Time to Process some Data (Twilight Brigade Members)

[therunawaygirl]

Alice sobbed, yet always trying to keep the noise to a bare minimum. Why had she recalled such a painful memory at such a specific time? The small conversation she had with Kujo, back at SanFransokyo, while he was showing her and M’Lyn around. How many people were enjoying their life carelessly, not needing to worry about anything other than perhaps making ends meet? How many people would go back home that day, just to meet with the people they cared about? It hurt a lot —and she couldn’t help but envy every one of them. She shook a bit more, still sobbing.

She perked up, feeling Kujo’s hand resting on her shoulder. She glanced his way, her eyes tearful, to quickly look away, shaking her head a bit. Alice rubbed her eyes, quickly trying to remove the tears from her eyes, but still looking away.

“It’s okay…” she replied, her voice shaky and somewhat soft, “I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t vent out like that…”

Even after apologizing, Alice kept looking away, genuinely nervous by just how close they were. Aside Jack, she’d never really shown that side of her to someone else —not M’Lyn, not Elena, no one. So why was she telling him, of all people, so much? Was it just because he had asked previously?

“…” Alice looked down, “I… Umm…” once again, she stuttered.

Unsure of what to say, Alice quieted down. In the end, she was still reluctant to say much more, worrying that, if the conversation took the path she thought of, she would be even more of a bother. For someone like Kujo, dealing with other’s emotions wasn’t appealing —and Alice knew that from the beginning, knowing how bothersome it would appear to a person like that.

[hoodwink]

    Brimming with tears, Alice’s eyes took Kujo off-guard. He wasn’t used to tears—especially considering his own household and how he was raised growing up. What was he supposed to do in this situation? ”It’s okay…” It seemed she was mostly focused on her own emotions brought from the recollection rather than his words. That was a relief in a minor way, though troubling in a greater one. ”I shouldn’t vent out like that…” It seemed she regretted her momentary frustration, something that brought a faint and somewhat exasperate expression to the man’s face. Was she really looking out for herself here? It didn’t feel like it. ”I…umm…” Stuttering, it seemed Alice was clamming up a bit. 

    It seemed she had reached her limit. ”Don’t sweat it.” Despite his lack of adeptness in these situations, Kujo genuinely didn’t feel like Alice had lashed out too unreasonably. Sure, some of that envy was petty and harsh—but the greater part of it was only exposed after his own callous and loose-lipped talking. Despite his stoic demeanor and harsh attitude, the man did have a sense of justice and what was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. In this case, it was him and Alice both in the wrong. Now that they had apologized in their own ways, there was nothing left to be done. ”Hmph—maybe you’ll make people appreciate more…” Removing his hand from her shoulder and shoving it into his pocket, Kujo turned a bit as he glanced back towards the desk.

    Gesturing to the discarded and completed school-work, the man seemed to keep his gaze on the desk rather than the girl herself. ”…If you get stuck again…” For a moment his teeth clenched as he felt an odd feeling interrupt his usual demeanor. ”You know where to find me.” With that, he began to make his way towards the door, pausing before it to turn and glance at Alice one more time over his shoulder. ”Get some rest, for now.” Not only had she been pushing herself all day, but now twice she had been forced to relive painful memories (because of him). The girl could use some undisturbed space, in his opinion. 

    Giving her a parting wave good-bye as he exited her room, allowing the door to close behind him, the man would release a weighted sigh as he stood in the empty hallway. Glaring at the floor, Kujo realized how unprepared he was for these types of interactions. I’ll need to practice… He’d have to get to learn more about Alice, Jack and M’Lyn over time, his conversation with Elena had showed him that. Who knew when another mysterious problem would arrive, a major clue being hidden within one of his comrades pasts? He couldn’t keep being unprepared. Tch—Can’t I catch a break? Thinking of that, he certainly deserved one himself. Somehow that conversation had been more draining than any fight. 

    Making his way back to his room, Kujo would enter the undecorated place and lock his door, falling into the bed.

[therunawaygirl]

Alice just nodded faintly, not looking up at all in fear of making things worse. She allowed Kujo to do as he wished —leaving her room with no strings attached, not knowing how he felt after all that. Yet Alice wasn’t focusing on that, instead punishing herself silently by making things so awkward.

For the time being, she would definitely get some rest.

Her head already felt heavy, and she did feel mentally exhausted —mostly due to the turmoil in her chest. She laid on her bed, sideways, grabbing onto a pillow and hugging it tightly, as she tried to control her cries and keep them silent.

“…I’m an idiot…” she mumbled to herself, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Why was it that, every time she opened up, she ended up crying like that? Why was she so emotional, when her job relied on her remaining calm at all times? The negative thoughts were just taking hold of her, and with no one left to bother her, it was just asking for trouble.

The memory of her parents, as well as the life she had until then, was simply too painful —enough to make her cry. She closed her eyes, soon falling asleep without her knowing.

A silent, empty sleep, free of the nightmarish memories that had surfaced not so long ago.

---

“Alice?”

Jack knocked on the girl’s door, receiving no reply. He frowned, insisting a bit but with no improved reply. Exasperated, he placed both hands in his hips, wondering just why she wasn’t answering. Given that he hadn’t been there while Kujo and she interacted, he had no idea what happened.

“Alice, you there?” Jack asked, “If you ain’t openin’, at least let me know…”
“…S-Sorry…”

Her faint voice echoed from the other end of the door, but she didn’t get up to open it, instead allowing him to walk in by unlocking the door. Jack entered calmly, looking around trying to see where she was, only to find her laying on the bed while hugging a pillow. The teen tilted his head, curious. Why was she upset?

“Somethin’ up?” he asked, sitting at the edge of her bed while looking at her.
“…” Alice shook her head, “No…”
“Right —likely story” Jack smirked, teasing fainly, “You fell asleep, right? What happened?”
“…I… I don’t want you two to argue…” Alice’s comment caused Jack to raise his eyebrows with curiosity, “Sorry, I…”
“…Here…” the elder brother patted the girl’s shoulder, a caring smile in his face as he opened his arms, “You need a hug?”

Alice looked her brother’s way, a faint nod as her only reply. Letting go of the pillow, she instead chose to embrace her brother, who didn’t pry her of anything in order to let her calm down. Silently, the girl cried, all the while Jack rubbed her back to give her the reassurance she needed.

“There, there…”
“…Miss them…” Alice mumbled, her face hidden in Jack’s chest, “I miss them… Mom, and Dad…”
“…” Jack flinched a bit, only glancing away, thankful that his sister couldn’t see his expression.
“I wanna see them again… I miss them, so much…”
“…I’m sure we will, Alice…”

It took quite some time —minutes, perhaps—, until Jack noticed his sister had fallen asleep again. A bad habit of hers, to fall asleep whenever she felt safe, or comfortable —a habit that rose from him spoiling her a bit too much when it came to searching for another’s support. Laying her back on her bed, Jack stood up silently, looking away from the sleeping girl as he grimaced.

“I’m sorry, sis…” he mumbled.

The sound of a single gunshot echoed in his ears, causing Jack’s expression to darken as he clenched his fists. If there was something he’d keep to himself at all costs, it was that —a painful reminder of his incapability to protect those he held dear.

The boy left the room as silent as he could, closing the door behind him and trying to not bother anyone. Once out, he took a deep sigh, trying to ignore the image of that time —a time he simply wanted to forget about. Yet the scar across his face, plus many others that simply refused to disappear, were a constant reminder of the hardships he faced.

“…” Jack glanced over towards the lounge room, thinking on what to do to clear his mind, “…Maybe… I’ll whip Alice one of her favorites…”

With a simple idea in mind, Jack headed to the lounge, wanting to do something to clear his head. What else to just cook everyone a meal? Even though the main receiver of said meal would be Alice, it wasn’t like Jack to simply forget about the rest…

[hoodwink]

    Kujo lay on his bed, his expensive name brand shoes having been freshly cleaned and placed carefully by the foot of it. Though cleaning his shoes typically helped him clear his mind, he found far too much within to simply organize and ‘clean up’. ”Figures.” Sighing in bitter contempt, the man glared at the ceiling as he thought of his and Alice’s interaction. I’ll have to be cautious. Now that he knew more about the siblings, he could take care to stay wary around certain topics and attempt some subtly for once. Too bad most things were done through trial and error, though. The image of the girl crying in his mind deepened his scowl as he closed his eyes and took a calming breath. 

    Elena better find something soon… Being put on ‘standby’ was only going to add to his burdens. Sure, he had to delve deeper with his teammates…but he wasn’t intending to just dive in right away. Being holed up in the ship would make that somewhat difficult to avoid, though…let alone the endless questions left unanswered, constantly gnawing the man with agitation. Damn it. He was getting nowhere, but he couldn’t help but play through the factors in his head over and over. 

    Grumbling to himself a bit, the man would attempt to take a short nap—in order to recharge himself.

[therunawaygirl]

By the lounge, Jack had begun his part, trying to steer away from the painful and gruesome thought that he’d come across not too long ago. He hadn’t expected such a topic to surface so soon, and neither from Alice herself —the person she wanted to keep in the dark the most. The bitter thought was once again buried deep inside his subconscious as his focus turned to the meal he was cooking —a simple one, yet one he knew his sister would like.

After all, it was her favorite. His goal that time was to just cheer her up, and what better way to cook something she liked a lot?

The water in the pot was at boiling point, waiting for the pasta to be put in for the time it needed to cook. At the same time, in a different pan, slowly cooking was a tomato sauce he’d add some meatballs into —ones he had to get in doing before anything else.

He grimaced a bit, glancing over at his gloved hands —gloves that were not just for professionalism. If he had to cook, though… They needed to come off. Thankfully, no one was there to look —a small relief that he could find solace in. With that in mind, the gloves were off, clear stab scars at both his palms and back.

“Tch…”

He hated looking at them —another reminder. The reason why he’d chosen to wear gloves after having them heal as best as they could was simply to avoid them —to hide them and to avoid the constant reminder, one he knew would distract him at all times.

