Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone

[strikefirster]

Who: Johnny, Daniel, Ortus, Gideon Nav's Exquisite Corpse, Paul, Kaworu, Deku, Harrow, Maybe more?
What: Kidnapping, Forced Adoption, Getting these kids away from the Emperor
When: Shortly after boatgate
Where: The Bone House and Cobra Kai

Content Warnings: Probably references to Murder, Manipulation, Johnny Lawrence.

Prompts and Mingle will be in the comments.

Comments

[peripheries]

[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?

[miyagimagic]

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.

[peripheries]

[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?

[miyagimagic]

[ 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. ]

[peripheries]

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?

[miyagimagic]

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. ]

[peripheries]

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?

[miyagimagic]

That could be the case. [ Daniel admits. It's not like he wants to sugarcoat all of this, not when other people's feelings are involved. Kaworu might just end up more hurt if he presents some overly optimistic view here, only for it all to come crashing down in reality later. Granted, judging by what these kids seem like, he feels like they'll forgive Kaworu - but he doesn't know them well enough to be entirely certain.

Of course he doesn't leave it at just that either. ]

But even if they do.. then all you got to do is do better in the future. Be the person you want to be for them. [ Does Daniel realise the romantic angle to all of this?

.. who knows. Probably not. But Daniel has experience both with friendship and romance, so it all works out when it comes to this advice. ]

Life is way too short to focus on our mistakes in the past, rather than the things we can do better in the future for the people we care about. [ He pauses, and then shakes his head with a faintly amused smile as he adds: ] As cheesy as I'm sure that sounds.

[ Sorry. He can't help it. He's cheesy by nature. ]

[peripheries]

I don't know what person I want to be. I don't even know what sort of person I am. If I can be considered a person at all.

[It's something that could be teenager and dramatic but Kaworu's voice trembles, betraying his honest emotions. His confusion at himself is real as is his struggle to navigate it.]

Doesn't the past define us and shape our future? If so, then the past will always matter.

[miyagimagic]

[ It's definitely the 'if I can be considered a person at all' part that makes Daniel wonder a little if there's more going on with Kaworu than first meets the eye. It's not something he wants to dig into without the other voluntarily admitting it, so he doesn't mention it, but it's something he stores in the back of his mind for further consideration at a later date.

Right now the man just sucks in a breath, seeming to think, before speaking up with: ]

The past only does that in ways you let it.

[ When it comes down to it, anyway. It's what Daniel wants to believe.

But, more so than that, what he really wants to ask here is-- ] .. What do you think is bothering you the most right now?

[ Because Kaworu is obviously troubled. But Daniel can't quite tell if it's mostly because one of the things the other has said already, or if there's some greater underlying cause. ]