accidental video post :: for a smile they can share the night ...

[turn_a_blindeye]

[The interior of Kakashi's apartment. The PCD is on the floor, and shows Kakashi standing by a wall, his back to the PCD. He finishes hanging a photograph. The wall is full of photos of people who have been here--some still here, some not. Many of the photos are ones taken by Maes at various events.]

[Kakashi turns to get another frame from the nearby table, and stops, noticing the PCD is on. He picks it up, turning it to look at the wall of images. Some are still hung up with tape, or a pin through their top. Others are framed.]

Being here a while, I've seen a lot of these faces come and go and come again...

[Pan over. A sigh. There's a picture of a whole Team Seven, minus Kakashi.]

Hm. I should get one of your whole team, too, Gai.

[Pause. With amusement.] Speaking of, maybe your household is inappropriately named by now, huh? The House of Youth, or House of Gai might be more appropriate.

And Anko's household could be the House of Girls?


[[ooc: Someone's mun has been tweaking the map again.]]

Comments

[Offline]

[brig-gen-maes.livejournal.com]

Roy? Oh, no. He's on the front lines. And he's one of the freaks. [Maes snickered. It was fun calling the alchemists that and getting reactions.] But the alchemists don't sit back doing deskwork. They're in the hot areas. That's part of why I never studied it. Too often they have to deal with civilian targets.

Well. That, and I found Gracia fairly early on. I wasn't in the dorms too long after graduation. And the military dorms were strict. If you weren't an officer or belonging to an important family, you knew your place and stuck to it.

I like the meddling. I do like other people. People are... potential.

[Offline]

[turn-a-blindeye.livejournal.com]

[There's a moment in which a frown flashes over Kakashi's face, until he remembers freaks=alchemists. It has nothing to do with being a front-line soldier. He nods, expression returning to the pleasant neutral.] Yeah. You're really not suited to that kind of work. There's really no honor in most of their tasks, and you'd probably use your alchemy to develop pictures, or something. A noble calling, I'm sure, but not terribly useful to the military.

Ah. Gracia stole you from them. I see. She's a cruel woman.

Potential? You make people sound like an alchemic reaction or something.

[Offline]

[brig-gen-maes.livejournal.com]

[He sees the frown, and can't recall if he's teased Roy in front of Kakashi before. Maybe he should clarify.] The Alchemists are the freaks. I call Roy that all of the time. And then he tries to set me on fire. We have a very healthy friendship.

[Life just wasn't as much fun without your best friend trying to set your shoes aflame. Really. Somehow.] If I trusted my government and the people higher up in it, then maybe I would have been fine with going out to the front lines. But I've seen too many reports of slaughters. Plus... Let's face it. I may be excellent with knives, but my mind is far better than my combat capabilities.

The perfect woman. [Maes' voice is soft. Then he shakes his head, getting the lighthearted tone back.] I mean that people can be good or bad, depending on their choices. And I like people. I like talking to them, encouraging them, building them up, and maybe helping them look at life a little differently.

[Offline]

[turn-a-blindeye.livejournal.com]

[Kakashi nods, no hard feelings, just a slight misunderstanding, and then smiles.] Sounds about as healthy and loving as any friendship.

[Maes, you masochist. Then again, Kakashi can appreciate that about you. It takes a real character to put up with someone as grumpy as the Colonel...] Understandable. Maybe we should get you a nice desk and a cute secretary for here.

[What would it be like to feel that about someone? And have the luxury to enjoy that feeling for at least a little while, as Maes had? That's a curiosity and feeling Kakashi brushes aside. ]

Essentially, then, they are undergoing a bit of Maes-style Alchemy. You're finding out what makes them tick, and maybe helping to rework their components into something better. Always plotting, Maes-kun.

[Offline]

[brig-gen-maes.livejournal.com]

Oh good. I like having healthy relationships. [The nod and the smile tell him he's been clear, which is good.]

[It might just take a real character to put up with Maes too, but Maes isn't going to speculate on that.] I certainly wouldn't object! Though I have a feeling no one could be better than my secretary at home. She had photographic memory. All she had to do was read a book once, and then she would know it. She was underpaid, I tell you. [He pauses.] I need to make sure she got out all right. I ordered her home and fired her just before running into the trap. I didn't want it to backfire on her...

[Maes tilts his head before shrugging.] That's one way to look at it. Maes-style Alchemy. I like it. I should get a pocket watch of my own. You're always plotting too, Kakashi.

[Offline]

[turn-a-blindeye.livejournal.com]

[Probably. Or at least a little patience and a love of photography.] A photographic memory, hm? Yeah, it would be hard to top that in an aide. ...I'm sure she did. If she was as good as you say she was, undoubtedly she knew something was up. You don't strike me as the kind of boss to fire on a whim, after all.

Me? I'm innocent. [Smile] What are the pocket watches for? Edward had one, I seem to recall, but I never did catch what it was for. Is it just a badge?

[Offline]

[brig-gen-maes.livejournal.com]

Szcieska... [How to put this correctly?] She was a very sweet girl, very handy with the memory, but she was also very naive. I'm not sure she would know what was happening. She might have actually thought I was upset with her. I also wouldn't put it past her to blame herself for some imagined fault. She was fragile. But I didn't have a choice. I wanted her out of harm's way.

[Maes snorts.] You're as innocent as me. Those? They amplify alchemic reactions. All State Alchemists have them. Useful badges of office, those.

[Offline]

[turn-a-blindeye.livejournal.com]

One of those. I see. I'd like to say they may have not seen her as a threat, then, if she was so naive, but... [From a ninja's perspective, if she were the enemy, that would have still been grounds for her capture or death. Bad train of thought.] Those people do have a way of surviving, though, by luck.

Very innocent, then.

Any idea how that works? Or just more of your world's unexplainable magic-science?

[Offline]

[brig-gen-maes.livejournal.com]

They've slaughtered children, Kakashi. They've started wars so that they can have a higher body count. Whether or not Szcieska knows anything won't stop them if she's around the place still. Her only hope is if she left when I told her to.

Of course. Pure as newly fallen snow. [He shrugs.] Roy might be able to explain it to you. I didn't study it. The watch is round and has circles on it. Maybe the circles interact with other circles.