“C’mon —pull yourself together already!” he gave himself a pep-talk, “A small annoyance for what you’re doin’ for her —it’s nothing!”

Focusing back on the cooking, Jack begun to make the last preparations to finish the dish, with the resources they had available plus what he’d managed to buy back in SanFransokyo —things that were bare minimum to live by, something he’d gotten more than used to after his normal life crumbled its way to the ground, disappearing completely.

He couldn’t afford being picky —and that went for everything.

“…Argue, huh…?” Jack mumbled, thinking on what Alice had confessed back when he went to reassure her, to then look at the ceiling, “I wonder… Was it Kujo or M’Lyn…?”

If it was the latter, Jack didn’t understand why the Miqo’te would bother, after so long of working with them. Her overall demeanor hardly gave signs of caring for what they’d gone through —otherwise she would’ve asked long ago. But if it was Kujo… Jack couldn’t understand why he bothered at all. His overall stoic and cold demeanor showed no signs of wanting to interact past a superficial level.

“Neither make any sense…” Jack thought, exasperated, resuming his focus on the cooking that he was almost done with.

[hoodwink]

    His ‘nap’ hadn’t really gone that well. Unable to truly fall into a deeper sleep, Kujo wound up laying on his bed with his eyes shut in attempts at relaxation for who knew how long. It was no use, he just kept thinking about everything—trying to solve mysteries he had no clues about. Tch—guess I should grab a book, after all… Having gotten distracted by everything earlier, he had never actually managed to grab one from the common space. Finally giving up on his ‘rest’, the man sighed and pushed himself up off of the bed, standing and cracking his neck as he stretched. 

    Walking up to his door, a faint smell greeted Kujo’s nostrils as he stepped out of his room, the automatic door closing behind him. Someone’s cooking? What time was it, anyway? His cellphone had been all but useless on the ship and while he was on different worlds—hence the man hadn’t charged it since their first venture. It lived in the small desk drawer in his room, slowly gathering dust by now. Walking down the hall and into the common space, Kujo perked a brow as he saw Jack busy cooking. ”So—it was you?” Despite his Akogare keeping his body in peak condition, it wasn’t like the man didn’t need to eat. The aroma had piqued his interest, causing him to pause from his current mission of finding a book.

    Though he wasn’t initially too keen on more social interaction after all of the conversing he’d been doing—the temptation of food was too much for the stoic man to ignore, as he was at the end of the day human (a fact that might be too easy for him to forget at times). Leaning against the counter, Kujo crossed his arms and watched Jack work. Though proficient himself in a kitchen, the man didn’t bother to offer assistance, as it seemed at this point into the process the teen had everything handled. ”…” The conversation with Elena was still present in his mind—but it wasn’t like he wanted to stir up the past for both siblings in one day. ”You’re better at this than I thought.” Though he hadn’t tasted anything, the smell was enough to convince him. 

    It wasn’t like pasta was a difficult dish, but there was a certain process to the sauce and meat that took a certain level of experience to do well, a fact Kujo could appreciate.

[therunawaygirl]

”So—it was you?”

The sudden comment caused Jack to flinch, startle, almost dropping the pan he was handling. He glanced over to notice Kujo walking in. He resumed to his work, thankful for being back to back with him —and as such, he couldn’t see his hands.

“That was close…”

The last thing Jack wanted was for Kujo to ask about them. In a sense, touchy about a subject he didn’t wan’t to disclose to anyone, Jack would most likely search to avoid the conversation altogether, instead focusing on doing something else.

Kujo’s mention on his cooking did nothing to flatter Jack, instead tunnel-visioning on finishing the meal. With a sigh, he turned off the stoves, serving 4 plates with the same amount and ratio —just by the glance of his eye. Still without looking at Kujo, Jack put his gloves back on, a relieved sigh soon heard from his part. Now finally relieved from a possibility that he didn’t want at all, he turned half-way towards Kujo.

“…What’re you up to?” Jack asked, a cocky grin in his face, “Didn’t think anyone’d be showin’ up ‘round here.”

He remained there, looking at Kujo with a teasing expression, although almost immediately he recalled Alice’s words, back when he went to check on her. She didn’t want him and someone else to argue… Glancing back at Kujo, a faint suspicion crept on the teen’s mind as he decided to be upfront about the topic.

“Say… You wouldn’t happen to know the reason why Alice’s upset, right?” he asked, “You were talkin’ with her, after we mulled over the info, weren't you? What'd you talk about?”

[hoodwink]

    Noticing the teen focused on finishing his preparations, Kujo pushed off from the counter and roamed into the lounge area, before browsing the small collection of books it held. ”What’re you up to?” Hearing the sound of scraping utensils as Jack plated out of the food, the man’s thumbs brushed over the spines of the books lined up. ”Reading.” Giving a small shrug as he glanced through his options, the man scowled, not really seeing anything that necessarily piqued his interest. ”Say…you wouldn’t happen to know the reason why Alice’s upset, right?” Jacks question only caused Kujo’s scowl to deepen a bit as he gave up on finding reading material altogether. Can’t I catch a break? Straightening up with an irritated sigh, the man felt what appetite he had from the smell of spaghetti disappear. 

    ”Tch—don’t ask me. You spoke to her, didn’t you?” Glancing at Jack from the corner of his eye, Kujo’s expression betrayed how little patience he had for coy approaches. Obviously he was aware the siblings must have spoken, otherwise Jack would have little to no clue about the uncomfortable situation Kujo had found himself in only a short while ago. It seemed his moment with Alice had done little to improve his mood, instead having only brought forth a slew of frustrations and annoyances. ”Take it you heard we’re on standby?” Wanting to change topics, Kujo crossed his arms a bit with a scowl.

    Just what is she thinking? Elena had ordered them all to wait for the next command, wanting their group to stray from the path of the Heartless for now. ”I just hope she knows what she’s doing…” Thinking of the blue-haired woman’s predicament, the man sighed in mild agitation. It was clear the thought of being on ‘stand-by’ wasn’t ideal to him, either, much like how it wasn’t ideal to Jack.

[therunawaygirl]

Jack’s suspicions only grew, hidden beneath a smirk of his own. Kujo’s reply back to his question only helped secure a few things, but still nothing fully clear. Yet even then, he seemed to divert the topic elsewhere.

So why not follow along?

“I doubt Elena’s out to sabotage us” Jack shrugged nonchalantly, “Although I can’t say I’m not mad of her decision ‘bout the topic. I wanted to go check on it, but either she thinks it’s too dangerous or just doesn’t want us to meddle in it. Y’know —not stick our noses where it ain’t necessary.”

Even though the last phrase of his didn’t aim for anything in particular, Jack had put some weight into those words as he glanced over towards Kujo. There was no doubt now —about the reason why Alice had been upset. Jack frowned, wondering just why Kujo would bother digging dirt about their past.

Was it pure curiosity, or was there something behind it? The teen opted for the latter, not really thinking on Kujo asking purely to know them better. That was the image he’d gotten of the guy, and that’s how it’d stay for the rest of their deal.

“I dunno what it is you’re thinkin’ on, but lemme tell you one thing” Jack said with a sigh, to quickly glare at Kujo, bitterly, “Whatever is it you’re up to, keep Alice out of it. Got it? I don’t give a damn if you can beat my ass in a 1 on 1, but if you even try to involve her in somethin’… You’re messin’ with me.”

The threat was serious, even if Jack was mostly a nonchalant guy. Cracking his neck, Jack relaxed his expression, having said his warnings clear. It didn’t matter to him if he generated animosity, since the deal between the Brigade and Kujo was a superficial one —he’d help them out in order to get information he was after. He’d never said he'd join just purely to help them out, or to simply tag along —the man, much like the rest, had a goal.

It was one of the reasons Jack didn’t want him to meddle in more personal affairs, regardless if they had connections with the more recent events.

The teen pulled himself up, glancing over at the plates cooling off by the counter, not feeling too hungry just yet. If anything, he was waiting on Alice to wake up in order to eat together —it was the only reason he’d cooked the meal to begin with. To cheer her up.

Eating with Kujo, after noticing something behind his usual demeanor, didn’t sound very appeasable.

---

Moments of silence later, faint footsteps approached the lounge room. Looking down, with a somewhat uneasy look, Alice walked in after having woken up from a startled and sudden sleep —one Jack had expected already. The girl glanced over to the two, both with unease, while her elder brother sighed and sat over the counter.

“Mornin’, sis” he teased.
“Hi…” Alice said, rubbing her eyes a bit.
“…Heh —nice bed-hair.”
“Eh?!”

Sure enough, the girl’s hair was somewhat messy —although not to the point of disastrous. Still not wearing her usual black jacket, Alice looked anything but professional. The girl fumbled, trying to get her hair to a decent look all the while Jack snickered a bit at the sight.

After getting her hair somewhat done, Alice glanced over at the counter, her eyes shining a bit after noticing the meal. It wasn’t that she was particularly hungry, but rather the meal itself. As Jack had thought, it was her favorite.

“Can I…?” Alice asked, looking at her brother.
“Sure —I was ‘bout to eat, anyways!”

[hoodwink]

    ”I doubt Elena’s out to sabotage us.” Though it was a true fact, Kujo couldn’t help but still feel a pang of annoyance towards the woman. Radiant Garden certainly had seemed like a promising lead—one of the only ones they had to go on at all. ”I dunno what it is you’re thinkin’ on,” Noticing a change in Jack’s demeanor, Kujo’s eyes narrowed as his scowl deepened. ”Whatever it is you’re up to, keep Alice out of it. Got it?” The warning that followed only served to sour the man’s mood more—giving Jack a serious and at the same time incredulous look. ”Don't be an idiot. She’s already involved. She's on the team.” Crossing his arms, he gave a stern look—one that showed it wasn’t something he’d be cowed on easily. ”You can’t baby her forever.” 

    Though there were still a few things he wanted to give Jack a piece of his mind about, the sound of faint footsteps halted him. Glancing over his shoulder and seeing Alice emerge, Kujo caught himself from continuing. Giving a small nod before walking back towards the small bookshelf as Jack greeted her, the man decided it was time for him to take his leave. Arguing with Jack in front of her wouldn't help her mood. While the two siblings began to set up to eat the meal prepared, he grabbed one without caring too much on the subject. Tch—pain in my ass. Today just wasn’t going his way. Figuring he’d find a distraction in the pages, Kujo rose a hand in departure without really looking their direction as he exited the lounge area and headed down the hallway. 

    Returning to his room, the man found solace in time unbothered and something to focus his thoughts on other than the aggravating mystery they seemed to find themselves wrapped up in and the annoying social workings of teammates.

[therunawaygirl]

Jack glanced over as Kujo decided to leave, although his words didn’t go unheard. Still, his first focus was Alice, who’d already grabbed a plate and was eating with a faint smile written on her face. Whatever he wanted to argue with would wait —his sister took priority over anything else.

“It’s nice…” Alice said, a cheerful tone in her soft-spoken voice, “Thank you.”
“No sweat” Jack said, shrugging sheepishly, “We had to eat at some point, right?”
“Still, you didn’t have to…”
“Nah —if it helps bringin’ a smile to ya, I don’t mind” Jack laughed, patting Alice’s head much to her chagrin.

Alice blushed, flustered as she tried pushing her brother back, all the while he laughed at her embarrassment. After a while of teasing, Jack went to eat his own meal, already somewhat lukewarm after having waited for a bit, yet the flavor and feel hadn’t left just yet. He began to dig in slowly, focused on just the moment in front of him and forgetting everything else.

Yet the girl in front of him had other ideas in mind. Still mulling over her previous interactions, plus the mood she’d arrived to —given that she’d notice—, Alice felt somewhat obliged to apologize for the mess she’d made.

Even if it wasn’t wholly her fault.

“Hey, umm…” Alice began speaking, catching Jack’s attention, “How do you… Apologize to someone from the bottom of your heart…?”
“…Hmm?” Jack stopped eating, looking at his sister with a quizzical look, “Where’d that come from?”
“Well… You were arguing, weren’t you? With Kujo…”
“…What of it?”
“Why?”
“Well, ‘cause he’s stickin’ his nose where it don’t belong” Jack pouted, “He should know better than ask stuff like that.”
“Even if he's worried about it?”
“He’s worried?” Jack looked confused, “A guy like him, worried about stuff like that? He doesn’t give a damn —he’s only in this to get info he’s after. We’re comrades, that’s it —we’re far from friends. Talkin’ about stuff like that with people you’re not close with is asking for trouble, sis.”
“…”
“Honestly? Don’t worry ‘bout it. He oughtta know better than stick around where he’s not welcome.”

The food in Jack’s mouth soured, but he made an effort to finish it all, while Alice mulled over what she’d heard. She thought differently, but arguing about it wasn’t exactly something she was comfortable with. In a while, Jack stood up, grabbing his plate and cleaning it himself, not bothering to remove his gloves that would inevitably get wet. He then left, somewhat bitter, but stopped before he left the lounge —something that caught Alice’s attention.

“Just… Don’t think about it, okay?” he asked, glancing over towards her past his shoulder, “Neither he or M’Lyn need to know about it —it doesn’t matter for what we do now. We work to gather intel —we don’t need to make friends with them.”

Alice puffed her cheeks while she watched her brother leave, left behind with half of her plate still full. She tried to finish it, slowly, all the while she thought on what to do next.

If anything, she just wanted the two to make amends —if she had to step up for it, she’d do it.

“I wonder if he’ll be willing to, though…” Alice thought, “It’s true that he doesn’t care much about others, but… It feels like he does care, if only a little…”

---

Jack closed the door to his room, plopping over the couch on his back while covering his eyes with his forearm, holding back his frustration. Kujo’s words resonated too close to home —Jack knew exactly what he could and couldn’t do.

“I can’t baby her forever, huh…?” he mumbled, his voice broken, “…If only you knew why I bother with that to begin with…”

The only thing he wanted was for Alice to not go through the same things Jack had gone through —and that was a lot. Coming from a world full of war, hatred and suffering, it was tough to wall it all away from the only family he had left.

Frankly, it was exhausting, but he had little options on how to approach the matter.

[hoodwink]

    ”Whatever it is you’re up to, keep Alice out of it.” 

    Jack’s words rang in Kujo’s ears, bringing his scowl to deepen as the words on the page of his book seemed to blur and remain useless. Tch—irresponsible little… Sighing a bit as he leaned back in the chair in front of the small desk in his room, the stoic man glanced up towards the ceiling, thinking of the events on Twilight Town. She was already almost a hostage. Sure, thanks to the efforts of the three of them, the Brigade had protected their precious Navigator from harms way—but what about next time? It was clear that Jack and Alice’s past was coming back to haunt them in some way—it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ anymore. 

    Didn’t Jack realize that whether he wanted to accept it or not, they were all going to be the ones dealing with that? Including his sister? Not that I’d know. Being an only child, Kujo had little idea what emotions the teen had been feeling back there—the closest thing he could imagine the relationship to was that between him and his mother. The thought of Kokoroki brought a faint smirk to the man’s face as he scratched at the back of his head, trying to push away the argument from before. It seemed lately he and Jack were butting heads more often than naught—the two were just so different. Not wanting to deal with yet another unsolvable problem, Kujo attempted to push away his thoughts and return to the book at hand.

    Radiant Garden, huh? If only he had his own means of moving between worlds. He couldn’t help but feel the annoying itch of needing to solve the events unfolding beyond their reach.

[therunawaygirl]

Still with her cheeks puffed, Alice patted both sides of her face with her hands, trying to fully wake up, while also pepping herself up. Once she’d finished her meal, she looked at the hallway leading to the rooms, knowing there wasn’t much to do when it came for work, but rather making sure the bonds between the unit remained tight —just in case.

In any case, keeping people on friendlier terms helped better when it came for cooperative work, rather than just arguing all the time.

As she made her way towards the hallway, she was caught by M’Lyn, while the Miqo’te headed to the lounge to clear her mind. Bumping into the girl, the Miqo’te gave her a confused look masked behind a cold glance —much like herself, really.

“Are you in a rush?” she asked.
“W-Well… Sort of” Alice admitted, “Hey… Umm…” the girl fidgeted a bit, looking away, “How do you apologize to someone, whole-heartedly?”
“…Why are you asking that?”
“Umm… Jack and Kujo argued because of… stuff…”
“Haa…” M’Lyn sighed, “Those two, really? They’re like cats and dogs at this point, despite the fact that at some points, they get along more than well enough… What was it about this time, I wonder?”
“Personal stuff…” Alice puffed her cheeks, “Anyways! How do you do it?”
“…It depends on whether you truly feel bad for those actions, or not” the Miqo’te replied calmly, “If you truly feel remorse for those actions, then it’ll weight more than just saying it superficially.”
“…” Alice nodded, “Thanks!”
“Ah —where are you—?!”

Alice dashed past the Miqo’te, leaving her dumbstruck at the doorway to the lounge, but she was quick to give up quickly enough. In the end, it was akin a rollercoaster —or perhaps Alice was willing to push her own troubles in order to settle things right?

“Those two are just…”

Obviously, she was referring to the siblings. While Jack was usually upbeat and open to things, he had a clear way of keeping things way from the rest, and therefore isolating that which was more personal to him from the rest —essentially carrying it by himself. On the other hand, Alice was usually more subtle about things most of the time, but her emotional outburst, be it positive or negative, were overwhelming at times.

And yet for whatever reason, the two were able to pair together in a more than exceptional way.

The first place Alice went to was Jack’s room, but even after insisting on her knocking, nothing happened. She puffed her cheeks, bitter, but nothing else to be done if Jack didn’t answer to either her call or her knocking. She glanced over towards Kujo’s room, uneasy.

“Is he… Gonna come out if I call for him…?” she wondered aloud, hesitating to even going near the door.

[hoodwink]

    Sprawled open face-down over Kujo’s broad chest, the book lay useless and unfinished as the man leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the small desk. Tch—this is stupid. Glaring a hole into the ceiling, his scowl remained heavy as he realized there was no use in distracting himself. Rather serious too a fault, it seemed Kujo was unable to get his mind off of everything. Whatever. It’s out of my hands, now. Though he was still mildly irritated about his spat with Jack in the lounge, it wasn’t like he’d have to dig into the siblings past anymore. Elena had said she was undergoing her own investigation on the figure’s identity. If that was the case, Kujo knew it’d be better for him to merely focus on his own goals and allow the woman to do the sleuthing. 

    Sighing a bit, he finally at up in his chair as he closed the book and put it back on the desk. Right. I don’t need to know anything else, anyway. Something else was bothering him, though. He had been a bit too carefree with his conversation with Alice—before it had turned south, anyway. Usually not one to go too much into detail about anything outside of practical issues at hand, Kujo had taken himself by surprise with how much he had talked about his own experiences with his home world. Why had he even bothered to mention more than the answer to her question? Something about that irritated him, as typically the man was in calm and collected control over everything he did.

    Shoving his hands in his pockets and slouching in the chair once more, he brooded over his own carefreeness in the otherwise undisturbed and silent room.

[therunawaygirl]

It took a while for Alice to gain the confidence she needed. Almost glaring to Kujo’s room door, the girl patted her cheeks once more, although they were already somewhat sore by the previous doing. Even if it hadn’t been wholly her own fault, she wanted to make amends with what little she could.

After that, she could drag Jack to apologize, as well. He had to, after all.

In a matter of a few steps, she was at the looming door, but she was so determined to make peace that her fears were irrelevant. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?”

