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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2019 1:30:09 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME THE YOUNG TEEN STOOD WITH the same discomfort with which a child would attend a church service that they’d been dragged to. It was a sort of non-denominational religious service for children at the orphanage. Kenji had never been religious at any stage of his life. If there was some benevolent power-that-be, then why did it keep screwing him over? Just when things started to seem good again, everything went right back to sucking. He found a family of his own, and had been very happy with his vigilante-father Charles.
And Charles got arrested. And now he was here.
Charles, a hero, arrested for protecting the people.
He might as well be dead.
Kenji inhaled, his eyes stinging. Any time he thought about Charles, his face would twinge and his eyes would get bleary at the edges. It hurt his heart to think about it. This was the problem with the world. Good people got punished for doing good, not-entirely-legal things. What about Kenji? Charles was his father. And they were just going to throw him away?
The tears overflowed, and there was a searing pain in his skull. He’d cried so much, these days, he had a persistent headache. He refused to go to school. He refused to eat. It’d been a few weeks. He’d been holed-up in his room, playing his handheld video games. Any attempt at talking to the child was met with abrasiveness. If Kenji couldn’t have Charles, he wouldn’t take anybody else.
“Hey, everybody, Father Mosa is here!” one of the caregivers announced, causing an excited outburst of noise from the younger residents of the orphanage. Kenji stayed rooted to the wall, mopping at his eyes with his sleeves. He was only here because they’d taken his handheld console. If he wanted it back, he needed to eat, and he needed to attend the events at the orphanage. Or else, no console. And eventually, he’d need to work his way back up to school. Protests about the legality of stealing his shit were met with wry smiles.
His face scrunched in confusion when the priest entered the room. Something about him seemed… familiar. Barrel-chested and tall, with legs designed for a much smaller torso-- he wasn’t a vigilante. For some reason, he recalled wet sandwiches and lectures in a bus shelter.
Oh, wet sandwich guy. The child freed himself from the wall. He wondered if the man remembered him? He crossed the room, unsure, wavering as he walked, as if the soonest breeze would sweep him away. If the man noticed the redhead, he’d see the puffy, red-rimmed eyes, the unkempt hair and hardened expression. It was a far cry from the impish boy months prior. It didn’t take a detective to intuit that something had happened. There was something so dissonant about seeing someone from a time when Charles was still in his life, even if they'd been a stranger. Nothing about the orphanage felt real-- the little kids, the caregivers. Something about the man felt real. Felt tangible.
“Say hello!”
“Hey,” the child croaked.
It was the first word he’d uttered since he’d gotten there. Something about the man made Kenji feel like, he if just latched-on to "Father Mosa", he wouldn't be lost in this limbo.
| 544 words tl,dr: sad boy is sad, but he recognizes mosa! |
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309 Posts
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38 Years
Male
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Post by Mosa Ganbaroshi on Sept 12, 2019 10:49:39 GMT -4
Once again, it was time for Mosa to visit an orphanage as a duty given directly from the church. One of those duties that he found more so relaxing than worrying. Since the people he talked with in such place were usually children, it made it very relaxing and enchanting experience. Now with Kasumi around, he had a tendency to even bring her with him sometimes, more often than not when visiting the orphanage she was from. In that regard, she had just shown moreso the fact, that Mosa had always held onto during his visits: All of the children in them deserved a second chance at life in any possible way.
However, this time the target for his visit was quite different. This time it was an orphanage for a very wide range of children, from small toddlers, to outright teenagers. The latter stage admittedly, was a little bit harder for Mosa. After all, it was the rebellious stage of life. Admittedly, the nice priest coming and talking with them wasn't quite as interesting when forced onto them with these sudden visits. The fact that he was now the main counselor at U.A had of course made this process a little bit easier, in that he left it to the teenagers themselves to decide if they wanted to talk with him. Well, aside from couple of cases where the trouble was so obvious, that he could walk up and talk to them that way without feeling too nosy.
However, that didn't mean that the others weren't excited to see him. A bunch of smaller children swarmed him, asking a lot of questions like "You gonna tell us a story again!?" "How's Wolfie!?" "LEMME TOUCH YOUR HAT!" All very excited things that wanted answers immediately. Even Mosa couldn't hold his grin at the sight. That and he could imagine his coworker "Wolfie" appreciating the nickname the kids had given him exponentially. Poor guy had always been a little bit self conscious about how much control he had of it... Maybe it was better to just mention that the kids remembered him. Othervise he might feel a little bit depressed about leaving such an image.
"Of course I will... That is usual procedure after all. Secondly, He is very much so fine. Just has a shift over at the church whilst I am here... And alright." He took his hat off, showing it to one of the children, taking his glove off under it... "Just for a little moment." and as the kid touched the hat, it looked like the bear ears on top of it wiggled happily in answer. A mix of aaaws and giggles followed. "Now, give Mosa a moment. He needs to prepare for what he is going to do!" The caretaker had his back so that he wasn't stuck forever talking with them. He offered a small bow, and started moving towards a place where he could sit down...
Only to be greeted by a familiar sounding voice. He turned his head, and instinctively answered. "Hello there." Only for his eyes to lock on to the teenager... He blinked. This boy seemed awfully familiar... But that couldn't be. "Wait a minute..." His hand instinctively went over to his jaw... Sadly, he could make an immediate connection. He lowered his hand, and proceeded to ask a simple question. "How are you feeling?" The classic first question to any therapy session. "And how long have you been here?" He gave a brief glance around, if he could find some comfy place for them to sit down. "Anywhere you would like to talk person to person?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 19:52:24 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME THE BOY'S STOMACH CLENCHED WHEN the man shifted his attention, and Kenji braced himself by clasping his right arm with his left hand. So the man really was real. Wet Sandwich Guy, formally known as Father Mosa, apparently. Kenji cracked a smile, but there was something brittle about it. Like if he’d smiled too broadly his composure would shatter. He seemed to realize that he knew Kenji.
“Yeah, it’s me, the lunch-wrecker,” Kenji said with thin amusement, a half-hearted chuckle just barely fringing his tone. His voice was still hoarse from disuse. He cleared his throat, “F-funny seeing, uh, you here. I didn’t know you were a priest.”
He rubbed his arm, hesitant to address the elephant in the room-- Kenji was here for a very specific purpose, and both he and “Father Mosa” knew why. Kenji looked at his shoes. The man’s question was simple enough-- how was he? And the follow-up-- how long had he been here. The teen kept his head tucked. He freed the arm that his vice-like grip had been constricting, only to pull his knit-cap lower over his eyes.
“I’m… good,” Kenji replied. A guarded and flagrantly dishonest response-- anyone with eyes could see that. He may have been a weasley fourteen-year-old, but he was a weasley fourteen-year-old with pride, goddamnit. He wasn’t going to lose his composure in front of some random priest. And still, the teen avoided looking at Mosa.
“Been here…” Kenji began. His tone wavered. Fuck. He was not as nonchalant as he had been hoping he’d sound. The child bit his lip, he squinted his eyes. Not here. Not with some random priest. What could he do, tell him that “if he opened his heart to Jesus, it’d all be good?!” because none of this was good. None of this would ever be good. Kenji shrugged his shoulders, and sighed, “... few weeks. I dunno. I haven’t, uh-”
God, he sounded so weak. Kenji hated that, “-I haven’t really gone out. So I don’t… really know. How long it's been.”
Meaning, he hadn’t been going to school, so he didn’t have a means by which to measure what day it was. They all just kinda blurred together in one miserable, soupy mess.
“Charles... my, uh… guardian… was arrested… mid-August,” the child finally mustered, lifting his gaze, “And they took me after that. That’s how long I’ve been here.”
So, in actuality, he’d been there almost a month… but his brain was such a sorrowful mess, he’d thought it’d been less time. For all that Kenji left unsaid, he was certainly communicating it nonverbally.
The priest offered to talk to him somewhere else, one-on-one.
“No,” Kenji trailed. And as an after-thought, “Thank you. But… I’m not… super-religious. No offense. And uh… it’s not my first time being… uh...” the word escaped him, his gaze dropped again, He fussed with his knit-cap. He was squinting at the floor again. What was the word? Abandoned? Taken? Thrown away? Each of these stung as they surfaced in Kenji’s mind, “...whatever. I don’t know. It’s no big deal.”
Another mirthless smile.
“I’m distracting you,” the boy said, “I just… wanted to say hi, is all. I wasn’t sure if you were real.”
Belatedly, Kenji realized that he’d said something weird. Something stupid. He frowned.
“Sorry for... bothering you. I’m being weird. I’ll let you, uh… prepare.”
| 560 words tl,dr: idon't wanna talk, but heeeere i am info-dumping |
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309 Posts
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38 Years
Male
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Post by Mosa Ganbaroshi on Sept 15, 2019 8:53:29 GMT -4
Mosas lips turned to a teeny tiny statue like grin at the way Kenji introduced himself. Lunchwrecker, huh? Atleast the boy seemingly had a sense of humor left. Back when they had met for the first time, the boy had been quite shaken. And yeah, it was pretty much impossible for Mosa to hide his job anymore. "Well, yes. It's part of my duties. I did tell you I talk with a lot of different people, didn't I?" That longstanding riddle of his job had finally gotten some sort of an answer. Not a full one, but Mosa did accept it as correct either way. However, the boys body language started immediately changing, as he asked some proper questions. Gripping his arm, looking at his shoes... Very simple marks of anxiety or shame...
Yet the answer from his mouth was positive. He was simply too easy to read. The next answer just encouraged the fact. Having not left the building for that long time, it must have meant what had happened had stayed in his mind. A paralyzing thought process. The boy did get the assumed reason out, giving outright names and the month for it. That soon after they had met, huh? "Hmm..." Honestly, it demanded some more attention, and curiosity was setting in for Mosa himself as well...
But the boy pushed him away. Unfortunate, but understandable. This was not like at the school. There, the students came to meet him, not the other way around. The depressing thing was that he called him out for being religious... Everything he did, clearly tried to avoid him. Heck, he even said that he was 'used to this sort of thing', Which was worrying on it's own. But, for now, Mosa didn't chase him. "There is nothing to feel ashamed of. Part of the reason I come here is to talk with people like you." He clasped the book in his hand a little bit tighter. "I do hope you enjoy the story I have prepared though... I know my daughter enjoyed it greatly." For now, he had duty to uphold... he could concentrate on this afterwards. Besides, the story might be able to break his impression of him.
The story, that he told, was relatively simple. It was about a girl, who happened to save a cat on her way home from school. The cat was surprisingly able to talk, telling her how thankful it was... the next day another cat had told her, that she was chosen to marry the prince of the cats for saving their king, and that the decision was pretty much unnegotiable... cats started chasing her around the place, trying to get her to come with them, and in the mess, she met the prince itself. Both of them agreed, that this wasn't what they wanted. And after an adventure of silly shenanigans, the duo was able to convince the king, that the duo should be allowed to live as they wanted. Like any story, this one also had a morale. Although two simple ones: Always trust in your own opinion, and that sometimes help can come from weird places.
Of course, some of the story vanished underneath the description of the cute cats, with lot of the kids aawing and saying nyas just cause they thought it was fun and cute. Mosa could only hope that his message came across well. "Now everyone! Time to eat!" "YAAAAY!" With that, the place emptied... but Mosa, had come up with a new idea, although, a little bit bold admittedly.
before Kenji could escape to eat, Mosa proceeded to go talk with him. "Well, what did you think of the story?" A bit of a simpler question at first. "I was admittedly, a bit nervous about if boys were going to enjoy it as much. It is a bit girly one, but it does do it's purpose well." He had always been into stories that involved some sort of fantastical element in the regular world. However, just the topic of the story wasn't what he wanted to discuss.
"You said that you have been here for a month already? And that you haven't been outside very much in that time, am I correct?" He fixed his glasses a bit. "If you would like, I could take you to eat somewhere else. I think a little bit of fresh air might do you a little good." An honest offer, although, the place where he was planning to take him eat, was a very personal one. His own home. The plan was that it would hopefully be able to make him think of himself as something else, than the role that he pushed on him. But of course, he couldn't force him to come with him. Anybody would most likely be a bit befuddled by an older man just offering a meal all of a sudden.
Luckily, Mosa had atleast one form of reassurance, to make sure he didn't have anything to worry about. "I will inform the caretakers, so they won't wonder where you are. I will also of course drive you back here afterwards, depending on how you feel..." He took his hat of like some sort of chauffeur, and placed it over his own chest. "What do you think?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2019 21:40:57 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME KENJI COULDN'T EXPLICITLY REMEMBER WHEN Mosa had ever said that—it wasn’t like he’d expected to see Mosa again, so the interaction wasn’t something he’d committed to memory. But he still nodded as if he did remember Mosa saying that. Kenji wore his heart on his sleeve. Even if there were things he was trying to keep a secret, his body language broadcasted it like a foghorn over the bay. And Mosa, trained to see those signals, seemed to be picking them up—perhaps if Kenji knew the man was more than a priest, he would have put-on more of a convincing front.
A muscle twitched in Kenji’s jaw. Nothing to be ashamed of? People like him? Right. Orphans. The petulant side of him wanted to retort that he wasn’t like the other kids. His parents were still alive—not that they… really counted as parents, but that was beside the point! He opened his mouth to protest, but “Father Mosa” continued talking, holding up a picture-book for Kenji to see. Mosa’s remark about the book being “his daughter’s favorite” deflated Kenji. Any inclination to argue with this unsuspecting man diminished. Kenji was fourteen, far too old for picture books. But the sentiment made him a little wistful for the childhood he’d never gotten.
“Looks cute,” the boy mumbled, quiet enough that any of the other older kids couldn’t hear and potentially mock him for the sentiment. Kenji turned abruptly, walking along the perimeter of the growing mass of children, and took a seat in the back of the group, crossing his legs and leaning his head on his chin.
“Story-time,” he muttered to himself. Of all the things his caretakers could’ve wanted him to go to, they wanted him to go to story-time. Picture books were for babies. Religious picture books were even worse.
Kenji was relieved to find that the book was not, in fact, religious. He followed the cadence of Mosa’s voice, reluctantly at first, but by the time the girl was sworn to marry the prince of cats, Kenji was rapt, leaning forward. The girl was allowed to go free, and she and the prince of cats were free to live the life that they wanted. The young teen pondered what that meant as the crowd dispersed for food, letting the absolute stampede of children dissipate before he, too, rose. He wasn’t hungry, really. His appetite had been virtually nonexistent. But staying there meant being around Father Mosa, and Kenji wasn’t ready.
The priest was quicker, though. Immediately, he was upon Kenji, asking about the success of the book. The teen adjusted his beanie, smirking slightly. Why did Mosa care what a scruffy redhead like Kenji thought?
“I mean, it was cute,” Kenji offered, “I think the little guys really liked it… and I guess I was kind-of into it too. Was wondering if she’d go home or, like, live in a palace.”
Again, his pride was getting in the way, again. He was fourteen, and therefore too cool to like picture books. But he could indirectly compliment it by saying that the littler kids liked it, and still maintain some dignity.
Kenji shrugged his shoulders as Mosa spoke, wedging his hands deep into his pockets. His inherent mistrust of most adults, particularly men, made him immediately suspicious of the offer. Take him to eat somewhere else? Fresh air? What was his angle?
“Right now?” the teen pried, the uncertainty clear in his tone, “Is that… allowed?”
Obviously the man was some degree of trustworthy, because he came to story-time at an orphanage. But what did a priest want with a surly teenager? Was he going to try and convert Kenji? Or was it really just an offer to go grab some food? Something other than orphanage-food would be nice. They cooked a lot of easy, bulk-food type meals that really reminded Kenji of life with his biological parents.
