[LUCKY FOR YOU, KANEDA, Bull stopped sleeping naked since he got here. Doesn't mean he's wearing more than boxers though. Boxers with a small, angry cow on the front.]
[He's also still on the bed, pushing himself up onto his elbows.]
[Ugh why you gotta do the thing Bull--no he'll hold his tongue on that. It's miles better than what he was expecting. And it's not like he hadn't seen naked guys before. HE HAD A GANG OF SOME HOMELESS KIDS THE D-CLUB PROBABLY EXISTED SOMEWHERE.]
What, you'd lie to me?
[A smug little reply as he walks in, those brows furrowed. Something's bugging him, obviously, hand pulling at one of the edges of his gloves.]
[He has a million reasons, but he's cycling through them to figure out which one to start with.]
America hasn't changed one bit from the way it was back in my world. Still the propaganda and war-mongering piece of shit it always was. If it's not Neo Tokyo, it's the 'commies'.
[He won't even deny that. Tetsuo's the biggest goddamn asshole this side of the United States.]
Yeah, then the Swear In starts spewing shit about how America's some utopia and all about loving your neighbor! I had to keep myself from throwing up it was so gross!
[He slings his hands behind his head, frowning for a second.]
There's a part of the Ariqun, the... priesthood kind of, called the Ben-Hassrath. Supposedly, we're there to "protect the faith, the innocent, and the Qun".
Crap like that. Supposed to be... upholding that kind of propaganda.
Soon as I was old enough, they shipped me out to Seheron. It's... it was a shit-hole. Probably still is. Almost quit -- almost just... up and walked away. Because all the good of the Qun crap in the world couldn't make the shit I saw out there better. Or make it make more sense...
[He trails off, losing focus for a minute. Then shakes his head, the next words more clipped.]
... Didn't, though. Stuck around. Figured I'd be able to do something good so long as they thought I was playing by the rules.
[A shrug.]
Sort of like now.
[Staying under the radar, staying predictable. Taking the benefits without taking sides.]
[He shoves that chair up immediately, getting to his feet and practically whipping it away. It's almost too easily done--he's obviously much stronger than when they had that training back in August. And if he were a fraction more careless, that chair would've flown across the room.]
The way they talk about respecting their neighbors and freedom and 'paying it forward'?!
[Stay calm. Keep a calm tone of voice. Don't shout. Or react badly. Just observe -- poker face.]
No need to follow all the rules. Like me, for instance. That's what I'm saying. You paint a bigger target on your back by throwing their shit back in their face.
[He pauses, still maintaining that calm voice.]
No, kid. I don't know. Not from around here, remember?
That's what I'm doing. That's what I've been doing.
[It takes everything in him not to call Bull something he'll regret. So instead, he'll direct his anger at the government. That's really what this was about, wasn't it.]
America dropped BOMBS on Japan back in...whatever. AWHILE AGO! Not on an army. On people. In houses JUST LIKE THIS.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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What happened now?
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[Yeah, he was right outside your door when he called, Bull. Right there. Ready and waiting.
He enters, shutting the comm to cut the audio.]
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[He's also still on the bed, pushing himself up onto his elbows.]
You're lucky I was really napping, kid.
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What, you'd lie to me?
[A smug little reply as he walks in, those brows furrowed. Something's bugging him, obviously, hand pulling at one of the edges of his gloves.]
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Yeah. Because I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear "I'm in the middle of getting off".
[SHRUG.]
Anyway. What happened now?
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[Then he wouldn't have come in!]
...
[A pause.]
How do you unregister.
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[That makes his eyebrows perk up.]
Un... register. Why?
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[He has a million reasons, but he's cycling through them to figure out which one to start with.]
America hasn't changed one bit from the way it was back in my world. Still the propaganda and war-mongering piece of shit it always was. If it's not Neo Tokyo, it's the 'commies'.
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Asshole.
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[He won't even deny that. Tetsuo's the biggest goddamn asshole this side of the United States.]
Yeah, then the Swear In starts spewing shit about how America's some utopia and all about loving your neighbor! I had to keep myself from throwing up it was so gross!
[His hands stuff in his pockets.]
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[He leans back a bit, propping himself up on a literal mountain of pillows.]
So... you figure the best thing to do is cut ties. Bail out? That sound about right?
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Yeah.
What's the American Government done for me?
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Look. I'm not going to say you're wrong. A lot of this crap is shady. I don't like it either. But...
Did I ever tell you what I did before I got here?
[There's a point to this, Kaneda. Really.]
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Nope.
[But he takes the chair sitting in the room and sits backwards on it, hands dangling over the back of it.]
But I've got a feeling you're going to tell me.
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[He slings his hands behind his head, frowning for a second.]
There's a part of the Ariqun, the... priesthood kind of, called the Ben-Hassrath. Supposedly, we're there to "protect the faith, the innocent, and the Qun".
Crap like that. Supposed to be... upholding that kind of propaganda.
The 'utopia' under the Qun.
action
You were a part of that shit.
action
Soon as I was old enough, they shipped me out to Seheron. It's... it was a shit-hole. Probably still is. Almost quit -- almost just... up and walked away. Because all the good of the Qun crap in the world couldn't make the shit I saw out there better. Or make it make more sense...
[He trails off, losing focus for a minute. Then shakes his head, the next words more clipped.]
... Didn't, though. Stuck around. Figured I'd be able to do something good so long as they thought I was playing by the rules.
[A shrug.]
Sort of like now.
[Staying under the radar, staying predictable. Taking the benefits without taking sides.]
action
[He shoves that chair up immediately, getting to his feet and practically whipping it away. It's almost too easily done--he's obviously much stronger than when they had that training back in August. And if he were a fraction more careless, that chair would've flown across the room.]
The way they talk about respecting their neighbors and freedom and 'paying it forward'?!
After what THEY DID?!
[He stops cold, hands clenching tight.]
You don't even know what they did....
action
[Stay calm. Keep a calm tone of voice. Don't shout. Or react badly. Just observe -- poker face.]
No need to follow all the rules. Like me, for instance. That's what I'm saying. You paint a bigger target on your back by throwing their shit back in their face.
[He pauses, still maintaining that calm voice.]
No, kid. I don't know. Not from around here, remember?
action
[It takes everything in him not to call Bull something he'll regret. So instead, he'll direct his anger at the government. That's really what this was about, wasn't it.]
America dropped BOMBS on Japan back in...whatever. AWHILE AGO! Not on an army. On people. In houses JUST LIKE THIS.
action
[Honestly, the kid's so worked up, he'd probably chalk it up to the anger talking. But hey, they're making progress, right?]
Kid... Hold on a minute. Pretend I'm an idiot for a second and define bomb.
Because anything explosive I know of sure as hell isn't enough to take out a house, unless you pack it full of gaatlok.
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Don't worry Bull, he'll be back. He's just fumbling around his room for somethi--and there he is. Storming back with something in his hand.
One of his handmade bombs, although it's only capped and not even ready to be blown up. A dud until he works the actual ignition in.]
Take this.
But make it the size of me. It took out the whole damn city.
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... How does something that small take out a city?
[He's not calling you a liar, Kaneda. He doesn't sound disbelieving, just... mystified. Atomic Bombs aren't really A Thing.]
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