RP Log: Ryoga & Ryoma

[perfect-synch.livejournal.com]

Date: Backdated to Friday, January 20
Rating: Pretty much G
Summary: Ryoga and Ryoma spend some quality brotherly bonding time together! And ice skate so that Ryoma can look appropriately silly while doing it~



Ryoma tossed his new training uniform in the corner, having gotten changed the instant he returned into regular clothes - much more comfortable and desirable to wear than the stupid practically-spandex Hanamura seemed to insist he wear while training. He glanced at the clock - just after four now, so if Ryoga was actually coming, he should be here soon.

He glanced at Shadow - now crawling excitedly towards the aforementioned corner - and decided to shove the uniform into a drawer instead. Disappointed though the toddler looked, Ryoma did not want to show up tomorrow in a drool-covered uniform. Sighing and resigning himself to wait for his brother until he showed, he plopped down on the floor, back against one of the beds, and was immediately assaulted by Karupin, rubbing along one arm as she kept a wary eye on the child now approaching from the other side. He treated Shadow like the cat when he arrived - scratched the back of his neck lightly and tried to keep the thing from making too much of a mess of his clothes. Though he had to admit, Shadow was much better about that than he'd been only a few days ago. Except for the part about still trying to eat Karupin's tail.

Casually waltzing into Ryuhana was perhaps ridiculously easy; had Ryoga been there for some darker purpose, he doubted he would have been stopped in time to prevent whatever it was he had in mind. Maybe ice skating with his younger brother just was not quite evil enough to win him any unwanted attention. Hands deep in his pockets, the older Echizen sibling climbed familiar stairs as he mused, making his way to the third floor -- he had been once before -- where Niou and Ryoma lived. He could feel a familiar push of his brother's power against his own, they both possessed the same ability to "sniff out" mutants, though when they were together over the holiday, it had proved hardly consequential; they got used to one another.

At the door, Ryoga tapped on the door, not waiting for an answer to let himself in. His brother was sitting with a big, fluffy cat (Karupin – Ryoga loved Karupin, and had since the first time he saw her) on one side, and the other occupied by a scarily familiar young child. The shade of his hair, the strange tilt of his eyes -- it could have truly been Ryoma's child, were it not for the fact that men, by nature alone, do not give birth. There were familiar traces of Niou as well, noted Ryoga, as Shadow truly was a mix of both of his parents... somehow.

"Hey, Chibisuke." It was amazing how big the child was... could that even be possibly considering how little time it had to grow? Then again, it only took two weeks to be born... well, he. If it could really be a he. Ryoga knelt down beside brother, boy, and cat, passing a hand over Karupin's back and tail. "This the little bundle of joy?"

Ryoma had felt the other mutant coming (well, as another generic mutant, anyway - he hadn't ever synched Ryoga) but hadn't felt like getting up. He nodded to his brother as he let himself in and came over to crouch by the bed; "Yeah, or whatever you wanna call him," he said, turning Shadow around so Ryoga could at least see him if he cared to. Not that he did, probably - it was just a kid, after all, and not technically a real one at that. "His name's Ryou, but Niou mostly calls him Shadow." A nickname that seemed to have stuck much more firmly than his “real” name, such as it was.

But Ryoma was itching to leave - with the two weeks virtually spent hiding in his room, he hadn't gotten to go anywhere since vacation. And while it hadn’t been very long, he was still feeling a bit cooped up - though maybe the extra set of furniture and babbling toddler had something to do with that, as well. Regardless, he nudged Karupin out of the way and stood, hefting Shadow against his left shoulder as he searched for coat, scarf, and mittens. "Assuming you're ready to go?" he asked, slipping his shoes on; he draped his coat over his other arm, figuring he'd put it on when he wasn't burdened with a baby. "Just gotta drop him off with Niou so he doesn't wreck anything."

"Ryou?" echoed the elder sibling. What, had they combined Ryoma's first name with Masaharu's last? Well, it could have been worse -- Nima or... Echiharu... Masahen. Ryoga was thinking about this too much. Still, it was kind of cute... for a kid. Karupin insistently pressed her head into Ryoga's hand, distracting him once more, as he gave his attention back to the cat, rubbing under her chin. Once she was sated, Ryoga stood, watching as Ryoma did the same, hefting the child like any good... mother.

