[ The first thing Kazuki notices when he opens his eyes is that it's dark and he can't make out anything around him as a result. There are splotches of light but it's in the distance and somehow the room - even his bed - feels different somehow. Without a doubt, it's strange. Ever since it became clear his eyes would never improve and he was pretty much legally blind, his father had taken measures to ensure he woke up with enough light around him to make sense of his surroundings.
He stands up -- carefully -- and tries to feel for his slippers. He doesn't find them and so he ends up walking barefoot towards that light. Even the floor feels different from the cool wooden floors back in his house, but it's not the cold-to-touch cement or metal floors of Alvis either... ]
[suzaku has lost his suit - or at least, he's lost his mask and his cape, and he feels one hundred percent less ridiculous than he did the first day he put it on. that's wrong and he originally sought to rectify it, but he finds that correcting this problem isn't as easy as it usually is.
as a matter of fact, this isn't the home he's used to. (not that it's home at all, the place he's thinking of, but it's his place for the rest of his life.)
it's then that he hears the voice, somewhere close by. it's nothing familiar, so he has no choice but to move forward and follow it, on guard and searching. it doesn't take him long to find the source of the voice either, green eyes squinting in confusion briefly. he's no one's dad - never will be, never could be - and this person seems a little... lost? about as lost as he is, he imagines. fancy that.]
...who— [is he feeling out for something?] are you?
[ Certainly, that's not a voice Kazuki is familiar with. At all. Frowning, he closes his eyes (because nothing is familiar and seeing unfamiliar blobs is all the more frustrating) and with a hand against the wall for guidance, follows the source of the voice. Fortunately, he's had plenty of practice following voices rather than what his eyes could see. ]
I should be asking that too.
[ He knows he should probably be wary but at least whoever this person is, they don't seem to be giving out dangerous vibes... for now, anyway. ]
[it's weird: standing here and watching this with now-sharp eyes, taking everything in. can't see...? he's seen this kind of behavior before back in his military days, serious injury not so rare back then. eventually though he raises a hand and sighs, curling a finger in his suit's ascot and wondering out loud,]
Right. [alright, they don't know each other obviously. what is he going to do about that? none of his stiffness is gone in his posture, but his wariness lessens at the very least. he'll gauge how on guard he has to be by his reaction, then:] I'm... Zero.
[not a lie. a year later, it still feels like it, and it's impolite to demand someone else's name without giving his own first. not, of course, that 'zero' is his name.]
[ Zero? That's an odd name but he doesn't question it. He's used to Japanese conventions so that's probably why he finds it odd. ]
I'm Kazuki. Kazuki Makabe.
[ He walks a bit closer and then opens his eyes in hopes of getting a look of this Zero. It's still a bit too dim to make Zero out clearly but he thinks he sees a mass of purple-- a lot of purple -- and a head of brown. ]
This isn't Tatsumiyajima anymore, is it?
Edited (WHY WHY WHY D:) Date: 2015-04-23 05:29 am (UTC)
he starts at those eyes, as red as the dawn and dim in the light, and then his wide eyes really take them in beyond his kneejerk reaction to turn hostile. he can't feel the order in the back of his head, no threads tugging on his will - it's safe? green eyes take it all in, moving closer.]
No, I'm sorry. I don't think this is even in Japan... [from what he'd seen, at least.] I was planning on asking anyone I'd found, but you don't know either.
[a statement, not a question. and then, soft, quiet, inquiring:]
[ Kazuki blinks -- at both the mention of Japan and the curious way this person's voice trailed away at the mention of his eyes.... ]
Japan is... is gone, isn't it?
[ Kazuki pauses and slowly it begins to dawn to him why this person might have eyes. Almost everyone in the island knows, pretty much, the circumstances behind his eyes. If this person doesn't know... ]
[shaking his head then. there's no way japan's gone - sure, tokyo is, but...
he doesn't like thinking about that, so he moves on.]
—it can't be gone. I was just there yesterday. And that's not what I meant - you can't see? [blunt, though unspoken: your body language gives it all away. suzaku's stance is still stiff, but he's not on the edge anymore. kazuki's blind, or can't see very well, right? that's what it seems like to him.
he's really just buying time for his brain to come up with a way to deal with this situation. if this distraction helps, then so be it.]
[ He frowns at this person's statement. Him? In Japan yesterday? Is he some time traveller? But he shakes his head and decides to answer the question about his eyes first. The discussion about Japan can wait for a while...
He nods slowly. ]
Mmm. Not very well-- it's dark so I can't really make anything out. But if there's enough light, I can see better.
