irisnetwork | thanks, mav

You saved my life before, didn't you? And again now~

[ Friends are people you can trust and vice versa, and Kano wouldn't trust his life to anybody besides Minako or Ellie- but he'd trusted Yuya back then, and now...

Nah, no, nobody should ever trust Kano, because he makes it look like he's hanging back behind Yuya, when in reality he's hiding the fact that he's peering over Yuya's shoulder so he can memorize that card number and pin code. ]

I--yeah... [Yuya pauses, looking over his shoulder at Kano with a wide smile. And Yuya usually has his guard down, but he looks so genuinely happy to hear that.

His stalling only takes a moment before he turns back to the ATM to complete the transaction, counting out the bills to make sure it's the right amount of money.]

[ Yuya doesn't deserve to have his trust betrayed, but here we are... For all the skipping classes Kano does, he's good with numbers anyways, taking note of them and keeping them in his back pocket for emergency use. ]

You're really really sure about this? What do you usually use your allowance for, anyways?

Eating out, mostly. [It's not a lot of money and he has minimal interest in trying to save it at this time. If he really needs money he figures he's getting close enough in age for a small part time job, but he doesn't except wanting anything that big when the school provides so much.

Yuya turns around, offering the cash to Kano.] When you get the thing you're saving up for, will you show it to me?

[ Kano takes the bills and folds the stack in half without counting it, as any amount of money is good money and he can't be choosy with hoe much he gets. ]

Hm, well~ Not all of it is something that can be showed off, but the part that can, you'll be the second person I go to, promise~ I've been saving here and there the entire time I've been at school, so it should only be a little while now~!

[Yuya folds his hands behind himself and leans back against the ATM.] Okay, okay. Since you won't tell me, I don't know what to expect... but I'm really curious, so I'll wait for it.

[He won't push if it's really that big of a secret, though. Maybe it's something for Minako and Ellie? That would explain why he seems to shy about it...

Or it could be illegal. Hm.]

Uh--hey. [He shifts up a little. Friends can ask more questions, right?] Your power, it's illusions right?

[ I laughed, because the motorbike is more or less a cover story for something for Minako and Ellie, which also happens to involve questionable legality. But Yuya won't get to know what his contributions are towards until it's too late. ]

...Yeah! Did Toki tell you?

[ He's going to assume so, since the two of them are roommates, but Toki didn't exactly have the best experiences with Kano's illusions, so he's a bit guarded until he hears more about how much Yuya's heard about it. ]

[Don't buy your sisters drugs Kano

Yuya blinks, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow.] I've seen them... remember?

[It's how he stopped the hollow from chasing after them--and how he tried to hide his broken arm until Yuya grabbed it.] I was just kind of curious about them, they're really good.

[ Maybe he wouldn't need to launder gold if the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't jack up their drug costs so high!! Maybe drugs would be better than what he has in mind, but that's neither here nor now.

He tries to think back to when Yuya's seen his illusions-- doesn't think about the hollow encounter because that was life or death, a more serious situation that he's compartmentalized somewhere apart from his day to day life of messing around and using his illusions for play.

So.

What Yuya's talking about must be... truth or dare? Ahaha...]

I'm pretty good, huh~ I've been doing it since I was little, after all!

[Since he was little? Yuya falls quiet, shifting on his feet with hesitance.]

... Can I see them sometime? Your illusions--like the things you like to make with them?

[Maybe stuff that's more hopeful than traps and injuries. Maybe he's just selfish, to want to see something from his own past brought to life again.

Still, he hopes Kano likes showing off.]

[ The request takes him off guard, not because Yuya wants to see more of his illusions-- people generally do, and Kano honestly loves seeing the wonder and delight on people's faces when he performs little "magic tricks" for them-- but it's the way he worded the question: "things you like to make with them."

The illusions he likes to do depends on what he believes the other person would most enjoy seeing and makes them the happiest, and that's probably not what Yuya is requesting. The illusions he does the most are things that have become routine and mundane, casting an illusion over his entire body the moment he wakes and letting his entire life become an out-of-body experience, a puppet whose expressions, actions, and voice he can control but isn't him. These latter-most illusions, he's not going to admit to anybody ever in his life, and he's not starting now. ]

Something just for fun, huh~ I guess it depends on circumstances, and such, the need for one and--

[ The ATM splutters behind them. An proceeds to spit bills into the air, a rapid-fire stream of papers that fill the sky and come fluttering down over their heads. ]

[Yuya jumps when the machine proceeds to 'explode', stumbling forward and turning around to look at it in shock ad the bills flutter. It's a second before he catches on--and then he laughs, reaching out to try and touch the bills, to see how far his senses are tricked.]

Whoa! Amazing!