He had a brother not a sister, this was completely illogical. Then again, so was everything else about mutanthood, so why not this, as well? Thinking too hard again, about little No Name Jr.

Hands slipping into the pockets of his coat, Ryoga responded, "Yeah, I'm ready." He followed his brother's lead to the recreation room where Niou was burdened with the child so the two brothers could escape safely without having to worry about taking care of the child. Thing. Whatever.

Shadow dropped off and coat put on, Ryoma led Ryoga out of the dorms and off the Ryuhana grounds. He glanced up at his brother - he couldn't exactly miss the strange look Ryoga was giving him. "S'not my fault, you know," he said in his own defense. Shadow wasn't even really real - but until Bunta saw fit to correct that, Ryoma and Niou were stuck with him. At least Ryoma didn't look (or feel) pregnant anymore, thank God.

He tilted his head in the direction of the rink, indicating they needed to turn down this street. Niou'd told him where it was, seeing as Ryoma hadn't had a clue where to go ice skating in this town. He still wasn't entirely sure why they were going, but he was glad to be off campus at the very least. "So s'there a specific reason for this, or were you just bored?" Either way it made sense.

As they walked, Ryoga memorized the route -- he probably would never have to walk this way, again, but it couldn't possibly hurt to commit his location to heart. There might be a next time, and he might have his brother with him if that occasion did arise... well, and Ryoga simply did not forget things; or fail to learn them to begin with. Not the important things like directions, faces, and names.

The sudden question drew a curious glance from Ryoga. "Bored? I thought you were the one who was bored." After all, Ryoma had mentioned the desire to get out and do something... Ryoga had opted just because... well, to spend the time with his brother. It was not as though there was anything more important going on at the Brotherhood, anyway. Or anything important, for that matter. Really, the only person Ryoga even found all that interesting was Wakato; beyond that, who cared?

"Besides, aren't siblings supposed to do stuff like this? I'm not exactly used to having a younger brother." Though, unlike said younger brother, he at least knew he had a sibling.

"I was bored," Ryoma affirmed. "Just didn't expect you to offer to take me ice skating." He had to admit, he really did hope it was like rollerblading - then he might not make such an idiot out of himself. He shrugged. "S'fine - the whole point was to get out, since I haven't been in two weeks."

He considered Ryoga's last question carefully. He guessed siblings were meant to do stuff like this, if everything Momo and Niou said was right. "Guess it's what we're supposed to do," he said quietly after a moment. It was some tiny semblance of normality in his otherwise completely abnormal family - and when he thought about it that way, it wasn't so weird. "Just never thought about it much. Not exactly used to having an older brother, either."

They walked in silence a few more blocks, until the building came into view. Ryoma hoped it wouldn't be too crowded; he spent enough time with the presence of other people pressing on him. "M'assuming you know how to ice skate?" He didn't think Ryoga would've mentioned it if he didn't.

Ryoga shook his head, smiling manically. "Nope, no idea." This did not mean, of course, that the older sibling was going to make an ass of himself on the ice -- he could easily learn how to skate just from watching others skate for a couple minutes; such was the nature of his mutation. Of course, if no one at the rink had any idea what they were doing, he would have to learn on his own. At least both he and Ryoma would be making idiots of themselves together.

He held the door for his brother, following the boy inside the building that felt unnaturally dark after walking outside -- there was a desk near the entrance where a middle aged woman was reading a magazine -- must have been where they were supposed to get their skates and pay for the ice time. "Y'know what size you are, Chibisuke?" Ryoga pulled out his wallet, flipping through bills to cover the expense; he still had a few American dollars in there... for whatever reason. Oh well. Should he decide to go home, any time soon, he could buy a burger at McDonalds.

Really... Ryoma raised one eyebrow, casting a bemused look up at his brother. Not that he really knew how to ice skate, either, but he was hoping rollerblading once might give him a basic idea. And he'd picked that up reasonably quickly... Well. They'd just see, he guessed.

He followed Ryoga into the building, watching the woman at the desk give them a bit of a strange look - maybe because they looked so much alike, to first glance. He shrugged; "Think I know it," he said, giving his latest shoe size as his guess - he'd grown a lot in the past couple of months, and his shoe size had changed accordingly. Though he'd bought shoes not too long ago, and they fit reasonably well still.