“I mean, not-orphanage food could be nice,” Kenji finally yielded, idly scratching his cheek. Heck, maybe the caretakers would consider this a “leaving his room” activity and give him his handheld gaming console back for his… progress or whatever. If Mosa tried to pull anything weird, he’d just put on Slippery Sleeves and jump out of the car, no problem.
| 711 words tl,dr: he's not a very trusting boy, but he's trying! |
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309 Posts
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38 Years
Male
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Post by Mosa Ganbaroshi on Sept 17, 2019 14:30:34 GMT -4
Honestly, Mosa felt almost a little bit challenged by this generic comment 'cute'. With his problems entertaining teenagers normally, now that he actually knew one, he wanted to hear his full opinion of the story afterwards. It did seem like he was successful in atleast injecting some curiosity in him about the situation. "It is a hard choice of course. Choosing between a place you typically called home, and a new place with all things being different can sometimes be almost tantalizing." He tipped his hat a little. "Sometimes to a disturbing degree..." In a way, Kenji didn't have a choice in that regard. And he wanted to help him with that... yet he couldn't force it. It was a problematic situation all around.
And the prime reason why he offered to take him out to eat. The boy was outright surprised that was allowed. Well, technically Mosa wasn't sure if he was allowed. He hadn't asked yet. But he could certainly try. So, for now, he gave a nod. "Everything is possible, as long as you are brave enough to ask. At this age, you often don't have much to lose in trying..." It sounded more mystifying saying it like that. He wasn't sure if the boy was doubtful or hopeful about the revelation though. In the end, he did get an answer that could be taken as 'yes please'. "Well then, in that case... I am off. Put some warm clothes on. Getting quite chilly lately with autumn."
The process was pretty normal. Thankfully, the churches relationship with the orphanages allowed a little bit of leniency, when it came down to this sort of thing. Usually it was to visit church though, and not the priests home. "Now, this is only till the evening... You know, safety procedures. Don't want anything to happen to him." "Of course, of course..." Speaking of safety procedures, he had completely forgotten about the coming meeting of Kasumi and uh... a teenager. He wasn't sure what to think of it. Last time he had seen the boy, he had been a problematic trickster... and that was for sure something he didn't want Kasumi to pick up from him. But oh well, one days visit shouldn't be that dangerous or cause permanent marks in that regard. Besides, it was good for Kasumi to meet different sorts of people.
With the paperwork done, he was on his way out... he gave a brief goodbye to everyone who was interested, And then waited until Kenji would come. "The trip isn't long. About 10 minutes. I have a car." He walked over to this very non stand out one, And opened the door for him. "Now, let's be on our way. I know my daughter must be ravenous too." Problem of needing to work in the weekends... All the time he spent was very much so precious. Especially when that wasn't guaranteed free time. Sometimes he didn't even have time to read books anymore, which especially saddened him.
"Now, don't worry, this isn't exactly the sort of trip where you aren't allowed to touch anything in the house. Although... I do want you to promise one thing..." He turned to look at him with a little bit serious look. "...You can avoid swearing with my daughter in hearing range I assume? I am not ready for her to learn bad words..." It was a spooky idea all on its own. "Other than that, I trust you will like her a lot. Sumi is the cutest little critter in Tokyo, I would say." His speech pattern had turned very much casual. No digging words, just talking about things that he himself wanted to talk about. "I do have to wonder what I will cook though... What do you like to eat?" Maybe he could make something that made him comfortable.
Arriving at the house, he locked the car doors, once they both exited, and walked to the door. "Now... the door is locked... But I will test to see if Kasumi can open it for us." There was a clear window, allowing a person to see inside to this smallish house. Not much, but enough so that Kasumi didn't need to worry about it being a stranger ringing the doorbell. A simple ringing echoed in the house. "Sumi! I am home! And we've got a guest!" He hoped she didn't get too nervous by the last sentence...
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9 Years
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Post by Kasumi Okino on Sept 17, 2019 16:22:01 GMT -4
Even though today was Kasumi's day off, she had gotten up with her papa and helped him get ready for his day. This had become a bit of a routine between them, Mosa helping Kasumi get ready for school and Kasumi doing her best to help her papa get ready for work. Though she didn't have school today, she insisted on helping Mosa get ready. He even made her a plate of omurice with a ketchup smiley face on top, which has steadily grown to become one of her favorite breakfast foods. While Mosa was away at work, Kasumi spent the day relaxing, having wrapped herself up in one of Mosa's fluffy blankets and curl herself up on the couch with some cookies and a juice pouch while she watched her weekend cartoons. She really liked the shows which involved magical girls, Kasumi even dreaming of becoming one herself. She liked to get up and copy the dances on screen with Aki by her side. Kasumi twirled around in her dress as if she were transforming with the girls on screen as well. They always wore such pretty costumes and had really fun powers! Kasumi wondered if she could have an outfit like that some day.
