kaisou | closed; it doesn't get easier the further i run

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closed; it doesn't get easier the further i run

WHO: Luke, Zelos, Asch, and Belle
WHERE: Random Play (Belle's video rental store)
WHEN: Early March
WHAT: Luke realizes that the weird guy he met once is not a stranger, and Belle & Zelos realize Luke has a twin.
WARNINGS: Possible talk of child abuse, maybe-murder, infidelity, swearing... Wilder Sr. was a piece of WORK.

[action;]

[With Luke on the network, that might necessitate a change of plans. Yes he took this job so he could look over the deteriorating situation in Kaisou, but the real reason was because he found out Luke was attending college here and he wanted to keep an eye on his long-lost brother. Of course, he never spoke a word of this to Nephrite, but he found out anyway. Asch is fairly predictable as far as motives go.

More importantly—he has other family here, too. But he isn't sure how to approach them, and he's not sure he even wants to. His mother's family was... nonexistent, or so distant as to not care, abandoning a single mother at the first opportunity. His father's family... well, if they were anything like him, Asch sure as hell didn't want anything to do with them.

But Random Play flashes its neon retro lights at him friendly-like, twinkling like an arcade star in a dark velvet galaxy of gray, and he finds himself drawn to it once again. The first time he'd only showed up for a few minutes and quickly hurried away when he saw movement. This time he stays longer, arms folded as he looks at the old movie posters taped up in the windows.

What if he did go in? What would happen?

He turns away after a moment and sighs, slipping his hands into the pockets of his long dark coat. He should do something productive with his time, like finding a proper place to stay. Chasing ghosts never gets anyone anywhere.]

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[Unfortunately for Asch, Zelos was well aware of Asch's recently tendency to skulk outside the premise. He had promised Belle that he would handle this sibling, and well.... he was going to handle it in the most Zelos way possible.

So when Asch turns away from the store? Zelos is in sight, leaning against a lamppost. How did he get there? Who knows. ]

Oh c'mon, turning away again? I was really hoping you'd at least go inside this time on your own, lil bro~!

[Asch flinches slightly, not having noticed the other redhead sitting over... there... What the hell is going on. Why does this guy look so much like Luke? For a moment, a horrible lurching moment, he thinks it might be the ghost of his shitty father whom he only met once and has the vaguest memories of—but no. He doesn't look old enough.

... "Lil bro." There's no way...

There is another moment where Asch just considers hightailing it out of here, but the jig is up. He's not here to look stupid. He straightens a little.]

Why does it matter to you?

[Zelos will give a playful little shrug. A cat that's caught the mouse it was after, and now is just taking its dear sweet time playing with it]

You've been lurking outside our store a few times now, haven't you? I've noticed you, and I don't think you're just one of the socially anxious types working up the courage to ask for adult films.

[Zelos.]

Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? We know we got some relatives out there somewhere thanks to our useless old man- and I think you know about us too. Our hair is the same color, even.

So... just come inside, okay? Half-sis's really wanted to meet you.

[The face Asch makes at the insinuation that he's just trying to get up the gumption to look at porn is telling. That's not what he's about. Not even a joke funny enough to laugh over.

But then Zelos beats him over the head with the next part. We know we have some relatives. Half-sis's really wanted to meet you.

... So that DNA test wasn't as anonymous as he thought. Figures. Nephrite probably knew about that, too. Asch places his palm against his forehead, frustrated.

... It's probably not a trap. Even if it is, he can fight his way out of it, just...]

What was his name, then? This so-called father you seem to think we share.

[... Man, forget the red hair, that scowl on Asch's face alone is proof enough for Zelos- because he swears he's staring at one of Seles's glowering looks. Spooky.

But the answer comes easy enough]

William Wilder. Televangelist who did not practice what he preached.

[He'll reach in his pocket and pull out his ID card, so Asch can clearly see the name "Zelos Wilder" next to his photo]

If you need proof I'm not some crazy, go ahead and google me. I was his "legitimate" kid, so my name's mentioned in at least a few wiki pages about that piece of trash.

[He has no idea he's playing right into the family resemblance. Though the correct answer is given, he's more interested in the ID, which looks legitimate enough.]

... There's no need. I remember your name coming up before. [Because, yeah, he'd looked up his shithead sperm donor of a father. Why wouldn't he?

He lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. This isn't a trap. If anything, this is better than Asch walking in and awkwardly trying to introduce himself, because even he knows he's not good at social things.]

All right, fine. I believe you. [With Zelos mentioning he has a half-sister, that means there's at least four Wilder kids that he knows of (himself included)... What the hell is wrong with this man's family?] Come on, then... Show me inside. I'm sure this can't be worse than whatever weird cult that guy was running before he went off the radar.

Edited 2025-03-11 03:37 (UTC)

[He's looked it up? Well that certainly makes things easier. He'll let Asch get a good long look at his ID card, before he pockets it again. He's pretty pleased with himself, as this actually went smoother than he was expecting.

In fact, the remark about the cult gets him a chuckle]

Haha, no cult stuff, promise! After the upbringing I got, I'm quite comfortable being an atheist, thank you.