They traded in their shoes for skates, and found a bench beside the rink to sit at to put them on. Tugging his on, Ryoma guessed he'd come close enough to the right size, and laced them up as tightly as he could. It seemed like the tighter the skates, the better their maneuverability. And he'd like to fall down as little as possible, thanks. This time the ground was cold. He glanced over at his brother, who was doing much the same. "Lemme know when you're ready."

With one last tug at his skates, Ryoga stood, balancing carefully on the blades. The floor was lined with black rubber mats that protected both the skates and the floor from being damaged by the customers walking in and out, but the way the blades sunk into the rubber was slightly disorienting -- like trying to walk on marshmallows wearing golf cleats. In this same awkward gate (the skates rendered walking heel-toe entirely impossible), they made their way over to the door that led onto the ice, passing a stand that was selling hot chocolate and having to slip by a nervous girl insisting to her boyfriend that it was too scary to go on the ice.

What was with Japanese girls, anyway? Ryoga pushed the thought out of his mind, his eyes darting to the feet of people already on the ice; somewhat like rollerblading. To get up speed, one had to put one foot in front of the other... and then push out and back with the foot. Dark eyes traveled up the body of every skater on the rink; determining which was moving the most naturally, observing the way their upper body was held, how their torso would not twist. "Let's go," he said, stepping out onto the ice, and doing just as he had observed -- granted immediate success in moving forward... though he was still going to have to see someone properly stop before he figured that one out.

Ryoma watched Ryoga, wondering what he was so intent on... Oh. The other skaters, he realized, as he followed the other's gaze, watching it search for someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. Well, it figured, given what Ryoga seemed to be best at. He sighed, pushing up off the bench after his brother and resigning himself (for now) to trying to figure out how to do this the hard way. Which hopefully wouldn't be so hard, since he'd been rollerblading the once.

Walking was interesting in and of itself, though not as prone to falling as rollerblading had been. But then his brother took off onto the ice, and Ryoma had no choice but to follow him, trying to remember how to move his feet when they had something strange attached to them -

Push off with one foot, like before, and -

This was smoother than blades... and a fair bit faster, at least from a dead stop. He was kind of wobbly, but... not in immediate danger of falling over. Yet. He tried another push, with the other foot, and was rewarded again with forward motion. Now, as long as he didn't run into anything, or have to avoid anyone, he might be okay. Until they had to stop. Ryoma caught up with his brother after a moment, glancing over for a second before having to concentrate on his own feet again, arms slightly out for balance. "You learn everything this fast?" It looked more than a little handy.

"Seems that way," responded Ryoga. Though to be more accurate, he learned how to imitate everything this quickly. His ability to actually learn how to do things was average; if he had been given a pair of skates and no direction, he would have been just as bad off as Ryoma. He was not without sympathy for his brother, however, reaching out a hand to clasp around the arm extended slightly in his direction for balance, steadying his younger brother. "I won't let you hit anything, so why don't you just concentrate on your feet and do as I do." With one glance at Ryoma's feet, he could see that the boy was taking stuttering strides... like a long-time rollerblader trying on rollerskates for the first time.

While Ryoma did that, Ryoga had turned his attention to a young man that was moving quickly -- perhaps even an ice hockey player. He waited patiently for that man to stop, taking in the angle of his skates and body, the way they turned parallel into his momentum to bring him to an abrupt halt and spray the glass around the rink with a dusting of snow. He could do that... but he would also worry about getting his brother moving a little more gracefully than a dead llama, first.

Ryoga was almost pulled over as Ryoma's skates awkwardly slid, nearly spilling them both to the ice, and practically dislocating Ryoga's shoulder with the sudden, jarring tug with Ryoma's full weight behind it.

"Well, some of us actually have to learn things," Ryoma responded as Ryoga took hold of his arm and he took the opportunity to watch his own feet. Damn. This was much more slippery than rollerblading (well, and rightly so, given that a waxed wooden floor could never come close to the near-frictionless surface of ice) and to make matters worse, he had to work on keeping his feet perfectly straight and upright. It had been much easier on blades.