Alright... [that was all he needed to know. nodding though kazuki probably can't see it, suzaku starts looking around.]
Let's move outside, then - we should be able to get a better grasp of the situation out there... it's still daytime, after all. [so it might be a little easier on kazuki— and suzaku will be able to see the situation out there upfront rather than through a window. (but, really, it's mostly for kazuki's sake. there's still some kindness left in suzaku yet.)]
Do you want me to guide you?
[there's no implication that he would particularly mind, either. he'd just treat the situation like he would with nunnally, which is something he definitely doesn't mind. if there's something he can do, he'll do it.]
I'll be fine. If it's daytime outside... I'll be fine.
[ He'd gotten used to Maya guiding him around in her own stand-offish way (because he knew she knew how it bothered him to be... more helpless than he usually was). And sometimes, it was Chocolat, or other islanders watching over him. But that didn't mean it'd stopped bothering him... maybe it was silly of him, but he still had some pride.
Of course, his pride doesn't help him notice the slight indent on the floor ahead of him that makes him trip. ]
Hey— [he starts as he sees kazuki fall and his body reacts purely on instinct as he surges forward simply to catch because there's no weight anyone could have that suzaku couldn't hold.
...thank god for all of that training hammered into him, and thank god for him nonhuman strength, as well as that geass. kazuki is light where, with a normal person, he wouldn't really be, and suzaku catches him with ease, careful not to keep a hold on him that'll bruise. sometimes he doesn't know his strength.
unfortunate, that.
still he stares down in concern, brows knit together, a small part of him not wanting to see his eyes.. are you okay is the question on his tongue, but instead he says:] ...if you'll really be fine when there's more light, let me help you until we get outside - for both our sakes.
[read: don't give me a heart attack or yourself a concussion.]
[ Falling isn't something that has happened to Kazuki in a while. After a year like this, he likes to think he's gotten used to being mostly blind. But pre-occupied, confused -- the whole mess of emotions welling up inside of him - has Kazuki less than attentive to his surroundings.
He likes to think he could have stopped himself from falling -- he still has his reflexes of course -- but Zero is fast. Much faster than him, and before he knows he's being steadied by Zero. Too late. Too slow.
He bites back the words in his mind: I could've caught myself just fine. He nods instead and grudgingly says... ]
Alright...
[ It isn't long before they reach the house's main entrance and are standing outside. It's bright - early morning to mid-day probably judging by how gentle the light is - and at least, Kazuki begins to make things out more clearly. He eases -- he didn't even know he'd tensed up -- and sighs in relief. When he turns to Zero, he makes out the silhouette of his face, some of his features... and unmistakable green eyes. ]
[suzaku watches him on occasion while he's assisting - something he's used to, something he's done before, and something that causes emotions to well up in the people he's helping that he just doesn't care for. there's no room for pride where there's the threat of falling and busting your skull open after all; suzaku has little patience for people who cling to it and get angry when they're helped, regardless of whether or not they could've caught themselves.
another unfortunate thing. he used to be so much better at this, but at least he keeps himself ready and gentle. suzaku does not know kazuki, but that doesn't mean he wants him to get hurt.
the light outside is a good change and he immediately pulls away from kazuki, nodding at him with a quiet hum and trusting he'd see, hovering somewhat close-by in case of emergency. he trusts that kazuki won't go off on his own when they hardly know where they are - there are lots of houses, he notes. it's probably a community.]
...not anywhere I know. [he murmurs low, mostly to himself as the wind blows his twin tails to the side. annoying, almost moreso than that tacky lawn chair. it's peaceful. suzaku bites back his irritation and turns to kazuki instead, questioning:] What do you think?
[ Kazuki takes a deep breath-- he can smell the sea but somehow it feels different. Or maybe his opinion is colored by his strange awakening? ]
We'll have to ask around. If we're still in my island, the people should know me... [ He's only one of the handful of Fafner pilots they have. ] We're a small community...
[ah.] Alright. [kazuki isn't the only one they'd know - they'd know zero, too, if only by the suit. thankfully suzaku could just play it off as cosplay...
but then again, kazuki doesn't seem to know who zero is either, so there's something distinctly wrong here. there's a feeling of wrongness settling deep in suzaku's stomach and he manages to brush it off momentarily, compartmentalizing and moving forward.]
We won't know until we try. Let's ask around. [hopefully they'll find at least one person who knows kazuki-- or him. either way.]
[ Kazuki nods and follows Suzaku down the road to - he supposes - the nearest houses. He's a bit distracted. Once the initial shock of waking up in a stranger has worn off, he realizes something else is amiss. Something he should have noticed sooner. He closes his eyes - knowing to follow Suzaku's footsteps - and tries to focus on the Crossing link that should be there.
But there is none, not even an echo of Soushi's existence, his lingering thoughts, his feelings... and that has Kazuki stopping abruptly and frowning so deeply as worry begins to worm into his heart.
[he carries on, at ease knowing that kazuki is following behind him. there are distinct memories that pop into his mind - all having to do with nunnally - but he knows not to compare the two too closely. nunnally was both blind and incapable of walking once - and now she's only the latter. their cases aren't the same and never would be.
best not to test fate with that one.
when kazuki stops dead in his tracks, suzaku's pauses in step and looks back at him with a confused look. what in the world...?]
[ He takes in a deep breath as he tries to process this development. It's probably nothing, right? It might just be the distance or some form of interference along the way. Soushi's existence has to be there, somewhere, even if their Crossing seem to be non-existent at the moment. ]
It's... nothing. Let's go. The sooner we ask someone, the sooner we can figure things out... right?
[ But maybe his voice sounded a bit tense. He won't accept Soushi disappearing just like that, not after what they went through... ]
['gone'? ...does kazuki have something that disappeared from his mind, too?
not wanting to think too long about it, suzaku turns fully towards him and, while not believing that it's nothing, nods.]
That's right. We'll figure out what's going on—
[he says with enough conviction that even he believes it - he says it as 'zero', without the mask, but not without the hope. it can't be helped. suzaku might not be lelouch, but as 'zero' he can sway the masses and give them hope - it's all he can do, for now.]
—so don't worry. It'll be fine. [no matter what's bothering kazuki right now, suzaku thinks that, at the very least, they'll be alright and they'll figure out why they've lost something important to them in the process of whatever this is. though, kazuki is right: time to go and ask around, starting at the neighbor's house. (ha, neighbor, right.)]
[ Just as they're coming up to the front of the house, an old lady steps out with a broom in hand. She sweeps away the dried leaves on the pathway for a few moments before noticing Zero and Kazuki, then she stops and smiles- ]
Oh dear, are you the new neighbors we have?
[ Kazuki doesn't need to see her clearly to know there's no recognition at all in that woman's eyes. Strangers - they were both strangers in this place. ]
[strangers, huh? it's a completely foreign thing to suzaku outside of civvies because there's no such thing as a person who doesn't recognize 'zero'. and kazuki was sure that anyone in his small community would recognize him...
as strange as being a 'stranger' is, suzaku mouth lifts into a (fake) smile, strained at the edges though not unkind. he's just irritated now, but taking it out on an old lady is something he'll definitely more than regret later.]
Mm, something like that. We were just checking something— sorry for bothering you. This place is a little...
[confusing, he leaves off, the understatement of the year. his smile turns to kazuki and lightens up a little, despite the situation at hand - there's no need to make an ant hill a mole hill, they just need to be calm about it.]
[ Kazuki finishes for Zero. He smiles gently, the kind he gives Rakuen's patrons so they wouldn't look at him with pity anymore. Everything is alright.
The old lady laughs heartily, obviously charmed. ]
Oh, I suppose it must be lots different from the city alright! But don't you fret, this old town has its own brand of excitement too! We've got a local festival for one-- that's coming up this June... and fishing is wonderful here--
[ And so the old lady begins talking about the town, providing everything and nothing. Kazuki listens, or really, half-listens. What he really takes from it is the fact that Japan still exists- that this isn't a solitary island - and that if they wanted to they can ride the train and reach Tokyo in two hours. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
☆ morning
Date: 2015-04-23 03:39 am (UTC)He stands up -- carefully -- and tries to feel for his slippers. He doesn't find them and so he ends up walking barefoot towards that light. Even the floor feels different from the cool wooden floors back in his house, but it's not the cold-to-touch cement or metal floors of Alvis either... ]
Dad...?
[ He calls out as he feels for the wall. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-23 03:57 am (UTC)as a matter of fact, this isn't the home he's used to. (not that it's home at all, the place he's thinking of, but it's his place for the rest of his life.)
it's then that he hears the voice, somewhere close by. it's nothing familiar, so he has no choice but to move forward and follow it, on guard and searching. it doesn't take him long to find the source of the voice either, green eyes squinting in confusion briefly. he's no one's dad - never will be, never could be - and this person seems a little... lost? about as lost as he is, he imagines. fancy that.]
...who— [is he feeling out for something?] are you?
[first thing's first, of course.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-23 04:09 am (UTC)I should be asking that too.
