entrancelogs | Closed

Who: Max [

manticorean] and Ryohei [

kyokugen_sun]
Where: Max's room
When: Sometime after Faith's mini-plot
Rating: PG? Come on.
Summary: Ryohei does not like the thought that he helped kill someone. So he goes to see ~~his big sis~~ Max.
the Story:
Ever since he punched a hole in her, it's become routine for Ryohei to show up at Max's room at least every other day to spar with her. Given the monotony of living in the mansion, it's something he looks forward to. He's not in the mood for a fight today, though, and hasn't been since Faith died. Although he can't figure out quite what it is, he knows that means something is wrong, and because Max is smart, she seems like the logical person to go to if he wants to figure this out. ~~Plus, all of his cast mates are too derp, don't care, or are hiatus'd.~~

So Ryohei knocks at Max's door and waits, plucking at the bandages on his hands. He's pretty certain she'll be there--she usually is--and even if she isn't, he can come back another time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Max had no clue what he was talking about, but she didn't think she needed to. Not now, not for this part of the conversation. They were talking morals and ethics, not the logic of time travel.

Gently rubbing his arm, she let a moment pass before bringing up, "So if you know what happens, if you know that things are gonna get rough too quick for you to stop it, shouldn't you just quit it cold turkey? Do what you can to set up a new ID for yourself while the bosses aren't looking, and then blaze before things get too tough? Because believe me, Ryohei... you can come back from being a killer; it's just a long, messy road."

"Yeah, but my friends need my help," he insisted, fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves again. That was what it came down to in the end, really. These were his friends and he needed to support and help them. And most of them were just as clueless about what was going on as he was.

"I can't just abandon them. And I have to protect Kyoko to the extreme, and if this is how I learn how to do it, then it's good, right? Just not the killing part."

"If it leads to you killing people, then no, there's nothing good about it." The words came out a lot more sternly than Max had anticipated, but she wasn't about to just let up on this. Ryohei was a good kid, and he was feeling gulty about just being indirectly involved with a murder, so she wasn't going to let that piece of innocence errode just because he was trying to rationalize losing it.

Taking hold of his shoulders to get him to look at her, she told him, "You gotta protect what's yours, and nobody better let you forget it. But you don't gotta stoop down to the bad guys' level to do it. If your friends don't know what's gonna happen, give 'em the 411. Let them know that they've got a choice, and they've got a chance to back out before they make the wrong choices. And if they're anywhere near as strong as you are, there's not a damned person who can make them do something they don't wanna do. You don't have to abandon anyone. But you can save them."

Ryohei looked back at her, blinking at the force in her voice. He knew that she was right--and when he thought about it, he knew that some of his friends were either unaware of or actually were against the mafia aspect of the things they ended up being involved in.

"I know," he said finally, nodding. He wasn't sure it would be as easy as Max made it sound, and it definitely wasn't something that could be taken care of quickly, but it was the best choice he could see.

Then something else occurred to him. "But we don't remember stuff here when we go home, do we?"

Max hesitated for a moment before deciding that it was best to answer honestly. "I don't know. Dean didn't, and it looks like Yamamoto didn't either. But maybe that's just for the people who leave and come back. There's a chance that the people who go and stay gone get to change things up a bit when they get home. And that's why they stay. Because things have already started going a way they weren't supposed to have gone."

He thought about that and nodded.

"It's a different Yamamoto, though," he told her. He knew she'd made friends with the older Yamamoto, so he thought it would be fair to explain the situation. "That one was the one from the future. The one that's here now is his younger self."

Max shrugged slightly. She missed the older Yamamoto and didn't feel at all cool about seeing the younger version around and realizing she'd been on a date with the kid, but she admitted, "Like I said, this whole crazy time travel thing doesn't exactly make sense to me. I just know actions spark reactions; keep your nose clean, and you won't need to go on a major guilt trip in the future, you get me?"

"I get you," he replied. "I'll do my best to the extreme!"

Max couldn't help the smirk that emerged on her face. "Good. Just... just keep cool, Ryohei. Hang with a good crowd, and keep making the right choices. That's all you can do at this point, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed, and smiled at her. "Thanks, Max."

"No prob," she told him, ruffling his hair a bit. "I know it's hard, but that's what life's about. That, and really good food, if you're lucky."

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