He wondered if synching Ryoga would help at all - after all, his brother's power seemed to be doing most of the work for him, and it was a relatively benign power anyway - when he realized too late that his skates were slipping. He nearly went over, one arm flailing wildly while Ryoga tried to hold onto the other. "Shit!" He didn't want to fall on the ice, and not with Ryoga on top of him.

Ryoma got his skates beneath him at the last instant, remaining upright solely by force of sheer will, practically supporting Ryoga for a few seconds before the other regained his balance as well. "It's slippery," he scowled by way of an excuse, getting his bearings again before pushing off again, slower this time.

"Ice is supposed to be slippery," retorted the older boy, keeping a firm grip on his younger brother while they both got their bearings and began again, this time, slowly. Despite the tone of his voice, he could not keep the smile from coming to his lips... This had not been his original plan when he followed Ryoma all the way to Japan... but, this was far more rewarding; or, at least, he thought it was. Maybe if he and Ryoma had grown up together properly, they would have learned how to skate together... but as it was... The anger began to bubble back to the surface.

"Yeah I know," Ryoma said - well, it hadn't been a very good excuse anyway. But now he was back on track, and they were moving again, albeit slower than before. Which was probably a good thing. Next to him, Ryoga felt much more sure of himself than Ryoma did, wobbling occasionally and trying to keep his balance without looking too stupid. It really would be nice to be able to just watch -

Well, wait. Who said he couldn't do it? All he had to do was synch Ryoga, right? Glancing up at his brother, who was concentrating on watching ahead of them, Ryoma figured it was worth a try. He had good enough control of the shields to extend them to the side, and people were skating far enough apart that they shouldn't run through them. He felt a couple of mutants here, but no one strong anyway - not that he was looking to synch strange powers. Not at all. But just this once, just until he could figure out how to move properly... Ryoga'd never know - no one ever felt anything when he synched them, anyway.

Waiting until they'd rounded the corner and were going relatively straight again, he took a breath and slowly, slowly, inched the shields over, until they passed around Ryoga and encompassed him -

And met with... some kind of resistance? It felt like he was trying to synch through syrup, if that analogy could even be made. And he was getting stuck.

What felt to Ryoma like syrup felt to Ryoga like a splash of ice water in the face; something rebounded off of the field of energy around him, setting off the knee-jerk reflex to, as best as anyone had ever described it, harden -- physically, he was no longer actually in contact with his brother's arm, though the space between was minimal... Ryoma would not even notice. "Chi-bi-su-ke," the older boy bit out, his voice tense from trying to calm his powers back to baseline, "Don't try to synch me." Really, he was taking a wild stab at what might be happening, but the familiar strange energy he remembered from childhood could not be mistaken. It was a logical conclusion.

Ryoma started as his brother straightened - and very nearly lost his balance again, catching himself only at the last second. Looking up at Ryoga, he got the feeling the other was trying to stay calm; Ryoma frowned - people weren't supposed to feel anything when he synched them. Ryoga was the first who'd been able to tell. Then again, Ryoga was the first to feel like syrup - Kirihara was the only other one who felt strange, but not like this, and even he couldn't tell when Ryoma was trying to synch him.

"You c'n feel it?" Though that was fairly obvious by now - as best he could while still trying to keep his balance, Ryoma yanked the shields back in towards himself. His power came free of Ryoga's with a mental pop! - not wholly unlike breaking free of Hanamura's shields - and Ryoma staggered, again just barely remaining upright. "Didn't think you would - no one else can," he said, arms waving a bit to keep balanced.

"Well of course I can," retorted the older brother, finally soothing the field of energy surrounding him back to its usual malleable state. He imagined it was a bit like jello -- it could be poked and prodded at, but a moment before, it was covered with a layer of something stronger. "I knew it wouldn't work." Seeing the way his brother was fighting for control of his skates, again, Ryoga reached over and caught his brother under the armpits. "I mean, think about it -- our powers aren't all that different, really, just that yours are on the inside, and mine are on the outside."

"Of course," Ryoma responded flatly - how was he supposed to know that? He started again as Ryoga grabbed him - but it was to keep him upright, so he took the opportunity to get his feet back underneath him with some semblance of stability, pulling his arms back in so he could stop looking like an idiot.

"Well excuse me for not knowing - just 'cause they're similar shouldn't mean I can't synch you." Because why should it? He scowled - he didn't understand these stupid powers of his at all, and when he tried to experiment it almost always ended up backfiring. It was a huge pain, and he was getting sick of it. He sighed. "Never works the way I want it to." He was pretty good at synching a few people, but even then... he couldn't pick and choose their powers. He got them all, full-on, and even if he was pretty good at controlling them, it was still a lot to handle.

He sighed again. Ryoga was right - he probably should've known this wouldn't work. "Whatever."

Chuckling, Ryoga released his brother, mussing the shorter boy's hair. "You've got a lot to work on, Chibisuke," he teased, parroting a phrase that their father was, for whatever reason, fond of saying. He turned, facing Ryoma and skating backwards (this skating thing was really quite easy, once he knew what he was doing) with his hands in his pockets. He could see the grumpy look on his brother's face -- that look that meant that Ryoma was irritated that he could not skate and he could not just borrow his brother's powers and learn that way.

"Looks like you're getting better at this," complimented the older boy. "But you need to keep your knees closer together -- at least, that's what the other people are doing. You look like Bambi."

"Shut up," Ryoma grumbled, not wanting to hear that phrase from Ryoga as well, watching his feet so he didn't fall again and trying to pull his knees in a little more. He was less annoyed about looking stupid and more annoyed that it seemed more and more likely that his stupid powers would never settle for being controlled. He synched when he didn't want to, and didn't when he did want to...

"Well I'd look at the other people if I wasn't gonna fall over f'I did," he said, but it did seem to be working a little better. He tried to straighten up, found that was a little easier still. "So you c'n learn anything from watching?" He'd gotten that impression long ago, but never really asked. He had noticed odd things here or there, though - like the way Ryoga never needed to ask how to use or do anything, but when he did things he probably hadn't before, he did them with the quirks of whomever he'd probably watched to figure them out.

With a shrug, Ryoga continued to propel himself forward, his attention turning away from his brother -- it seemed as though Ryoma was doing just fine, for then. Ryoga, instead, looked out past the glass at the vending machines, other patrons lacing up their skates or turning in their shoes, a group of giggling girls standing around drinking cocoa... "Well, it's something like that," he said distantly, eyes wandering even as he spoke. "Anything that's within my physical capacity, I can mimic. Some of the energy mutations, too." Though, that part of his unusual ability was only heightened by his mutation; he had always been observant.

"Huh." So it sounded like Ryoga's powers were really just a scaled-down, more physically-based version of his own. "You're lucky f'you can only do a few energy-based," Ryoma said - though he didn't at all envy his brother's limitation of mostly physically-based things. He hated synching physical mutations (like wings) unless they were like Niou's slowed-down metabolism or even Momoshiro's strength - things he could handle without having his body deform itself it ways it was not meant to. "D'you know how to use them already, or get that from watching?" He had a suspicion it was probably the latter.

Ryoma was a much better ice skater when he was not focusing on his feet -- though, Ryoga was not going to point that out. Maybe if he could keep his brother distracted, the boy would get steadily better at what he was trying to learn. Naturally, his feet were learning to make the proper adjustments that did not put quite as much strain on the ankles; pushing rather than pulling himself forward. The elder sibling paid this some mind, thinking that his brother would have sore ankles... or maybe his feet.

"That's exactly the downside. I can't do anything I haven't observed – not with my powers, anyway. I don't have the capacity to evolve." He gave a short bark of a laugh. "Ironic for a mutant, isn't it?" That was not exactly the best way to explain it, and he was still trying to distract his brother, so Ryoga continued, "It's like this; I could draw for you an exact replica of Pablo Picasso's Guernica, but my drawing skills are kindergarten level, at best."

Ryoma nodded - so it really was just a matter of copying, and nothing more. "Guess that has its pros and cons, then," he said, glancing at some of the other skaters around them, watching them a moment before turning back to Ryoga and trying to go a little bit faster. He had to remind himself to stand up straight - he kept leaning too far forward, it seemed, and it was just making things harder.

"Maybe there's more to it - I'd tell you, but I'd have to synch." Which seemed like not such a great idea anymore - and definitely not here, if it was going to be complicated. And then they might just find out that Ryoga really was simply see-and-copy, and nothing else. It didn't matter to Ryoma, anyway.

