Two fucking gorillas whaled on him. Kira and— But he's not actually bothered by it, if he's going to be honest with himself. Not Kira, anyway. (The other, though, that never stopped bothering him. Not my father.)
"That's fair," Katou says agreeably, because he means it. "Gotta respect a guy who won't take anyone's shit." Not even his own. "You're kinda different from how I thought you'd be."
Kira is not a gorilla, he is an ancient, undying spirit in the body of a thirteen year old boy. And unlike Katou's dad, he's not a sadist who gets his jollies on beating Katou.
"Yeah, I kind of got that from yesterday. You thought I'd just be some kind of doormat you and anybody else could walk all over, right?"
True, being an undying spirit is infinitely better than being Katou's dad. At least the sword's not an abusive prick.
"Basically." Katou nods, takes another puff of his cigarette. "Truth's more interesting than fiction, though."
Who would think that the guy with high scores also goes around pissing off his teachers, smoking, and apparently being able to beat the shit out of people? Shit, why hadn't he paid attention to this guy sooner?
"It usually is. Although sometimes truth is just as strange as fiction." Or, stranger; for just a moment Kira tries to entertain what Katou's--or anyone's--reaction would be if they knew the whole truth.
But the fiction--the fiction, the reason that Katou probably hadn't paid attention to him before now--that's what keeps him safe.
"So what now? You got your cigarette. Or are you going to try to play it off that you're waiting around for another one?"
Katou flat-out wouldn't believe Kira's truth, not as a thirteen year old whose life experiences, though decidedly unpleasant, were still mundane. Though he believes in spirits— not that he'd fucking tell anyone that— he wouldn't believe that this guy was just a sword in a meat suit.
Who'd want to waste part of their eternity as a thirteen year old in school?
At Kira's question, Katou shrugs. He hadn't actually planned farther than "Get a cigarette out of this guy," as far as "He seems interesting to me" goes.
"I dunno," he said honestly. "I was gonna hang out with Youji and a couple of the other guys after school, if you wanted to join us."
Of course he wouldn't. But even if he did, it would be dangerous for the both of them: risking attracting Heaven's or medical professionals' attention. Kira can't afford to end up locked in a psych ward somewhere. So either way, it's lose-lose to tell him.
Kira cocks his head slightly at the invitation. "You're asking me to hang out with you and your friends?" It's... been seven years since the last time anyone asked him, genuinely, to do something like that. He can't help but feel a thread of suspicion. "Is this some kind of a prank?"
There's obviously no point in unloading on Katou. But he's used to underhanded bullying--it's the only way people can get away with expressing their dislike of him, since approaching him head-on is a no go for obvious reasons. It really wouldn't surprise him all that much if someone wasn't trying to set him up to get attacked. But he always honestly thought that it would be saving Setsuna that would get him beaten up by a gang of boys.
But hey, maybe that's still in the cards, since it seems that Katou really just... is... awkwardly... trying to make a friend it seems.
Which is honestly everything that goes against Sakuya's code: don't make attachments, don't let people like you, no one who would miss you while you're gone. On the other hand--he vaguely knows of a Youji around school who's rumored to be a huge pain in the ass among the faculty.
"Maybe I could hang out with you and your friends. What're they like?"
Katou is, in fact, awkwardly trying to make friends with Kira. He's not good at it, but considering who is other friends are.... that hardly seems like a surprise.
"Youji's a dick," Katou says, though he doesn't sound particularly put out about the idea. "He's a real troublemaker, but he's a lot of fun when he's not being a dick at you. Pretty sure half the teachers hate the guy, it's hilarious. Takuya's kinda quiet, but he'll go along with basically whatever. Satoshi's the loud, excitable type. Not real smart—" And you know it's bad if Katou says that. "—but he's cool."
Kira has to laugh at that. They sound like a complete band of misfits and troublemakers. And that might be worth breaking Sakuya's Rules of Involvement over: you can get up to a lot more trouble together than alone, after all.
"All right. I can't say that I'll hang out with 'em again after today, but I'll try it, once."
Katou grins, and it's a slightly more genuine expression than he usually gives. "Great! We're gonna meet up at the gates after school."
He hadn't mentioned bringing someone along, but if Youji had a problem with it, he was pretty sure Kira could kick his ass. And that would be downright entertaining. He liked Youji, really he did, but sometimes... Sometimes an asshole just needs to get taken down a peg or two.
Kira's pretty good at taking Youji down a peg or two, as Katou will surely discover soon enough. After all, there's only one person in this world that Kira takes orders from--and it's definitely not Youji.
Again, this is a bit of a first. It's been a really long time since someone seemed so genuinely happy to be around Kira. His progress ingratiating himself to Alexiel's newest incarnation--he's lonely, but it's still slow-going; meeting him by throwing fire-crackers down at him probably wasn't the best foot to start things off on either.
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"That's fair," Katou says agreeably, because he means it. "Gotta respect a guy who won't take anyone's shit." Not even his own. "You're kinda different from how I thought you'd be."
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"Yeah, I kind of got that from yesterday. You thought I'd just be some kind of doormat you and anybody else could walk all over, right?"
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"Basically." Katou nods, takes another puff of his cigarette. "Truth's more interesting than fiction, though."
Who would think that the guy with high scores also goes around pissing off his teachers, smoking, and apparently being able to beat the shit out of people? Shit, why hadn't he paid attention to this guy sooner?
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But the fiction--the fiction, the reason that Katou probably hadn't paid attention to him before now--that's what keeps him safe.
"So what now? You got your cigarette. Or are you going to try to play it off that you're waiting around for another one?"
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Who'd want to waste part of their eternity as a thirteen year old in school?
At Kira's question, Katou shrugs. He hadn't actually planned farther than "Get a cigarette out of this guy," as far as "He seems interesting to me" goes.
"I dunno," he said honestly. "I was gonna hang out with Youji and a couple of the other guys after school, if you wanted to join us."
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Kira cocks his head slightly at the invitation. "You're asking me to hang out with you and your friends?" It's... been seven years since the last time anyone asked him, genuinely, to do something like that. He can't help but feel a thread of suspicion. "Is this some kind of a prank?"
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He honestly doesn't get it. This guy's looking too deep into things, maybe.
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There's obviously no point in unloading on Katou. But he's used to underhanded bullying--it's the only way people can get away with expressing their dislike of him, since approaching him head-on is a no go for obvious reasons. It really wouldn't surprise him all that much if someone wasn't trying to set him up to get attacked. But he always honestly thought that it would be saving Setsuna that would get him beaten up by a gang of boys.
But hey, maybe that's still in the cards, since it seems that Katou really just... is... awkwardly... trying to make a friend it seems.
Which is honestly everything that goes against Sakuya's code: don't make attachments, don't let people like you, no one who would miss you while you're gone. On the other hand--he vaguely knows of a Youji around school who's rumored to be a huge pain in the ass among the faculty.
"Maybe I could hang out with you and your friends. What're they like?"
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"Youji's a dick," Katou says, though he doesn't sound particularly put out about the idea. "He's a real troublemaker, but he's a lot of fun when he's not being a dick at you. Pretty sure half the teachers hate the guy, it's hilarious. Takuya's kinda quiet, but he'll go along with basically whatever. Satoshi's the loud, excitable type. Not real smart—" And you know it's bad if Katou says that. "—but he's cool."
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"All right. I can't say that I'll hang out with 'em again after today, but I'll try it, once."
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He hadn't mentioned bringing someone along, but if Youji had a problem with it, he was pretty sure Kira could kick his ass. And that would be downright entertaining. He liked Youji, really he did, but sometimes... Sometimes an asshole just needs to get taken down a peg or two.
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Again, this is a bit of a first. It's been a really long time since someone seemed so genuinely happy to be around Kira. His progress ingratiating himself to Alexiel's newest incarnation--he's lonely, but it's still slow-going; meeting him by throwing fire-crackers down at him probably wasn't the best foot to start things off on either.
It feels... good. Just a little.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be there."