[Well, that's very much a true statement, even if it's not at all what Asch is probably envisioning.

But he'll grin as he heads over to the front door and open it up for Asch, letting him in. Once they're both inside the video store, he'll call out for Belle]

Hey, Sis~! We got a special visitor!

Hang on, bro, [Belle calls,] I'm with a customer!

[To that very customer:] Just consider what I said about the original King Kong, okay?

[And then she turns fully to see Zelos and Asch, and her voice catches in her throat as her hand drifts up to her mouth, because. Ah. God, they look so alike, and she finds herself stepping forward and scrubbing at her eyes.]

Hi. [Her voice is a soft hush.] My name's Belle—you're not actually named Scowly, are you?

Finally, something we can agree on. [Asch mumbles this just loud enough that Zelos can hear, but then again, Zelos has crazy good hearing, so.

He's never been inside a video rental store before. His green eyes take it all in, withholding all judgment, but not letting his emotions show either. There's a coldness about him that is very much not like Zelos, a stiffness to him that indicates some kind of military training if one digs deep enough.

Then his eyes go back to Belle. She doesn't have the signature red hair, but maybe that's a blessing in this case.]

W—what? [He's almost taken off-guard by that.] No. My name is Asch. [Where did she even get that name from-- never mind, not important.] I'm here on assignment. If you're not familiar with Libra, then I'll leave it at that.

[He certainly heard that! And you know what? Good. An atheist sibling will be easier to deal with than a religious one, given Zelos's well... everything.

He snorts at Belle calling him "Scowly" to his face- oh Belle and your lack of filter. But hey, it got a name out!]

Asch huh? Definitely got a nicer ring than Scowly. [He'll have to mull over nicknames, but that'll be for another time]

Libra? Well, if you're talking astrology.... I'm a Virgo and sis here is a Cancer, so no Libras sorry. Buuuut if you mean that creepy app that pops up on people's phones, then sure! We're both on it.

Oh, good, because Scowly Guy In Front Of The Store was a mouthful. It's good to finally meet you, Asch.

[For someone who's got a hacker sideline, Belle's filter sure likes to fail her sometimes.]

Since last year, in fact. But we've both been aware of the supernatural for some time before that. [And she'll leave it at that as she looks Asch up and down, as if thinking on something.] ...on assignment, did you say?

[He has the decency to sulk at that as he realizes he wasn't as stealthy as he thought. Sure, he can move without making any noise... but that doesn't hide him from cameras. He should've known.

Oh well.]

I see. [He clears his throat.] I'm with the Black Order. I'll get straight to the point, then: this city keeps getting worse and worse in terms of Spirit Vein contamination. It's all hands on deck after last year.

[He crosses his arms. More information isn't a bad thing. Maybe they can help him keep an eye on the other thing he's here for.]

So this is... [... awkward.] ... the family business?

The Black Order, huh? [Interesting, though Zelos has had limited dealings with that faction] Yeah, we've noticed. Belle here just helped out in a situation involving a black hole at the edge of town.... if you can believe that.

[How did they reach a point in their life where a "black hole at the edge of town" is a coherent sentence.]

Oh, yeah I guess. It's technically Belle's, but I help out some days. Though really I got my own personal side hustle on-

[Wait a second, Asch looks so young]

... How old are you exactly?

Edited 2025-03-11 05:30 (UTC)

I didn't do much, just kept track of people inside! [Which is a vast underestimation of what she was actually doing, but she's not about to tell Asch the sordid details of Ragna's rescue and the worst livestream ever.]

But yeah, you could call it that. Zelos does promotion, I do the managing and ordering of new movies—

[Eous, meanwhile, peeks up from behind the counter and calls: ehn-ne-na. (Hey, someone new's coming in!)]

Hold on a sec— [Turning now to greet the new customer with a bright smile only to freeze in place. Oh shit.]

...oh, I forgot I told Luke he could come over whenever...

[Luke is having, by all accounts, the worst day of his life.]

[Except, maybe it’s not even that. Maybe he had a bunch of worse days when he was a kid, who was apparently kidnapped by an evil organization and experimented on. A past he keeps telling himself must be made up because there’s no way it’s real.]

[He doesn’t want to go home, but he doesn’t want to stay on campus either. So he ends up wandering until he remembers the video store someone showed him on the app—-seems like a good place to kill time, maybe rent a movie, definitely clear his head.]

[It’s not like today could get any crazier.]

[As he opens the door, he shouts inside. Partly to be polite, and partly because he needs to say something to anyone, if only to get out of his head.]

Hey is anyone——

[He stops the moment he steps inside. It feels weirdly like he’s walking onto the scene of one of the soap operas his mom likes, except for everyone looks like him.]

Here?

[Asch starts to mention that he's not stupid, he's read the reports and they seemed credible (if not a bit vague), but then Belle turns to the new customer and his gaze follows, as one does, and—]

[Time stops for a moment.

He's reminded of a time, in a life that wasn't his, that they first met in the rain. They traded barbs, clashed swords, and then Asch went on his way. But there is no escaping this awful destiny. No matter what, they are both strangled by the same damned red string.]