[ He knows he should probably be wary but at least whoever this person is, they don't seem to be giving out dangerous vibes... for now, anyway. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-23 05:21 am (UTC)Right. [alright, they don't know each other obviously. what is he going to do about that? none of his stiffness is gone in his posture, but his wariness lessens at the very least. he'll gauge how on guard he has to be by his reaction, then:] I'm... Zero.
[not a lie. a year later, it still feels like it, and it's impolite to demand someone else's name without giving his own first. not, of course, that 'zero' is his name.]
So, who are you?
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-23 05:28 am (UTC)I'm Kazuki. Kazuki Makabe.
[ He walks a bit closer and then opens his eyes in hopes of getting a look of this Zero. It's still a bit too dim to make Zero out clearly but he thinks he sees a mass of purple-- a lot of purple -- and a head of brown. ]
This isn't Tatsumiyajima anymore, is it?
[1/2]
Date: 2015-04-24 03:25 am (UTC)he starts at those eyes, as red as the dawn and dim in the light, and then his wide eyes really take them in beyond his kneejerk reaction to turn hostile. he can't feel the order in the back of his head, no threads tugging on his will - it's safe? green eyes take it all in, moving closer.]
Ah...
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 03:26 am (UTC)[a statement, not a question. and then, soft, quiet, inquiring:]
Your eyes...
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 03:53 am (UTC)Japan is... is gone, isn't it?
[ Kazuki pauses and slowly it begins to dawn to him why this person might have eyes. Almost everyone in the island knows, pretty much, the circumstances behind his eyes. If this person doesn't know... ]
My eyes are red... I know.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 03:58 am (UTC)[shaking his head then. there's no way japan's gone - sure, tokyo is, but...
he doesn't like thinking about that, so he moves on.]
—it can't be gone. I was just there yesterday. And that's not what I meant - you can't see? [blunt, though unspoken: your body language gives it all away. suzaku's stance is still stiff, but he's not on the edge anymore. kazuki's blind, or can't see very well, right? that's what it seems like to him.
he's really just buying time for his brain to come up with a way to deal with this situation. if this distraction helps, then so be it.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 04:06 am (UTC)He nods slowly. ]
Mmm. Not very well-- it's dark so I can't really make anything out. But if there's enough light, I can see better.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 04:22 am (UTC)Let's move outside, then - we should be able to get a better grasp of the situation out there... it's still daytime, after all. [so it might be a little easier on kazuki— and suzaku will be able to see the situation out there upfront rather than through a window. (but, really, it's mostly for kazuki's sake. there's still some kindness left in suzaku yet.)]
Do you want me to guide you?
[there's no implication that he would particularly mind, either. he'd just treat the situation like he would with nunnally, which is something he definitely doesn't mind. if there's something he can do, he'll do it.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 04:28 am (UTC)I'll be fine. If it's daytime outside... I'll be fine.
[ He'd gotten used to Maya guiding him around in her own stand-offish way (because he knew she knew how it bothered him to be... more helpless than he usually was). And sometimes, it was Chocolat, or other islanders watching over him. But that didn't mean it'd stopped bothering him... maybe it was silly of him, but he still had some pride.
Of course, his pride doesn't help him notice the slight indent on the floor ahead of him that makes him trip. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 05:09 am (UTC)...thank god for all of that training hammered into him, and thank god for him nonhuman strength, as well as that geass. kazuki is light where, with a normal person, he wouldn't really be, and suzaku catches him with ease, careful not to keep a hold on him that'll bruise. sometimes he doesn't know his strength.
unfortunate, that.
still he stares down in concern, brows knit together, a small part of him not wanting to see his eyes.. are you okay is the question on his tongue, but instead he says:] ...if you'll really be fine when there's more light, let me help you until we get outside - for both our sakes.
[read: don't give me a heart attack or yourself a concussion.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-24 05:32 am (UTC)He likes to think he could have stopped himself from falling -- he still has his reflexes of course -- but Zero is fast. Much faster than him, and before he knows he's being steadied by Zero. Too late. Too slow.
He bites back the words in his mind: I could've caught myself just fine. He nods instead and grudgingly says... ]
Alright...
[ It isn't long before they reach the house's main entrance and are standing outside. It's bright - early morning to mid-day probably judging by how gentle the light is - and at least, Kazuki begins to make things out more clearly. He eases -- he didn't even know he'd tensed up -- and sighs in relief. When he turns to Zero, he makes out the silhouette of his face, some of his features... and unmistakable green eyes. ]
Thank you, Zero.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 03:34 am (UTC)another unfortunate thing. he used to be so much better at this, but at least he keeps himself ready and gentle. suzaku does not know kazuki, but that doesn't mean he wants him to get hurt.
the light outside is a good change and he immediately pulls away from kazuki, nodding at him with a quiet hum and trusting he'd see, hovering somewhat close-by in case of emergency. he trusts that kazuki won't go off on his own when they hardly know where they are - there are lots of houses, he notes. it's probably a community.]
