deercountry | Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone

[Gideon is the one who gets him to stop clinging to the house in gaze like a someone lost in a cold storm with only matches for warmth. Kaworu had to see the house for what it was. Or perhaps he always knew what it was but he just saw what he wanted to see.

In the end he didn't want to be there. He doesn't want to be here. He doesn't really want to be anywhere. Except maybe back in a time and place where none of this ever happened. Look at him, acting like a sentimental human, trying to hide from the pain of the world instead of accepting it as is. A place like that would be nothing but a dream.

Eventually, he tears himself from Gideon and the safety her presence brings to go settle in a corner. He pulls his the hood of his oversized sweatshirt over messy silver hair as thought it creates a wall between him and the rest of the world, shadows covering up the seven red eyes that remain from the corruption of everything that happened on the beach.

He's been such a fool. How does one make up for past sins when you cannot redo?]

[If Johnny ever actually had the answer for that question, he'd let Kaworu know. But he didn't. He was the king of making mistakes and trying desperately to try and put things back together, getting frustrated and eventually just making things worse. So he did know a little about about what everyone was going through here on a much smaller scale.

He knew Kaworu wasn't his biggest fan and if he was being honest out of their one encounter Johnny wasn't his biggest fan either, the points Kaworu had won with him had landed Johnny in the dog house with the people closest to him, but that was more Johnny's fault than his.

So he sees the Kaworu sitting there and he doesn't quite have anything to say. But he does slide over and take a seat on the ground a few feet away from him. Actually being careful to give him some personal space. He doesn't say anything right away partially because he's not sure whether Kaworu will stick around to hear it.]

Are you going to tell me what I fool I've been? I suppose you have the right.

[He mumbles, wrapping his arms around his knees, and resting his chin on them. He looks small, insignificant, nothing like an Angel and nothing like the Beast who terrorized the beach.]

[It's odd to say that Johnny looked thoughtful, but there were certainly gears grinding in his head about how to respond to that.

The kids had all made some mistakes but they were all following someone who they legitimately believed in and had too. He knows what it's like to have the rugged pulled out from under him.

He also didn't want to push his own bullshit and regrets about what happened to him on this situation.]

Actually I was going to say I'm glad you decided to come around. I'm pretty sure the last place you want to be is holed up with me. But the other kids missed you.

...I thought I'd be happier to know I was missed. Now I just feel nothing but guilt.

[He briefly, very briefly, glances upwards at Johnny's face trying to see if he's being mocked or teased. But there's an odd sincerity in the man's gaze that makes the angel avert his eyes.

Part of him wishes for cruelty instead. It would be easier to bear.]

[Johnny was very detached from the side of him that might want to mock Kaworu. All of the kids who had shown up at the dojo had been through something far worse than he had ever experienced as a kid, and he was aware of how messed up just that had made him.

So instead he wanted to try and help them get up and dust themselves off after this mess.]

Yeah. Well- Maybe you screwed up by waiting so long. But that shit doesn't matter. As long as you own up to it there's always a chance you can make things right.

What if nothing goes back to being right? What am I supposed to do?

[He drops his head between his knees. Despite everything, he hadn't felt much like crying. And in the moments he wanted to, the tears never came, leaving him unfulfilled and desperate for relief.

Now he feels prickling, still alien, at the edges of his eyes and suddenly he's ashamed of it.]

Perhaps you were right about me.

[Johnny actually gives Kaworu a perplexed look as though he doesn't really understand what he's saying at first.]

Right? You mean when we fought?

You showed me just how fucking wrong I was about you when we did that.

It might take some work to get it out of you but deep down you've got the heart of a true badass in there. That nothing will stop you when you actually put your mind to it.

[Perhaps more literally than Johnny would like to admit but he didn't have a magic shield or some bullshit like that. He did see that Kaworu was unwavering in his dedication to Paul though.]

But take it from me, kid. You have to work to make things right.

I spent thirty years of my life not trying to do that and just watched as everything broke down around me. It took someone else to remind me that striking first isn't just something you do in a fight. It's something you need to do in everyday life too.

[There's a sniffle from the boy curled up in on himself. He never expected this sort of kindness. Especially not from Johnny Lawrence. He doesn't know how to feel about it. It makes him desperate for more. It makes him regret the way he thought about the man before. It makes him wonder why Johnny hadn't been like this before. Or if he always had been and Kaworu just hadn't noticed.

He scrubs his face with the back of his knuckles.]

I'd do anything to fix it.

[ Honestly, even after time has already passed, Daniel is pretty sure he doesn't have anything close to the full story of what happened - just the bits and pieces he managed to pick up, and even they aren't much. He doesn't fully know what weighed down the hearts of all these kids so much, but..

.. well, it doesn't really matter, huh. It doesn't even matter to him that he didn't even know some of these kids before any of it happened, and only exchanged introductions with others. What matters is that they're clearly hurting, and Daniel can't just stand by and do nothing when that's the case.

Even though he realises being approached by some random adult when you're vulnerable might be a bit much, it's got to still be better than nothing. So when Daniel's made some tea and is going around to hand it out to people, he doesn't skip Kaworu there when he's in the corner. ]

Hey. [ He says, his voice a tad softer than the usual. ] Do you want some tea?

[He takes the tea. Teacher used to give them tea. He had tea for waking up in the morning and tea before going to sleep. Kaworu never figured out the different sorts but he liked them all best with lots of sugar. Paul makes fun of him for it. Made fun of him for it.

He pulls the cup to his chest but doesn't drink. He cradles it there as if the warmth could melt the horrible icy feeling that has taken over his body. It feels like the chill is powerful enough to stop his inhuman heart.

Then his eyes move up and over this stranger.]

Who are you?

Daniel LaRusso. I'm.. an acquaintance of Johnny's. [ He feels like it's probably more simple to leave it at that for now, even though the word 'acquaintance' sure doesn't reach the level of 'intense karate rival' they've got going on instead. But Daniel will be damned before he calls himself Johnny's friend, so this is the better neutral term that doesn't saddle this exhausted sad teen up with all that baggage Kaworu surely doesn't need in this moment.

Taking another cup of tea for himself, Daniel moves to sit down as well, not wanting to just awkwardly loom over the other. He actually is sipping from his own cup though before he speaks on. ]

He said that all of you had been through a lot and needed help. [ Not that Daniel ever got the full details. But he can grasp by now that it was all pretty bad, judging by the state of most, if not all, of these kids.. ] So I'm here to provide just that.

[ Even if it might not do much. But it's so much better than doing nothing in the face of them all being so miserable. ]

I know it's all very sudden [ meeting him, that is ] but I'm still glad you ended up joining us here. [ Because from the sound of it, no one should have had to stay behind there.. ] Just know that if you need anything at all, you're free to ask me for it any time.

[There's a soft flinch at Johnny's name. Only a few days ago, he would have twisted his face into as sneer at the thought of anyone being associated with someone like that, making a comment about how he doubted Johnny had friends.

Now, Kaworu realizes that maybe Johnny was right about him. That he's weak and a coward. That there's nothing to see in him but something half-full and discarded.]

You don't know me, so why does it make you glad?

[ It's a valid question.

And really, considering the sheer amount of time Daniel has had to deal with teens, he's pretty used to his intentions being questioned. Hence why he doesn't even look offended by Kaworu's question. ]

I don't know the full details of you guys' situation. [ He lays those cards right out on the table. Daniel certainly won't claim to be an expert here, not with how little information has been provided to him. ] But what I do know is that you were stuck with someone who..

[ His words trail off, like he's looking for the right words. ]

Someone you thought you could trust, but who betrayed all of you. [ That feels right, judging by what he's heard. ]

I know what that's like. And I wouldn't want anyone to have to stay in that situation.

[ And Kaworu had stayed there for a little bit longer than these other kids. Though Daniel isn't sure why. ]

I see.

[His voice is quiet, not quite a whisper, but kept soft on purpose as though he fears what might happen if he allows the emotions to flood in.

He takes in this man who says he understands though Kaworu feels like he could never possibly understand, not really. But that's the nature of it. No one can really understand another. All they can do is relate their individual experiences.]

...What did you do? After it happened to you?

I..

[ Daniel starts talking pretty easily, but then seems to go quiet, as if he's thinking. Maybe the answer isn't so easy, or maybe it just requires him to talk a little bit more about his own situation than anticipated.

Mostly it's just though that he thinks what he did back then might not necessarily apply to these kids. Still - it'd feel weird withholding the information, so he continues. ]

I did what I should have done all along. Listen to the people who truly cared for me, rather than the person who tried to lead me astray.

[ Still, thinking back on the entire situation with Terry is never easy, and Daniel swallows hard. He shakes his head. ]

It seems like there are people here who care for you too.

[ Even Daniel has noticed as much, despite not knowing the kids here very well. ]

I should have listened to them.

[He says like he understands. And he does, but perhaps not entirely. He knows how to regret but not how to move forward.]

They may care but... what if they can't forget what I've done? That I didn't listen in the first place?

Hey you, don't help them to bury the light (open)

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anytime after kaworupost and callout posts

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cw: mentions of past abuse

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