Just got to chase the pain away

[superordinary]

Who: Makoto Naegi (superordinary) and Kiyotaka Ishimaru (ardent)
Where: Ice Path (and Blackthorn later)
When: February 13th and onward
Summary: Two dangans and a bloober versus a cave full of ice. This will end in idiocy.
Rating: PG at the most. Also, spoilers for DR may come up.
Log:


[ When Mondo left Johto, Ishimaru couldn't stay there in the Dangan house anymore. He had to leave. So Naegi decided to go with him — letting him wander off on his own would be one hell of a bad idea and Naegi was quick to suggest that the two of them should go to Blackthorn City. He's heard many great things about the city's famed hot springs and getting the chance to soak and relax in the water would do them both good, he thinks. They've definitely earned it.

Now, what stands between them and their destination is the Ice Path and as the name implies, it's full of ice and snow. The inside of the cave is practically one giant thick sleet of ice with frosted stones on the ground and icicles adorning the ceiling, sparkling in the sunlight coming in from outside. It's actually rather beautiful, if you don't mind the perpetual chill.

The slimy little bloober that's been in their company for a total of thirty minutes seems to mind, however. The poor thing's freezing but for some bizarre reason it seems insistent on braving the cold instead of turning back. ]

...Hey, uh. That thing is still...following us, Ishimaru-kun.

Comments

[ardent]

Yes, exactly.

[...Naegi is probably not going to like this.]

I think that something needs to be done about them. This recent attack against Olivine City has only confirmed that line of thinking.

[superordinary]

...What exactly needs to be done, Ishimaru-kun?

[ardent]

...I don't know yet - I don't have any sort of plan. But I think...in order to form a plan, I should probably work on getting into a position where I can get the information I need. They allow higher-ranking members of the organization special privileges, and they allow them access to things that we can't get at without climbing the ladder ourselves.

[superordinary]

How are you going to climb the ladder...? I hope it doesn't mean getting involved and helping them with their criminal activities.

[ardent]

[ahahaha about that]

...I'm going to minimize the amount of actual criminal activity involved as much as I can.

[superordinary]

"As much as you can" doesn't mean there will be no criminal activity involved, you know. What if you get hurt?

[ardent]

...I know. But I'm not going to get hurt, Naegi-kun; I can take care of myself.

[superordinary]

What if somebody else gets hurt?

[ardent]

I'm not going to hurt people, if that's your concern.

[superordinary]

I know that, but you'd be helping people who aren't afraid to hurt others.

[ardent]

Which is why it's best that this sort of thing is done by people who don't want others to get hurt - would you prefer that I take a mission, or the person who bombed Olivine?

[superordinary]

You, of course. But...is this the right thing to do?

[ardent]

[Ishimaru actually falls quiet for a moment at that, though again, he still seems to be focused on the discussion as opposed to retreating back into his head.]

Naegi-kun, I...

[He hesitates; shakes his head a bit.]

I'm not abandoning my sense of morals, and I still think that if there's a lawful way for this to be done, it should be done that way.

But things...aren't that simple.

[It strikes him as wrong as soon as he's said it, though he's not going to try to amend it, either; he doesn't like this - he doesn't like having to justify some sort of moral departure like that, regardless of whether he admits it is or not, and the fact that he can justify it in any way isn't sitting well with him.]

I'm going to find a way to stop them; it's not really helping them if it's what brings them down in the end, and I'll make amends as soon as I've worked everything out. You know I will.

[superordinary]

Ishimaru-kun...

[ Ugh, part of him wants to grab Ishimaru by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. This doesn't feel right at all. ]

I can't say I like it because I really don't, but...if you're sure you're willing to do this, then I won't try to stop you or anything. Just... be careful. I can't stress that enough.

[ardent]

[There's no denying that Ishimaru is incredibly tense, but he relaxes almost as soon as Naegi says that he's not going to stop him; he knows he's not exactly receiving Naegi's blessing for this or anything, but at the same time those words do go a long way.

Clearly, he still isn't the best at reading social cues.]

I will be - I promise you, I'll be careful.

[superordinary]

To be perfectly honest with you, I think you should leave this to somebody who knows how to handle stuff like this.

[ ... ]

Don't do anything reckless, Ishimaru-kun.

[ardent]

Have you ever known me to do anything reckless, Naegi-kun?

[superordinary]

N-no, of course not...! Look, I'm just worried about you, all right? I don't want you to start doing reckless things.

[ardent]

[Ishimaru about to respond with the usual - telling Naegi not to worry about him, telling him to just calm down and trust him because everything is going to be fine - but he stops before he can; they'd just discussed this recently, hadn't they? Worrying about each other is apparently just something friends do, and that's...

...well, it's kind of agitating, but it's nice.]

What...are you afraid is going to happen?

[The question is awkward, but it seems like something that might be more productive than just going in circles. Again.]

[superordinary]

[ The silence that follows is just as awkward as Naegi gathers his thoughts, fiddling with his zipper as he tries to find the right way to respond. He's seen Ishimaru's dead body once. He's seen his hair matted with blood and his skin bruised where the hammer struck. He's touched the dead body of the person he's talking to right now.

Even when he knows Ishimaru can't die here, he can't help but worry. ]

...Nothing in particular, but...you just told me you're going to climb the ladder of a dangerous criminal organization so you can bring it down. That's plenty reason to worry, isn't it?

[ardent]

...That's fair, yes.

[Fortunately enough, Ishimaru seems content with that particular line of reasoning and doesn't seem inclined to question much further; he'd noticed the silence, but...really, it's an awkward topic.]

I'll be all right, Naegi-kun - if it seems too dangerous I'll stop.

[superordinary]

That's good to know.

[ He still feels uneasy about this, but Ishimaru's words made things just a little bit better. ]

...Was that all, or is there anything else you want to talk about?

[ardent]

[Look, it could be worse - you could be finding out about this after something's already gone hideously wrong.]

I think that's all for now - we should probably keep moving.

[superordinary]

[ ...This is true. :|b ]

Yeah.

[ His butt is starting to feel cold so that sounds like a really good idea tbh. ]

By the way, do you think Isshiki is a good name for this guy here?

[ardent]

[Just...let him look at the blob there for a moment.]

It's as good as any!