She knew Kujo wouldn’t deny her entry —at the very least, she didn’t think it’d happen. The worst thing that could happen was him not answering, maybe taking a nap or simply not in the mood to talk —thing she couldn’t really blame him for. After all, Alice was more than aware of Kujo’s inability to relate when it came to personal problems.

She’d seen it first hand, but only recently she had been able to comprehend it, after taking care of her own emotional baggage.

Alice stepped a few feet away, looking at the door expectantly. In silence, she waited, while in her mind, she made sure to get the right words ready to be said…

[hoodwink]

    ”Can I come in?” The sudden voice at the other end of the door brought Kujo’s gaze away from the ceiling. Alice? Raising an eyebrow, he pushed himself from his chair and worked the small panel to unlock the door. Greeting him was Alice, with somewhat reddened cheeks and a surprisingly determined look beneath her unsure gaze. ”Sure.” Moving out of the doorway to allow the girl entry, Kujo would gesture at the now empty seat by the desk as he took his own seat on the edge of the bed. He was unsure of how to proceed—wondering how Alice was fairing after their last train-wreck of an interaction. For some reason the simple questions like ”How are you doing?” or ”How was dinner?” were some of the hardest for a man like him to ask. 

    Draping a leg over the other, he leaned back a bit on the bed, propping himself up with his hands as he held in a sigh. Thankfully his facial expressions hardly betrayed his inner feelings—he didn’t want the girl to think his irritation was directed at her. It wasn’t, really. Just general irritation around the situation he found himself in. ”What do you want?” It sounded rougher than he had intended it to. Grimacing a bit, the man brought a hand to his forehead and shook his head a bit before giving a small sigh. ”I mean—you came here for something, right?” It was still gruffer than he'd meant, but at least didn’t sound so accusatory. Clearly unsatisfied with his end result, the man’s grimace remained faint as he waited to hear what Alice had come to his room for.

    Truthfully he was surprised—he hadn’t expected her to seek him out. Not after their last conversation…

[therunawaygirl]

Alice jumped if only so slightly, but managed a faint smile as Kujo opened the door for her and allowed her in. She nodded as he gestured towards the chair, but remained standing up for most part of it. Both of her hands were over her lap as she fought her nerves as best she could.

Even though she looked determined on the exterior, she was still the Alice the team knew —sometimes rather shy for social exchanges. But she had to make an effort.

Kujo’s first question caused her to blink, noting how rough it sounded, but him trying to fix his wording helped understand the mood he was in. Her smile turned towards an uneasy one, knowing all too well just what he was struggling with. In a way, the two weren’t so different —it was just their mannerisms that made them different from the other.

“Well… I can tell you argued with Jack…” Alice explained, frowning a bit, “Because of me… Again…” she puffed her cheeks, looking down as well. After a bit of silence, she bowed faintly, “I’m sorry —I keep being a burden to you two, even if neither of you admit it…”

The bow was short, as Alice composed herself rather quickly, with now a troubled expression. She first had wanted to apologize, even if it wasn’t truly her own fault. It just felt like her responsibility, though, as she’d been the target of argues between the group multiple times before —two times with Kujo already, since M’Lyn and Jack had butted heads before, when they first met. Even though M’Lyn had gotten used to it and managed her differences, she had 1 year ahead of Kujo when it came to knowing the siblings —and that was quite some time.

Alice looked away, bringing both hands to her chest as she fidgeted a bit, trying to word herself properly. M’Lyn had told her that, in order to apologize, she had to feel remorse for her actions. Even though the girl had apologized, regardless if needed or not, Jack still hadn’t. And given the fact that he hadn’t answered her, when she went to knock on his door… It would take a while before she could force an apology from him.

“Umm…” she stuttered a bit, “What would it take… For you to accept an apology from him?” she asked, calm yet blunt, “I… I honestly don’t like seeing you two argue… So… I wanna know if there’s anything that can be done to, well… Y’know —get along?”

[hoodwink]

    ”Well…I can tell you argued with Jack…” It wasn’t surprising, considering the fact she had walked in shortly after it began. ”I’m sorry—I keep being a burden to you two,” Kujo hadn’t seen this coming, not at all. A quizzical look came over his face as he raised an eyebrow at the bowing girl. He hadn’t expected her to have that much of a guilty conscious. ”Umm…” Before the man could refuse her apology, Alice seemed to finally get to the crux of why she had come. ”What would it take…for you to accept an apology from him?” Hearing how Alice seemed to be worrying over his and Jack’s dynamic only brought a mild irritation back towards the sibling in question. Tch—damn it. It was a hassle having someone else involved. Sighing a bit, Kujo leaned forward, uncrossing his legs as he rested his forearms against his knees. 