While watching cartoons was fun, Kasumi had fallen asleep once they were over, cocooning herself in the blanket as she rested on the couch with Aki in arms. It was only a short nap though as Kasumi had gotten up and cleaned up her mess before heading upstairs to her room to color. She was working on a new piece which involved her and Aki as magical girls but was interrupted by a familiar voice. So her papa was back from work! "Coming papa!" the small axolotl child called out. Kasumi smiled and went downstairs toward the door, hearing Mosa say that they had a guest. What kind of guest was it? Was it 'mue? Did she perhaps bring more chocolate like last time? Kasumi went into the kitchen and brought her stepstool out, dragging it to the front door to open the lock since she was still too small to reach on her own. Once the door was unlocked, Kausmi stepped down from her stepstool and moved it to the side, watching as the door opened and her papa standing on the other side with...a boy. He wasn't 'mue and he didn't have any chocolates...did papa know him? Kasumi was a bit wary at first, keeping her distance for a bit, observing just who this boy was and wondering why he was in their home. She was not afraid per say, just curious as children tended to be. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2019 23:00:08 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME THE SORT OF WHIMSICAL SENTIMENT about everything be possible if “one was simply brave enough to ask” was met by disbelief. The child frowned at the idea-- if that were true, he could be with Charles just by asking. He didn’t want to be in this stupid orphanage. His life before would've been just fine.
“Not everything…” the child muttered, before being dismissed. Kenji went up to his room, which admittedly was little more than a hall lined with beds, and filled with a gaggle of boys from ages six to sixteen. He went to the wardrobe beside his bed, where all his belongings were stashed, and after a pensive moment grabbed a hoodie. This was the only addition to his preexisting ensemble of knit cap, t-shirt, and cargo shorts. Kenji pocketed his phone, not that anyone would be calling him, and a container of silly putty before proceeding casually down the stairs.
He met Mosa inside, his hood drawn up over his knit cap, and the two ventured together to the car. He nodded with each remark, having no reasonable response to each proclamation of fact. It was a ten minute drive, and Mosa had a car. Mosa opened the door for the boy, which caused the child momentary pause-- only caseworkers opened doors for kids. After a confused stare and a mumbled thanks, however, the boy hoisted himself in.
Kenji's uncharacteristic quietness was pervasive throughout the drive. Kenji sat with his hands tucked under his legs, until he felt like his fingers were going to go numb. His gaze remained trained out the window. Everything felt so bright, though, so he let his eyes close.
He was trying to picture what a daughter of Mosa would look like… Like him, but smaller? Or perhaps they looked exactly the same? This led to visions of Mosa in a dress, which made the young teen smile privately to himself. Mosa interrupted the quiet again, pulling the teen’s unfocused gaze towards him.
He advised Kenji that it would be okay to touch things. And cautioned him to not swear around "Sumi".
“Don’t worry,” Kenji mumbled, “I don’t talk like that around little kids.”
Especially girls. He’d teach another boy to swear in a heartbeat, but girls were… different. Girls were safe from the boy’s usual mean-spirited tendencies, teaching them swears when they were none the wiser included.
Unprompted, Mosa began to gush about his daughter—and the teen turned his head even more towards the window, trying to hide the hard frown that was forming on his lips. Maybe it was jealousy-- his biological parents never sung praises for him like that-- or maybe it was just discomfort-- even Charles hadn't been that expressive about his feelings—but whatever it was, it felt super weird to Kenji.
Again, the temporary silence was broken by Mosa, this time with an inquiry about what to eat. Kenji glanced towards the driver, wiggling in his seat. It was up to him? He didn’t even know what Mosa ate! What if he asked for something that they didn’t have?!
“I like lotsa stuff,” Kenji replied, erring on the side of caution, “Anything’s fine.”
He at least had enough manners to not make tall demands.
“M-maybe no… box dinners, though?” Kenji concluded. Like macaroni and cheese straight from the box, instant ramen, microwave meals-- the synthetic, easy-to-prepare stuff. It made him ill just thinking about it.
The car rolled to a stop in front of a rather nondescript house, Mosa began to disembark and Kenji followed suit. He walked just behind him, keeping his hands pocketed and shoulders shrugged. Mosa rang the doorbell and called to the unseen occupant of the house. Kenji waited, gaze cutting sideways. The person who came to the door, Kenji noticed through the warbled glass, was small.
Then, the door opened.
They were very small. And very pink. The staring was mutual—Kenji took-in the fins and tail and… again, the overall pinkness of the small figure.
"Uh… hi."
Kenji had never seen someone so severely mutated before. The boy pried his eyes from “Sumi” and glanced towards Mosa. They looked… nothing alike. At all. Certainly not the dress-clad Mosa-doppelganger that Kenji had envisioned.
Kenji bowed at the waist, only slightly, buying himself some time to formulate a greeting, “N-nice to meet you.”
He couldn’t think of much else to say, as he was so dumbfounded by the… very pink child. Did he say he was from an orphanage? And acquaintance of Mosa’s? God, this was weird.
He stayed bowed until he mustered a, "My name is Kenji Murano. Please call me Kenji."
Name given, he stood upright again. He wedged his hands back into his pockets, offering a timid and clearly-forced smile. He felt like he was trespassing on private property.
"Y-your dad, uh, invited me to dinner."
He looked towards Mosa for approval, hoping that this benevolent priest would save him from the torture of making conversation with his miniscule daughter.
| 815 words tl,dr: oh god, a new person, and they're adorable. |
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309 Posts
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38 Years
Male
Civilian-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mosa Ganbaroshi on Sept 21, 2019 6:57:23 GMT -4
The boy was quiet pretty much the whole trip. Main reason why Mosa was trying to initiate some sort of small talk. He had to wonder what was going through his head? Was it similar to someone like Kasumi? Well, probably not... She had pretty much gotten a permanent home, while he had just gotten a small break... Maybe he was thinking what the house would be like? Maybe he expected him to drive over to a church to some small buffet for the homeless. That just felt kind of heartless thinking about, right after Mosa had gone on trying to get Kenji to come with him. He really hoped that was not the image he was giving off here.
His answers to his requests however, did get something out of him. Admittedly, he should have expected him to have learned some tact near small children in a place like an orphanage. The caretakers were quite like teachers in that regard. If one kid just started swearing near others, that would lead into a bunch of potty mouths running around the building, and that would be problematic with their future in mind. And Kenji was a teenager, he knew better. Although, when Kasumi was involved, Mosa was always walking on tippytoes, making sure things were alright for her. The food question on the other hand had a small problem. Now he was compounded by not knowing what he actually had in store already. That worry was very minor though, as when Kenji brought up, that he wanted some that wasn't in a box, a brief smirk grew on his face. "I hope I am a little bit better cook than that." Yet another challenge for him to overcome. He was really piling them on himself at this point.
Of course, the biggest challenge would come down the moment that Kasumi opened the door: The first impression between the two of them. The one he wanted to help, and his own daughter. If this meeting went badly, everything would be for naught.
Kasumi was of course keeping her distance, and observing Kenji. While Kenji, seemed outright baffled observing her as well. His eyes turned over to him after an awkward hi. And then the boy bowed, like some sort of prince meeting a princess for the first time. He was definitely trying to appease Her. "Indeed. Don't worry Sumi, he is a very friendly boy." Mosa nodded encouragingly, As he proceeded to step inside, and held the door open, squatting a little. "...Introduce yourself. I think he wants to know who you are too." He gently patted Kasumi on the back. A tiny encouragement for her to say her name herself.
Whether she did that or not, he proceeded to open the door wide. "Welcome to my humble abode. It's not exactly the biggest house around... but we do manage the two of us." The house was indeed small. You could see right in the kitchen from the door, which was mostly separated from the living room by the stairs leading to the second floor. The second floor was seemingly leading to two rooms, one being Mosas room, and one being Kasumis room. The living room... well, Mosa had an idea. "Would you like to give Kenji here a tour of the house, whilst I try to come up with something for us to eat? I know you must be outright ravenous by now." It was a bold suggestion, but it would give him some time to do his own things.
That and it would allow the duo to bond a little bit further than silly gazes... Of course, he would be ready to help them, if they needed it.
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79 Posts
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9 Years
Female
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Post by Kasumi Okino on Sept 24, 2019 21:55:59 GMT -4
Kasumi continued to stare at the other kid in the room, their eyes locking for a few seconds before he looked away and to Mosa. Why did Mosa bring this boy home with him? Mosa said he was a guest so Kasumi needn't bother ask the fine details. If papa said he was ok, then Kasumi would listen. Kasumi looked up at her papa and nodded, hearing him say that Kenji was a friendly boy. She gripped her dress with her tiny hands out of nervousness, being around a new person was a little intimidating. Mosa then came over and gently pat Kasumi's back, politely requesting that she introduce herself. Kasumi looked at her papa before turning to Kenji and softly speaking up, "...My name is Kausmi…s'nice to meet you..." she said a bit softly before listening as Kenji introduced himself and bowed before her. Should she bow too? She wasn't quite sure.
With formalities out of the way, Mosa let him and Kenji inside the home before closing the door behind him. Kasumi softly stared at Kenji, observing his dress and overall appearance. She noticed he had a cap like her papa had although there were no bear ears resting atop it. Kasumi turned toward her papa, hearing him ask if Kasumi would like to give Kenji a tour of the house. Kasumi was a bit wary of the request but she nodded in response, not wanting to make her papa angry by saying no. Kasumi watched as Mosa went into the kitchen before turning back to Kenji. Kasumi gripped her dress lightly and stared at the floor for a moment before speaking up, "Papa said to give you a tour...this is the living room," Kasumi said looking up at the other. "Papa lets me watch tv in here. Sometimes papa and I watch movies together on the couch and snuggle under a big blanket," Kasumi said with a smile, liking the thought of cuddling on the couch before snapping herself back to reality. She began walking towards the kitchen and turned around for a split second to make sure Kenji was following her. "This is the kitchen. Papa and I eat all of our meals here. I like when he makes umeboshi onigiri, it tastes really good," Kasumi said, her smile growing just a bit with each room she introduced.
Kasumi showed Kenji the rest of the rooms upstairs before taking him upstairs, showing him Mosa's room before finally making it to her room. "This is my room. Papa gave it to me. Aki and I spend a lot of our time here making art," Kasumi said before softly gasping and heading over to her paper and crayons she had out. She bent down and picked up her dear Aki before walking back over to Kenji. "This is my bestest friend Aki. She's almost always with me...except in the bath, she doesn't like to be wet," Kasumi said with a bright smile, hoping Kenji liked the tour. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2019 22:21:59 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME MAYBE BOWING WAS TOO FORMAL for introducing yourself to a little kid—but Mosa’s warning about minding the language Kenji used around Kasumi had put the boy on-edge. He needed to be on his best behavior, and that meant bowing to a ten-year-old like they were some kind of social worker. Someone important and in-need of impressing. He could feel his ears tinge pink with flush when Mosa described him as “a friendly boy”, dropping his gaze again. Their first meeting, Kenji had pranked him, and their second meeting… well… here they were. Did Mosa really know him well enough to call him “friendly”?
Kenji kept his hands wedged deep in his pockets, his shoulders shrugged and eyes squinted at the cement. Now he was stuck here, at least til they ate. He stood on the porch until the very small, very pink child returned, addressing him—her name was Kasumi. Kenji nodded his head without looking at her.
“Pleasure is mine,” he mumbled.
Awk-ward.
Mosa interrupted the awkwardness by grandly welcoming Kenji in, holding the door open wide.
“Excuse me,” Kenji said, bowing again as he entered.
The downstairs was small, but by no means the smallest place he’d seen or lived in. Kenji dared to look around as he removed his shoes in the entryway, pushing them off to the side. They were worn in the heels, and a hole was starting to form near the toes, too. Just like his socks.
Mosa proposed a tour, and the teen shot a nervous look the man’s way. He wanted Kenji to hang-out with his kid? Some foster-kid teenager that couldn’t even be trusted not to swear? Wasn’t he worried Kenji might, like, steal something? What if Kenji was mean to the kid? (Truth be told, Kenji just wanted to sit in a corner and ascertain that everything was safe, but… really? A tour from the kid?
The girl seemed to be building-up momentum, as if drawing the words from a well. Finally she spoke. Kenji looked at her, his mouth pursed shut.
Kenji followed Kasumi into the living room, where she explained their usual goings-on in the living room—t.v., movies, cuddling.
“Nice.”
He didn’t sound convinced. It was weird to think that Dad’s did shit like that. You know, loved their kids. Didn’t extinguish cigarettes on the back of their hands or arms. Kenji rubbed the sleeve of his hoodie, following her into the kitchen, next, where Mosa would presumably begin preparing dinner, soon.
Was it just him, or was everything, “Here is __, and here’s what Papa and I do”?
“Cool,” the boy remarked, flashing a humorless smile. They wound their way through the first floor, wherein Kenji really only noted the bathroom—an important place to know about—before the two trekked upstairs. God, would the torture ever end? Like, the kid was cute, but Kenji just wanted to like… sit and think. He kept that to himself, though, because he wasn’t a dick to little kids for no reason.
Eventually, they ended-up at her room, very girly and filled with crayons and paper. Kenji lingered in the doorway, taking it all in.
“Your papa gave you this room?” Kenji echoed. It wasn’t always her room? What the heck? The boy cleared his throat, “It’s a very nice room.”
He was trying to be amiable, he really was, but his heart wasn’t in it. In fact, he kinda just felt more miserable. The girl prattled on about “Aki”, who was apparently some cloth doll, retrieving her friend to show to the older boy.
“I have a friend like Aki,” Kenji confided in Kasumi, “He’s a Seedasaur. You know, from Capsule Monsters? His name is Spike.”
He was trying so hard, but he wasn’t even sure if some little girl like Kasumi even knew what Capsule Monsters was. He just wanted something to talk about with the kid that wasn’t about what her and her “Papa” did together. It made his insides feel all twisted-up.
“I had to leave Spike at the orpha- … uh…” Kenji broke-off, embarrassed. The last thing he wanted was pity from some little kid, “-at the office. He’s a working CapsuMon. Has a job and everything.”
Lying to a little kid felt wrong, on some levels, but he didn’t want her to think he was pathetic. He was too proud for that.
| 730 words tl,dr: welcome to "whose line is it anyway" where pokemon have office jobs and kenji cares about the opinion of a ten-year-old |
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309 Posts
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38 Years
Male
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Post by Mosa Ganbaroshi on Sept 30, 2019 17:37:15 GMT -4
Kasumi did a good job, introducing herself. But he was admittedly a little bit worried, how she would handle the tour part of it. She did accept the request, which was a bit surprising, but he couldn't help but hope Kenji was alright with it as well. He didn't say anything to not agree to it... And besides, he could hear what they said. One good thing about a small home. You didn't need to speak too loudly to get attention. With that, he spat in his gloved hands, and rubbed them together. It was time to get cooking.
But what to cook? Something relatively quick and simple, since they were all hungry. That was obvious. Something nutritious, and enjoyable, yet heartwarming... Something that would make him feel homely and comfortable for this little vacation outside of the orphanage... Ah, and it had to be nutritious as well... who knows how well he had been eating with all these sad things happening. He instinctively walked over to the fridge, opening it... and looking at how mildly empty it was. Some vegetables, mushrooms, bacon he had planned to originally use for breakfast the next day, onions... Well, that admittedly did seem like a delicious combo. That and he always had rice so... That's it then. Mushroom risotto, with a little bit of bacon as an extra.
He took the items, put rice in a pot, and let it boil as he prepared the knife... He had some bad experiences with them when he forgot to put his gloves on, so he was a bit more careful. He started chopping lot of things, with the metal of the blade hitting the wooden board in moderate quietness, aside from the slow starting bubbling kettle.
However, whilst this was going on, he was keeping his ears active. Listening how the duo of kids were doing. Admittedly, the proper term for now was still 'small talk'. Kenji was mostly reacting to what things Kasumi was saying. The moment where Kasumi outright came to the kitchen, Mosa nodded and smiled. Although now he felt mildly bad about his food choice for the day... Hopefully she didn't mind. As they went upstairs, Mosa kept on listening... And accidentally chopped of the tip of one finger from his glove... "...Oops." Maybe he should just concentrate on this for now... surely the kids were alright with each other for the time being?
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79 Posts
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9 Years
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Post by Kasumi Okino on Oct 14, 2019 20:41:51 GMT -4
Kasumi's eyes widened with awe when she head Kenji say that he liked her room. Kasumi smiled, happy that the new boy liked the room her papa had given her. Kausmi listened as Kenji began talking about a special friend of his, who was supposedly similar to Aki. Did boys have dolls as friends too? Hearing the name Capsule Monsters, Kasumi had to think a little until she remembered one of the shows she watched. So that's where it came from! "Ah I know that one! The blue one is my favorite," Kasumi said with a soft giggle. She couldn't quite remember all of their names but she knew she liked the blue one the best because they used water as a power. "Can I meet Spike?" Kasumi asked, her fins and tail wiggling just a bit due to how excited the young girl was. She understood, though, when Kenji said he wasn't here right now but was at some office working. They could work? Kasumi didn't know that. Kasumi hopped up on her bed and looked over to Kenji, kicking her small legs back and forth. "Can you tell me more about your friend??" Kausmi asked with one of the widest smiles on her face as her fins happily wiggled about, wanting to learn more about this Kenji character and his friend. She though they could talk until papa had dinner ready for all of them. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2019 21:39:59 GMT -4
I'LL DO MY BEST, JUST
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. FIVE WORDS OF FLAVOR TEXT, The young teen shrugged his shoulders, smiling bashfully as the girl seemed to recall the Capsule Monster Kenji had mentioned, declaring that it was her favorite—or rather, the blue one was her favorite, but… a lot of the Capsule Monsters were blue.
The girl zipped from one question to the next—could she meet Spike? Could Kenji tell her about him? Kenji walked cautiously through the doorway, then sat on the floor just inside, watching the girl kick her legs with delight.
“H-he isn’t here,” Kenji reiterated lamely. God, some little kids couldn’t listen, “Uhh… I got him for Christmas, a long time ago, and have had him ever since. I… move a lot, and he’s moved with me every time. But he mostly stays at home, on my bed. Cuz he’s, uh, lazy.”
He was too old to play pretend, but he wasn’t trying to hurt Father Mosa’s kid’s feelings. Kenji drew his knees up to his chest, digging into his pocket for his putty. Something seemed to occur to him, or his face took on an expression of subdued surprise.
“He mostly stays at home when he’s not working, I mean,” Kenji clarified, “Because he’s tired after work. Like, uh… is your Papa ever tired after work?”
Regardless of the girl’s answer, his response would be, “Well, it’s kind-of like that.”
He uncapped the egg-shaped container of putty, and began fussing with the clay in his hands, keeping his hands in his lap. It wasn’t a video game, but at least it gave him something to do with his hands.
“Tell me more about Aki,” Kenji suggested, trying to steer the conversation away from him once again. He was just here for some home-cooked food. He didn’t want some girl to interrogate him.
After her explanation, he’d wait a spell before interjecting, “You wanna, uh, do something?”
Anything was better than small talk. He’d do whatever the girl wanted, if it wasn’t small talk.
| 327 words ooc notes: kenji creates small talk with kasumi, and suggest that they "do something" to avoid further small talk. |
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79 Posts
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9 Years
Female
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Post by Kasumi Okino on Oct 29, 2019 12:58:11 GMT -4
Kasumi watched as Kenji came into her room and sat on the floor right in front of where she sat on the bed. He didn't have to sit on the floor but perhaps that's what he usually did? Kasumi wouldn't dwell on it for too long, she was getting answers to her questions. Kasumi softly frowned when she said Spike wasn't here with Kenji but he did mention that he was working. She thought it was amazing that pocket monsters could work ad have jobs. What kind of job did Spike have? The pinkette carefully listened as Kenji told her how he had gotten Spike and how he and Kenji move around a lot. She understood the feeling of moving, having been through that when she was saved from her auntie and placed into the orphanage. "Does Spike have a fun job? I hope he has fun at work," Kasumi asked, letting her curiosity get the best of her.
When hearing Kenji ask if her papa ever got tired after work, Kasumi thought for a moment before she shook her head. "Papa never tells me he's tired but sometimes I can tell when he yawns after he comes home from work," the pinkette replied. The wide blue eyes of the young girl followed Kenji's hands as he pulled a small container of sorts from his coat pocket. Kasumi crawled off her bed and sat in front of Kenji, observing the brightly colored putty the boy played with as he continued speaking of his friend Spike. Before she could get too lost in the trance of Kenji playing with the clay like material, he had asked about Aki, who was Kasumi's best friend. "Oh!" The young girl said as she stood up and retrieved Aki from her bed before sitting right back down. Kasumi smiled down at Aki before looking over at Kenji once more, "Aki has been with me since the beginning. Aun-...I was told she was left for me after I was born. Aki's been with me through the happy times and the not so happy times," Kasumi said, her expression growing a bit colder as she hugged the doll close to her chest, her mind dwelling on the not so times that Aki helped her through.
It was a bit of an awkward silence after Kasumi was finished talking before Kenji spoke up and asked if she wanted to do something. Kasumi blinked and looked at Kenji before coming up with an idea. "Do you like coloring?" Kasumi asked, her expression still a bit sad but not as sad as before. She didn't know if boys liked coloring. The boys in her class liked to color but Kenji was older than her so she didn't know.
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