"I don't know if you even can," commented the other boy dryly, lifting one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. It was not really all that important to him -- if there was more to it, the way to find out would be to keep at it with his powers; let them develop naturally. As he thought this, a couple ahead of them fell to the ice together, giggling away giddily as they tried to right themselves; both apparently more amused than embarrassed. This was supposed to be a fun outing, anyway; not some sort of lesson in powers.

All of Ryoga’s smiles bordered dangerously on looking like a sneer, but the one he gave to his brother, then, was possibly the warmest he could manage. "C'mon, Chibisuke; isn't much of a sibling rivalry if you can't keep on your feet." He gave a laugh and released Ryoma's arm, skating ahead just a bit.

"Well s'fine with me if you don't want to find out," Ryoma replied; especially not here and not now - if he ever did want to even try to synch his brother, it looked like it'd better be when they were alone, and possibly sitting down. But given the way that he knew his powers could interact badly with others' - like Kirihara's or apparently Yamato's - he was just as willing to forget the whole thing.

Ryoma glanced over as Ryoga let go of his arm, wobbling only slightly before catching his balance, remembering again to keep his back straight. "Rivalry?" Well then. He pushed off a little faster, feeling a bit more confident as they rounded another curve. "You got an unfair advantage." He concentrated on the ice in front of him, and not his feet, realizing it seemed to help. Advantage or not, he could skate just as well as Ryoga, he was sure. It just might take a little longer. But he was getting the hang of it now.

"I'm supposed to have an unfair advantage -- I'm the older one," taunted Ryoga in return. "I think that's how this brothers thing is supposed to work." With another short laugh, he turned, light on his skates, to skate backwards with relative ease; it only took a pace or two to feel entirely comfortable with the new sort of motion. This brothers thing... that was what he could not just observe and mimic; he had to actually learn how to be a brother to Ryoma, even though he thought it was supposed to be on instinct.

Resent, however, still colored all of Ryoga's emotions relating to his family. It was hard to look past that resent to see that he had the chance to regain something that was lost before he could even understand what he had.

Ryoga sounded like their father again; Ryoma scowled a bit, though he had to admit, it was much better hearing it from Ryoga than from Nanjiroh. And he supposed it was true - from what Niou and Momo said, siblings were supposed to annoy each other sometimes. It was their job or something. He watched as Ryoga turned and started skating backwards. Yes, annoying indeed. Though a small part of him admitted it was definitely amazing to see someone who'd never ice skated before already going backwards, and looking so comfortable at that. Ryoga's power somehow seemed much more useful than his own.

He sped up a little more - still careful not to fall over - and they continued around the rink another ten laps or so like that, Ryoga smirking and Ryoma working on his speed and balance. He was definitely getting it, he thought. Things felt much more comfortable, in general, but his ankles were getting sore, and a break would be nice.

So the next time they neared the entrance to the rink, he nodded his head in that direction. "Wanna take a break for a few," he said. They had hot drinks at the little café off to the side, and he figured a few minutes of sitting would be nice before skating again.

"It's hard on your ankles, right?" The older boy, nonetheless, followed his brother's lead, stepping off the ice, having to readjust to the awkward gait of his skates against the rubber flooring. His own feet were not sore, but he had seen the way the skates, when awkwardly angled, were putting strain on his brother's legs... a fact that would doubtlessly annoy Ryoma.

"C'mon, I'll buy you a cup of cocoa," offered the older brother with a smile, a means of a truce.

"Kinda," Ryoma admitted, but at least Ryoga was willing to take a break. And buy cocoa - which was something Ryoma would certainly not turn down. "Sure." He had to readjust to walking on a normal floor with blades attached to his feet all over again, but it was at least slower and generally easier to balance than on the ice. Though he was sure that when they went back out there, he'd get even better.

And it was strange, Ryoma thought, glancing over at Ryoga as they waited in line, how quickly it felt like things had adjusted. He'd gone from not knowing he had a brother to hanging out with Ryoga within a matter of a few months - he wasn't sure if there was a “normal” for these sorts of things, or if this was even close, but he had to admit in the end that although Ryoga could be plenty creepy, and tended to sound like their father probably without meaning to, he really wasn't so bad.