    ”I don’t need an apology.” He wasn’t putting up a front. Kujo genuinely didn’t feel the need for Jack to apologize. To him, the situation hadn’t been that deep. ”We just disagreed on his idea of ‘responsibility’.” Shaking his head a bit, the man waved a hand nonchalantly. ”At the end of the day, I couldn’t care less. He’s annoying, but that’s nothing new.” His last comment brought a faint smirk to his face, though his otherwise gloomy and stoic demeanor made it look somewhat odd. Genuinely, other than mild irritation at the teen’s earlier flare up, Kujo didn’t have any animosity towards Jack. At the end of the day, it was simply an older brother being a little over-protective. It wasn’t anything deserving hatred or grudges for. Despite how often the two seemed to clash, there was a certain respect that the man had for the young leader of the Brigade, especially after learning everything he had over the seemingly long day.

    ”I don’t know why you stress yourself out so much…” Giving the girl a small shrug, Kujo gave her a somewhat serious look—though there was glint of care in the otherwise stern emerald gaze. ”But you’ve already got a lot on your plate. Don’t go burdening yourself with other people’s problems. Got it?”

[therunawaygirl]

”I don’t know why you stress yourself out so much…”

It took some effort to not lose it there. Alice was genuinely caught off-guard by Kujo’s responses, front the fact that he claimed Jack didn’t need to apologize, to him worrying about what she was going through. Her hands gripped into fists as they held onto her skirt, all the while the girl puffed her cheeks with a childish pout.

Didn’t he get it?!

“Because I care about you!” she shouted, her face red as her skirt’s hue, “How could I not?! We’re a team, aren’t we? So why wouldn’t I worry about you?!”

Alice looked at Kujo, straight in the eyes, her cheeks still puffed as she bit her lips a bit. She hadn’t planned on saying it, but it felt right regardless. Perhaps not fitting or accurate, but it was just what felt right. Through his usual cold look, the girl could see his worry, but didn’t he know others worried about him as well?

“That’s why I don’t like it when you argue —because whenever you argue, you end up at odds with one another” the girl continued, “You’re just like Jack in that sense —you worry about the rest, but don’t care about who cares for you. You hardly even show it… But I know you do.”

Having said the words hidden deep inside her heart, Alice let loose of her grip, her look a conflicted one. There was a reason she went out of her way to make sure everyone wasn’t at odds with one another, or simply down —she cared about them. It was the only way she had to show it, not knowing any other way to showcase the level of caring she had for others.

Alice sighed, her body finally relaxing. She looked at the floor for a bit, before making her decision. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Kujo one more time. She walked towards him, before going in for a hug —she wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding herself behind him while making sure her grip wasn’t a lose one, but also not overbearing.

“…So, thank you…” she mumbled, “For working hard… You deserve to know that just as everyone else. You do so much without asking for anything back, all the while you do the same thing Jack or I do… It's not fair if just one of us gets rewarded for those effort, don't you think?”

[hoodwink]

    ”Because I care about you!” The sudden shout caught him by surprise, something rare for Kujo, who now stared at Alice with raised brows and slightly widened eyes. ”We’re a team, aren’t we?” The faint smirk returned to his face at the girls earnest expression. He was surprised at the amount of resolve in those eyes. Can’t I catch a break? Weren't they just people who's goals aligned? Was that what a 'team' was? Hearing her mention how he and Jack were similar in their ways caused the man’s pride to sting a bit, but only because of how true it rang. There was an uneasiness to being read so clearly by her—her perceptiveness as Navigator was really coming back to bite him. Sighing a bit, Kujo closed his eyes, mulling over the honest words. !!! 

    Sudden arms around his neck caused Kujo to blink his eyes open in surprise, straightening a bit at the sudden embrace with a look of confusion on his face. ”So, thank you…” Thankfully, over the last two years the man had honed his control over the odd entity that was his Akogare. When it had first emerged, the entity had tried to demolish anything within Kujo’s space or invade his ‘bubble’ (5m in distance to be exact). Luckily the level of control he had over such a bizarre power was enough to where it did not emerge now—though he felt its presence in his heart stirring. ”It’s not fair if just one of us gets rewarded for those efforts, don’t you think?” 

    Kujo blinked for a moment, still in surprise as he listened to Alice’s words of affirmation and encouragement. His mind for once seemed blank, unsure of what was happening. The last time Kujo had been embraced like this…he could hardly remember. He had been a kid, the embracer being his mother. The sensation was foreign to him for the most part, creating an odd feeling in an otherwise guarded and resilient heart. ”Uh…” Surprisingly enough the man’s voice seemed faint, almost hushed in his own astonishment. Slowly—almost hesitantly, he raised his arms and returned the hug, careful not to apply any actual force due to the sheer power his body held.

    ”Tch—if you say so…” Despite the gruff words, the man’s face seemed softer than before—not that Alice would be able to see in the embrace. But the embrace continued for a moment, and that alone would most likely betray his true feelings. Why was it so hard to just say the words ‘thanks’? Clearing his throat a little, the man would finally lower his arms and lean back a bit after a short time—sighing a bit as he gave the girl an exasperated look. ”Guess this is being on a ‘team’, huh?” They may butt heads from time to time, but at the end of the day, Kujo couldn't deny having gone out of his way to aid them when they needed it (even if it was a fact he'd accept begrudgingly). Guess I'm stuck with them...

    The thought wasn't a negative one, not that he'd ever admit it.