...not anywhere I know. [he murmurs low, mostly to himself as the wind blows his twin tails to the side. annoying, almost moreso than that tacky lawn chair. it's peaceful. suzaku bites back his irritation and turns to kazuki instead, questioning:] What do you think?
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 03:46 am (UTC)We'll have to ask around. If we're still in my island, the people should know me... [ He's only one of the handful of Fafner pilots they have. ] We're a small community...
[ If not... then he'll figure it out. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 04:17 am (UTC)but then again, kazuki doesn't seem to know who zero is either, so there's something distinctly wrong here. there's a feeling of wrongness settling deep in suzaku's stomach and he manages to brush it off momentarily, compartmentalizing and moving forward.]
We won't know until we try. Let's ask around. [hopefully they'll find at least one person who knows kazuki-- or him. either way.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 04:29 am (UTC)[ Kazuki nods and follows Suzaku down the road to - he supposes - the nearest houses. He's a bit distracted. Once the initial shock of waking up in a stranger has worn off, he realizes something else is amiss. Something he should have noticed sooner. He closes his eyes - knowing to follow Suzaku's footsteps - and tries to focus on the Crossing link that should be there.
But there is none, not even an echo of Soushi's existence, his lingering thoughts, his feelings... and that has Kazuki stopping abruptly and frowning so deeply as worry begins to worm into his heart.
Soushi...? Soushi!
Did he... disappear? ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 05:04 am (UTC)best not to test fate with that one.
when kazuki stops dead in his tracks, suzaku's pauses in step and looks back at him with a confused look. what in the world...?]
Kazuki? [he calls out, unsure.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 05:15 am (UTC)[ He takes in a deep breath as he tries to process this development. It's probably nothing, right? It might just be the distance or some form of interference along the way. Soushi's existence has to be there, somewhere, even if their Crossing seem to be non-existent at the moment. ]
It's... nothing. Let's go. The sooner we ask someone, the sooner we can figure things out... right?
[ But maybe his voice sounded a bit tense. He won't accept Soushi disappearing just like that, not after what they went through... ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 05:32 am (UTC)not wanting to think too long about it, suzaku turns fully towards him and, while not believing that it's nothing, nods.]
That's right. We'll figure out what's going on—
[he says with enough conviction that even he believes it - he says it as 'zero', without the mask, but not without the hope. it can't be helped. suzaku might not be lelouch, but as 'zero' he can sway the masses and give them hope - it's all he can do, for now.]
—so don't worry. It'll be fine. [no matter what's bothering kazuki right now, suzaku thinks that, at the very least, they'll be alright and they'll figure out why they've lost something important to them in the process of whatever this is. though, kazuki is right: time to go and ask around, starting at the neighbor's house. (ha, neighbor, right.)]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 05:37 am (UTC)Oh dear, are you the new neighbors we have?
[ Kazuki doesn't need to see her clearly to know there's no recognition at all in that woman's eyes. Strangers - they were both strangers in this place. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 09:27 pm (UTC)as strange as being a 'stranger' is, suzaku mouth lifts into a (fake) smile, strained at the edges though not unkind. he's just irritated now, but taking it out on an old lady is something he'll definitely more than regret later.]
Mm, something like that. We were just checking something— sorry for bothering you. This place is a little...
[confusing, he leaves off, the understatement of the year. his smile turns to kazuki and lightens up a little, despite the situation at hand - there's no need to make an ant hill a mole hill, they just need to be calm about it.]
(no subject)
Date: 2015-04-25 09:37 pm (UTC)[ Kazuki finishes for Zero. He smiles gently, the kind he gives Rakuen's patrons so they wouldn't look at him with pity anymore. Everything is alright.
The old lady laughs heartily, obviously charmed. ]
Oh, I suppose it must be lots different from the city alright! But don't you fret, this old town has its own brand of excitement too! We've got a local festival for one-- that's coming up this June... and fishing is wonderful here--
[ And so the old lady begins talking about the town, providing everything and nothing. Kazuki listens, or really, half-listens. What he really takes from it is the fact that Japan still exists- that this isn't a solitary island - and that if they wanted to they can ride the train and reach Tokyo in two hours. ]