[... He didn't plan for this.

He doesn't have a plan for this.

He could explain everything, but he's so overwhelmed by the rug being pulled from underneath him that he lashes out.]

What the hell is he doing here?!

[Don't ask Zelos, he looks briefly as dumbfounded as the rest of them. This was NOT supposed to be part of the plan. The plan was to focus on Asch first, not have the second on waltz in right now!!]

[But the dumbfounded look quickly goes away. Zelos has been faking it until he makes it since he was a preteen- so of course he's going to try this tactic]

Haha, looks like fate decided on a full family reunion! What are the odds!

Hey Belle, what do you say to closing the shop early? You know for uh, Mardi Gras?

[Zelos it's not even a Tuesday. But listen if he knows anything about Wilders THIS IS GONNA GET MESSY LETS NOT GET MORE PEOPLE CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE]

I wasn't planning on having the full family reunion now!

[There's a thread of panic in her voice because she absolutely did not expect Luke to be coming in quite this soon. She'd figured college would be keeping him busy! Apparently it didn't! But she nods, recovering quickly, and immediately starts herding out all the other non-redheaded customers with Eous's help.]

Sorry, sorry, we're closing up for the day! For, uh—prepping for Alfred Hitchcock Day! Yeah. [Wah-nah ehn-ne! (Come back again on March 12!)

As soon as everyone's out she shuts the door and just puts her back against it. The smile on her face now has a slightly panicked tinge to it, as though she's realized she's much further out of her depth than she's used to, but she's determined to see it through.]

Okay. Uh. We should probably take this to the staff room. We have a sofa there!

[But man does she need to take a seat.]

Edited 2025-03-11 18:13 (UTC)

[Luke has exhausted most of his emotions at this point, so about the only thing he can imagine is pettiness.]

[When Asch asks him what he’s doing here, the pettiness comes out in full force.]

Shopping? It’s a free country, Y’know.

[And then, it hits him just how similar they all look.]

[Like carbon copies of each other.]

[And suddenly Luke isn’t in the room at all, he’s rushing forward to try to help Fon Master Ion, but someone is blocking him——]

[No, that’s not right. He’s young, and there are strange men at their house and——]

[L̴̛̳̖̜̜̬̅̓̿͒̉́͊̏̃͌͘͜͝͝ę̴̤͖̤̻̣̖̹̯̥̃̓̌̽̀̒͜͜t̷̢̧̛̞͕͖̹̹͎͚̔͗’̵̧̡̛̬̫̩̼̰̙̙̥̖͓̭̤͎̿̃̑͛̈́̓̃͠s̵̥̈̊̈̾̓͋̽͌́̕ ̷̠̹̙̯̟͋̽̈́͋͐͗̚̕̕͜p̸̞̞͕͍̜͎͇͈̩̰̟̹̥͝͝l̵̛̬̖̽̑̋̅à̷̢͓̩͕͍̗̠̞̟͈̈́̌̌̑ỳ̵̢̨͓͛̆͂̕̚͜͠ ̷̨̳̣̮̩͉̮̻̾̓̋͒͘̚ͅh̴̟̼̜͈̩̙̼̆̒̐́͗į̷̖͚͈͇̞̟̟͈̜̝̞̜̊̈́͐̽͗̏̌̄͐͜ͅd̶̳̯͈̗͎͕͙͈̩̺͉̈́è̴̦̣̰̋̈́͆̓͠ ̷̡̛̱͔̬̪̯͖̭͇̣͎̙̟̍́̑͆̌͛̑͐̃͜ã̵̜̮͙͇̥́̌͑̿͊̔̆͛͒͘n̷͓̺̹͇̫̬̝̲͔̞͚̍͂̆̇̆̂͆͗̏̓̚d̸̜̤̞̺̫̾̎́͜͝ͅ ̷̨̗̋̍͌͜s̵̛̥̥͚͕̭͆̓̒̍͆͝͝ȩ̸̨͕͎͇̝̣̲̻̳̤̲̥̬͕͌͂̅̆̅̇̊́͘ë̵̛̺̱̟̪̠̫̏̓́̀̉͠͝ͅk̵̦̟̹͎̦̺̰̜̏̇̍. ]

[And the sharp pain is back. He barely got it under control before, and now it’s back.]

[He can hear the words floating around him—-family reunion, back room—-but he’s in too much pain to properly process them.]

[As it is, he can barely do anything more than clench his head. He is not doing okay.]

[shitshitshitshitshitshit. Look at him. He's crumbling. Asch knows exactly what's happening. He knows what a Seal is, he knows what it looks like, and he knows just how devastating it can be... and it'll be worse if it's forcefully removed.]

Damn it! This is bad. He doesn't remember—

[Luke looks like he's about to fall over. Asch is caught, for a brief second, because he knows his presence is only going to make this worse. But Belle is busy ushering customers out of the store, and Zelos doesn't know.

So it's Asch who runs forward instead, straight at Luke, and tries to grab him in a fireman hold (13). You're a sack of potatoes now, kid. Struggle all you want.]

Where's the staff room? I'll set him down.

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