No, I've got it." He stashed the bowl in the cabinet and got another package out to make according to the directions. "It's there if you ever want to try it, though."

The younger one blinked. "Try what?" He'd caught Shuusuke putting away the bowl, then frowned as he realized what he meant. Could he do it? Could he control that power? It was probably best to start now anyway.

"I'll try it." He stood and walked over to the kitchen.

Shuusuke beamed, excited -- he just hoped they wouldn't burn Yumiko's apartment down. But if there was a chance that Yuuta could do this ... He got the bowl back out and handed it to his brother. "Start small," he instructed.

He glanced down at the bowl of unpopped kernels, not exactly believing he was doing this. "Just... stick my hand in there?" he asked before doing so hesitantly. "Okay..." Now what?

"How have you turned it on before?" Shuusuke was pretty sure that it was ignited by emotions -- his own power manifested when he was frightened and unsure, and he had to find a way to channel that fear into control. Not that he would ever admit that ... "Emotionally?"

That sounded about right, and Yuuta nodded in the affirmative. "When I'm angry, I guess," he frowned. Already, images of his parents were creeping up on him.

"Try to think of that," Shuusuke suggested, "but focus on your breathing, let it come to you more slowly. Think of how your body felt before your power spiked."

How his body felt? He wasn't so sure about that, but he took his brother's advice, taking in slow breaths. As he breathed, he focused his eyes on the inside of the bowl. He clenched his jaw as his parents' words came back to him, ordering him to leave. His anger boiled, face scowling, and he could feel his body start to heat up. It wasn't long before he could feel tiny pops against his hand.

“Keep breathing," Shuusuke coached. "You're doing great, just keep it slow and small, don't worry about it too much." He couldn't help feeling proud of his brother's small accomplishment -- it was a great start.


And Yuuta did keep breathing, trying to control his ability for once. But his anger kept building from mulling over it for too long, and he-- or rather, his clothes-- began to smoke.

It was too soon. "Stop," Shuusuke said urgently, and -- too afraid to touch Yuuta directly to snap him out of his state -- formed a psionic cord to reach him, holding him back.

He felt something tug at him, then immediately he could smell popcorn and burned cloth mingling together. He quickly snapped out of it, releasing that anger as he dropped the bowl on the counter, its plastic melted slightly where Yuuta was holding it. But he didn't pay any attention to the bowl, but rather, the cord wrapped around his arm. "...Aniki?"

Shuusuke withdrew his cord, letting its light dissipate as he pulled it back. "You were starting to smoke," he explained calmly. "Maybe we should keep track of where the fire extinguisher is," he added, smiling.

Yuuta frowned, perhaps pouting slightly at the joke made at his expense. "Yeah, whatever," he grumbled, wondering about that cord; he figured it was part of Shuusuke's abilities, whatever they were.

He wrinkled his nose, as he could now smell melted plastic in the air. He glanced down at his clothes, which were littered with black rimmed holes, especially around his sleeves and the hem of his pants. "...Nevermind. We're going to need it," he sighed softly.

Shuusuke sighed, too. "Maybe invest in some fireproof clothes," he suggested, though he had no idea where to find something like that. Somewhere online, maybe. "We can try this again after you've had more training, hm?"

"Maybe I should just go naked," he grumbled mostly to himself. "Yeah, guess so. I don't think we should eat that though." Plastic covered popcorn? He'd eaten some weird things before but...

"Probably not," Shuusuke agreed. "I'll take care of it, you go back to looking for a movie?" And he tried to brush aside Yuuta's remark about going naked, but couldn't shake the idea. He was a good-looking young man ... Shuusuke shook his head, and got a bag of chips from the pantry instead. He'd deal with the mess later.