[ They feel and look like bills! Common items like money, Kano has a really good grasp on how to make them "real," and goes ahead and starts collecting the bills and stuffing them into his pockets. ]

Ahaha~ It's hard to tell the difference unless you know it's coming, huh? Come on, come on, we'd better run and get out of here...

[Yuya runs his fingers over the fake bills, his gaze alight with awe. It;s been a while since he was faced with an illusion like this--one presented that he can touch and probably smell and taste, but he's not going to lick illusionary bills when Kano gets his attention again.]

Uh--right! [He turns with a grin to follow Kano away from the ATM, even though it would be an easily explained confusion if anyone did see.] Can I see another?

[ Haha, yeah. Illusionary bills. The ones in Yuya's hands disappear after a while, Kano shifting his focus on the area around him as they run, like he'd done for them when escaping the hollow.

The snow around the paths melt into lush green grass, buds of bright yellow dandelions pushing through and scattered around them like the tidings of summer. The illusion can't really touch the sky or the sun, but the street is filled with color.

The buildings also shift slightly, though, and here and there, pedestrians yelp in surprise as they run into invisible walls, but ignore them. Kano was sort of serious about the getaway. ]

[Yuya's gaze is taken by the scenery, awed by the depth of it. He knew Kano could cover an area, but this month? This detailed? He really underestimated the skill of his illusions. It's incredible.

He's so distracted by the effect that he doesn't watch where exactly Kano is weaving, and proceeds to slam into one of those invisible walls.] Ow!

Pft--

[ Like slap-stick comedy... Even if it was unintentional... Sorry, but it's funny so he laughs.

Kano does do Yuya a favor, though, and grabs his shirt sleeve so he can guide him through the maze of illusions without breaking a nose. ]

[Yuya holds his hand out for good measure, rubbing his face with the other one. When he glances aside to Kano as he gruides him, he smiles in return--no harm done, and it is pretty funny.]

I'm trusting you with me face now, Kano!

[ That's a lot of trust to put into somebody who doesn't deserve it, but Kano doesn't betray that trust, shifting his grip from Yuya's sleeve to his wrist for a little more security, and then takes Yuya through what seems to be a small town, overlaid upon the actual campus they're going through that only Kano is able to differentiate and nobody else.

It's a pretty run down neighborhood, with streets filled with pot holes and chain link fences caked with rust, but the colors are so warm, washed over with the golden sunlight of a setting sun that doesn't match up with the position of the real sun overhead. Small store fronts, crowded apartment buildings, a little park with empty swings. ]

Hold on tight~! We're going up, now, so watch your step~

[ And by "up," he does mean up, footfalls leaving the pavement and climbing step by step with each one they take-- naturally, they're running up one of the many hills on campus, but under the illusion, the ground seems to sink far below them, and it's a little like flying. ]

[Yuya lets Kano take hold of his wrist, and tries to match his pace to make leading easier. He's being more attentive of where they're going, taking in as much of the place as he can.]

Is this where you grew up? [He asks just before his foot hits the hill, and then he looks down as they start pacing up it.

He forgets he asked a question for a moment as he stares as the shrinking landscape in awe.]

[ It's where he grew up, but Kano doesn't say, instead leading them up and up and up until they get to the rooftop of an apartment complex. They stand on the very very edge of the flat roof, toes overhanging the edge where no fence holds them back from the steep 30 foot drop before them, the view is wide and open, of the small town life with dusty streets and not very many people bustling about at all. The wind picks up, tilting them forward, and--

He lets go of Yuya's hand, and the illusion drops with it.

They're standing in front of Lumière dorms. ]

...How was it?

[Yuya leans over, completely reckless if this was real and yet trying to peer down at the view as if it is. It isn't as fascinating as walking on thin air, but the view is exciting all the same.

And then it's gone in a blink. Yuya breathes deep as he straightens up.]

Amazing. [He turns back to Kano with a grin, filled with joy with a wistful gaze.] It's like you can make a whole other world. Thanks.

[ Kano grins right back, the expression on Yuya's face meaning more to him than any thanks. He definitely doesn't feel as bad about taking Yuya's money now; he'll call it even. ]

Haha~ Thank you, thank you~!! It's pretty neat, huh?

It is! More than that, even! [Kano's genuinely exceeded his expectations with this.] Where does you learn to do this?

[Before Daybreak, of course. Maybe Kano learned from a Mage family as well? Or he could just be talented enough for this to 3 year of work.]

Hm? Well, it's sort of like... Once you understand how it works, you can do anything you want, you know? Over time, it gets to be something like this~

[ Is that a vague explanation? It probably is. But he can't really call it learning, as much as he just sort of figured it out himself, largely out of what he believed was necessity. It's not something you can follow step-by-step directions from a textbook, anyways, and Michael was barely around- and when he was, Kano had always lead him away from topics surrounding magic and daemons and all of that. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject